I LOVE McDonald's

I'm not proud of this confession and it's not a secret. The small town we live in doesn't have a McDonald's so it's kind of a special treat when we eat at one.

Today was such occasion. The kids and I met a group of moms from church at the local library for story time and then lunch and play time afterwards. The other kids there were 2 and under (mine are 4 and 18 months).

There was a play place inside which meant my son would be doing his version of hit and run eating, running to the table to take a bite then running back to play. I know this isn't great parenting, but it's better than listening to him whine the whole time, or better yet, telling me he wasn't hungry then complaining he was hungry when it was time to go.

Anyway, one mom there w/ her also 18 month old confessed this was her son's first Happy Meal and her husband stated it would be his last. She then told us they hadn't eaten at McDonald's in probably 10 years. WTF?? She has the time and energy to cook a meal every night?

I didn't mention that the kids and I eat at McDonald's maybe every other week whenever we have a play date or are running errands in Wichita. (The kids get coupons for free Happy Meals from our PAT group. That's a big part of why we eat there so much.)

I didn't want the other mom's to judge me and talk about me later. (Yes, I'm insecure and care what other people think. One of my biggest character flaws.)

I also couldn't hear the whole conversation very well b/c of all the screaming kids, mine included.

I'm always intrigued when I hear people say they don't like McDonald's. Hubby isn't a big fan, but he likes to eat there occasionally. I know other people are caught up in the health craze and obesity, and I'm not saying we shouldn't be worried about these things, but my son eats maybe 1 or 2 of his chicken nuggets and all of his fries.

Also, we're not eating this kind of food every day. He also gets the regular servings of fruits and veggies. Whether or not he eats them is out of my control. We decided a long time ago we weren't going to force our kids to eat something if they didn't want to. We will encourage them to "try it" but there will be no sitting at the table until your plate is clean in our house.

What are the rules in your house?