Too much complaining

I've taken the kids on several super-fun outings lately (e.g., water play in a friend's back yard with slip-n-slide, or meeting friends at the fountains at the Spectrum and bringing lunch), only to have what feels like the entire outing be filled with whining and complaining ("You didn't bring a sandwich for me?" "I wanted the other bathing suit!" "The water is too coooooold!" "This isn't what I wanted to eat!"). By the end of the play date (which has sometimes ended early because I make us leave because of the complaining), I am discouraged and frustrated (and mad) and ask myself, "Why do I even try? Why did we even come?" I feel like I put in a lot of effort and prep work for these types of things, making and packing everyone's lunch, packing swim gear, sunscreening each child, etc. I guess deep down I must feel like the kids should appreciate all that effort and be thankful and behave well and at least be happy--but those things (at least the thankfulness and behavior) don't come naturally. They need to be trained.

So today is day 2 of just. staying. home. I think we just need to slow down. I need to select our outings carefully so as not to overload our week. A friend (Kim) mentioned something recently about how she tries to do a day-on, day-off approach (if one day has an out-of-the-house activity, then the next day is at home). That sounds smart to me. Yesterday, in our full day at home, I noticed less fighting (I think) and maybe a tiny bit less complaining (maybe). :)