The Chuck E. Cheese Experience

I have been to Chuck E. Cheese (CEC) before, when Eli has begged me until I gave in. This year, he decided that is where he wanted his birthday party. No matter how hard I tried (and trust me – I REALLY tried), I could not talk him out of it.

Yesterday was the big day. 10 kids, 11 adults, and a CEC hostess that looked like she was just about bored to tears. Seriously. For what they charge for parties at that place, they should at least hire employees who can muster a smile.

Other than a couple of little hiccups, the party seemed to go smoothly. One of our adult guests did get chastised by a CEC manager for going to the salad bar when salad wasn’t included with the party. I’m glad our guest didn’t get kicked out, but if he had – what an entertaining story that would have been!

(My TT this week will be 13 pictures we took at CEC, so check back on Thursday.)

Anyway, the kids seemed to have a great time. Except for Georgia. Our party table was located right in front of the big, animatronic Chuck E. Cheese. That thing scared the living shit out of my daughter. Admittedly, Chuck E. Cheese is a little scary, but Georgia was freaked. She wouldn’t sit at the table – I had to take her to a table towards the back to get her to stop screaming. I sat her by grandma and tried to go back up front to take pictures, but Georgia seemed to be worried that I would be attacked by the giant scary mouse and started screaming again.

If I thought that was bad, about an hour into the party, the real Chuck E. Cheese (i.e. person in a CEC suit) came out to greet the kids, hug them, and sing Happy Birthday.

Georgia flipped the f*ck out! She ran, screaming, “NO! NO! NO! NO!” Seriously, she was running as if she were being chased by Jack the Ripper. I picked her up, and the poor girl was shaking like a leaf. I felt so bad for her. I tried to explain how mommy wouldn’t let CEC hurt her, but she was having none of it. If I took one step back toward the party, she started screaming again.

So, the moral of the story is this. Eli had the best birthday ever, and informed me that he wants to have his party at Chuck E. Cheese every year. But, that trip Eric has been wanting us to take to DisneyWorld is definitely out. I don’t think poor little Georgia would be able to handle it.

Wordless Wednesday - Eli's Birthday Recap

Happy Birthday, Eli!!

Today is my baby boy's 6th birthday! He's 6!! I can't believe it!! The last six years have really flown by. It seems like yesterday I was fighting with the nurses at the hospital to get them to take him out of the incubator so I could hold him. And now, he's my little barefoot, gum-chewing bug conqueror!

Since it is his birthday, I will save the story I was going to tell about him digging through the toilet, and just show you the video I made. It's a montage like I made for Georgia. Eli's video is set to A New Day Has Come by Celine Dion. This song came out the year I had Eli - 2002. I don't think there will ever be a time I will be able to listen to this song without crying.

The Macaroni Grill

I have a couple of lingering birthday stories to share this week, so today I will tell you about The Macaroni Grill.



Since two of my last five birthdays have been spent pregnant, I think I was trying to make up for it this year. I went out one night last week to celebrate with Amy and Heather, and we decided on The Macaroni Grill. Love that place!! Anyway, Heather and I were planning to split a bottle of wine. Since Amy has a baby due March 13, she was not partaking in our little drink-fest.

Well, at Macaroni Grill, if you order their house wine, they bring the whole (liter-sized) bottle to the table, and you pay by the glass. You just mark down each time you have a glass, and they total it up at the end. So we ordered a big-ass bottle of chianti, and we were ready to get started.

At first we did pretty well, and only had a couple of glasses. Then, they brought us a free dessert for my birthday and sang Happy Birthday in operatic Italian. That called for one more half glass of wine. Woo hoo. After that, we were ready to pay the bill. Right then, Heather’s husband, Jim (from here on out to be known as BL), showed up. I’m sure you remember her husband from my blogs about “The Wedding.”

Anyway, we realized we were more tipsy than we thought when we started commenting on Amy’s track record with birthday presents. The woman at the table next to me was telling me how cool my gifts were. And I said, “Yes, they did really well this year.” BL said, “As opposed to?”

And I said, “Oh please don’t make me refer to the birthday we shall just call ‘the quesadilla maker incident.’” BL’s response? “A quesadilla maker? Isn’t that a spatula?”

Exactly.

That pretty much did it for Amy, and she was out the door, flipping us off the whole way . . . with love. At that point, BL decided to have his dinner. Well, we couldn’t just sit there and watch him eat, right? So, Heather and I kept drinking the wine.

I think I knew I was basically screwed when I was attempting to shove the cork back in the bottle and it flew across the room, attracting the attention of near-by tables. This also drew comments from people wishing me a happy birthday, since they had heard the singing and seen me opening the fun gifts.

I flagged down the waitress to tell her we owed her money for more wine, and she just smiled and said, “Happy Birthday.” Dude! Free wine! Free chocolate cake! Macaroni Grill kicks ass!

Of course they were probably glad to see me leave. In addition to pelting people with wine corks, I have a loud laugh that tends to carry. At least I admit it. I know I’m loud. It also didn’t help that I was passing out my business cards for Passion Parties on the way out the door.

Thank you!!

I want to thank you all once again for making my birthday so special!! My blog buddies are great, and I get all excited over unexpected gifts!

In addition to a very special Thursday Thirteen, just look at what Morgen gave me:



This is now my new desktop wallpaper. And after this, I will refrain from posting Went photos on my blog . . . for a while anyway.

In other surprises, I went to Caribou Coffee today for my free coffee, and Aaron had my birthday present – a bottle of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon! Oh yeah, baby! I vaguely remember getting smashed on enjoying that wine at his house in December when I did his Passion Party. Woo hoo! I immediately went to Whole Foods to invest in some of their dark chocolate truffles to enjoy with the wine. What a fun birthday treat!!

After that, I went to buy myself something fun at Crate & Barrel. I love that store!! It just opened here in KC last year, and it rocks! Anyway, I have desperately needed a corkscrew for awhile. Mine is worn out, and doesn’t screw into the cork evenly. Needless to say, I usually end up with the cork in pieces before I’m able to get it out. So, I bought a spanking new cork screw and a really fun wine stopper. Here’s the best part! They couldn’t find the price for the wine stopper, so the girl just shrugged and put it in my bag. Oh yeah! She didn’t even charge me for it! Happy Birthday to me from Crate & Barrel!

13 Things That Make Today a Happy Birthday!

Today is the day I turn 35! Following are a few things that are making this one hell of a celebration!

1. Free Caribou Coffee!! They emailed me a coupon, so I can’t wait to enjoy my caffeine high – for FREE!! I wonder if that includes extra espresso shots?

2. No snow! After a barrage of snow this winter – including another bout of the evil white Winter’s spawn last weekend – it was 60 degrees today. It all melted! No snow on my birthday! The angels are singing!

3. Dairy Queen ice cream cake – Best freaking ice cream cake ever! The gooey chocolate, the crunchy chocolate middle. Oh yeah, baby! This is my birthday cake every year!

4. All new Grey’s Anatomy! They’re not really going to kill Meredith off are they? ARE THEY?!!!

5. Unexpected presents – A Starbucks gift card from Andrea, complete with coffee mugs; a coffee clock from Heather, plus an iTunes gift card! I freaking love presents! And my friends rock!

6. Eli, my 4-year-old, has promised to give me the biggest, Biggest, BIGGEST kiss EVER!! I can’t wait!

7. Eric is going to give me a massage . . . with the Smitten! Woo hoo!!

8. Eric has promised to cut his hair short and let me call him Went the whole day. I think he’s kidding, but isn’t he sweet to indulge my unhealthy obsession?

9. I left my birthday celebration with my friends the other night with a purple chianti mustache. Now that’s the sign of a good party!

10. Chocolate nachos! Cheeseburger in Paradise, here I come!

11. Laptop computer – My sweet, sweet husband bought me a laptop computer!! Can we afford it? No! Did he have to put it on credit card(s)? Yes! Do I care? Hell no! I’m getting a f*cking computer!!

12. I took the children in for haircuts, and they were actually well-behaved! Now that is not only a nice gift, it’s a miracle! It could have had something to do with the fact that their respective stylists were holding them in place, but still!

13. My blog friends! This last year, I have made some amazing friends, which I never expected when starting a blog. Here are some of their wonderful birthday presents: Look at what Morgen gave me! And Sadie! And Desert Songbird! And Sanni’s tribute brought tears to my eyes!

I love all of you!!! Thank you for helping make this the best birthday ever!!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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The Extravaganza Continues

My goodness, I think I have a hangover from Morgepalooza! I hope everyone had a chance to check out the party going on at It’s A Blog Eat Blog World! Morgen rocked the house for his 40th birthday. 40 posts!! And I have trouble some days coming up with anything to say! I hope your birthday was a great one, Mo!!

Where Morgen has Morgepalooza, we have Neila’s Birthday Extravaganza. This really started a few years ago when Eli was learning to talk. It’s really fun to listen to a 2-year-old say “extravaganza.”

Eric always takes my actual birthday off work to celebrate, and if it’s near a weekend (like this year, it’s on Thursday), he takes Friday off too, so it’s a four-day celebration. Combine that with a three-day weekend the weekend before for Presidents’ Day, and it’s quite a celebration. This year, it’s seriously turning into a week-long event. By the time I’m 40, I’m hoping to reserve the entire month of February for the Extravaganza, but we’re still working on that.

Saturday night, I had a Passion Party that kicked ass! It was so much fun! I sold eight vibrators, and there were only six ladies in attendance. They are going to get down with their bad selves! I feel so proud! I was just happy that all of the women seemed to know what a clitoris was and where it was. I had a party last month in which that was not the case. Dude! A woman who doesn’t know where her clitoris is?! Not. Cool. Because you know that meant her husband doesn’t know either. And this woman has four children. Angels are crying somewhere over her lack of orgasms.

Anyway, after my Passion Party, I went to my friend Rebecca’s party. Her birthday was last week, so she was having quite a celebration at her house. I was quite giddy by the time I got home. Then, on Sunday, Eric’s parents watched the kids so we could go out to eat.

It sounds like such a small event, but I can’t tell you how nice it is to go out to an adult restaurant and be able to eat without a child screaming or climbing on me. I almost didn’t want to leave. When we did finally leave, Eric and I took advantage of our rare alone time, and made out in the car like a couple of 16-year-olds. What is it about making out in a car that just gets the juices flowing? I think it awakens some teenage hormones or something. The good thing is that we can now go home to bed, which is much more comfortable than hopping in the back seat.

My goodness, there’s some TMI and then some for you all!

Tomorrow, the extravaganza continues as I’m going out to dinner with Amy and Heather. I’m dragging them to Macaroni Grill for bread, wine and pasta. Yum-O! Then on Wednesday night, I’m celebrating with Stacey and Andrea. I don’t know where we’re going yet, but I am going to have to go on a serious diet by the time this week is over. Until then, I’m going to enjoy the hell out of it!!!

Manic Monday Celebration – Happy Birthday, Morgen!!

Today’s Manic Monday word, appropriately, is CELEBRATE!! That is perfect since it coincides with Morgepalooza (aka Morgen at It’s A Blog Eat Blog World’s 40th Birthday!).

That’s right everyone! Our dear friend Morgen is turning the big 4-0 today. So please join me in wishing him a Happy Happy Birthday! Better yet, make sure you head over to It’s A Blog Eat Blog World and wish him a happy birthday in person!

Morgen, I hope you enjoy your cyber present from your favorite Blog Mommy!

Happy Birthday!!

We here at Blog That Mommy! are also looking toward the birthday horizon, since I am celebrating the big 3-5 on Thursday!

35!! Jeez! How did that happen? It seems like I just graduated from high school yesterday, and then I woke up today and I’m a soccer mom with an SUV and two kids. WTF?!! Oh well, I’m loving every minute of it, so I can’t complain. But that doesn’t mean I plan to celebrate my 35th birthday completely sober. Needless to say, I will be writing my Thursday Thirteen early this week.

So, anyway, double birthdays, double the fun! This is birthday extravaganza week in my realm of the blogosphere, and what better way to start that off than with a little Kool & the Gang! This is the first record I ever bought with my own meager allowance – that’s right, I said RECORD. I bought the 45 single of . . . you got it! Celebration! Enjoy, everyone!!!!