What is it with kids and rodents? I mean think about all of the rodents that are childhood heros/adorable cutesy figures. Let me name a few of the most notable ones from my era just in case you can’t think of one . . . Mighty Mouse, Rocky the Squirrel, Tom (of Tom and Jerry), Speedy Gonzales, Splinter from TMNT, Chip and Dale, Alvin, Simon, Theodore (doot, doot, dooot doot doot), . . . today we have Emile and Remy from Ratatouille (that movie totally grossed me out since they were cooking and floating in the pots . . . EWWW!) and of course the pair of mice that transcends time and space Mickey and Minnie. Seriously, something that would normally send you howling if you saw it on your kitchen floor is supposed to be cute, cuddly, and fun to play with?
Anyway, one of the eldest princess’ favs on her birthday involves a rat – Chuck E. Cheese. Now the Queen could blog endlessly on her disdain for the germ infested pit that is Chuck E. Cheese’s. Screaming kids, crappy food, dirty dirty dirty, fights in the ball pit, and goofy little trinkets that you could have bought at the store for 1/18th of the price that you spent on games trying to win tickets to get them. What an utter waste of your hard earned cash. The King describes it as Vegas for the under 10 crowd. Still there is something strangely magical about the place for the kids (and who doesn’t LOVE skeeball? and even the King had a birthday party there at age 25). Go here and sign up for Chuck E. Cheese coupons (be sure to use your I don’t care how much spam I get e-mail account b/c they send it a lot in the beginning) and you can get a special gift for your kid. We’ve also just walked in off of the street and told them it was the princess’ birthday (it really was, we weren’t lying) and she got a crown, a balloon, and a token for every year. Happy Birthday to your kids and maybe Chuck E. and his band will sing a song to help you celebrate.
www.queenoffree.net



