Pettetos & Grackles

Pettetos and grackles have pretty much been the driving force behind our emergency makeover of the boys' room.

There are no pictures of the many heart-stopping moments Nate and Seth call "pettetos" because I was too busy growing grey hairs to document it via a photo. All I can say is that we most certainly converted the cribs at the right time and that we ditched the converted beds entirely when it became clear that pettetos were here to stay.

Petteto (pet-et-oh) 

– verb 

1. the act of perching oneself precariously atop a crib rail 

2. also the act of climbing atop a crib rail to gain access to things previously out of reach 

Grackles on the other hand appear to be isolated to assaulting a single piece of furniture in their room, but the truth is if it can be climbed or assaulted then my boys are probably already on it.

The end result of some recent early morning grackles looked like this:

In case this post suddenly seems a little like Groundhog Day, it's not – we really have been here before (at least more or less, although emphasis should be on less then and more now I suppose).

Same drawer but they managed to bend the hardware beyond repair on the opposite side this time:

Also this time they added a twist in the form of what they proudly announced was "Mommy's Reaching Stick™": 

Grackle (grak-el) 

– verb 

1. the act of causing maximum destruction to a specific item of furniture (likely dresser drawers) via climbing. Enhanced only by strewing any findings as the result of breakage about the room (most especially furniture contents). 

Tomorrow Phase II of  our "There gonna be some changes in here!" plan is in full effect and will be, without a doubt, the biggest undertaking of the 3 phases by far.

Please wish us luck.

- L.

PS. Mommy's Reaching Stick™ is a real thing and it does resemble the piece my boys tore off their dresser, except that mine isn't broken and I didn't tear it off a dresser. The real "reaching stick" is just a plain piece of MDF trim easily found at any Home Depot or similar. And no, it wasn't bought with the express purpose of becoming a reaching stick, but a leftover 3 foot scrap has come in handy on the many occasions my boys have stuffed toys in places a hand could never reach. And thus, Mommy's Reaching Stick™ was born.