Monster Diner

Today is the two year anniversary since we officially closed our restaurant! I feel a bit nostalgic about it--we had some really good times, but I'm also thrilled that we no longer own it! We got out of it just before the economy really turned, and now we have a baby girl that would not have happened if we still owned it!

For one of my classes at the time, I wrote about it and appropriately called it Monster Diner. We have so many stories from there, and you know if you've worked in the restaurant business, that you just can't make those stories up!

I remember "George Washington." Not a favorite customer, and everytime we saw him, he had to go into the story about how he looked exactly like George Washington, and then we'd have to find a $1 bill so he could hold it up to his face to show us.

The two young men who will remain nameless who NEVER tipped. It became a game to be extra vigilant with them to see if we'd get anything...we'd never let their glasses become 1/2 empty, brought them plenty of extras... But I do give the one guy credit, he did tip whenever he brought a lady with him. Hahaha! And, many times, that lady was his mother. She must have raised him to know better...=)

And then there are the stories of people....relieving themselves in the parking lot. Yes, several times. (Who would think about pulling into a restaurant parking lot for that?!?) One time, we sent our employee, Mitchell, outside to smile and wink at the guy.Once we watched a guy pull up in a truck when we didn't have any customers, we were crowded around the open window like a Friends episode, and we tried whistling and cat-calling to him, but he didn't seem to hear. Then he left....and 5 minutes later he returned, opened his door, and picked up something from his puddle. EEWWW!

In the middle of summer...you would hear Mitchell and Andrew belting out off-key Christmas songs from the sweltering kitchen. Then at the end of the night, water would be flying in a water fight when we would blow off some steam.

And the building itself was an ever-changing character---from the spooky basement, to the leaky roof, and even the Saturday night gas leak that forced us to close it down and boot people out. Then we spent Superbowl Sunday in a cold restaurant getting the gas leak fixed. We were never bored!

Thanks for putting up with my trip down restaurant lane! Other than today's anniversary, we remain busy with work and Emma.

She has officially become a thumb-sucker.

Her frowny face as she's gearing up to cry!




Just a picture from the front of our house, despite the horrible heat, the moon was beautiful that night.

Adjustments

It has been a week of practicing and adjusting to our new schedule. I've been back to work for a week, and I'm so thankful that my first weekend happened to be a three day weekend. I cried every morning on my way to work, though it got a little better each day. I think.

Andrew had to get used to being home alone with Emma during the days. His first phone call to me was at 8:30am on Monday morning. When I got home Monday evening, I found that somehow Emma had slept the entire day away for him, and she was wide awake come bedtime. And beyond. I was up with her until nearly midnight when she finally fell asleep. At one point, Andrew began to snore, so I moved Emma close to his head and let her wail until he woke up. I was not going to let him sleep through that.

After his lesson on Monday, he got better about keeping her awake and playing with her. The only time he began to sound desperate was on Friday morning, asking me how I managed to keep her awake. I don't understand how he gets her to fall asleep so easily! Maybe I should pass off bedtime to him. He must be boring! He also asked me when she would begin to sleep more! Daddy may just have to learn the hard way.

She is changing so fast. By the end of the week, she was chattering so much more that we could have short baby talk conversations with her. The evening scream sessions seem to be gone, and I love seeing her personality beginning to emerge. She still wakes up once a night--sometime between 3am and 5am, and sometimes I wake when she begins sucking her fist because she makes really loud smacking sounds. She's definitely a noisy little critter!

I'm looking forward to a short work week, and we'll see what she's up to by next week!

Enjoying her fist

Starting to discover her fingers

She likes these fingers, but sometimes it's the thumb, or her two middle fingers.