Since we've stopped taking the kids to most stores*, the farm store has become the Most Awesome Store Ever. It has candy and baked goods (and fruits and vegetables to sample), a billion types of honey and maple syrup, and, along a long wall, toys!
Typically there's a bit of looking at the toys and talking about their features. There's not much asking for toys, although there is some associated "want" talk - "that would be good for my birthday present" or "I would want to build a wooden train sometime." There aren't tantrums in the store, but it's still consumerist and, depending on the day, I have limited patience for it.**
One of the toys that continually catches Lucy's eye is a sand craft kit. She's picked it up, studied it, and talked about it a few different times. On one visit she once again picked it up and said, "Mama, we could MAKE this at home! We have sand! We could paint the sand!"
So we could. I love that little girl so much sometimes.
Thus: a jar of sand, some food coloring, and a few milk bottles later, we've colored and mixed and spilled away our afternoon. Just as I'd suspected, they weren't happy with simply layering lovely colors in their milk jars, and wouldn't rest until all of the colors were mixed together.
*Current list of exceptions: Co-op, Martindales, IKEA, the farm store, and Trader Joe's. Also, when it was crazy hot and I needed to finish some travel plans and fill a few hours of our day, we visited the dollar store. They thought the entire store was hilarious and that I was pretty insane for letting them pick out one of anything they wanted. ANYTHING!
**Lots of patience: Thomas is asleep, everyone's just gone to the restroom, we're not running late for anything. No patience: Thomas is screaming, everyone needs to visit the restroom, we're late. That "no patience" scenario isn't a doomsday one, either - it happens every eighth visit or so, although less so now that Thomas is older.
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