Houston, we have a problem. It seems I am not the only one in this house that likes bright lights and shiny balls (Note to you snickering over there: get your mind out of the gutter). Alexis is has really taken a liking to all the Christmas crap that has started to invade our home. And I mean really taken a liking to it. To the point that she is expending all of her energy trying to touch every single thing. If I try to wind a string of lights through some tree branches, she's on the other side pulling them back out and seeing if they make a good necklace. If I put an ornament on a tree, she pulls it off so she can see if it will bounce. If I start digging in a box, she shoves me out of the way so she can dig for her own treasure.

Most of my Christmas decorations are of the breakable variety. This has never been a problem, despite the fact that we have way too many cats and dogs. Ten plus years of cats climbing and sleeping in my Christmas tree has taught me how to attach ornaments just right. Years with dogs has taught me that if a round, shiny object is within reach, it's eligible for a game of fetch so it's best not to decorate the bottom few feet. But I wasn't counting on Alexis making it a challenge to just get the items on the tree in the first place. My only saving grace is that she has fallen in love with the fiber optic snowman. I'm currently negotiating his fee for lulling her into a rainbow-lights induced trance for a few hours.