Home Improvement & Habitats!

What a sunny sunny fantastic day today was in Washington DC.  I think it went up to 80 degrees today.  It was another awesome foursome day for our family.  We didn't have much planned but wanted to check out the Georgetown Flea Market to look for some new furniture.  We have this new house, but not much furniture. 

There is a special place in my heart for the Georgetown Flea Market-we have history.  When I bought the old place (the Dupont condo) in 2002 by myself, I also did not have any furniture.  I ditched my crappy college and law school furniture and started fresh.  Moved into the place with about 100 boxes of stuff and had two beds delivered the same day from 1-800-MATTRESS.  I had spent all my money on buying the place, so my parents actually bought me this fabulous King size "princess and the pea" bed and they also bought another Queen bed for the guest room (for them to sleep on-that is now Jonah's bed!) 

After a few months, I finally bought my first piece of furniture at the Georgetown Flea Market.  It was an old fashioned dark wood bar.  I still have it and we love it!!!  Then right before Jonah was born, we figured we should buy a piece of furniture for his room.  We were very superstitious in the "we are Jewish - don't buy anything for the baby until it is born way" so we literally hadn't bought anything.  Jocelyn and I had gone to the big box baby stores and HATED everything there and figured let's try the Flea Market.  Bingo!  At the first booth we found the perfect dresser that could be used as a changing table too - bought it on the spot and love it.  Now it is in Vera's room as her changing table and dresser.  So, this morning we headed back-to see what we would find.

Jonah and Vera were excited to go on an adventure.  I spotted a potential purchase within 2 minutes.  Jonah spotted a train he wanted after 30 seconds.  Jocelyn saw some things but wasn't "eager" for anything.  I found a bench/cabinety thing that I thought would be perfect in the kitchen as a bench for the table.  It needed a little work but I liked it.  We looked at it, I made and offer they countered, but it was still too high.  We took a walk around and on the way out, I offered my price again and they said deal!  Whoop Whoop!

While we were walking though, Jonah found a classic Lionel train priced over $200... he then had a complete meltdown when I told him we were not buying it for him because it was not a toy and it was too much money.  I mean he performed an academy award winning temper tantrum, with coughing & spitting, hand waving, & blood curdling screaming... Oh joy!  He just kept screaming train, train, toy, toy, I want the toy train... then finally passed out in the car when we were 2 minutes from home...

Anyway, on the way home (despite the aforementioned tempre tantrum) I had a brilliant "kaleidoscoping chaos" idea!  Jonah, Vera and I would paint our new bench together outside this afternoon (forget all that laundry I had to do this would be way more fun!).  We stopped at the local paint store (yes we have a local paint store - see here) and picked up brushes and mixer sticks and returned home with both kids sleeping the in the car.  When the kids got up we ate lunch and everything was ready to paint!  I grabbed a can of the white paint the painters just used on our house.  READY SET GO!

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the flowers blooming in our little backyard (OK there were also plenty of flies and some bees...)  I had the piece of furniture on the grass on plastic and explained to Jonah we were going to do some good old fashioned home improvement.  He was into it.  I also repeatedly instructed him no eating this paint!!!  So we started and within 3 minutes paint was everywhere- bench, the grass, us... but he seemed to like it.  He painted the entire back side of the bench and then he was done.  Maybe because it was white paint... or maybe because there is too many other things to do in the backyard and he didn't like my micro managing him with the paint brush and the paint (or my hawk eyes on him preventing him from eating the paint).. but he got up and was like, "Mom, I am dirty and want to play with my balls..."

Mama washed him off and they played but then I gave Jocelyn this little dollar store bug investigation kit I had for Jonah.  Well, GOOD BYE paint and HELLO bugs!!!!  He was super excited.  He played for at least an hour totally engaged and entranced by the potential of putting little ants and slugs into his little kit and analyzing them.  Mama and Jonah discussed habitats and how bugs live in dirt and what they eat... etc.  And he let me finish my painting/home improvement project! I might mention that Vera was as happy as could be the whole time. Singing and laughing the whole time in her jumperoo and playing with all the toys!  She loved watching Jonah and I paint and even more loved watching Jonah play with the bugs!  He would bring them to her and tell her all about them... it was quite hilarious really.

A day of home improvement and habitats... a happy one at that.  Even with the crazy temper tantrum from hell at the flea market...

Home Improvement Project-Here I come!

painting with mommy!

I just love sticking this huge brush into the whole bucket of paint when mommy turns her head!  Whoop Whoop!

forget about painting mommy!  Mama gave me a bug thing!!!

I am getting my sun therapy and loving it!

happy family!

learning about bug habitats!  this is better that Sesame Street!

totally into it - I got a slug!

checking out the magnifying glass!

habitats beat home improvements any day!