Happy Birthday, Cheese God & Link Up On the Edge #295
We celebrated Archie’s 11th birthday this past weekend, a week late due to some scheduling conflicts. My children’s birthday cakes have become a thing of jokes and humor ever since Ralph’s coronavirus cake back in March of 2020. I have never been one to throw big elaborate birthday parties for my children. I have kept it simple with pizza and cake at my house since the beginning. But I have always indulged their silly cake whims and therefore I splurge on the cake from our favorite local baker who shall remain unnamed and untagged in this post upon her request. We both recognize that Archie’s “Cheese God” cake may be a bit offensive in a nonsecular realm and we do not want her excellent name to be marred by our harmless cake orders.
You may be wondering why Cheese God? Well, it’s Archie’s screen name in his virtual reality games and it makes me laugh every time I hear the other kids in the game yelling “Cheese God”. I wanted to get him a tee shirt with some of kind Cheese God image on it so I went searching online for free images. I couldn’t find any but I stumbled upon this Cheese God Drawception page where a user named DefaultBoi376 shared their drawing that I would eventually steal. But I’m not a very good thief and I like to give credit where credit is due. The Cheese God artwork on the cake was created by DefaultBoi367 and copied by the baker onto Archie’s cake. I never did order a tee shirt for Archie though because using a stolen graphic in that case feels really bad! At least we could just eat the evidence when it was on the cake! By the way, the cake was Archie’s favorite, chocolate with coconut filling and buttercream icing.
When the kids were younger, I would have combined birthday parties for them. They are 22 1/2 months apart in age with 6 weeks between their birthdays so we would celebrate together right in the middle. They shared all the same friends as well so it made super easy for everyone to have only one party. Now that they are older, they don’t share all the same friends anymore, although they do still have many friends in common. And they also are starting to really appreciate and enjoy “experience” birthday parties which is cool with me. They may cost a little more but they are still so easy to do and then we generally meet for pizza and cake at our house afterwards.
Since we had just played Virtual Reality for Ralph’s birthday, Archie wanted to do something different even though I still have $350 in VR credit! He chose an Escape the Mystery Room experience where we had to Escape from Alcatraz. They locked me and another mom with 6 kids into a room with some of the most incomprehensible clues I have ever seen and then gave us 50 minutes to find our way out. However, we ended up getting some extra time when the Mystery Room employee accidentally locked herself in with us and had to make some phone calls to get herself out! But even with the extra time, we did not manage to escape from Alcatraz.
We let them out anyway because everyone was getting wildly hungry. I picked up pizzas on the way home and then in the middle of the it all, Archie asks me if he could change his party to a sleepover! He caught me off guard, put me on the spot, and I agreed. Although we did send the girls home before bedtime. I rearranged the couches into a giant couch pit, filled it with pillows and blankets, and hid in my room for the rest of the night. Jeff made chocolate chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and then I sent them all home by 10:00 a.m. It was Mother’s Day after all and I wanted some peace for myself after giving all those other moms the morning off! You’re welcome.
Other than a few dramatic outbursts of 11 year old boy hormones and one puking incident from eating too much junk food, the sleepover was a success. However, I think I will make him wait at least 2 years for the next one!
Have you ever hosted sleepover parties for your kids? Do have stories or tips to share on the topic? I hope you all have the most wonderful weekend!
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36 Comments
Joanne
My kids had a few sleepovers but mostly just my oldest and he usually only had 2 or 3 friends sleepover so they’d all pile into his room and it’s at the other end of the house so it wasn’t too bad. We did try an escape room once and almost didn’t make it out in time only because we could not for the life of us remember how to use a combination lock!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh my gosh, Joanne, this is such a fun comment! We only had 3 boys sleep over with my 2 so 5 total which wasn’t too bad. Ralph went to bed in his room around 9:30 so it was just the 4 older ones and they didn’t bug me much either once I got them all settled in. I do need to get their bedroom and game room makeovers finished though so I can send them in there the next time! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Kathrine Eldridge
What a cute cake and I love escape rooms! We did one for Mother’s Day. Thanks so much for the link up!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Kathrine! How fun that you did an escape room for Mother’s Day! Although, I have to admit that I am not a fan of escape rooms at all. First of all, I do not like being locked in a room. It freaks me out! And second, I get so frustrated very quickly that it makes it stressful instead of fun. Haha. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Mica - Away From The Blue
Sounds like a fun birthday! 🙂 I always try make my kids cakes myself so they never turn out any good, haha! I keep saying next year I’ll buy one but they haven’t complained yet about them so I might just get away with my poor decorating attempts for a little while longer, haha!
Thanks for the link up! Hope you are having a good week. It’s another rainy one here!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Mica! I actually can bake pretty decent cakes but I cannot decorate at all! I think I never really even tried for their birthdays. But heck, if your kids are cool with your homemade birthday cakes, why would you change anything?! I hope you have a wonderful weekend despite the rain. We actually are expecting fabulous weather this weekend for a change!
xoxo
Shelbee
Michele Morin
Wonderful that you know your kids so well and, really, there’s nothing like an inside joke!!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Michele! My kids have very strange senses of humor but I suppose they come by it honestly! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jill
I’ve never done an escape room. It sounds like a fun party! Don’t you love it when your kids put you on the spot like that? Glad the sleepover was a success!
Jill – Doused in Pink
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Jill! I am not a fan of escape rooms myself. I don’t like being locked in a room and I am not great at figuring out the clues! But the kids had fun and that’s what is important! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jennifer
Sounds like a fun time. I’ve always wanted to do an escape room!
Jennifer
Curated by Jennifer
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Jennifer! You should definitely try it! I am not a fan but the kids had fun!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
Oh I think the boys had the most amazing time. What a fantastic birthday party! The cake is…..uh let’s say unique!! Ha ha, I love your boys quirky taste
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Haha, thanks so much, Nancy! I hope you have a fabulous weekend and an amazing vacation!
xoxo
Shelbee
Laurie
Sounds like a fun time Shelbee xx
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Laurie! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Di
What a great cake and wonderful birthday memories for your boys! I have never done an escape room. It sounds like fun for the kids. I know it’s all a game and you are not stuck in that room for real, but I’m with you. I think the whole experience would be more anxiety producing than fun for me! Enjoy your weekend and thanks for sharing!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Di! I definitely had to talk myself out of an anxiety attack when the girl first got locked inside with us! And it gets really loud in the small rooms with all the kids chattering and yelling at each other. Definitely not my cup of tea. I had intended on staying outside and letting the kids do it alone, but apparently an adult has to go in with them if they are under 13. But we definitely created a fun memory! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, my friend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Lucy Bertoldi
This sounds so fun- and th name is too much! He’s so original! And Happy belated Birthday to him xx
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Lucy! I try to indulge their strange senses of humor the best I can just as they indulge mine! I hope you have a lovely weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
ratnamurti
Am still giggling after reading this most delightful of posts. You really are such a fantastic mother. And, I was a favourite!!!! OMG!!! I was so thrilled to see that, thank you
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Haha, thanks so much, Ratnamurti! I really appreciate that. I try to illustrate for my kids the benefits of living in the moment and rolling with the flow! Jeff teaches them how to plan and budget. Ha. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Sally in St Paul
I absolutely LOVE the Cheese God cake…it’s quirky and fun, and hopefully people will understand it’s an inside joke in your family and is all in good fun. Though I do have to say, it’s providing some evidence that perhaps Jesus is a Packers fan since he’s wearing a cheesehead hat! And when you start crossing religion with football, you can find yourself in controversial territory 😀
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
OMG, Sally, I am laughing so hard at this comment! We are very familiar with the controversies that come with religion and football! Haha. I remember my grandfather always insisted that God was a Penn State fan because the sky is blue and white. So fun! I hope you have an amazing weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
Oh, I’m betting you’re the cool mom that all of the other kids are always talking about!! Pizza, cake, and puking…all the ingredients of a successful birthday party! Seriously, though, what a fun time, and I love how you just roll with it all! But, I honestly don’t think I could do an escape room. Just the though makes me begin to hyperventilate…I don’t even like short elevator rides!
Thanks for the link party!!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Marsha! The kids do always seem to want to hang out at my house! Haha. I am not a fan of escape rooms either. And then when the girl locked herself in with us by accident, I really had to talk myself out of a panic attack! I hate being locked in any spaces even if it is a huge space. Being locked in freaks me the hell out! I was trapped in an elevator for two hours once and it was absolutely horrible. And I got locked in the Torrid bathroom when I worked there a few years ago. The lock and handle broke on the big industrial door on the storage room bathroom. I was stuck in there for about 45 minutes. Ultimately the fire department had to come and chop me out with an axe! For real. These insane things seem to happen with much more frequency to me than to others. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Laura Bambrick
The night before Mother’s Day you agreed to a sleepover? You are a SAINT! I hope they spoiled you on your day! Sounds like a fun experience with the escape room-well maybe funny? I had to laugh when I saw the employee locked herself in! Haha!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Laura! Oh getting locked in the escape room with the employee was so funny and totally something that would happen to me and not someone else! I feel like I get locked in places more often than is fair! Haha I did get spoiled on Mother’s Day after I sent all the kids home. Our BFF came over and he made dinner for us while I lounged around like a lump the rest of the day!
xoxo
Shelbee
Michelle
Ha! Cheese God! I love it! Looks like Archie had a fabulous birthday. So funny that the employee had to call for help to get out of the escape room.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Hahaha, thanks, Michelle! I swear these kinds of crazy things happen to me more frequently than to others!
xoxo
Shelbee
Michelle
Also, imagine my surprise to find my post was the reader favorite – especially on a dress I wasn’t sure about. LOL!
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Yay! I love when that happens!
xoxo
Shelbee
Patrick Weseman
It looks like such a fun time and what a way to create memories. Very nice.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Patrick! I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
xoxo
Shelbee
Claire Justine
Looks like a fun birthday 🙂 Lots of great memories. Thanks so much for hosting.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Claire! I would definitely call this birthday party a success! I hope you have a fabulous day!
xoxo
Shelbee