No. Not Disney World. The Place with the Other Mouse.

So it's day three of Natalie and Connor's spring break. So far this week, we've managed to clean the house, do some laundry, get sick, puke a little, do some more laundry and watch Noggin 27 hours a day.

Fun times.

That's a lie.

Today, in a last-ditch effort to escape the walls of this abode, which are caving in on me like ... well, like something that caves in dramatically and with flair, we went to Rat E. Fromage. (Hat tip to the talented Mr. Lileks.)

Purposefully scheduling a trip to CEC during spring break week might be one of the sure signs of insanity. To say it was busy would be an understatement. I think the Skeeball games might have been spitting out full-grown children instead of tickets.

But it got us out of the house. For that, I am grateful. And we got to see one of my favorite people in the world -- my friend Sonjia. She lives in the small town we left last August. I don't get to be with her nearly as much these days, which makes my heart hurt a little. I'll do just about anything to sit in a room with her for a few hours and talk face to face.

So. My observations about Chuck E. Cheese?

1. It's great training for a future generation of gambling addicts. I saw scores of kids standing near the "bonus ticket" games, feeding tokens in one after another with a completely blank look on their faces. They didn't even watch to see what or if they had won . They just kept shoving in small gold disks. It's like the little old ladies who play the slots machines in Vegas have found the Fountain of Youth, only they couldn't shake their bad habits. Now there's a horror movie someone needs to make. (Can't be any worse than "Rock Monster.") (Seriously.)

2. Did you know Chuck E. now sings classic '80s tunes during his twice-hourly shows? 'Tis true. I was slightly disturbed to realize A-Ha's "Take On Me" was being sung by a six-foot-tall mouse. But I guess CEC knows their audience -- and the age of their audience's parents.

3. The pizza at CEC is really pretty good. I'm as stunned as you are. But I'm dead serious here. (Notice how I avoided saying seriously there? Thank you.) I even took home the leftovers. If that admission makes you like me less, I'm sorry.

4. China has found a new buyer for their lead-infused toys, and it is CEC. The vast amounts of crapola they have available for ticket redemption is truly astounding. Naturally, kids love it. Natalie got the following for her 78 tickets:
















Oh! And this fetching jewel in her hair.
















But in the end, the noise and the chaos and the KIDS EVERYWHERE and the large rodents butchering some of the best music in the world -- none of that mattered. Because while I was talking to Sonjia, my kids crept up and placed this in front of me:
















They made it for me -- blurry smiles and all -- "because we know you love us."

Yep. Totally worth it.