A birthday I hope he remembers forever

We did it. We successfully pulled off a birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's. There were no melt-downs. Not one, single fit of tears. No one got drunk; I didn't even get my glass of wine. We didn't lose any kids, or adults. Our little plastic cups ranneth over with tokens. The Birthday Boy walked out with 1803 tickets, bags full of awesome toys and goodies. The final bill was actually less than expected.

It was one of the best parties I've EVER been to; as an adult, as a kid. In my life. It's partly just because I could never have one like that as a kid. And knowing how much Phoenix wanted this "perfect party". It definitely had something to do with the awesome people who came to celebrate with us and being able to get him the ONE present he really, really, really wanted didn't hurt either.

We got there fifteen minutes early, which was good because they were grossly busy. You know that kind of anxiety-inducing busy you see at some of the must-go-to birthday party joints? Yeah, that kind of busy. I told the gal up front we were there and she started getting our tables ready. We waited in the car, hyping the kids up and watching for family & friends. Jay's mom & step-dad didn't see us in the parking lot and went in ahead of us so we figured it was time to go in too. I took presents and cake to the table & Jay waited with Phoenix for his 'escort', -- GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER. I'm talking about my seven year old son's birthday party here -- a special procession for him headed by a giant balloon with his name on it that I'm pretty sure we left behind. Oops.

Jay's brother, Mike came with his wife, Darla, and their kids Dylan & Sydney and Jay's grandparents brought our 'cousin' Annie. She's five or six and more like a niece than a cousin but she's Jay's aunt's daughter, which makes her a cousin. Then we met our hostess, got tokens and RELEASED THE CHILDREN. We ordered pizza and soda for the grown folk. It's not as bad as it used to be and is better than some of the chains we've been known to frequent. Our friends Jeff & Angela brought Angela's son, Andrew and our friend Carrie came with her son Aiden, one of Phoenix's BEST friends. Monica brought baby Johnny and Carrie's little sister Jordan, who's seventeen. It was one big, happy family and I loved it.

Party Time! Photo by Monica =)

Pizza came and we rounded up all the wee ones. We did cake and the kids got to dance on stage with Chuck E. Cheese. Phoenix got to go in the Ticket Blaster, where he could win up to 1,000 tickets! He went crazy and it was hilarious to watch. I'll post a video on the FB page. When our hostess opened it to let him out with his haul, she quickly ducked in and snagged him a few extras, including the Big 1,000 ticket prize. It was super sweet and awesome.

It was back out to the games and time for the part Jay & I were most scared of, all night -- the final bill came. She handed Jay a receipt he couldn't decipher and told him all she needed was x dollars. When he told me what the final amount was, I was SHOCKED. In a good way. It was less than I'd expected! We were now without a hostess, other than myself, so things went a little whack-ass for a minute. I soon realized it was all on me and I remembered the one thing every birthday has that we still hadn't done yet: PRESENTS.

I rounded everyone up and gathered all the cameras & Phoenix went nuts. He got Batman LEGOS, coloring books and crayons, clothes, a CAP GUN and CAPS (Thank you SO MUCH, Carrie!), an Avengers sword and shield, yo-yos, a Marvels poster and so much more. We saved the Big One for last and honestly, I think maybe we should have waited til we got home to let him open it b/c he wanted to play it right then and there. I don't know how he was surprised when he saw it was a Nintendo DSi and games when that's all he's been asking for since JULY but somehow, he was. I won't even lie and say I didn't get emotional throughout the night. I did. A lot. I kept myself together though and didn't actually cry or sob.

By this time, we were finishing our third hour of non-stop fun, the grand-folks had gone home and the tokens had finally run dry. Kids were getting tired. Parents were exhausted.

Everyone was happy.

We started to split up and go our own ways; the last of us looking real classy with our cars parked sideways in the lot, all our doors open as we said our final good-byes. It was wonderful and so. much. fun. We let Phoenix build his LEGOS when we got home so we could get everything else put away, tucked them both into bed and let out a huge sigh.

We did it. We pulled off one the best, most-memorable birthday parties ever. Yes, he's only seven and yes, there are many more to come but I know this one will be one he remembers.

A visit to Chuck's

Last Sunday, Paxton attended his first birthday party. Not HIS first party because, well, he's two and a half. It was his best friend's party & the first party that Paxton has been invited to, outside of the family.


When we moved in here last year, I wasn't thrilled. Until I met John & Monica next door. They're great neighbors, awesome friends and their baby, Johnny, is six months younger than Paxton. The two of them quickly became friends and when Monica invited us to Johnny's second birthday party, I knew Paxton had to be there. I'm sure he doesn't understand or appreciate the significance of attending his first friends' birthday party but I do & I didn't want to deal with the guilt of letting him miss out on it, even if he won't remember that I did.


Then I found out it was at Chuck E. Cheese's and I panicked. 'Oh no,' I thought, 'this is going to be interesting.'


Chuck E. Cheese's is awesome. For kids. For parents, it's a living nightmare. 


Kids running loose, screaming for tokens. Wallets & purses quickly leaking out those hard-earned dollars. Pizza that taste like cardboard. Frantic searches for presumably-lost children, who, in fact, were in the giant overhead tunnel system. The disappointment of never having enough tickets for that really wicked prize.


I've done Chuck E. Cheese's. I know what it's going to be like. I tried to talk Jay into going with me but it appears that my powers of persuasion aren't all that powerful. I couldn't blame him for not being totally thrilled at the idea so I took a deep breath, pulled on my Mommy Pants and headed out, prepared for battle.


I was lucky enough to walk in as Monica & John were ordering pizza at the front so after the boys & I got our matching black light stamps, they showed us where the party was set up. As soon as Monica handed them each a cup of tokens, it was ON. I let Phoenix go his own way. He's six; he can handle this. Paxton, on the other hand, is still just a toddler. He might look like a four year old but he's not. So I trailed after him for about 30-45 minutes, shoving tokens in games he'd play for about 20-30 seconds before losing interest and running off to find another one. I was sweating, panicking every time I lost sight of him behind a game. I was getting frustrated. I was NOT having fun.


Then I remembered -- I'm at Chuck E Cheese's. The place where a kid can be a kid. The place where a GROWN UP can be a kid. -- and they gave me these handy little black light stamps so NO ONE can walk out of here with my kids, EXCEPT ME. They're perfectly safe. I relaxed. I let Paxton run free and enjoyed myself. He didn't care if the game he was 'playing' was actually working. In fact, he freaked out when I stuck a token in one of the rides he was sitting in -- apparently, he was not expecting it to start moving. He was just overwhelmed by all the sights & sounds. He had to touch everything, had to keep going so he didn't miss anything. It was really pretty awesome to watch.


Phoenix was having a BLAST, playing with all of Monica's nieces & nephews and her little sister, Savannah. The kids were playing games together, running through the tunnel system, just going crazy. After a little while, we gathered them in for pizza & cake then opened up presents. Johnny LOVES Iron Man so it wasn't a huge shock to see just about every Iron Man toy possible in his haul. After the presents were done, the kids were back on the floor. John's dad, Big John, slipped me a five for tokens and someone was making sure the kids always had a few in their cups, which was beyond awesome. 


I even forgot about the coupon I had in my purse for 20 free tokens. 


Between everyone doling out tokens & the quarters I brought, I didn't need to use it OR spend any real money. By the time the tokens ran out, it was 6:30 and we'd been there for TWO HOURS. 


I didn't lose a kid. 
I didn't go broke. 
I ate and enjoyed the pizza. 


I. Had. Fun.


I rounded up the boys and we headed for the prize counter. We'd hauled in almost 400 tickets and they loaded up with inflatable mini guitars, slinkies and candy. We said our good byes and made it out the door with surprisingly little fuss. Phoenix skipped to the car, exclaiming how much fun he'd had & how much he wanted to go back.


We got home & looked over the booty they'd gotten with Dad then went up for a bath. The topic of conversation until we tucked them into bed was, of course, how awesome Chuck E. Cheese's was and I'll agree, it was really fun. So much fun that I'm pretty sure I'd be a horrible mom if I didn't have Phoenix's 7th birthday there, this December. 


Looks like it's time to start planning. And saving...