Honestly, I'm not sure what happened today. I know Caleb had school and Daisy had preschool, but somehow I lost most of the day. All I know is that when Caleb got off the bus this afternoon, both girls were napping, the sun was shining, and he was wearing a sticker on his shirt. When I asked Caleb about the sticker, he informed me that it was his school's night at McDonald's, and begged to go there for dinner.
We don't eat McDonald's.
Okay, we occasionally get breakfast from there - maybe once every month or two? But as a general rule, we don't eat there. I tried to explain this to Caleb, and he started crying.
Then I handed him a cup of juice (he really likes it when I bring a cup of juice when I pick him up at the bus stop. I haven't done it for the past few days, so I was proud that I thought to bring it today.) and, after taking one swig, he asked, "Is this apple cider?"
Why yes, dear, it is.
Then he started crying because he didn't want apple cider.
Like any good mom would, I took that cup of juice away from him. You don't like my juice? Fine. No juice at all. (What? That's not what good moms do? Man.)
Then he cried even more.
Then Lily woke up, so I went in to her. On my way to her room, I peeked in to see if Daisy was awake. She was just waking up from her nap, and she began crying when she saw me.
I told her she could come out when she was ready to be awake and shut the door. She cried harder.
At least Lily didn't cry at me. She was happy to see me. So there I was, at 4:45, with 2/3 of my children crying and the sound of our friends playing outside in the sunshine. I wanted so desperately to take my crabby children out to play in the sun with their friends, but I had to make dinner. Caleb wanted meatballs for dinner, but I forgot to buy two key condiments for that meal. When I told him no meatballs, he cried.
I showed him a new recipe I was hoping to try for dinner, and he cried even more.
My head was pounding, and I was about to lose it.
And then I saw that McDonald's sticker on his shirt, and I handed him my phone and told him to call his father. Amazingly, my super-anti-McDonald's husband agreed that school night at McDonald's was a great idea. So I abandoned dinner prep and took my 2/3 grumpy children out into the sunshine to play with their friends.
Sweet Andrew is 19 months old, and he climbed onto that scooter like he knew exactly what he was doing!
Hannah patiently waited for her turn on the scooter, while Lily watched in awe. I don't think it had even crossed her mind that she could ride the scooter!
Our Caleb was quite sweet about sharing his bike with our friend Caleb, and the boys took turns riding up and down the sidewalk. Daisy (who apparently has grown 2+ inches in the past 5 months!) was excited to ride her balance bike (whose seat now needs to be raised significantly.)
The big kids spent some time digging in the mulch by the sidewalk. Once they were bored of those efforts, they discarded their tools carelessly in the grass. Lily discovered the rake and began attempting to rake the grass.
Then Chris got home, and it was time to go eat. It was actually really sweet to see Caleb interact with his friends. He knew quite a few kids from his class, kids from the bus, and workers from the school. He was stoked about his Happy Meal, and ate with a focused enthusiasm until...
Ronald McDonald showed up.
Apparently this is a big deal, even for McDonald's employees?
Ronald signed autographs, posed for pictures, cracked jokes in a manner that reminded me of Robin Williams, and did magic tricks. Caleb was really excited.
OK, yes, he has a weird face in this picture. But I was impressed that he was brave enough to actually go up to Ronald! Normally, Caleb will want to say hello to characters, but then get nervous when it's actually his turn. This time, he went right up there!
Daisy, however, was a different story. She was really interested, and then she was terrified. Finally, after our meal, she told me that she wanted to have her picture taken with Ronald McDonald. She was ready to be brave.
So we went up to him, and Daisy tried her hardest to become one with the wall. Ronald was really sweet, though, and tried to coax her closer so that I could get a picture.
Then she lifted up her shirt and flashed Ronald McDonald.
My child.
Flashing a licensed character at McDonald's.
I never thought that would happen.
After I got her shirt back down, I snapped this picture.
Things I love:
Daisy's hands over her ears.
Her pink snowboots with shorts.
Ronald's laughter.
The woman in blue in the background who is trying to disguise the fact that she is still laughing about Daisy flashing Ronald McDonald.
But at least I didn't have to make dinner. Now I'm going to bed.
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