If you missed the start of this series, you can find it here. A lot of things will be the same or very similar.
We got Daughter to work on time. Ben kept bringing up the chalk. He was stuck on it. I was able to distract him with a dollar toy from The Stash, a gun thingy that launches foam airplanes.
We got home and I put him and Zeus in bed, then got Horizontal until Sunset.
Ben got out of bed at 8pm again. Right in the middle of my ME/sunset time. I sent him to the bathroom then back to bed. He was still making noise at 9:15, I’m not sure when he went to sleep.
I did my Night Things and took my sleeping pill around 10:45. I probably fell asleep by 11:30.
The summons to Living Room Duty came around 5:15am. By the time I got coffee and was texting Daughter that we were up it was 5:30, so I’m guessing at the 5:15.
When I went to get his water bottle and tablet charger I discovered that his charger cord was broken. It looked like Zeus caught it with a claw or tooth. Of course the new Fire tablet has a different charger than all our other android devices.
So my morning started grumpy. Then Ben started about the chalk again, before 6am. I told him the chalk was coming in the mail, today. I asked if he could calm down, sit down, chill out a little? He ran outside and started spinning in circles… I guess that was a No. JIMINEY CRICKET!
I mentioned that we needed to get Mommy and he immediately put his shoes on. This was at 6:30. I told him we weren’t leaving until 7:15, she was still working. He asked me to set a timer. Meds at 6:39 because I couldn’t wait until 6:45, I was hoping the Adderall would chill him out and slow him down. I turned on Svens lights and uncovered him.
Ben decided ALL of his Kittys needed to come. He also had to bring his tablet, water bottle and the airplane-launching-gun dollar toy. I gave him a bag to put everything in.
We got Daughter with the only problem being that Ben was unhappy that I locked the windows. I didn’t want him pointing the plane launcher thingy out the window, and he would’ve. He has been having more trouble than usual Following Directions.
We got home and he was pulling on the window thing so hard I thought he’d break it. I unlocked it so he could roll it down. “All Better?” He said yes and I told him to roll it back up. Up and down and up and down and up and LOCKED. Into the house we went.
He immediately went and banged his head against the front door and threw himself down. I “helped” him up. He followed me to my room and told me to get dressed and go to the store for chalk. 7:40am and it had been a craptacular morning.
I told him fine, I was going to the store. I needed to get the charger anyway. I checked Goigle to see what, if anything was open… Walmart was open. Swell! I hate Walmart, but I was desperate to turn this day around. There was no way I wanted to spend all day listening to him yammer about the chalk and either go Full Meltdown or be on the verge of it.
Off to Wally World with instructions to Ben to be good for Mom or no chalk. I’d just come back home if Mom called me. I got the charger and Melatonin and a few other list things and was searching, searching for chalk. I went to the Crafts Department and scored
There were three boxes and I was tempted to take all three, but I left one. I do have more chalk shipping this week.
Got home with my treasures and Ben was playing with his old chalk. I also discovered that he had left his Bag O’ Kittys in the car when we got home with Daughter. That might’ve been part of the head-banging issue he was having. His ability to communicate is limited at the best of times and he hasn’t been at his best lately.
Daughter said she wasn’t sleepy yet and told me to go rest. I wasn’t going to argue. Horizontal Time!! I stretched out my back and hoped that we could forget everything that came before, make the Official start of the day 9am, when I got back from WallyWorld.
At 10:00 Daughter went to lay down. Ben was enjoying his chalk, I could tell from the Happy Noises and the song, Let’s Go Fly A Kite, but I knew he’d be in to get me soon enough. It was maybe five minutes. He just sat there, looking at me. Yep, communication issues. His words wouldn’t come out of his mouth. “Gramma come living room” is an easy one, he says it several times a day, every day. For him to be unable to say it then, when he was happy, meant something was short circuiting. I grabbed my stuff and began my Couch Sittin’.
Meds at 10:45 in the chalk area. He had completed a project with the new box
Then at 11:00 the delivery of the five glitter chalks arrived. He was ready to take a break at that point so he just broke them into “working” sizes and left them. He came to the couch and grabbed his tablet, stretched out and started surfing.
He hung out on the couch with me and munched on some poofs for a while. I had switched the AC on at around 11am. Ben has been wearing Daughter’s Winter themed cardigan sweater since last night. It’s heavy like mine, but it has pockets! I think he enjoys the extra weight, but even on a cool-for-summer day, it’s too hot for a heavy sweater.
He got up and ran down the hall and back up through the living room to the bathroom and turned around and back down the hall again. He did this for a couple minutes, until he was out of breath, then flopped back on the couch. Alrighty then. More poofs and tablet. Chillin…
Daughter took over Living Room Duty around 2:45. It was time for me to get Horizontal again. Laying down on my side is really the most comfortable position for me. I still have to move around alot though or my joints get achy. Already having plaque psoriasis on my body and pustular psoriasis on my palms and soles of my feet raises the risk that I’ll develop psoratic arthritis. I probably wouldn’t notice another pain syndrome since I already have one. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder and whether or not Fibromyalgia is autoimmune is up for debate. I’m just a physical mess.
Ben came to visit me a couple times, but mostly stayed in the living room with his Mama. I was happy to be alone-ish (Zeus was with me… and when he’s in Ben’s room, Sophie Cat is with me) and even happier that they were spending time together. Daughter is off work tonight and tomorrow night… no stress on the evening routine.
Daughter decided to have food delivered from the Golden Arches. It just got here so I’m gonna go nom nom my fries before they’re cold and gross. Here’s a song we all know…
After a very rough morning, today turned out pretty good. Ya just never know what’s gonna happen or when. Life at Casa Cuckoo is a rollercoaster ride for sure. Yep, it might make you feel like you’re gonna barf sometimes. It can also be unexpected and thrilling. Tomorrow I go for my monthly pump fill, that’s exciting, right?! Stop by, I’ll take you along with me.
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HUGS!
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King Ben's Grandma 
What a day! You were busy! I’m coming along for the ride tomorrow! Glad Ben is doing well! 💖😘😘
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Bumpy morning, but after the restart at 9am things got better. Definitely better!
See ya tomorrow😉💖
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Great song 😊🎶. Logically I know that the sunset changes colors but still I find it magical the way it brightens and fades, blues and then lavenders and navy. 🌄 so pretty. I’m with Ben, that square chalk is very efficient and orderly. Happy you found some and more in the mail! 🤗❤️
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Thank you! It’s weird and cool how the colors change. Right in the middle it gets completely washed out… like a pause before the grand finale🎆😂 I think the fact that I’m in a valley has something to do with it too. The sun goes behind the hills to the west but is still fairly high above the horizon, then it drops below the horizon and lights everything up again.
Crayola is a good brand!😉🤗🌊🦄🌈🎶💃🏼✨
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I felt so bad hearing your morning was so hard. Not being able to communicate with Ben and wondering what he wants must be so hard. I felt that pain for a bit, so I can relate on a smaller level which I know was so hard for all of us. Thankfully your day turned around with a trip to Wal-Mart and some chalk. And then the much anticipated delivery arrived – awesome! I hope that Ben has a chalk fun filled day tomorrow and is generally, at ease. Fingers crossed!
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It IS hard when he can’t communicate. It must be so frustrating for him. Luckily I’m pretty in tune with him, so I generally have an idea. It’s so basic though… I KNOW he has bigger thoughts and idea and feelings… maybe as he gets older🤷🏼♀️ He’s already come so far. I never would’ve believed we could go 18 weeks of no school and not have bigger troubles.
I think MY grumpiness made things worse this morning. But yes, I scored at Walmart! I thought about holding back the glitter chalk, but I had told him so many times it was coming today, I wanted to show him that he can trust what I say.
I have my pain doc appt at 8:30am, so I’ll get a little alone time🤦♀️🙄😂 and he went right to sleep tonight, so hopefully he’ll be in better mood tomorrow 🤞
I hope you guys don’t get that heat🥵🤞… yuck!
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Going by yourself to the clinic must be a change. Hope B it all goes well.
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It’s funny to look forward to a medical procedure because I get to be alone.🙄😂 It’s nicer lately too because there’s no traffic on the freeway to get there. It used to be bumper to bumper, crawling along for 45 minutes to go like 9 or 10 miles, if that. Not since the Kootie… 15-20 minutes, max.💃🏼💫
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How our preferences change. All the best my friend.
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Not a great start to the day, but I can just envision you racing through WalMart with your Cart O’ Chalk, a determined look in your eyes. “It’s an Arts and Crafts Emergency, people! Code Red! Clear the runway because this cargo plane is taking off!”
Betty, peeking out of the cosmetics aisle: “What the hell was that?”
Sally, not peeking, still perusing. “Oh, don’t worry about it. King Ben has issued another edict and the serfs are just trying to keep peace in the land. Hey, have you tried this kiwi facial scrub? It smells delicious!”
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How did you know?😲 I actually almost ran down Gertrude with her trick hip and gimpy leg…😟 I swerved around the Mister and she klomped to the right and there was almost a collision right in front of Home Decor. Luckily she was into her hop-klomp-hop-klomp rhythm and she hopped back to the left while I swerved a little more to the right (are you sensing a familiar theme here… unintentional, but I like it).
I blessed WallyWorld and hope I don’t have to go back any time soon.
I don’t know why, but the stores give me anxiety. Every time I step into a Walmart, I want to turn around and leave immediately.😱
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Love the song, hate the stress. Hope you get good 😴
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Yeah, the stress wasn’t fun, luckily it was over and done early! I stayed up too late… sucked into a YouTube Vortex😱… it was chill even if it wasnt sleep, so I put that in the “good” column😉🥰
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Music is wonderful 🎶
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Sorry for the rough morning. Congrats on scoring unexpected chalk at Walmart! His chalk layouts amaze me. I can’t help but wonder what they mean. Is there a communication code in there like his own Morse code?
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I’ve wondered the same thing about his patterns. Another blogger who is on the Spectrum said they see a pattern and it has to do with relaxation.🤷🏼♀️ They’re always laid out in a similar way, but never exactly the same. 🤗🥰
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I’m NEVER complaining about my mornings ever again! whew I’m glad you scored on the chalk, maybe a few days respite? Now I’m curious. When you notice (or your daughter notices) HHR starting to be uncommunicative and acting out more, does that signal that he needs his meds changed or is that just something his form of autism exhibits? I truly don’t know how you handle all that AND chronic pain. My hat is off…and now I’m going to go nom on some breakfast (only not at Tiffany’s, mores the pity! ) ❤
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There’s a clinical term for autistic processing delays… I can never remember what it is, but it’s just part of how his brain works. It’s the same with RECEIVING info. Sometimes there’s a delay between when you tell him something and when he hears/understands/processes it. It seems to be random, but more likely to occur when his ADHD is making focus difficult.
Most mornings aren’t quite that crazy, but there are generally a few chaotic times each day. Part of that, most of it really, is just an almost 12 year old child and a Big Dumb Dog cooped up in a small house.
I never get lonely, but I’m rarely alone either. 🤷🏼♀️ There are good and bad in every situation. Sometimes I have to REALLY look to find the good.🙄🤦♀️😂❤
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Tough start then better times. Praise the chalk. These things make such a difference. So hope for a wonderful day tomorrow. x
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He’s had a thing for the chalk since he was 3 or 4 years old. I usually have a box put away, but all the stores I’d been to had been out of chalk for a while.
I really should’ve ordered more a while ago. I was saved by the store I hate. I don’t hate the store less, but I was grateful.
He got really “stuck” on needing new chalk too. 💌
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Gramma saved the day again! Our new puppy is a lead chewer – so far he’s had the dehumidifier lead, the landline phone lead and a mobile phone charger lead. I’m amazed he hasn’t electrocuted himself and am now pretty paranoid clearing about getting leads out of his way!
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Puppy are SO cute, but the chewing is awful! A friend had a pit mix that chewed EVERYTHING, even solid wood furniture.
When we got Zeus from the shelter we intentionally did not look for a puppy.
Of course with an older dog there are other issues sometimes… like him needing to be right next to me at all times🙄
Thank goodness puppies eventually grow out of the chewing. Maybe a butcher shop would have some bones? I don’t know what’s available in your part of the world, but I can sometimes get bones that have scraps of meat or marrow… beef bones. I just ask the butcher at the grocery store. Or stores that dont have a butcher sometimes have them in the meat area, labeled as “soup bones”?? Just a thought. Good luck!🍀🐶
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Thanks, the bones are a good idea as they clean their teeth too. I’ve just bought him an antler and he loves chewing that. I think chewing is a real comfort to dogs. It’s so sad the problems humans cause dogs when they mistreat and abandon them. Thank goodness Zeus has a happy home now.
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