Zeno's Bar & Grill

Pull up a chair and pop open a Pacifico. It's time for Thirsty Thursday. Join us if you want, invite a friend, and/or come back next week when we'll have a new Special.



What’s the Parenting Challenge du jour?

Melanie: Right now we are trying to get our youngest to stop sucking her thumb. I can tell it’s going to be a long haul. The other girls never did it, so we haven’t faced this before. We got her this thing called “My Special Shirt”—what’s special about it is that it has no holes at the end of the sleeves! So she can’t suck her thumb at night. Seems to be working very well so far, and they say that the nighttime sucking does the most damage.

Kelly: My oldest is biting his nails and my youngest just won’t listen. Though for the younger I know from experience that it is merely a factor of being 3 ½. I never quite understood the full depth of the insult “You’re acting like a 3-year-old” until I had one.

What was your last playdate with the kids?

Melanie: On President’s Day, along with another mother and her daughter, we went down to a beachside grill that has this great sand pit where the kids can play while the parents relax. The whole place is totally enclosed, so you don’t have to stress out about them wandering away—perfect!

Kelly: The last play date with my kids was with Mel and her kids in Palm Springs. We went to a park with them and then waited approximately 79 hours to be seated at Ruby’s Diner. Now that the kids are older, most playdates seem to be drop off, and I miss being able to hang out with other moms. I also miss that beachside grill Melanie is talking about. It was the best!

What was your last playdate for yourself?

Melanie: I guess for me that would be the few hours that Kelly and I stole in Palm Springs last weekend, when we went out to go shopping and ended up having a cocktail instead and buying nothing but cigars for our husbands.

Kelly: I had my book club this week. We discussed Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides. The woman who hosted had yummy Greek food for us to nosh on. Our book for next time is All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki. It sounds really good and I can’t wait for my copy to arrive.