Another day at the rat palace
My oldest daughter wanted to have her birthday at the Chuck-E-Cheese again this year. I tried to talk her out of it but she had her heart set. The school requires that we invite every kid in her class if she hands out invitations at all, which I can partially understand.
We never know who to expect, but thankfully for my daughters sake, 5 or 6 of her classmates showed up. One mother brought her teenage daughter as well and started acting bossy and crass. I hate it when people bring extra kids that don't even know my kid and expect us to feed them and give them game tokens. For the sake of being a good host, I just kept my mouth shut.
What is it with people? Our kids don't particularly look like us. They are small, petite and brown while I am tall and my wife and I have light skin. Everyone has to make a big deal over this fact and go on and on how my daughters are 7 and 8 years old and weigh 40 pounds.
It's like they are trying to get us to explain ourselves. It's none of their fucking business that we adopted neglected malnourished, abused, children of Hispanic descent. Why am I expected to make excuses for the way they look? I just don't say anything and the nosy assholes get really frustrated not knowing what the deal is.
.
I don't make comments about their 8 year old being 30 pounds overweight and having unwashed hair. Maybe next time I will.
There are three different types of mothers that bring kids to these parties. One type brings their kids because they are really best friends at school and the child begs to go, another brings their kid because they want someone to show up when they give a birthday party, another is a professionally party goer that goes to every single one and camps out with their cross stitch or a book and doesn't speak a word to anyone, and the last type drops their kid off and goes shopping.
I'm pretty new to this kid party thing but I'm learning.
What really pisses me off is the mother that shows up 30 minutes late after the party is over to pick up her kid like it's nothing. Assholes...
My daughter had a good time and enjoyed her friends and gifts so I guess that's all that matters.
posted by Bill Rowland @ December 10, 2007
34 Comments
34 Comments:
Hmm, your last line is of course the most important one.
I loathe Chucky but I try and go with the flow. So saying it's a great improvement on when they were smaller - 20 children, assorted brothers and sisters plus one or more parents all in your own home for an indefinite period of time and very hungry. Eek!
Cheers
This is my calling card or link"Whittereronautism"until blogger comments get themselves sorted out.
People! All kinds of inconsiderates out there! I can relate about your kids looking different than you. We are all brown hair and brown eyes. My son is blonde hair blue eyes. We have received the same ignorant thoughtless comments before... I just tell them that my wife had an affair ... Didn't go over too well when my wife discovered what I was saying though! :-)
We had the same rule last year when Kora was in school. We had to make invitations for the whole class and one kid from her class showed up plus a little girl down the street I felt sorry for. She didnt have any friends so I invited her and now I know why she didnt have any friends... She had lice... Yikes..
Lice! Yikes.
Anyway, I have watched my niece go through this too, anything you do Christmas cards, Valentines, they make you do if for everyone in the class. They even have a rule that on your birthday you must bring the entire class cupcakes! What the heck is that?
But you are right, in the end the children don't notice the things the adults do. As long as they have fun that is all that matters.
Lice! Yikes.
Anyway, I have watched my niece go through this too, anything you do Christmas cards, Valentines, they make you do if for everyone in the class. They even have a rule that on your birthday you must bring the entire class cupcakes! What the heck is that?
But you are right, in the end the children don't notice the things the adults do. As long as they have fun that is all that matters.
Oh yah, the wonderful world of kiddie birthday parties! FUN!! FUN!!
First off, I am very impressed that you were willing to foot the Chuck E. Cheese bill for the entire class incase they all did show up! And as for someone bringing their OLDER child??? WHAT?? That's nuts! Inconsiderate!
I think you and your wife are modern day heros for adopting your girls! You didn't wait around for the perfect white little baby boy or girl but rather you stepped in and RESCUED these girls and gave your lives for these precious daughters you have! That is awesome! I am sure they have blessed you 100X over too! :0)
Let me add...I was not trying to say that the white baby boy or girl was "perfect" and your daughters are not. Nor is that wrong to do...just wanted to commend you both. ah, why do we have to be so politically correct anyway??? You know what I meant...right? :0)
You are one helluva guy for not saying anything to those people.
Maybe you should have planned answers for these questions, but really ridiculous or shocking ones. "Our kids don't look like us cuz we stole them."
Yes, it's all about the kids. I think the all-inclusiveness of the class rule is stupid. As it was, I always had to limit the number of kids or I'd go broke and mad. (Course with twins, there were twice as many kids anyway).
And expectations for parties are higher now too - man I'm glad I don't have to throw a kid's party.
Whatever happened to the simple party at home with hotdogs and dumb party games like musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey?
Never ever in my life been to a chuckee cheese, and reading this makes me very glad of that.
You forgot the ones that never responded to your RSVP so that you can have a head count and they show up anyway as if nothing happened.
I am so with you on this post Hammer. I can relate.
Flyinfox_SATX
Didn't you do this once before? Since you did chucky chesse this time, cross it off the list of places to go. Or invest in chucky chesse!
we did plenty of birthday parties at fun places...but I could never EVER agree to the Pizza Rat. That place would make me crazy.
Youch. I can't say I've experienced any of this in the 11 years I have been throwing my kid birthday parties. I did have a mom drop off the older sibling at a skate party...but she paid for the skate fee and explained to the older sibling that she was not a part of the party. OF COURSE after that kind gesture, I was sure to give the kid a piece of cake and a goodie bag because I had extra.
That's just not right, bringing a teenage sibling to Chuck E. Cheese's and not offer to pay for their food/tokens. I would've made her work for it by babysitting the kid who's mom showed up 30 min late!
Hammer,
Glad that your daughter had a good time and enjoyed her friends and gifts.
People show you who they are all the time - both with their questions - and with their party related behavior.
Some is admirable, some suck. It's weird what people think is acceptable, as if they don't realize or care how rude they are.
The only thing worse than kid's birthday parties, is being a scout leader. ALL the parents show up 30 minutes late, every.damned.week! Then, some parents drop a younger sibling off with their scout. :(
Well all I have to say is HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a wonderful, and well-loved kid.
as you know, I just gave my kids their first party ever. The parents were great, helping with the painting and anything the kids needed. I suggest doing something smaller and with your daughter with a select few friends...just call on the phone for the invite and mail invites, which is what I did to keep it discreet as we have the same policy in school for inviting all the kids or none at all.
Yeah, I hate judgmental people. It is one thing to think it but another to project it onto others, verbalize it, discuss it, whatever...I feel that especially when kids are concerned, it hurts the kids the most.
I am glad your daughter had a good time. Parents that are inconsiderate like that totally piss me off too...I don't blame you at all..(although I will mention dads are just as guilty of this as Mom's..lmao)
Oh the joys of birthday parties...Wait until she wants a slumber party and then the fun really begins.
Those kid parties can be painful. We're long past those days at our house, but every once in a while, one of the kids will say, "Remember that year we had my birthday party at...." and then I know it was all worthwhile.
exactly...as long as your daughter had a good time...thats all that matters.
I'm with you 150% on this one.
I've been fortunate that we haven't ventured into a party with classmates yet, two months from now will be our first.
I'm dreading it already.
I refuse to eat food made by a rat or a clown. I'm too old to tolerate the noise level in those places anyway. Happy birthday to daughter!!
Sounds like you're learning The Rules as practiced by parents. At least it makes for great blog fodder! :-)
too bad you couldn't just invite the kids and leave the asshole parents at home!
be glad about the chuckster - when they get to be in their teens, they want to go to places like "red lobster" and "olive garden"...
my husband is a lily white hick and i'm a native/irish olive tone - one is like me and the other like him (porcelain skin) and people have always had to comment - when our "darkie" smiles in the summer, sometimes all you can see are his teeth!
Yes, as long as your daughter enjoyed it.....
Peace
Happy birthday to the sweet little one, she is lucky to have such a funny daddy.
I did Chuck E Cheese one year. Never again. Never ever ever.
Good Lord I hated it when my girls had parties as kids. What a nightmare.
Lovely Wife is tougher than me, and would call down kids as necessary and even the mothers if they said something stupid. I'm a human door mat and tend to allow the little monsters to run over me, up to a point at least.
Even if you would have preferred another setting, it was sweet of you to let her have her party at Chuck E Cheese. :)
I hate the Cheese Place.
I so glad that the AntiChrist has given up that place. I used to call it the "Germ Pit", because everytime we were there, at least 1/2 of the kids had runny noses and colds.
(really this no joke, on the way home I used to wipe us down with hand sanitizer...we then smelled like pizza and handsanitizer, YUM!)
What???? What??? I can't hear you???because I've lost most of what was left of my hearing at the "Germ Pit" it is LOUD! You can tell it is loud when you walk in and are hit by the sound waves.
Sorry, sounding so OLD and UnFUN.
The fact that you gave your daughter what she wanted on her birthday matters most, but I have to say that I am blown away by some of the crap people say when they think they see a physical difference between parent & child. I remember once as a kid being asked about the differences between me & my brother. I said well 'I look like Mom & he looks like Dad, but he's adopted.' My friend said 'Oh ok. So, what is he?' Lol, I said 'Ah-Ah-Adopted.' She said 'I know...but,what is he?' Even though we were just kids, I was blown away by such a stupid question. Finally, after I made her clarify, I said 'American.' Whattya wanna bet, she probably had been asked about it by her Mother?
Post a Comment
Welcome back
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home