Reflections on a McDonald's Lunch

I'm going to blame my lack of blogging on the short, dark days we're having here in AK.. actually, I shouldn't complain because we're getting something like 5 minutes of sunlight every day. This will continue until June 21, at which point I'll be whining about no nighttime. Oh well, it's part of the charm of Alaska.

We had a surprisingly lovely MLK long weekend. We hung out as a family, with friends and we skied twice: once at Hillberg on base and once at Alyeska. Some friends from the squadron were also at Alyeska so Clayton had someone to go down the really scary runs with him and I was able to sit by the fire and drink hot chocolate with friends while the kids were in ski lessons and Clayton was skiing with Doctor. It was a really good day, the end of a great weekend. It was especially nice because Clayton's going to be out of state for a month starting this week.. ugh. So far, however, the volcanoes are not acting up so we're anticipating a firm return, nothing "indefinite"... however, as I type, I realize that while I don't believe in jinxing myself, I might just have done it anyway. Ah, the air force.

So, on the heels of a really fabulous weekend, it was Tradeoff Tuesday. What is that, you ask? Well, it's a day that two friends(Suzanne and Kamdon) and I trade off watching each others kids so that 2 moms have a whole day to do stuff (get hair done, work, grocery shop, eat bonbons whilst sitting on the couch..screeeeaaaaacccchhh!) done with free child care. It was my day to have the kiddies. I started out all motivated to do fun activities with them but my back was really hurting (stupid back, hurt it last year pulling kids on a sled for exercise..) so I thought if I could work out with Bob on The Biggest Loser yoga DVD, it might feel better. I ended up telling the kids if they'd cooperate (i.e., not break anything major or hurt one another, nothing too exceptional), I'd take them to The Place... McDonald's. The kids were agreeable and I actually cranked out the DVD without having to pause once (this does NOT mean that I didn't have company throughout the workout, however). Sooo, conveniently, it was about 11:00, a perfect time to hit the Eagle River Mc Donald's. Poor little Abbie was the only kid who was dressed in her day-clothes so while I was helping Chase get dressed, I sent Clay upstairs to put his clothes on... this is what he chose:

Nice. Obviously we are proponents of "clothes over the jammies", but this was too much. Much to Clay's chagrin, we had to change....then we were on our way!! Hallelujah.

Here's a shot of the mountains we get to see on our way to the ER McD's. BEAUTIFUL!

This is the Tradeoff Tuesday crew (Clay, Chase and Abbie). Abbie affectionately calls the boys "my boys". They mostly do what she tells them, too, which I try to abuse whenever possible.

So, we get food and the kids eat at McDonald's and I'm torn between watching the kids play, people watching, and reading a book... It has long been a dream of mine to be the mom reading a book while her kids play at the McD/museum/park.

Which did I choose?? I went with people watching. Seriously, there is material for a master's thesis or a dissertation in McD playland. Not even just here, but anywhere... It attracts all types. Let me explain:

First, there are the Moms Who Pretend That This Is Their Only McD Visit This Century: There were two of these moms at McD yesterday. I have to laugh because they come in looking around to make sure none of their friends are there.. they'd be embarrassed to say they feed their kids food made by a clown... These moms were having a loud conversation about how they NEVER come to McDs, how they NEVER let their kids have fried foods (guess their mc nuggets were baked.. and the fries, too)... how their kids don't even really like McD (BTW, their kids totally sold them out by running straight to the secret hiding places in the play area in addition to asking for specific McD flavors of dip). Have some pride, people.. It's Alaska in the winter. We have no other indoor playground options in ER.

Next, there is the Overprotective Dad Who Must Tell His Daughter He Loves Her Ever Time She Comes Down The Slide...Loudly. This poor guy. I'm pretty sure he also had some hand sanitizer in his pocket that he made Princess use every 4 minutes. (I'm all for sanitation, but I'm also one for promoting a healthy immune system. So, for me, I think making Clay wear his shoes to the bathroom and washing his hands before eating is sufficient.) He also hand fed his daughter when it was convenient for her. If it wasn't so weird, it would have been sweet to see a Dad-Daughter date in the afternoon. I think Clay and Chase wanted to hit the guy up for a shake, he seemed so nice...

Then there's the Angry Mom Who Doesn't Watch Her Kids Because She's Texting The Entire Time.. but she tries to fake the rest of us out that she's paying attention by randomly screaming at her kids every few minutes "COME EAT YOUR HAMBURGER, TEDDY"... "WE'RE LEAVING IN 15 MINUTES" (which she repeats every 2 minutes for 30 minutes) "WATCH OUT FOR THE LITTLE KIDS".. oh, because I forgot to mention that her kid is 12.. and it's Tuesday at 11:00. Hmmm.

Finally, there's the I Have No Shame Mom. That'd be me. I own the fact that McD food isn't that nutritious.. but it's not that bad (I'm a nutrition professional people, I can and will rationalize pretty much anything related to food so don't even try to go there about the horrible-ness of McD food or I'll take you to task on your juices and fruit snacks). I am not ashamed of taking my kids to McD so I can have an adult conversation with a friend (Kamdon, if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me). I'll spring for a happy meal or a $0.50 vanilla cone simply so my kids can burn some energy running around a filthy dirty playground. I'm over trying to put on airs that I'm a better mom than the one who abuses the McD playground!!

... on second thought, I should have read the book and not bored everyone to tears. Thanks anyway for reading. While I'm on the subject, however.. if anyone feels burdened to open a different restaurant with an indoor play area in the Eagle River area, let me know.. I bet I can get the capital from my mom friends :)