What was I thinking?

As aforementioned, Miller has required some extra attention lately.  I, being the mother-of-the-year that I am, decided to plan a few exploratory activities to entertain and educate Miller in the afternoons.  And hey, if it bought me a few minutes to do a couple of chores, so be it :)  One of the activities that I read about online involved letting your toddler play with various bowls and mixing cups using water, dried beans, or rice.  I immediately nixed the water idea {I've seen what he can do in the bathtub} and decided that beans might be just the right size to get stuck in his nose or throat.  So we went with rice.

I sat with him for a few minutes and began to pat myself on the back, because he loved it and was completely enthralled.  He tried to eat it once, but quickly realized it was gross and hard and spit it back out.  Once I realized thought he had the hang of it, I went to get a few things done.  Please note, I only went a few feet and could still hear/see everything he was doing.  I was so excited that we had found such a fun, educational activity that he could do semi-independently.  That is, until I looked up and saw this...

and this oh-so-innocent face...

Now, don't get me wrong I certainly did not expect my seventeen months old to keep every single grain of rice on the tablecloth.  However, what I didn't account for {and I'm not sure why} is that my child has an affinity for throwing things.  Apparently I had a moment of amnesia.  He. throws. everything.  Why would he not throw handfuls measuring cups full of rice all over the place?  I attempted to tell him "no" and even put the rice in "timeout" for a bit.  At this point I also stripped him because he had rice all in his onesie.  Let's try this again...

He still didn't get it.  The second I put it back in front he began to slingshot cupfuls of rice.  Seriously, take the picture of my floor from above and imagine my entire kitchen and half of the den looking like this, only times three.  I eventually had to put it away {enter tantrum} where I think it will stay for a few more months.  I think we'll stick to coloring for now.

On a positive note, I did get these bad boys baked and in the freezer {well, that part came after bedtime},

dinner prepped, and a load of laundry started.  The next activity I plan might try is playdough.  Any words of warning or wisdom??