Thank y’all so much for yesterday. It was so interesting to read everyone’s questions and thoughts. Although it will take me a good two weeks for my mind to process all that information.
I promise that Sophie, Shannon and I will figure out a way to share some of the information from the She Speaks Conference on our blogs. In the meantime, you may want to check out Blogging Basics 101.
Anyway, Gulley usually volunteers at her son Jackson’s school every Wednesday. But last Wednesday she skipped out on the opportunity to watch kindergardeners eat paste in favor of getting her hair cut and highlighted. Clearly she is a woman with her priorities in order.
No woman can be expected to cut out shapes, teach future generations to read, and eat cafeteria food when she’s worried about her roots. I mean this is America.
So, Gulley asked Jackson’s teacher if she could volunteer on Thursday instead and asked me if I would mind keeping Will. And I told her I wouldn’t mind at all because she watched Caroline for me most of the day on Tuesday and because Will seriously cracks me up.
He just turned three in February and hanging out with him is kind of what I imagine it would be like to spend time with Simon Cowell. You know he’s a little belligerent and out of control but yet manages to be charming and endearing all at the same time.
Plus they both have hair that defies the laws of follicular science.
Gulley dropped Will off on Thursday morning and, since I am really a modern day Mary Poppins, I had our morning all planned out. These plans involved cleaning our back porch with scrub brushes and soap.
The kids can’t get enough of it.
Tell Toys R’ Us to figure out a way to package that kind of fun.
Finally, after a morning of hard labor I decided to reward them with a trip to McDonalds for lunch. And, because it was such a gorgeous, sunny day, I purposely drove further away to the dying breed known as a McDonalds with an outdoor playground.
We went in, ordered our food and then started to head outside, when we saw this.
Oh cruel hand of fate. Why do you torture me so?
I told the kids to eat their lunch and promised that after they were done I would go ask the manager if they would consider opening the playground since the weather was no longer inclement.
So they pretended to eat half a nugget for the next ten minutes and then started asking about the playground. I felt like I was being interrogated. My palms got all sweaty as I tried to prepare them for the very real possibility that the outdoor playground wasn’t going to happen.
“Okay, I’ll go ask but y’all need to know that they may not open it. They may say no. Okay?”
Will quit eating his ketchup out of the paper cup long enough to look me dead in the eye and say, “If they say no, I’m gonna bust their tails.”
And don’t think he wouldn’t.
Unfortunately the answer was no. It appears that two prior days of inclement weather rendered the playground in need of a good scrubbing.
They should totally use child labor like I did with my porch. The kids can reach cracks and crevices that an adult will never see.
There was great disappointment but we left with some cool Happy Meal toys so all was not lost. And I knew Will had a good time with me because when Gulley came to pick him up he hugged me and said, “See you later, Babe.”
Which is exactly what the Banks children called Mary Poppins.
Ya gotta HATE it when that happens. I guess there was always a park somewhere – - – they don’t seem too worried about rain induced germs there.
That picture of Will eating the ketchup out of the paper cup cracks me up. If you hadn’t posted it, I would have thought you were just being funny when you said that he was. My kids are big now, but I have spend many a McHour in the McD’s playground.
Will sounds like quite a character; I love the way you captured his personality:
He just turned three in February and hanging out with him is kind of what I imagine it would be like to spend time with Simon Cowell. You know he’s a little belligerent and out of control but yet manages to be charming and endearing all at the same time.
HILARIOUS!
You went, didn’t conquer, yet still survived… you make us mothers proud.
Rare breed is right, we don’t have a single playplace in these parts.
We usually hit the drive through and head to the ‘mommy’ park, the kind mommy can sit at picnic table and see the whole play structure so as to not lose the children.
The ‘daddy’ park is just strictly forbidden, unless daddy takes them.
At least it wasn’t a “McMeltdown”, as in, what my kids would’ve done had we been in your shoes.
You are a good mom on so many levels Melanie. My favorite today being the fact that you allowed Caroline to wear a white T to go to an outdoor playground (dirt stains) all the while serving fried foods (grease stains) with ketchup (red stains) and chocolate milk (the mecca of all brown stains)
Had we been in your situation- my four year old SHIRTLESS little girl would have been ‘bustin some tails’ that;s for sure.
Ugh. Nothing worse than going to a place with a play area only to have it closed!
I think the only place we still have a fast food play area is Chick-Fil-A. All the rest have come down.
The McDonalds by my house tore the playground down to expand the restaraunt. As much as my children cried, the restaraunt needed a redo. It was probably the nastiest McDonalds ANYWHERE. If we drive 10 minutes away, we have a McDonalds with an INDOOR playground. That’s right you heard me…… indoor!!! It is McHeaven!!
I snorted twice. What a character Will is. I’m surprised he didn’t smack ya on the tush and ask you to call him sometime.
Will is a hoot! Nuff said.
It was closed because it needed a good scrubdown? Since when does McDonald’s care about the cleanliness of their playground equipment? I’ve been to some NASTY McD playlands! And outside? You’ll never see that here in MN. We have only one indoor playland at a fast food restaurant. We do have a brilliant indoor play area the park and rec department is in charge of. We love it, though we seemed to miss going this year.
I was so hoping he would bust their tails.
I love Will! I don’t know him, but who doesn’t dream of younger men calling them a babe?
Ohmyword. That is one seriously funny kid!
If Caroline is into younger men – I believe she has met her match.
Ha! I’d keep him a time or five for that kind of entertainment too.
(And you may not have noticed, but the McPlaygrounds are starting to be a dying breed everywhere, not just outdoor ones. Ugh.)
Why do kids feel the need to eat plain ketchup? At the preschool I work at, I swear the kids eat more ketchup than actual food.
Oh, and for a second I thought your post was going to be about Grey’s Anatomy. But too bad it was only about McDonalds.
That really is a McLetDown.
What a funny story…Its a shame that the McDonalds people don’t use their workers to clean the playground…what a novel concept!!!
“Bust their tails”…fantastic!! I think I may have found my 3 yr old’s soul mate!!
I was laughing uncontrollably like a loon at my desk! Where did this child pick this up?? Oh, and tell me how you managed to work around the child labor laws. My son is only 10 months but should be up for some child labor soon
We spent the morning yesterday doing such uber-exciting things as DUSTING! “YAY, Mama!” Vacuuming!! “YAY, Mama!” MOPPING! “Yay!!” Cleaning bathrooms! “FUN, MAMA!!” I thought the morning was a sucess filled with excititng adventures (read: child labor), but clearly I was wrong–I was not called “Babe” at the end of it all. I guess I should have hit McDonalds afterward. Maybe that would have helped.
I have a three-year-old nephew that I refer to as the “red-headed terror.” My sister is exhausted, but I enjoy the heck out of him! We were at a baseball game, and he was climbing all over people in the bleachers. We told him to say “Excuse me, please.” He did say, “Excuse me,” but left off the please, so my mom said, “Say Please.” He looked at her in total seriousness and said, “Please is when you want to get something!” Yeah, he knows how to work Grandma!!!
I let my 22 mo old vacuum for a little over two hours the other day.
It’s not child labor if they like it. Right?
I’m not ashamed. McD’s saved my mommy sanity on many a day. I love that a scrub brush is more fun than Polly Pockets! You have the right idea, Melanie. Blessings, Annette
At least you didn’t have a McMeltdown! I’m not ashamed. McD’s saved my mommy sanity on many a day. I love that a scrub brush is more fun than Polly Pockets! You have the right idea, Melanie. Blessings, Annette
Oh Will may be my new favorite in the Big Mama’s caste of characters.
I too am intrigued by 3 year olds. They are like little old people. They just say whatever they want and darned be the consequences. I’ve also recently had some fun interactions with some 3 year olds at the playground. They aren’t shy about telling you that they don’t want your 1 year old playing and by golly they don’t want to share. LOL
You’ve just gotta laugh.
I can’t wait until Jackson gets old enough for me to put him to work. I feel sure that he will have trash duty. He “sweeps” now but it mostly involves him banging the broom stick into my newly painted walls.
Cute pic of the kids! Love his look and your daughter is beautiful!
And is 2 too young to put my child to work? I was thinking he could mow the grass or something. Oh, I kid.
Aw nuts! I’d be bummed out about that, too…and that playplace looks like such a fun one.
I still love ketchup, but I can’t get away with eating it like that anymore. Gotta set a good example for my kids and all LOL!
I like this Will character, he sounds a lot like my youngest; Sarah! : )
I’m de-lurking…my husband and I babysat friend’s 2 & 3 year olds one weekend. We went to an indoor arboretum, and then treated them to McDonald’s with indoor playground (we live in MN). They completely fell asleep on us and hardly touched their food! So much for that fun!!
Gotta love a boy…
I want a McD’s with an out door play land!
This comment is a day late, but I didn’t know if I could comment on previous posts? Anyway, I just had to comment because I too used a Brother word processor in college. And in fact, about a month ago my mom (who saves everything!) asked me if I wanted it. I almost said yes because of the nostalgia …but then, I would be my mother(who is a very wonderful woman … with a full basement!)!!
It’s hard to believe we’ve come so far … you even have a podcast! ha!ha! Thanks for all the laughs and cries and in between!
clearly, I have been lactating too long. I immediately thought this was a breastfeeding nod.
I love the “laws of folliculiar science” comment. My son has that also.
but a fun story none-the-less
Will sounds like a hoot. Enjoy the “child labor” while you can. Although my two year old loves to help cook, do laundry, do the dishes, his soon to be five year old sister has figured out that it is all work and doesn’t think it is fun.
That Will is a character! Doesn’t he just make you want a boy?! HA!
You would think places like McDonalds would know that the reason we enter through the doors is for the playground! As far as teh ketchup goes, we give my son organic ketchup…yeah, I consider it one of his vegetable servings. Hope you can come by sometime @beautifulcraziness.blogspot.com.
Hey, at least McD’s now has some super coffee
Just looking at the bright side of things, Babe.
Laughed and laughed through this entry. I’m sure the Banks called MP ‘Babe’. Hilarious! I just recently started reading your blog and I can’t get enough. It always makes my day. Your daughter is beeeautiful by the way!
Well Babe, I have now determined that Gulley and I must be a medical miracle because somehow I gave birth to Will’s twin (except my little guy turned three last October.) The description of him is identical to my son and Simon Cowell is just about a perfect comparison. I’m still wiping my eyes after such a good laugh! I know y’all had a great day, no thanks to the restaurant in question.