There are good days, and then there are other ones.

In my recent post about my daughter being generous to a friend I said that I felt like we were on the right track with raising our kids. And in moments like those, I do.

and then there are days like today.....

A local politician that we are supporting was hosting a fish fry thingamajig in our area tonite. The food was free, it's at a park, and there was live music scheduled. I thought it sounded like fun and a nice diversion from just staying home like we always do. We planned to go, and then my husband had to work overtime, so I considered whether or not to attend on my own with the kids.

About an hour before it was time to go and I could see that the weather was going to continue to be gorgeous, and I knew I had enough energy to trek out sans hubby, I told the kids about the event and asked them if they wanted to go. The results were mixed. The little ones wanted to go (they like to go anywhere). The oldest one wanted to stay home and play on the computer. The two other ones were in favor of going only because they thought there was a chance of there being cake. yes, cake. My children are bought so easily.

So off we go to this thing, and before we even park the car my oldest is muttering to me, "How long do we have to stay at this thing? Can we just eat and leave?"

The food wasn't being served yet so I watched the kids while they played on the playground. Sullen was in my ear griping about how if we didn't get over there we would have to wait too long in line, etc. etc.

The kids were supposed to be functioning on the buddy system, which is basically a thing where I pair up one older kid with one younger one and the person they are supposed to keep track of at all times. I, of course, try to keep track of everybody. But it helps if I know that an older is sticking near a younger, particularly when there are a bunch of people, and kids are darting in and out of tunnels and slides and ladders and such. My poor eyeballs can't keep up so well.

Well, Sullen was a reluctant buddy, so I not only had to keep watching over Doodles (Sullen's match up), but kept having to remind Sullen to stick with Doodles. ugh. It's always refreshing when the oldest kid is the worst behaved and the biggest baby.

Eventually we made it over to the line and inched our way to the food along with hundreds of other people. Outwardly the kids look good, and I get a lot of compliments about them from people in situations like that. Quietly, though, I am hearing whispered questions of, "How long do we have to stay? what is this food? Do we have to eat this? I do not like this music. When can we go?" and on and on.

Once we got our food they looked miserably at their plates of fried fish, hush puppies, and french fries. (no cake, alas!) True, we don't serve a lot of fried stuff around here, but I thought they could be a little more flexible than that. They ate the fries and turned up their noses at everything else. They complained about the music (too loud, too Kentucky) even thought it was really pretty good and fun.

Once we were done NOT eating, we went back to the playground. By now Sullen had sauntered off on his own, and the younger ones were playing. My daughter preferred to stand off to the side and complain about wanting to leave and how she wished she'd brought their Nintendo DS.

Give. Me. A. Break! It was a gorgeous day--not too hot, not too cold, and we had a nice playground to enjoy. There were trees and people and fun music....and she's being sour.

To top it all off, Squiggy Magoo did something that never happens to him--he pooped his pants. What a grand finale! Luckily I still carry baby wipes in the car, and Walmart bags are never far away. I cleaned him up and chucked his undies and we headed home. Thankfully Sullen rounded the corner just in time.

Other than the poopy pants, their antics make me feel concerned about their character development. Why don't my kids just enjoy a situation rather than acting annoyed that it isn't their ideal situation? Why do they have a mother that can have fun anyplace, and they seem to want to be exactly the opposite?

What can I do about the attitudes that prompt endless questions about leaving early? What do you do about sourness in general? How do you teach children to be thankful and to have a happy attitude? They say more is caught than taught, but in this case it seems just the opposite. If ever there was something that should have been caught around here, it would be being able to have fun in most situations, and being thankful even when things aren't ideal. (like, our entire life)

Part of me wonders if we'd be better off with no computer games, no movies, no outings to friend's houses. Instead they could stay home and learn how to have a good time with the people in their family.

Over time it might turn out to be a good plan, but the process would probably send me to the looney bin.

Simply talking to children about this kind of thing isn't going to fix it, I don't think. What do you think?