Question of The Day: 59

How much do you have to buy at McDonald's to use their playland without being a freeloader?

Yesterday was kind of chilly, so rather than take the Babies! to the playground, we went to McDonald's to play on their playland. Ordinarily, if I take them there, it's around lunch and I just buy a Happy Meal and they play and eat the french fries, but I feel kind of guilty because there's two of them playing, but I only bought one Happy Meal. Then again, the two of them are only 2 1/2, apiece, so that's like one 5-year-old kid playing, right? Should it go by age? Or weight? Or height? Maybe for every 3 years of age, people should spent $4.00, or something.

Then, yesterday, the math got harder, because we got there about 9:45, too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, and I didn't want to order coffee. So I bought a soda, and then as an afterthought threw in some McDonaldland Cookies. Then we went to the playland and the boys ran and played and climbed while I sipped my soda (and also gave in and just gave Mr Bunches cookies, at 10 a.m., because he wanted them and Sweetie wasn't there.)

We were there about 40 minutes, and when I left I got a free refill of my soda, but I felt a little guilty, like I wasn't keeping up my end of the bargain.

Also: I'm the parent at those playlands and playgrounds that you hate. The rules say no shoes but I let the Babies! keep their shoes on because they're small and they have an easier time climbing on the things with their shoes than if they wore only their socks, which in my mind justifies my breaking that rule.

The rules also say "No Food In The Playland" but I break that rule by telling myself, each time we go in, that I'm not bringing the food in for Mr F and Mr Bunches to eat; I'm bringing it in to hold it until later. Then they want some -- they always do -- and I justify that by saying "They're not eating, they're just snacking."

I just ignore the looks everyone else gives me, and focus on the important part, which is this:
McDonaldland cookies have kind of an orange-y flavor to them.