A dining out experience

Last night, the boys and I went with my parents to El Sombrero, my favorite Mexican restaurant. My dad dropped us off at the door, and Drew ran up to the front windows, where there are a line of booths inside. He started squawking and looking at the people in one of the booths inside the restaurant. The windows are tinted so I couldn't see them very well, but I grabbed his arm and we went inside.

We only had to wait a moment to be seated, and they plaed us right across the aisle from the couple Drew was looking at through the window. I helped get Drew's coat off while my mom helped Blake get situated. Drew has a hard time staying in his seat when we go to restaurants, so I slipped my purse over his head and the back of the chair. The strap makes a nice seat belt and the weight of the purse gives him a little sensory imput. He usually protests when I put it over his head, but is fine when it is resting in his lap. I went over and did the same with Blake and the diaper bag strap. As I went to my seat, I glanced at the couple, and saw that the woman was watching us. When our eyes met, she smiled at me. I smiled a little self-conciously, knowing that she had seen me strap my kids in and said, "Sometimes you have to do what you have to do," She chuckled and asked, "Are your boys autistic?" I told her no, that they had Fragile X Syndrome.

We had a nice little conversation. Turns out that she is a school counselor (and she sounds like a good one!) and had worked with kids with Fragile X before. She came over and said goodbye before they left. Both boys said goodbye, and when she asked Drew his name, he looked down at his plate and said, "Drew". She was impressed. They headed to the register to pay and we continued on with our meal. My dad said, "Did you tell her about your website?" I hadn't, so I grabbed a business card with my blog address on it, and ran it up to her. We talked for a couple more minutes. She said she'd definitely check out my blog.
So, Deb, if you are reading this, Hello!

All in all, the boys behaved wonderfully well. They both liked the chips and salsa. Well, I should say, Drew ate the chips, and Blake ate the salsa. Blake actually ate it with a fork. I am serious. How gross is that?! But he liked it, especially the green onions. My mom was worried it would upset his stomach, but he was fine afterward.