Moving Day

     My friend lamented to me a while back about her own personal sock monster, that lives behind the dryer and eats socks when she's not looking (always only half of a pair, of course).  I told her that thinking of the "Sock Monster" gave me a mental image of a smaller version of the Cookie Monster (maybe his cousin?) twiching by the dryer vent until laundry was loaded, then lunging into the dryer gobbling up socks screaming, "ME WANT SOCKIES! NUM NUM NUM NUM NUM!"

   If you're wondering, yes, I do spend too much time with my children.

   At any rate, I've become convinced that not only do I have my own personal Sock Monster, I also have a ninja gremlin that steals shiny things and hides them in wierd places.  And no, I don't mean either of my children.

I'll spare you the description of my mental image of this creature.

 We moved into our new house last week, and even though I personally packed most of the boxes and marked them according to contents and room they go in, I can't seem to find ANYTHING.  When I do find something, it usually disappears within a day or two, and may or may not turn up later in the exact opposite place than it should be.

     I'm sure it's not a mouse, because most things this happens with are either too large for a mouse to carry, or are found in places I wouldn't think a mouse could or would go - or would leave his new treasures if he did.

     For example, I found a fork in my shower about two days ago.  Of course, I didn't miss the fork, and didn't realize it was gone until I found it.  I wondered if maybe we had a rogue raccoon - don't raccoons always wash their food before they eat it?  But then I figured, if we had a raccoon in the house, we'd know it.

     Then I found my daughter's shoe in the refrigerator.  I have no theories on this except that one of my daughters did it, so it really doesn't even count, except that it ties into the other things.  I can't even come up with a joke for this one.  Fast food?  Nope, too obviously reaching.  Moving on.

     I found an unopened can of Diet Dr Pepper in the hall closet, an incense stick in the toilet (I actually kind of get that one - thank you, Tinkle Fairy), and a toothbrush in the oven.  We have a satellite receiver that is still yet to be found, and random computer parts (hubby is a tech) strewn about the house.  Things even disappear just after they've been set down, as soon as we're not looking (that's how I know our gremlin is a ninja).  Nothing's been torn up or taken apart (which is how I know it isn't my girls), just relocated.

     I figure, either it's the ninja gremlin, the people that helped us move thought it would be funny to play jokes on me, or I need to make sure none of us are sleep walking.

    I just hope our gremlin and our sock monster don't hook up - imagine all those little ninja sock monster gremlins invading the house.  Not only would I never be able to find anything again, I'd probably have to severely alter our lease.