In My Mind...

.....IT'S FALL!!! Okay, I know we've got a couple weeks before the true beginning of fall is here, but school has started, it's getting chillier outside (thank goodness!!) and I'm just too excited for it NOT to be fall already! Today, the temperature is only going to get up to around 58 degrees. That means it was about 44 degrees when we all woke up at 7am this morning and our house had a nice brisk feeling to it. The kind of briskness that makes you want to throw on a cuddly robe before you come downstairs to make a cup of coffee with your favorite flavor of coffee-creamer in it and turn on the fire. Well, maybe that's just the way I like it so I was thrilled when that's how things went this morning. I'm sure I've told you before how Chris and I love love love our fireplace. One of the best inventions (in my mind) is the gas fireplace, where you can just flip a switch and ta-da! It's a staple in our cozy routine when the weather gets cold and I've decided that I'm not going to let a speedy 9-month old ruin my plans. We have a removable grate in front of our fireplace but if Connor were to pull on it, it would fall over. We obviously don't want him to touch the glass on the fireplace and get burned, so what were we going to do?? First, let me mention that when we put our Christmas tree up back in the year 2008, we had a child in this same stage (ahem...Miss Hannah...) who made it her mission to tear any and every ornament she could reach off our beautiful tree. We ended up investing in a six-sided plastic gate (some stores call it a "play yard" because it's a decent size) and put the gate around the tree. No doubt we will need to use it this year for that same reason, but until then, this is my fireplace solution:



Connor has even pulled up on it a few times, proving that it's sturdy enough to hold him and far enough away that he can't get burned. Hooray for the first real "fall-feeling" morning and awesome solutions. I think I'll be adding this gate to my list of "all-time best inventions" as well. :)