Chuck E Cheese Phobia

A few weeks ago it was my grandaughter Alexandra's birthday. It was on a Saturday. When it comes to my four oldest grandaughters, there is usually no need to ask where they would like to go for a bit of celebration.

Chuck E Cheese.

I am pretty sure that if little Elisabeth, my baby grandaughter, was able to voice an opinion she would also say Chuck E Cheese. She can't of course. But I think she still enjoys when we all go there.

Well, as I pointed out, Lex's Birthday, sadly, just happened to be on a Saturday. I'm pretty sure that any of you with children can see what I'm getting at here.

You do NOT go to Chuck E Cheese on a Saturday.

If you value your sanity, this is one of those things that you just won't do. I guess it had been a while since the Sorenson Family decided to brave going there on Saturday. We (mostly Lisa and Donald, it was their idea) had totally forgotten what a mad house that place turns into on the weekends.

Due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, Courtney and I ended up being the first ones there. Courtney wanted to go next door to check out some new little store that she had never noticed before. She promised to join me at The Cheese when she was done.

I hate entering that place on my own.

Being the doting grandma that I am, I steeled myself and went inside to stake out a long table in the back party room. The party room, for the most part, is the only space in the place that I can tolerate for any length of time.

It's usually fairly calm in there. If you can ignore the silly looking animatronics of all the C E C characters who come to mechanical life every few minutes.

Other than that the back party room isn't too bad.

After all, what sane child would be happy with cheap looking, animatronic characters, singing ridiculous songs, that you can barely hear over the mechanized movements of their, badly in need of a good oiling, joints and limbs.

I mean, really?

The rest of the place after all, is one non stop collection of games, rides, tickets, noise and more commotion than the Senate floor while debating Health Care.

I was worried when I walked into the party room and saw that there were at least seven different parties going on already. Fortunately (I thought) there were quite a few empty tables. I went to the first one to put down my purse and jacket to show that I was claiming some Sorenson territory.

That's when I noticed that the table was sporting a smallish white RESERVED sign. That's ok, that's alright, there are a few other empty tables I'll just go grab one of them.

Next table? RESERVED sign. And the next and the next.

I finally saw that the last one didn't have a RESERVED sign. I raced over to claim it. As I was sitting down and trying to take up as much, stay away from here, room as I could with one jacket and one purse,

( I even considered using my shoes too. Hey, those are long tables)

just as I was getting ready to call Lisa and declare victory, I happened to look a little bit closer towards the other end of the table.

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

There it was, tipped over so I hadn't noticed it, the dreaded RESERVED sign.

I wasn't sure what to do with this information. Alexandra really had her newly 6 year old heart set on spending her big day with Chuck and Friends. I decided to make the supreme sacrifice and go to the BIG room (the one with all the fun and NOISE) and score a couple of booths for us all in there.

We need at least two of those booths to hold us all.

I entered the torture, er, Fun and Games room. After the fourth of at least twenty kids had rammed into me, I saw, (to my great relief?) that there were not only not two booths together, there wasn't even a two seater available.

Oh so sad.

I called Donald and Lisa. Thinking I would never catch them before they left, thinking they might even be just pulling into the parking lot by now. They weren't. They were still home.

I have forgotten just how long it can take to go somewhere with three young children, one of them a baby.

Lisa answered, and I gave her the, um, unfortunate? news that good old Chuckie had NO room for us.

I admit. I did feel sorry for Lex, not getting to do the Cheese thing on her birthday. A plan B was definitely needed here. It was decided to go to one of the girl's other favorite places.

IHOP.

Courtney (who had joined me by now) and I didn't really feel like making it an IHOP night.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Shawn and Don were coming separately in Don's car. I had to call Don and tell him Chuck E Cheese was a no go. Thank goodness he actually had his phone turned on.

If this is starting to look like everything was about to get very complicated you would be right.

Let me put the whole situation in easy to follow terms:

Courtney and I were ready to leave C E C to go to IHOP.
Courtney told me that she just wanted to go home. She was NOT in the mood for IHOP.
Don, by now, had gotten my call and was headed to IHOP.
Donald and Lisa were, just now ready to leave home and drive to IHOP.
I caught them right before they left.
I told them that Courtney and I were most likely going to go home instead of IHOP.
Alexandra was not happy that I might not be there.
Don called and told me that he and Shawn were waiting at IHOP.
Believe it or not Donald and Lisa had arrived at IHOP at the same time I was talking to Don.

Obviously Donald was driving.

I told Don that Courtney and I would join them in just a few.
Courtney and I arrived at IHOP.
Courtney let it be known again that she just wanted to go home.
Shawn on the other hand had been promised an evening out at IHOP. He wasn't going anywhere.
After much discussion, it was decided that Shawn and I would stay and do IHOP.
It was further decided that Don and Courtney would go home.
Don't feel bad for Don.
He endures eating out, but if given the chance to escape, he will take it.

So final score.

Donald, Lisa, three little girls, Susan (or should I say Grandma) and Shawn. IHOP.
Don and Courtney. HOME.

We had a lovely time at IHOP by the way. The waitress was wonderful. I told her a very short version of the story of, why we were there and not at Chuck E Cheese's. So she spent the whole time making our visit as wonderful as she could.

She was tipped accordingly of course.

We ate. Alexandra opened presents. Lorelai was a very good girl and didn't get too jealous. Elisabeth was as sweet and dear as she always is. We had lots of lively conversation. We had a really good time.

And then we went home.

Next year Lex's birthday will not be on a Saturday. I believe that will put it on Sunday. (Is it a leap year? I never know these things.) If it's on a Sunday I guess we will most likely go see Chuckie on Monday. Lorelai's, (again assuming no leap year) will be on a Monday too. So I guess October of 09, Chuck and Co. will be seeing a little bit more of our family.

Until then I will just keep cutting out those C E C coupons that are so often on the back page of Tuesday's D section.

After all, you never know when everyone will suddenly decide that an evening out at the Cheese Place would be a good thing to do.