Me talk pretty one day

Needless to say, we rarely go to restaurants with the kids.

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If you've ever read David Sedaris' book Me Talk Pretty One Day then you might remember this:

"It often seems that my brother and I were raised in two completely different households. He's eleven years younger than I am, and by the time he reached high school, the rest of us had all left home. When I was young, we weren't allowed to say "shut up," but by the time Paul reached his teens, it had become acceptable to shout, "Shut your motherfucking mouth." The drug laws had changed as well. "No smoking pot" became "No smoking pot in the house," before it finally petered out to "Please don't smoke any pot in the living room." David Sedaris

There's a span of 11 years between Lexi and Heidi, and I think Ben would agree when I say our parenting style has become more relaxed since Lexi was born. After 11 years we've realized that parenting is a marathon, not a sprint, and we'd better start pacing ourselves. We've gotten better at picking our battles with the kids, which is how "No slouching at the table" became "No putting your elbows on the table" until finally "Please don't do a belly flop on the table."