An IHOP Adventure

So I was standing in the women’s bathroom at IHOP making sure my two-year-old wasn’t licking the floor or anything, when my almost-four-year-old opens his stall door announcing (in the sing-songy voice he usually uses when he makes this announcement), “I poooooooped!” We were not the only ones in the bathroom, and he was wearing only his shirt and socks...

Backtrack. I took all three kids (ages two, almost four and five) to IHOP by myself tonight. No, I am not brave, but yes, I am crazy.

I took the kids to IHOP because their daddy has been out of town since Saturday night. Before that he had been home only a few days after returning from another work trip. The kids need to be thoroughly distracted when Daddy is gone because if they’re not (and sometimes even if they are) they go nuts. I was already going crazy at home so why not go crazy somewhere else where other people would bring us our food and then clean up after us? Right?

At IHOP with Middle One 

My middle child, the mostly naked one in the IHOP bathroom, has the most difficult time. When he gets particularly upset he goes into what we call “Hulk Mode.” Once in Hulk Mode, it’s nearly impossible to talk him down and we just need to let it run its course. But sometimes, sometimes we can talk him down by giving him something to look forward to later. Something like IHOP. I can tell him, “If you’re going to throw fits like this, I can’t take you to IHOP,” and he just might calm down.

Pancakes would be the favorite food of all three kids. IHOP is a pretty safe bet for me to take the kids by myself. The servers have always been super nice and it is a sit-down restaurant where you sort of expect to hear loud children at the beginning of their sugar rush. You just don’t expect naked children loudly singing about their poop.

**NOTE: IHOP did not sponsor this post, though I wish they did. I'd love some free pancakes!**