“Putting Down” The Christmas Tree…

I guess Ian figured if you put the Christmas tree up, you must also “put” it down… silly kid…

At any rate, that’s exactly what Phil and I did this afternoon.

We had the strangest configuration ever for our tree this past Christmas.  I have an ongoing fear that someone will knock the tree down and get hurt.  Although there are probably a lot of things you could say are neurotic fears that I should just get over, let me put it out there that when Seth and Grace were toddlers they actually did knock the tree down, so there is really nothing you could say to assure me this never happens…  I have lived it!  Anyway… as wild as Caleb was when he was little, he was not so wild that we worried too much about the tree, and Ian was the easiest baby of all time.  For years we have roped the tree to a plant hook in the ceiling, and I just recently realized that the kids thought that was the sole purpose for those hooks… too funny…  It’s been a good solution, but then there was Miah…  We actually considered not putting the tree up at all this time around!

Then we had a brilliant idea!  We would put the tree up in the play room and block it off with an extra tall baby gate that we screwed into the wall, because the truth is Miah is capable of climbing regular sized baby gates, and she can knock down anything that is not at least semi-permanently attached… no kidding…

This plan worked perfectly except for the fact that our kids have been banned from the play room for the past month!  I mean, what kind of parents do that?  Uh… that was rhetorical!

And so… the tree is down!  And the playroom has never looked better.  I’m even considering opening the gate…  Maybe, tomorrow… 

This is one of my favorite rooms in our house...

Sometimes we refer to it as "The Gallery"

L.