There is nothing worse than a child that does not understand how to properly eat in a restaurant.  The screaming & impatience & throwing of things, the stares & glares of fellow patrons, where the mother cringes knowing that while she won’t have to do dishes, it is not going to be a relaxing nigh tout with the family.  Doug & I are determined for Harrison not to be this kid in a restaurant, but we also know it is up to us to teach him the proper way to behave.

(This parenting gig, once again with the expectations & duties!)

On the other hand, we understand that our kiddo is two years old & has limitations.  He is still perfecting an “inside voice” & patience is not yet a virtue he possesses.  So when we do venture the world of public dining as a family, we have strict criteria:

a)      They must have a kids menu.

b)      The service must be quick.

c)       The atmosphere must be family-oriented & boisterous.

When BlogHer offered our family the opportunity to share a family dinner at Olive Garden, we jumped at the chance.  (Because honestly? Who doesn’t love the OG?!  BREADSTICKS!)  I have Italian family, so I adore Olive Garden’s ability to provide Italian-inspired family meals to curb my craving for Pork Milanese or minestrone soup.

On Sunday night, after a long weekend of scrubbing the house & playing at the park, we needed time as a family to relax together.  So we loaded up in the car & headed to Olive Garden for a family dinner at 5:30pm.

We sat down immediately & they brought a high chair & kids menu for Harry.  He colored happily while Doug & I picked out our meal & wine.  Our waiter laughed with Harrison & brought him an extra chocolate milk without us asking.  The food arrived quickly; Harrison dug into his mac n’ cheese & grapes while the adults shared a Merlot.  There were a few moments where Harrison became boisterous & we reminded him to use an “inside voice” & to stay seated in his chair, but it did not disrupt the other patron’s dinners thanks to the music & bustle of the restaurant.  Olive Garden is for families & they make the dining experience as welcoming as possible for those of us with small tots.

We don’t go out to eat a lot, but it is nice to know that should momma need a night off from the stove & dishes, there’s a place that welcomes our entire family.

p.s. almost as good as eating Olive Garden for dinner?  Eating Olive Garden for lunch.  Thank you, leftovers!

Olive Garden now has a 3 Course Italian Dinner for $12.95. The dinner consists of a 1st course of soup or salad, a 2nd course of one of five new entrees and a 3rd course of one of five Dolcini desserts. To see what’s available, check out Olivegarden.com/specials.

Now the fun! One of you will win a $100 gift card to Olive Garden, courtesy of BlogHer & Olive Garden! To be entered for a chance to win, just leave me a comment telling me who you’d take to dinner (or lunch!) with you.

Rules: No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. >The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 1/23/12 – 3/18/12.

Also, visit the Olive Garden page on BlogHer.com to check out the other blogger reviews and more chances to win!