My Little Shadow

Morning Routine: Step 1: Little man wakes at an ungodly hour.  Step 2:  Little man requests a glass of orange juice, any amount of trying to put this off will just result in nonstop requests and pleading... so down the steps I tawdle, see the time on the microwave in the kitchen, and try to convince myself it'll be okay, I'll manage to get some more sleep (ha!)  Step 3: he drinks the juice on our bed, the second it is finished, begins begging me to go downstairs with him.  Step 4: I go, as to let the rest of the household slumber. Step 5: He gets face and eyes into Lego or drawing, and I get the coffee on, and proceed to drink 2 straight cups.   And then, and here's the kicker:  Step 6:  Looks at me with pleading eyes and asks, "Do I don't have to go anywhere today?"  
So, this is where the trouble starts.  This is a relatively new addition to the routine, but it is a very problematic one.  If I say yes, the obvious, panic- filled follow up question is to know where we're going.  Unless the answer is gymnastics or swimming....I have a sad little man.  What can I do?  I can't just stay home all the time.  I've been working hard on always being out and about with him, and that's the way it has to be for us.  I am a big believer in being happy at home, I am a homebody myself by nature.  But, I don't believe in simply avoiding all social discomfort.  That would definately come back to bite us!
So, here I am.  He knows he has skating this afternoon, we both know he doesn't really want to go.  But he will, and on the way home he'll get a 'sprinkly donut' from Tim Horton's as a reward.  So I am now trying to think of something simple we could do before lunch..just to get out of the house that he may enjoy....but I'm drawing a blank!  A walk, or just playing outside  is out of the question due to the wet weather we've been having lately.  So, I'm going to put on my thinking cap and come up with a good idea.  Maybe we'll just run to the dollar store and get some new pads of paper...we're always running low on that.  Or maybe we'll just go for a little drive, a change of scenery.
It used to be he'd readily follow me wherever I went.  Now he's always looking for a way out.
I can get him to come along, against his wishes, but it's not the same.  He's just quiet and waiting for our outings to be over. He's not enjoying them so much anymore.
And I'm missing having a little shadow.