The Great Debate: Banana Poop

That would be nice, but we don't have one. And if we did, I can guarantee that it wouldn't look so adult-like. There would be a chair against one wall to climb up and turn the light on. The table would be turned up-side-down to make a boat, and the remaining three chairs would be stacked as a climbing obstacle, green paint gouged and bolts missing. The fate of that cute little animal would likely include drowning during a clandestine introduction to tub time. Because while they do have great imaginations, they are also pretty predictable most of the time. And that is why we prefer to shop on garbage day on the curbs around our neighborhood.

And this is why snack time around our place can get pretty messy. Because while I am pretty organized and ritualized and schedulized, snacks are generally just passed out to the nearest hand or the loudest scream as they are deemed necessary, which is usually a result of escalating noise. Because we all know a busy mouth has a harder time whining.

On to the debate. For the record books, one of Alida's very first words is "'nanna". Not grandma. Banana. She knows, and she will not be redirected. If she is feeling sweet, she will walk to the counter where the banana hook is kept and reach, smiling. Most times she screams. Sometimes she wanders aimlessly muttering "'nanna" to anyone who will listen until someone puts one in her hand. And then a second chunk in her second hand because not having two fists full of banana is just not worth it to the girl. And by the time you give her the second chunk, she is reaching for the third chunk with a free hand because she has shoved the entire first chunk in her mouth already. I buy two bunches of bananas at my weekly grocery run. They are generally gone in two or three days.

Not having a nice little snack table to sit and happily eat their snacks, we've found abandoned banana in a few places. So if a banana were to be abandoned in, say, the toy box, it may not be found for a little while. Abandoned banana kind of darkens and solidifies on top and remains mush in the center. So when Benjamin found this banana the other day as I changed a girl, he announced or asked or amazed at what he had found:

"Oh. Nanna poop?"

Me: "What?"

Him: "Nanna poop. Ewww. Gucky. Nanna poop."

Enter Nicholas: "No. No. No nanna poop Ben!"

And it began

"Nanna poop!"

"No nanna poop!"

And back and forth. No one really making any arguments, just stating their positions on the matter, back and forth, back and forth.

As I was telling Patric about this over dinner last night, it was as if I had cued them for the cameras, and it began all over again. And we listened to the same two talking points for as long as we could before we had to shut them down and move on because we had to get them to bed so we could watch the debate...