Chicken, Chicken, Steak, Shrimp, Chicken

Noted in the most prior post that gifts were given to the Schramwiches. Prior to the gift giving, we had a Japanese steak house adventure to celebrate Car's birthday. I had all seven kids, two wives and the Schramwich dads in tow as we headed to the suburban restaurant location.

At first, I couldn't believe we were even attempting to make this happen. Especially after arriving on time for our 7 p.m. reservation on a school night only to learn that we had about a 20 to 30-minute wait. However, everyone stayed calm and we were all situated around the table, with chop sticks in hand, ready to order.

"What is teriyaki chicken?" El asked me. We decided to keep it simple. It was great listening to the order taker go child by child writing down the preferred meat choice for each. The chef actually shared, though. He made sure each child received their main course, but also got to try a bit of each of the others. It was cool.

It's been years since I've done the Japanese steak house scene. So, the chef's routine was fun to watch. Not to mention that it fully captivated the seven children. Several of the youngest ones jumped out of their seats, clinging to the wall as the chef lit the grill into a huge flame. The little volcano out of some sliced onions was popular.

The meal was very tasty. The kids of course loved every attempt to catch a piece of shrimp tossed by the chef. He went around the table, from oldest (I think that was me) to youngest (that was R) tossing a little morsel. We looked like baby birds. It took several attempts for some of us, with some never being successful. If you look closely at the pic, you can see a shrimp that passed by Car.

He mentioned to me that it was an awesome birthday outing. It was worth missing basketball practice, he said. He also said that he didn't want any of his dad's other friends to come along, except for me. He said I was "cool."

Car, the two dads and I all share December as our birthday month. I am very lucky and blessed that somewhere in the midst of all the holiday craziness, we almost always have made it a point to gather for a birthday outing. It usually includes a holiday element too. It makes our gatherings extra neat.

A funny side note ... Schramwich and Schramwich Wife explained to the server who belonged to whom as far as the children were concerned. Then she asked, pointing toward me, "What about this one?" "He's the baby," Schramwich said. When we were leaving, she praised the behavior of all the kids. She said they were all very good. "Except for the baby," she said.