Today as our family headed to a local amusement park in Green Bay, WI called Bay Beach we passed a McDonald’s. Bency, our 5 year old son asked, “Is that the McDonald’s I dropped my ice cream cone in the fountain at or the one that I puked all over the table at?” The answer was “no” on both accounts but it really got me thinking.
Here we are headed out for a day of incredible fun…Ferris wheel, Scrambler, Merry-Go-Round, live pony rides, bumper cars, big slide….and my son is bringing up some of the worst memories of his childhood.
When he was 2 we went to McDonald’s for an ice cream cone. It was a nice evening so we sat outside on the patio where there is seating and a…fountain. Of course being 2 he was mesmerized by the fountain; went over to inspect it and within 30 seconds had dropped his entire ice cream cone in. He let out a blood-curdling scream and tried diving in. We rescued him and much to his dismay could not rescue his cone. My husband gave Bency his ice cream cone and we calmed the boy down but he still continued to look longingly at the cone in the fountain. I realize now we have never gone back to that McDonald’s for an evening of ice cream by the fountain.
When Bency was four I had six year old Iris and an infant. Outings by myself without the accompaniment of my husband to help were not my idea of fun so we rarely went out. However, one brave day I took all the kids to Mc Donald’s. Everything was going so well. We were all talking and laughing and the baby was content and happy. All of a sudden Bency got a weird look on his face and without further warning puked all over the entire table and our food. Iris, who was sitting next to him starting screaming at the top of her lungs, “Bency puked! Bency puked!! Get me away from him! He stinks!!” The rest of the event is kind of a blur because I was in such shock. I know I cleaned it up the best I could, cleaned him up the best I could and got out of there as fast as I could. I realize now we have never gone back to that particular McDonald’s.
Today was a really wonderful day at Bay Beach. The kids had a complete blast! Nothing too traumatic happened. Afterwards, we ate lunch at a….McDONALD’s (we had never been to). No one puked. No one lost their food. Cesar, our almost 2 year old kept smiling and saying “Hi” to a little girl about his age sitting near us. When we arrived home I asked the kids what their favorite part of the day was. Iris and Bency were both in agreement on the big slide and Cesar said, “I saw a baby.”
Will they remember this day? Will it be a memory?
The Big Slide
The Ferris Wheel
The Lady Bugs
Motherhood Is An Art 
Funny stuff girl. I’m sure I’m going to laugh the next time I drive by a McDonalds.
Melissa, I am a friend of Alex’s from college. This story made me laugh. Taking three children to a McDonald’s is so brave. I just braved our McDonald’s for ice cream and time in the indoor playground, and my two girls are 4.5 and 21 months.
Hi!! I’m glad it made you laugh! Thank you for taking the time to read it!! Yeah, being a mom in general is brave but taking them to McDonald’s is a whole other ball game!!
Needless to say, I never was reimbursed for my ice cream cone 😦
Reblogged this on Motherhood Is An Art and commented:
This was one of my first blog posts. I thought I would share it again today because back then I had very few people who read my blog. It’s just another one of those fun family memories!!
HAHAHAHAHA! I bet one of those McDonald’s is okay if you skip them!!!! That is funny! Glad you had one good experience with McD’s and it sounds like a good day all around.
We still have never been back to that particular McDonald’s! I’m sure there are different workers now 2 years later…but just on the off chance, I still can’t bare to show my face in there again!
And your son is older. I’m sure they’ve taken the poster of him off of the employee bulletin board by now. 😉
WHC!!!!
Thank goodness you are rid of the McDonald’s curse! lol Before we figured out our oldest child’s food allergies, there was a whole lot of puking going on everywhere and anywhere. I can totally relate on that note!
There is nothing like a puking incident to leave a memory engrained in your memory forever! I can’t imagine multiple experiences!!
Voted for you at Circle of Moms too!
Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you shared this one again because I missed it the first time! Love those memories. 🙂
Thanks Sarah! Oh yes, those memories are the best!
Memories are what we treasure even the Maccas ones! Thanks for the repost I hadn’t read this one either. 🙂 xx
I thought of this one because the kids asked if we could eat at McDonald’s this weekend…I still shudder when I hear the name McDonalds! We went and got pizza this weekend!
Aw, bless your heart! I have a few outings burned into my memory…
Those things just stick with you forever!!
Helps to put things in perspective: a day when nobody in the family pukes is a decent day.
haha!!! So true!!
Happy to hear that your trip to McDonald’s was puke free! As for the revisiting the other two McDonald’s, where the trauma took place, I would probably never go back either. Too risky! Hope you enjoy watching the Super Bowl today. I know it won’t be the same because the Packers aren’t playing! 🙂
I’m not much of a football fan when the Packers aren’t involved! I missed the first half making supper, giving the kids baths and reading bedtime stories…when I finally sat down to watch it all the lights were off in the stadium and the game was delayed! I was in the room for the rest of the game but was doing projects! I’m clearly only a Packer fan!
Awh – I love Bay Beach! I went there as a kid, and we’ve also taken our kids there. I was infamous for finding a way to get grease on my clothes, though I’m pleased to say that I have outgrown that (or at least I escaped unscathed this past summer). It is so weird what kids remember…and say!
That’s so cool that you guys have been there too! My biggest terror from Bay Beach is the big slide! As a kid I always slipped out of the bag and burnt a body part! My kids wanted to go on it so bad this summer so I finally relented and took them down….and I almost slipped down without us being fully on the bag, then I burnt my foot and then I almost fell over backwards…never going on the big slide again!!
oh no!! It IS quite high up, and I’m not a huge fan of heights, but the “burn” would HURT! Steer clear!!
Haha that is so funny! I’m glad you all had a great day, and in your son’s defense, if I dropped my ice cream cone, I would scream and cry too… 😉
Funny how kids will remember stuff that happened so long ago, yet they can never remember what they did in school today!
What a fun memory to reflect on… It was nice to read it again