And now, some practical parenting tips from Hemingway's mom! (or, why make them wait until they're old enough to buy their own booze?)

This picture was taken on a very rainy day on a recent camping trip. We were desperate to find things to do that didn’t involve being stuck in the tent with a three and a five year old. We were lingering over lunch to pass the time and my husband and I even indulged in the unforgivable sin of a daytime beer. The kids were restless, but being the selfish bad mommy that I am, I wasn’t ready to face the rain yet and I was enjoying the view from our table. I usually insist my kids stay put when dinning out, but the restaurant was almost completely empty and we had the large back area to ourselves, so I let them stray from their seats. The three year old contented himself by sitting on the stage and watching the lights on the juke box, tapping his toes to the music. The five year old, however, made a beeline for the bar. At least I didn’t give him a quarter.