MARK MY WORD: FUN AND GAMES WITH THE BIG MOUSE OVER PIZZA

Saturday was a big day: Becca turned 3.

Naturally, we had to have a big birthday bash at Chuck E. Cheese, which, I've learned, is the hot spot in town for the 3-year-old set.

It has everything that a kid would want: pizza, birthday cake, games and rides, and that big mouse of a greeter.

It's hard not to get excited about a place where the waiters and waitresses regularly break into song and dance, backed by a robotic band that includes the big rat, a purple gorilla and a hound dog.

Becca has had birthdays before, but none like this.

Becca had been looking forward to her birthday for weeks. She had talked incessantly about the big rat.

But when Saturday rolled around, she didn't want that merry mouse to get close to her. To Becca, it was a monster mouse.

She also doesn't like pizza, so we had to order her a hot dog instead.

Becca had a great time decorating the white-icing-covered chocolate cake. Part of the thrill for her was mashing the bottle of sprinkles into the icing.

Having 10 kids at a birthday party is one of those parental wonders of life that you don't want to tackle alone unless they're on the shackle program.

My wife, Joni, and I made certain that the children were accompanied by parents, who could stand watch while the kids floundered among the colored balls.

Becca did a great job of ripping up the wrapping paper. She got a bunch of presents, including Tropical Splash Ken and Barbie dolls.

They come with their own tropical aroma in a bottle. "Ken is scented!" one of the doll boxes advertised with gusto.

Fortunately, Becca can't read yet, which made it easier for us to lose the bottles before our living room could become splashed with odors.

Of course, that might have been a little hasty on our parts. In a pinch, that Ken scent might make a good after-shave. Then again, you could probably only get away with that if you were in a room full of smelly Ken and Barbie dolls.

At Becca's birthday party, we supplied the kids with tokens, which they used on rides and games.

For huge bucks you also get pizza, cake, and paper cups, plates and napkins. But then, you don't have to worry about getting chocolate cake off the walls or pizza off the carpet.

Some of the kids used their tokens to play games and collect tickets so they could buy cheap souvenirs.

Some of the adults really got into this ticket task, too. One dad managed to collect a whole string of tickets. There were so many, they cascaded all the way to the floor.

This entitled him to buy the Big Rat Toothbrush or some other equally stupendous gift.

Becca wasn't interested in tickets. She just wanted to ride the rides.

She spent a lot of time in the fire engine that rocked back and forth and made plenty of noise.

Her favorite ride, however, was the boat. She discovered she could sit in the boat and feed coin after coin into the machine. This allowed her to go boating forever.

All in all, the birthday party was a great hit. None of the children suffered life-threatening injuries and no one shot the mouse.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.