Mysteries at the McCandless House

I think we have other children besides the 4 I have living secretly in our house. We fill up the refrigerator with bottled water and the next day it is half way emptied out and not one of my kids claim the 20 water bottles lying around the house still full. I walk in their bathroom every day, hear a crack under my feet only to look down and see another broken hanger I have just stepped on. Of course, no one knows how it got there or how they get there every morning. Then, I look out in the backyard only to see the empty wrappers of the 15 donuts, cupcakes and other snacks we bought this weekend shredded all over the yard by one happy dog. How does a whole bag of snacks make it to the backyard and not ONE person remembers how it could have gotten there or saw a dog walking by with a grocery bag of food to take it outside? Do children have very, very short-term memories or am I the one going crazy? They have absolutely no idea how any of this happened. All they know is THEY didn’t do it. Sound familiar? So, now, my only choice is to get creative. I am certainly not as creative as I used to be and it takes some time to be creative, I am not patient and want to have answers now, but it’s the only way to not accuse or assume I know who the guilty party is. I envy those parents that are always so creative at solving issues and it comes so naturally to them. I don’t know how I will figure out the snacks, but I am on a mission now to figure out the rest. Colored hangers will solve the hanger problem and a shiny, new lock on the water fridge and a red sharpie will fix the water bottle problem. We have tried the sharpie without the lock, but it only lasts a day or two. The lock will force them to ask and remind us to use the sharpie. Sounds like a good plan, we will see if it works.
Of course my first reaction is to blame the new member and I don’t like feeling that way and certainly don’t want to accuse without knowing. I don’t want to assume I know who it is, but it’s so hard not to. It’s not fair for me to feel that way, but it has got to be normal to feel that way. At least I would think it’s a normal feeling. I hope to solve the mystery. Not that it’s a huge deal, well, the fact the dog ate my chocolate cupcakes is kind of a big deal *smile*, but just to sort it all out in my own head is really what I need. I wonder if other adoptive parents struggle with this? It seems understandable that they would, but it sure makes you feel guilty for feeling that way. Stay tuned.