Overstim

Today was pretty much a disaster. As The Dad said, it's pretty sad when the best part of your day was sitting in the dentist's chair having your teeth drilled and your cavities filled.

The Boy was invited to a classmate's birthday party, which was held at Go Bananas in Harwood Heights. I took him, and both The Baby and The Girl tagged along. I had never been there before, although the birthday boy had told me that it was like Pump It Up and Chuck E. Cheese. When we arrived, I realized that it was most like Aurora's Enchanted Castle, which The Dad has dubbed "enchanted headache."

It was an overstimulation special. Everything there was done to the hilt - music, games, rides, flashing lights, candy, kids running around. An hour into it, I had a screaming headache and was wondering how I could make a graceful exit. (Un)fortunately, The Girl gave me the out. After spending $9 for a toddler wristband so that The Girl could ride the flying banana ride, she freaked out and was inconsolable for a good 20 minutes, through pizza and cake and singing to the birthday boy. So, we had to cut out of there.

I think the trouble started with the flying banana ride. At the end, the attendant took everyone else out, but left The Girl strapped in. She could not get out herself, and it was too loud in there to get the attendant's attention. The Girl was also at the furthest point from the exit, so few people could see her. I heard and saw her crying, but it took about a minute until the attendant could go back to let The Girl out. She perked up a bit when it was party-specific time, but she basically cried for 20 minutes straight and just wanted to go home. I was going to take her outside and leave The Boy in the care of the birthday party parents, but he freaked out about that, so we all just left.

On the way out to the car, The Boy asked me if he could have his birthday party next year. Um, no.