Use your manners please

It's amazing when all the hard work and repetition that you've put into raising your child really starts to pay off.

It's been a long two weeks - Mike was gone the entire week of Vacation Bible School (plus the weekend leading up to it) and then home a few days (working though) and then fished Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. He would get up around 4 a.m. and get home anywhere from 7 p.m. to after 8 p.m.

He was tired from all the working, I was tired from having no breaks or help around the house and Maddie and Wyatt have really been missing their daddy.

Today he got in from his trip a little earlier than expected and was home by about 4 p.m. Wyatt was being a royal pain in the you know what - crying and whining for no apparent reason. I couldn't hold him constantly and I'll be honest that I was quite frazzled and ready to just get out of the house.

Mike suggested dinner and I swear that Maddie, Wyatt and I were ready to walk out the door before Mike even said he needed to take a shower.

In the time that it took for Mike to take a shower I had really had enough of Wyatt's whining. He wanted up, he wanted down. He wanted one toy, but then didn't want it anymore.

I decided to call my parents and see if they'd take him for a few hours - I don't think Mike and Maddie and I have gone out by ourselves in quite a while. Thankfully they agreed and we dropped him off at Mimi and Papa's house.

We decided that we'd go to Zampieri's Harbor Grille - which is really an upscale kind of restaurant.

Our little girl - at 3 and a half years old - showed such wonderful manners. She said please and thank you for everything. Service is great there and our waiter, Chris, did a fabulous job.

She kept her napkin in her lap, daintily ate the "slinky" fries that they cooked especially for her - and was the model of good manners.

I overheard the other servers talking about what great manners she had - and my heart swelled with pride.

Our server rewarded her with a scoop of house-made vanilla ice cream - which she thanked him for several times over.

As we were leaving he handed her a small chocolate and told her she was the best patron he'd had in weeks - and she hugged the manager's leg as we were walking out the door.

She was the only child in the restaurant and other than the disney princess stickers and a little impromptu ballet dancing in the aisle as we were getting ready to leave - you might never have known they were a child-friendly establishment!