Kids Eat Free

I don't cook on Tuesdays. Why would you when there are so many options? Cal's brother informed us last summer of Taco Time's fantastic Tuesday deals. 3 tacos for a buck. Yep. That's 15 tacos (soft or hard shell) for $5!!!! You can hardly buy the meat for that much. True, they aren't the best tacos on the earth, but add a few sliced tomatoes and some salsa or guac and you've got dinner!

Tonight I took the boys to Chevy's. Tuesdays kids eat free. Denny's does it also, I hear, and I'm sure there are other restaurants too. I met a my single friend there with her daughter. I never venture out to a restaurant alone with 3 kids, but I was really craving something tasty. It WAS tasty, and all for a total of $14.03 (which included the tip). AND I have a tasty lunch for tomorrow.

My friend's daughter is in Spencer's class and she has a crush on him. Spencer, who is oblivious to her affections, must have brought out the worst in her because she was throwing ice and straws trying to get his attention. She is usually such a well mannered little girl! All the while Spencer practically doesn't know she exists.

The kids did pretty well. They colored and ate chips and salsa... until my friend and I tried to have an intelligent, deep conversation. Of course that's when Grant wants to run around and is bored with his food, and Spencer sticks french fries up his nose. And Dallin gets fussy and won't be entertained...even when Spencer gives him his orange peel to teeth on, which makes Dallin cry even more because it tastes weird. Alas, they are finally in bed and asleep.

So at the end of the night, was it really such a good deal? My kids ended up ordering quesadillas, which would have been a super cheap dinner to make at home anyway. And they didn't even finish those. Maybe I'm not actually saving anything. They DID eat 3 baskets of chips. And they got a free ice cream cone. Ok. I guess they got their money's worth. Most of all, I really enjoyed my (though constantly interrupted) conversation with my friend. I think we managed to both felt edified and uplifted, despite the chaos. So there you go. It was worth it.

I had contemplated meeting a different friend each Tuesday for dinner just for fun. I think we'll rotate those cheap tacos in there instead. :) Though their behavior tonight shows me we could use a little fine tuning of our 'eating out' skills. Guess we'll have to try it again another Tuesday.