A Day of Both Extremes - Fun with Bowling and TANTRUMS

Today started out so well... we went to a mom/tot bowling activity at a nearby bowling alley. You can't beat unlimited bowling (shoe rental included - though they didn't have shoes small enough for Eli so he wore his regular shoes) for $5 for two hours. This is the cost for kids - parents are free!

I love that this place has the bowling ball ramp thing for kids to push the ball down the lane.

Eli had so much fun! He even got a spare and a strike. His total score was 95 - not bad for a 1-year-old, though he did have the bumpers. It was a little tricky helping him while holding Charlie, but it all worked out. He kept doing this sort of cheer kick as he watched the ball crash into the bowling pins.

These pictures look so happy, don't they? We came home at lunchtime and I tried putting Eli down for his nap, and he went BALLISTIC. The kid would NOT go to sleep or stop crying. He was screaming, crying, throwing his animals in the crib, and just being crazy. I went in a few times, tried reading more stories, sang songs, talked to him, tried a few bribes if he did take a nap... he wanted nothing to do with any of it.

Me - "Do you want to blow bubbles outside after your nap?" (he LOVES bubbles)
Eli - "NO."
Me - "Do you want to color with markers after your nap?" (again, he LOVES markers)
Eli - "NO." (more tears)
Me - "If you take a nap, you can have a skittle..." (he loves skittles and doesn't get them very often)
Eli - "NO."

I was getting so frustrated. At least on the days when he typically doesn't nap, he just plays in his crib for a while. Today he was an overtired mess. He kept rubbing his eyes, but was so worked up that he could not settle down for a rest.

Finally I took him out and we played in the family room and he did some coloring. Our neighbors stopped by with some plants that we're going to take care of while they are out of town. Eli was remarkably happy and well behaved...

...until we went down in the basement to play. His toys were frustrating him. The train track kept coming apart, so he threw the pieces. He got upset with his toy vacuum, but I couldn't figure out what exactly was making him so angry and he kept pushing it on the ground out of frustration.

But the final straw was when he took his big dump truck and dropped it on Charlie's forehead (Charlie was laying on a blanket on the floor at the time). He has NEVER done anything to hurt Charlie and I was so upset. I scooped up Charlie, ran upstairs from the basement so I could calm him down in peace, then went back downstairs to bring Eli up from the playroom. Eli again went ballistic and stood at the basement door, pounding on it, screaming, and hitting the doorknob in hopes that it would open (and yelling, "BASEMENT!!" over and over). This went on for 30 MINUTES.

Where did my sweet Eli go?? He never acts like this. I called my friend Carrie for any suggestions - her idea was to give him a bath. I carried him upstairs, put him in the bath, and he slowly went back to his old self, being sweet and playing nicely in the tub. We hung out in the bathroom for an hour (he LOVES baths) and he went to bed at 6:45 p.m.

After we put Eli to bed, I fed Charlie, gave him his medicine, and he promptly threw up ALL over me (and himself). I cleaned us both up, changed our clothes, gave Charlie to Ben, and went to the movies to get a break. Hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful!