playplace

Today was the day....yup, that day that I hate. Cold wet weather, cabin fevered children and no where to go that is gonna cost me more than I am willing to spend. So what to do? Pack the kids in the car and drive... Just drive and keep on driving. Something will eventually catch our eye and we can just stop and play and wear the lil ones out....

And there it was. Colorful, big, shining thru the dark clouds of this nasty weather, singing to me saying Alleluia, like angels guiding me to everything I needed to calm the kids down...McDonalds Playplace. Sigh.

Now don't get me wrong, I think its disgusting, dirty, old and covered with H1N1. No doubt I never thought I'd be the mom who would find heaven there. But when you have a preschooler and 1 year old twins and living on a tight budget, suddenly McDonalds is the freaking spot to be. At first it was a little intimidating. You think that you need to wipe everything down with antibacterial wipes, and that you need to give the kids quick lectures on not being that "ghetto bay-bay" kid. You feel like everyone is watching you, and waiting for your kid to flip out and hit someone and cause a scene that will make you want to leave. But no, not so much. Once you get past that first intimidation, you look around and see all the parents are doing the exact same thing as I am. Just trying to get out and take a much needed break while their many kids are running, screaming, laughing and playing. No harm in that and actually a little comforting that we all are just trying to survive until naptime.

All the kids get along. They place together and encourage each other to go down the slide, or crawl thru the tunnel, or pretend to fly the fake plane. They just have a ball. And the best part about this new heaven I have found, ITS CONFINED! No worries about the kids getting out and running away. No fear about who is where and where the hell did they go? There is only one place they can be-inside! And when a meltdown occurs and I am usually ready to pull my hair out- I actually used the response "here you want a french fry" or "here babes, here is your chicken nugget" and all is well in the world. Please note, I don't think now or EVER that chicken nuggets and fries are the best source of nutrition or the best way to handle a meltdown, but come on, its okay every now and then.

Two hours past and before I knew it, it was naptime. Sweet beautiful precious QUIET naptime. Packed the kids in the car and headed home. All the kids fell asleep and we only spent 4 bucks. Cant beat that! So needless to say, thank you Ronald McDonald for your Playplace. You made our damn day.