Something I can only handle doing once a year: Day Out With Thomas

This weekend I willingly subjected myself to a day full of germy kids, incessant happy music, whining, and more than enough train paraphernalia to last a lifetime. It was a belated birthday gift to Bosco, a Day Out With Thomas, the real Thomas the Tank Engine folks. If you have a child who is obsessed with trains,you know this is like Mecca to them. They all walk around in a silly stupor, like someone just dropped a bomb full of happiness coated with sugar and sprinkles. It's adorable. Even the parents get second hand stupor just from seeing their kid smile. I personally don’t think Thomas and his very cheeky friends are anything to phone home about, but there are some great reusable one-liners, like ‘Bust my buffers!’

Bosco wanted hands on hips. I went along with it.

Well I love my son, and that means sometimes surrounding myself with hundreds of train-crazy, conductor-wannabe kids and paying way too much for a train ride and cotton candy, right? Bosco was so excited to see Thomas, and I was hoping this would be a good memory for him. My first memory dates back to my three-year-old self, and it involved E.T. the movie, blue Bubblicious gum, and a Michael Jackson poster (I was a huge lover of all things MJ when I was three. Maybe I still am. I’ll never tell). So knowing that Bosco now has the potential to remember things, I’m trying to fill his little head with super awesome things. That and yell at him less.

The day was going well. Bosco was soaking it all up. The train ride was nice and even I was enjoying the lovely views courtesy of Thomas.

But as a parent can expect, nothing stays nice for long, especially when you have to forego naptime. Here are some things that sent Bosco into cranky mode:

-Not being able to actually “drive” the train
-The open window next to our seats sparking a severe dislike of wind in his face
-Mommy not being able to magically make food appear with the snap of a finger

-Sir Topham Hatt leaving to take a break, postponing our picture with him

-A steam locomotive letting off some steam while we were in the vicinity

-That same steam locomotive making train noises that were too loud and too real
-The super scary toilets at McDonalds that can flush down toilet paper and little boys.
-Wanting to go home, but mommy and daddy wanting to get their money’s worth
-Walking too close to that dang steam locomotive
-Standing in line so mommy could get her balloon monkey and balloon sword since mommy knew that later on a certain child would actually want the balloon
-Wanting to leave when the magic show suddenly became unmagical
-Temporary tattoos

My oh my, this list could go on and on. I did have good intentions. I can’t say that it was a total failure though. Today Bosco said he wanted to go back and see Thomas. Too bad I had to tell him he was no longer in town. Cue the crankiness.

A lot of my pictures turned out like this:

But some turned out like this:

So I think it’s a draw. Kids have a way of blocking out all memory of their meltdowns. Parents, not so much.

A side note: I had to tell the balloon guy that the monkey and sword were for me. Bosco wanted no part in it. The guy played along and told me I was never too old for a balloon monkey, shall we say a 27 year-old. Oh guy, you just made my day. Never thought I’d appreciate being mistaken for 27.