Or, alternate title: How did a marble get in the toilet?

I was reminded of this mystery when reading a Facebook post today by a mother who had found a random piece of poop in her kid’s bedroom. For her sake, I hope she figures it out.

I say this because I’m still perplexed — a year later — as to how a marble ended up in our potty.

At first, I thought maybe one of the kids dropped it in there. Or maybe it fell out of a pocket. Thing is, we didn’t have any marbles at the time. OK, so many one of them found it somewhere and kept it.

Initial line of questioning:

Me: So, which one of you lost a marble lately? Ha-ha!

Blank stares. They clearly don’t appreciate my stab at humor.

Me: OK. So, I found a marble in the toilet. I’ve done the honor of washing it. Who does it belong to?

More blank stares.

Me: You’re not in trouble! One of you, take the marble.

Both children: Ewww!!!

At which point a couple of disturbing thoughts slid through my mind:

Could one of them have … ? No, surely not… That would require eating a marble for THAT to happen, and first- and third-graders don’t do that. ……………. Or do they?

Yes, people, I actually accused the kids of ingesting and then pooping out a marble. They merely looked at me like I was an absolute idiot.

Hubs did the same when I tried — subtly, I thought — asking him if he knew how a marble ended up in the toilet.

“Surely you are NOT asking me if I did what I think you’re suggesting, right?” he asked incredulously.

Me: Blank stare.

He denied it. Of course.

Perhaps one of the dogs…???

So today, we braved the icky weather and headed out to the Family Health Fest at the Promenade at Chenal.

I’m happy to report that my blood pressure was great and my blood sugar was stellar. The kids also had their blood pressure checked. They passed, however, on the finger prick!

The tests were conducted by staff from St. Vincent Family Clinic. I was also planning to have an EKG done, but …

… the A.W. Lin’s booth beckoned.

The kids and I devoured the Thai Spicy Red Curry with Chicken and rice. I also sampled the Joy Sushi Roll, which was a tasty bundle of bean curd, cream cheese and tempura crunch topped with sliced avocado. LOVED THIS!

While I talked to people at the heart health booth, Tootie and the E-man visited Suri Orthodontics, leaving with a tooth-care kit. Tootie also kindly picked up a “men’s cancer thingy” for Hubs. (This would be an information packet from the Arkansas Prostate Cancer Association.)

The kids’ favorite stop was another St. Vincent booth where they got to don surgical duds…

… and even got their “broken fingers” plastered up. This was pretty cool. The doctor simply wrapped a finger in gauze, sprayed a little water, and minutes later, each child sported rock-hard plaster on their tiny appendages. They plan on wearing these to school next week.

I meant to take the kids over to see the firefighters fire truck, but we ran out of time!

While tempted to go try more delicious food at A.W. Lin’s, I decided to take the children to Local Lime, since I’ve been wanting to sample their tacos for the longest time. I wasn’t disappointed. My chicken tacos were fabulous, and I warmed up nicely after drinking a Texas Two-Step, which has a touch of jalapeno in it!

Last stop was at Maggie Moo’s for ice cream. This made us cold all over again, but was well worth the chattering teeth!

(This post is sponsored by The Promenade at Chenal. All opinions, however, are mine. And Tootie’s. And the E-man’s!)