Gotta Turn This Day Around!

Whew!  What a day!  We started out with three tantrums from Everett within the first hour of him waking up.  Then Ev spilled his cereal while I was making Paxton his breakfast.  Later, Pax spewed avocado all over me while Everett was getting into something else (I don't remember what now).  Everett burst into Pax's room while I was putting him down for a nap.  As Pax was in the sweet spot, asleep and about to lay down is when Everett burst through the door to give Pax his blanket.  Sweet and well meaning, but ruined the morning nap.  He also burst in on another occasion today after Pax was trying unsuccessfully to go to sleep saying "HI PAX!  SLEEP GOOD?  YEA?"  Very cute, but note to self: get more doorknob covers.

Frustrated with how the first few hours were going, I decided I either needed to exercise Everett's brain or body.  Since it was in the thirties and windy outside, I decided to start with his brain.  I have a really crafty and awesome friend who blogs about the projects she does with her daughter.  So I got this idea from her. 

First we squished rice, food coloring, and rubbing alcohol around in bags.  I really would have expected Everett to enjoy this step more.  He really was not into it. 

Then we laid it out in a clear box.  So pretty.

Everett's thing for awhile now is putting things into different containers over and over.  So I equipped him with some things to scoop and different containers. 

The problem is I used too much rubbing alcohol, and it really stunk.  Hah!  And it was kinda wet.

But when it dried, I found a way to make the rice safely enjoyable for Paxton.  And Everett enjoyed it too.

So after exercising his mind, it still wasn't quite enough.  The fail proof cure for a moody Everett?  Playtime with Julian of course!  Aida was nice enough to let us come over so they could burn some energy before nap time.  So wonderful.  Turns out while Everett cries when the dog gets near, Paxton cries when the dog goes away.  He was fearless and loved the kisses from GaZoo. 

As I was cuddling with Everett before bedtime, I recognized that, though it was a hard day, it turned out well.  It's always good when it ends on a sweet note.