What Have I Done??? LOL!

Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive December 2004: What Have I Done??? LOL!

So, I finally pulled myself out of grinch mode and pulled out the Christmas decorations. We skipped on a tree this year due to the toddler and animal nightmares I would be having so were just doing basic decorating to look cute for the guest on Christmas Day. Well I put some garland and other things on the staircase along with a few small ornaments to coordinate the colors. I was worried that DD would start pulling them down so the baby gate is at the bottom of the stairs now. She already messed up the alignment of the garland but i'll live as long as ornaments dont start breaking.

.... But!!! I *really* wasn't expecting our cat to start attempting to l e a p high enough to smack ornaments and pieces of garland down! LOL! You'd think I had catnip buried somewhere in there.


So, have you had any decorating disasters so far?

By Breann on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 07:12 pm:

Aww, come on and put a tree up! That will help you get in the Christms spirit! I have a toddler and a kitten. The kitten is worse than my toddler. We tied the tree to the wall with some wire. You can't even see it. Plus, the toddler is very occupied with keeping the kitten out of the tree. That takes his mind off the tree itself.

By Vicki on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 07:15 pm:

I agree, put the tree up!! I can't imagion Christmas with no tree!!!

By Kellyj on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 07:26 pm:

I agree with Breann and Vicki. I have two cats and a toddler. The kitten is the worst. DD likes to rearrange the candy canes on a daily basis and leaves the ornaments alone. She must have broken a candy cane and put it back on the tree. The kitten knocked it down and apparently ate half of it because I can only find half of the candy cane!

I wouldn't really say that it's been a disaster. Kitten broke one ornament (nothing special just a ball). DD helped us put it up so I think that took some of the novelty away.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 08:35 pm:

We have always had a tree. Toddlers didn't scare me. Sarah was 16 months at Christmas and Emily was 21 months at Christmas. Neither one of them bothered the tree. Of course, we didn't have a cat, though.

By Amy~moderator on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 08:46 pm:

ROFL, I have a 3 year old and a 15 month old and 2 cats, plus 4 kittens! My house burned up last year from a Christmas tree! And *I* still put one up!!! Melissa - put that tree up right now, missy, or I'm comin to get you!!!! ;) *eg*

But, yes, the cats do like to play with the low branches of the tree, the garland, etc. The baby really doesn't try to mess with it that much. It is funny to see the cats leaping to bat at the garland and ornaments, though. LOL

By Boxzgrl on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 09:00 pm:

Well...... *maybe* i'll ask DH if they are still giving out free trees on base. I'm guess i'm a bit nervous because we've never bought a tree in this family so I don't know my tree safety. And i'm scared of the cats peeing or something.

And DD has been looking at me all day wondering why *her* stairs are off limits to her, lol!

Grrr..... why do you girls make me feel so guilty???????? LOL!

By Trina~moderator on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 09:36 pm:

We've always had a tree, and at one time had an infant, a toddler and 4 cats. NO GLASS ornaments! LOL! No tinsel either. Cats and kids love to eat it. Not good. I used to be very particular about the tree and decorations but after kids I've learned to chill. DD (6) decorated our tree this year. It's quite a sight, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

By Brandy on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 10:15 pm:

well i have our tree up but i only have 3 kittens and one is really young to be very curious lol the other two aren't probably even considered kittens anymore but they are to me = ) she's always in the tree aaahhhh lol = ) i agree put up your tree = )

By Tink on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 10:18 pm:

Last year, I put up our tree in front of our picture window and then hung one of my snowman pictures above the window. In the middle of the night, I heard a crash from the living room. Terrified, I came creeping down the hall, certain that someone had broken in (not one of my brightest moments), and, suddenly, a man's silhouette filled the doorway. I screamed (waking up my toddler) and found out it was my dh! He had shut the front door VERY firmly and it had knocked the picture off the wall into the tree and knocked the tree over, thus the crash. I'm not sure I slept at all that night!

On the tree issue, we have 2 cats and 3 kittens and a 3yo (not as bad as a toddler) but the kittens have been the worst. We just kept a spray bottle nearby and now they all sleep in a tangle on top of the tree skirt. Really cute.

By Ilovetom on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 10:36 pm:

I have 2 trees. LOL. One upstairs in the big window with mostly lights just for lookin from the outside.

The one downstairs has all the ornaments the younguns have made. I love it.

By My2cuties on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 11:25 pm:

talking about disaster, huh? Well, my 3 year old is an angel...BUT my 18 month old was practically climbing the tree for the first week I had it up (we put our tree up day after thanksgiving). I *had* a lot of pretty red and green and cream colored (solid) GLASS balls because the year we got them we only had Katelyn and she never touched the tree she was not very curious, she was satisfied with just looking at the pretty lights. Then Hailey came along and this year I have ended up throwing all my pretty balls away, because she tried to eat one and I said Nope, they ALL go out!.. boohoo. I told DH she watched too much of The Grinch and was trying to eat glass like Jim Carrey..lol

Now we have a tree with lights and no balls... But I would rather have it like that than take a trip to ER for her eating glass.

Dh says he'll buy me all new ornaments, and I said why bother we'll just get some for next year Christmas is 1 week away.

Maybe next year will be better with a 4 year old, a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old ( hopefully not *very* mobile)

By Palmbchprincess on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 01:39 am:

Our cats knock off ornaments every night. When we go to bed you can hear them batting at them, and in the AM there will be 3 or 4 on the floor. GRRRR! Oh, and Maddie rolled over with her cast today, and snagged a string of lights on it. No major damage, just her saying "Mommy HELP!"

By Feona on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 06:33 am:

Get a little tree with non breakable ornaments.

By Janet on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 09:27 am:

We also have a kitten, so we've decorated very sparingly with none of my favorite antique glass balls (*sniff*) and no tinsel this year. Kitty has pretty much left the tree alone, but she's very interested in the bows and stuff under the tree! She also likes to rearrange my knick knacks. I'd rather have a toddler any day! LOL

By Conni on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 01:45 pm:

We have a 100 lb black lab that comes in at night (because its cold) and he is totally oblivious to his size. He would crawl up in your lap if you let him. He keeps walking by the tree while wagging his tail and swinging his big butt and knocking ornaments down. LOL

By Bea on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 03:34 pm:

One year I baked and decorated cookies with elaborate royal frosting decorations. They were our major tree decorations. We had a black cat who knocked every one off the tree, one by one, and licked all the frosting off. Nothing would stop him.

By Cat on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 03:51 pm:

The only problem we're having is the dog chases one of the cats under the tree and they wrestle under there and knock off the bottom branches. We'll be sitting on the couch and we'll see the whole tree start to shake!

Our first Christmas after we got married we had a mini-daschound. She was about 11 months old at that time. I decorated our little 4 foot tree (that I'd had in my dorm room) with all my cross-stiched ornaments, crotched ones from my mom and grandma, and the ones I'd made as a child my mom had sent. I really didn't think Rummy (the dog) would bother them much. I also didn't think that the little snowflake ornaments my grandmother had made me would get eaten either! Turns out instead of using starch to stiffen them up, she used sugar water. I only have about three left (she'd made me a dozen!) and we've always remembered to put them up high, out of animal's reach, since.

By Breann on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 03:56 pm:

lol Bea. That is funny

By Bellajoe on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 04:02 pm:

LOL my sister has 1 yr old twins and a 3 yr old. One of the twins is walking and the other is crawling and she even put up a tree! I think she has one of those big baby gates around it to keep the girls from trying to climb it or something.

I still put up a tree with a one yr old and a 3 yr old...a few yrs ago. It looked a bit silly because I had no ornaments on the bottom half of the tree...but at least it was something.

Go ahead and put the tree up Melissa.

Conni...your story reminded me of one Christmas about 12 yrs ago. I had a 70lb dog who thought he was a lap dog. He would walk by the tree and swing his tail too. Several times we found a ornament hanging from his fur , once it was hanging from his butt LOL, it was hilarious!

By Conni on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 06:00 pm:

Patti, ROFL!!!

Melissa, my 4-1/2 yo ran thru the bathroom this morning while I was in the shower, using my pretty cross ornament's as GUNS!!!!!!!! LOL! Pow! Pow!

Never a dull moment around this house.

By Amy~moderator on Saturday, December 18, 2004 - 04:20 am:

Patti - ROFL @ no ornaments on the bottom half of the tree! I actually thought of doing the same thing, LOL

By Kaye on Saturday, December 18, 2004 - 10:35 am:

The other thing you need to keep in mind is she is very very teachable at this age. It is a perfect time to teach her, "pretty", that means we look but don't touch. I promise this comes in super hand when you shop! I could say to my 2 year old, this is a pretty store, or that's a pretty. It was super.

On another note, we have an artificial tree, I have glass balls, hallmark ornaments, some breakable type ones. My cat lives in my tree. She has never been happier..LOL. Last year she could get to the top, this year too fat, she stops in the middle. We gave up trying to stop her. All she does is climb up the middle and go to sleep, she doesn't play with the ornaments. A couple have fallen, but from my kids trying to get her out.

Census says, put a tree!