faux pas after the foie gras?

Last night we attended a surprise birthday party at a swanky restaurant for a very dear friend. It was one of those birthdays that “ends in zero” so a very fun reason to celebrate…and surprised she was! Her husband said he nearly told her earlier in the week because she seemed depressed that her birthday was going to be low-key and she wanted a party. He was on the fence between spilling the beans to lift her spirits and congratulating himself on pulling it off. Ultimately, he kept mum and her reaction is what every surprise-party-thrower wants. The night was lovely, the guest of honor was happy and she had tears of joy from time to time throughout the night.

It was understood that each couple was paying their own dinner. We were to tell the waiter what orders belonged on each check. So after the cake was finished, we figured we should get the bill and get home to relieve the babysitter so Donnie asked the waiter for our check.

We followed up a couple of times but it was fifty minutes (yes, ten minutes shy of an hour!) from the initial request until we received our check. There was no “I’m sorry for the delay—we’re working on it” or anything just a disappearing trick by our waiter. When the checks were finally delivered put on a nearby table for the attendees to sort through on their own--some were duplicates, others were incorrect and at least one (ours) was nowhere to be found.


When we were finally able to get a check by repeating our order to the waiter, he said, "you don't know what it's like to be in my position." But I do. I've been a waitress before at a few different restaurants and I know it's a hard job, which is why I generally tip well (although this wasn't an issue last night--18% was automatically added on because we were part of a large group). I know that separate checks can be time consuming and annoying (but it wasn't a surprise and each couple pointed out what should be on their individual check when ordering). I know that technology can be a help and a hindrance in these situations (the waiter seemed to be having a hard time entering separate orders into the computer).

It was a fun night with a very happy birthday girl and good food...yet I feel like I left with a bad taste in my mouth.

from 0 - 3 in no time

Happy Birthday to my little lovebug! Somehow Bug is turning 3 today. I now believe time flies.


(Side note: this was the only item I bought while we were on the adoption waiting list. The "I was worth the wait" hat and onesie were in a funky container tucked behind a photo on my dresser for more than two years...)

Yesterday I was thinking I would write a post about Bug's second year and how he much he grew as a little guy and how my patience shrunk and how much he learned and how he taught me so many things.

Instead Bug woke up in a mood similar to a troll that quickly escalated to screaming, crying, flailing and hitting and I thought...hmmm, if this is THREE I'm glad it's not a leap year. I'm not sure I could take 366 days of that mood. He calmed down (and so did I) and now we're ready for new adventures as we kick off a new year.

Poor kid...when I asked him how old he was he said, "three...but I want to be five or seven or thirteen."