Mystery: Crumb Snatcher

It's that time of year...the Halloween decorations are out and it's a frightful delight around our house. It looks like Halloween and no one enjoys it more than Mal. Daily she recites: "Mom, the mantel looks so pretty!" She's a crafty one and enjoys all things holiday. She has plans to make a ghoulish gargoyle costume (...you'd HAVE to be an engineer to figure that one out) and "...hide outside on Halloween night crouching near the bushes so when the older trick-or-treaters come along you can scare them -- but not the younger ones -- we'll just move our eyeballs and see if they notice." She has big plans.

But there is a mystery evolving inside this haunted mansion just waiting to be solved. So maybe I don't need a gargoyle, but I'm ready to put on my own detective hat and starting writing down clues. There are several suspects living in this house so I need not look far. And they all have the same M.O. -- they all LOVE Kisses -- chocolate ones, that is.

Part of decorating is chocolate and I've purchased some fall-foiled Hershey kisses and put in the pumpkin dish by the front door. The last few days I've noticed remnants of orange and gold foil on the ground from sloppy candy crooks. This morning, while vacuuming, I found a Hershey banner from a chocolate kiss on the carpet. And then...chocolate crumbs heading back into the house. Not just sloppy, but piggy!

Dave comes and goes through the front door. He's not so good at NOT being obvious. But he can be sloppy and he does love chocolate. He's staying on the list. Mallory is a hoarder. She collects and hides stuff all the time. We have a whole other set of adventures and episodes regarding that bad habit. But we won't go there right now. Still, she rarely exits via the front door, so I'm leaving her off the list. Lindsay leaves daily via the front door but I sit there with her. She's not overly obsessed with chocolate and has the annoying habit of ALWAYS asking me everything. "Mom, can I get a drink of water?" Have I ever denied this child anything, let alone a glass of water? For Pete's sake! She'd probably ask if she could have a treat so for now, she's off the list. Then there's Hayden. What can I say? Like father like son. He's learned from the best, and he's learned it's better not to ask. He has a secret room and he goes through that butler's door more than anyone...which leads directly to the front door and the candy dish. Sight, unseen.

So who's on the list? Dave and Hayden. We'll see where the clues lead in the next few days and then we'll know who the crumb snatcher is...and we'll nab him quickly so we still have some candy to hand out come Halloween night!