This weekend we have the pleasure of babysitting Bella who turned 2 at Thanksgiving. She is quite a delightful young lady with a rapidly-growing vocabulary and boundless energy. Tonight we decided to take her out to eat and the young fathers in my office told me the best choices were Chuck E. Cheese or a Japanese steakhouse. Since Nakato or Hinode are more our style, that’s where we headed – not thinking that 5:15 on a cold Saturday evening would mean a 45-minute wait at either place.
Burl thought that was no big deal but I quickly convinced him that a lobby full of people and no place to sit was not my idea of fun on a good night, much less while trying to entertain an energetic and hungry toddler. So that left Chuck E. Cheese! If I ever stepped foot in this place with my own kids, I have long ago forgotten the experience but now we feel like we are officially grandparents since we have mastered the circus of C.E.C.!
The quality of the pizza has us convinced that no one goes there for the food – it’s all about the entertainment opportunities for the kiddos. We know for a fact that young Julia loves it because her Uncle ‘Teve (aka Steve) takes her there but until tonight it was one grandparenting experience we had missed – but not any longer. Suffice it to say we had fun just watching Bella enjoy all the kiddie rides. Burl had her shoes off and was letting her start through the maze that climbs to the ceiling when I suggested she might be just a tad young and I didn’t think either of us could master crawling in after her if she got lost. Fortunately she couldn’t quite climb to the first level so it was a non-issue.
Her parents left last evening to catch a flight from St. Louis to New York City to pick up an SUV they bought on eBay – then drive it home from Connecticut. Now buying a car on eBay may not sound too bad but when it’s 1400 miles away in January and on the east coast to boot, I think it’s a bit iffy that everything will go as planned. By 9:00 last evening the first plan had fallen by the wayside – the flight from St. L. was cancelled since it was going through an ice-covered Atlanta – but it was re-scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (arriving at LaGuardia at 10:15 p.m.!) so even though I searched alternatives (including driving to Chicago or Memphis to get a different/better flight option), they decided to go for the late afternoon plan.
And then that flight was cancelled too! Last we heard, Brian was on a later flight to JFK, will get the SUV and head for home later tonight while Cindy is staying in St. L. and will drive back in the morning. Sure hope the SUV meets or exceeds expectations after all this but they insist the savings off local used car prices plus the low mileage on the car warranted the hassle and expense of these arrangements.
For now Bella is sound asleep and I’m pooped – taking care of a 2 year-old is exhausting!
You are braver than I, stepping foot inside Chuck E. Cheese. Eek! I would have taken her to Arris but hey, I wasn’t babysitting!
Hope the car works out for Cindy and Brian after all this work.