A mother's mission to find sand in Warsaw

Just when you think you are fully acclimated to an environment something happens to shake things up a bit....Over the holidays, the kids received a sand and water table. They have not been able to really use it until now because of the cold weather. Now that Warsaw is coming out of hibernation, so has this table. So, Thing 1 and I went to OBI, the Polish/German version of Home Depot. Mind you, I had done my research. the polish word for sand is "piasek." So, I came prepared to ask if necessary.

So, we look around and find all kinds of potting soil and other gardening ingredient, but no sand. We went next door to REAL, the Polish/German version of Target that also has a gardening section. Nothing. So, I came home with one disappointed child, but no sand. So, I am trying to wrap my mind around this because at most stores, the big plastic animal shaped sand boxes are on sale along with pails and shovels for the sandbox. So, where are people getting sand? I jokingly mentioned this to Thing 2's preschool teacher and she commented that the school director got her sand for the large sandbox they have from a construction site. She just bagged it herself. So, I begin telling the Cat that we have to take a trip to a construction site late at night and take some sand. This table only requires a small amount of sand, so a few grocery bags would do. Being the straight arrow he is, he refuses. He also refused to go out to find some after I told him about getting his pronunciation right: if you say piesek instead of piasek apparently you would be asking for a small dog. So, I continued my search.

Finally, as if by Divine Intervention (the law of attraction, perhaps), sand began to appear everywhere. I passed a car advertising "piasek" and it turns out that the Embassy is doing construction and I came to my Polish lesson last week to find a mound of sand at the compound. But, I continued looking and finally learned that the local Home Depot received their sand shipment. So, for Mother's Day, I had two happy, but muddy messes, on my deck!