Part 130 ~ The Adventures of King Ben & Zeus the Big Dumb Dog

If you missed the start of this series, you can find it here. A lot of things will be the same or very similar.

Ben had his dinner and bath and went to bed on time, no problems. He was looking for Auntie after his bath. Older Daughter went to bed around 8:30. She had a nap earlier, but she was still tired.

I watched the sunset and waited for Younger to bring my car back

Younger came to get her stuff and pick me up so I could drive her home around 9:40pm. Ben was still awake, laughing and goofing in his room. I woke Older up and let her know I was driving her sister home and Ben was still awake.

I dropped Younger off, helped her carry her things in and said hello to her dog. Partner works an overnight shift as security so Younger and her pup were alone. Hugs and more hugs and I drove myself home.

Older was on the couch in case Ben got up. She went right to back to bed as soon as I was in the house. Ben got up to use the bathroom a little bit after that, around 10:20. I tucked him back in and told him goodnight. I went to sleep some time after midnight.

At 1:10am Ben woke me up, then ran to the bathroom, giggling maniacally. When he was done, I put him back in bed, covered him, found Zeus and sent him to Bedtime and told Ben again, to sleep. He spent the next fifteen minutes laughing, very loudly and forcefully. He was quiet again at 1:30.

At 3am he woke me up to go to the living room. I went. Sometimes it’s pointless to argue. He was running around all over the place. He put his Guy Fawkes mask on and a flat brimmed hat. Then eventually pants, socks and shoes and a jacket… oh, and black gloves. Can’t be “V” without black gloves. The way he was acting had me seriously wondering about bi-polar. He was manic in his play… like he couldn’t control it. It’s something we’ll discuss with his doctor. Autism and ADHD we kinda understand and “get”, but this was beyond ADHD spaz and beyond Autism super-focus. Of course it was also 3am after a very long few days…

Daughter got up around 5:15. I had been in and out of a doze on the couch. I was beyond tired and I was also medicated. It’s surprising that I was able to be awake at all. Anyway, Daughter took over the living room after “V” put his hand on her throat and stomped on her foot. I went back to my room and continued to doze in and out.

Around 8:30ish Daughter came to my room to check on Ben, who was in bed with me. He was sleeping. She got all the clothes off of him and handed me my tablet which was down to 32% battery. I tried to wake up then, but slipped back under.

I was finally able to wake up and stay awake around 10am. Ben was still sleeping but I needed to get on with my day. Not that I had a lot to do, but we all have our routines and when we don’t follow them, we feel off kilter. Right? I was writing an e-mail, the same e-mail I’d been trying to write since 5:30am and kept konking out and erasing, and I was fighting to stay awake, not erase and finish it. I was able to successfully send it around 10:30.

I got up, used the facilities and uncovered Sven. He was still turned into the corner and I didn’t even peek at him… maybe later. I got fresh hot coffee and went to talk to Daughter about the plan for Ben.

She said wait until noon to give the seroquel and the half Adderall together. She wasnt opposed to waking him up, she didn’t want to force it and make him grumpy though. Agreed. She said he had gone to my room around 7:45 so he hadn’t been asleep very long, two or three hours at the most. I asked if she’d texted his doctor, she hadn’t but began the message then. His Adderall prescription has to be mailed to us and we have about a week’s worth left. Also, neither of us have a date/time for the next phone consult. Her nurse usually calls to set those up. I went back to my room.

She came in a few minutes later to read to me what she’d texted to the doctor. She brought up bi-polar as something to discuss in the consult. All good.

Something one of us said triggered thoughts of Ben’s tablet and doing a “factory reset”, so I mentioned it to her. He was still sleeping, even as we talked in a normal tone of voice right next to him, so now would be a good time to try to get YouTube to work on his tablet again. She grabbed it and did the things, set the parental controls, or more precisely the “password to purchase” controls and gave YouTube a trial run with Peppa Pig (oh, how I dislike Peppa and George!), it worked, YAY!

At 11:45 she brought meds in and woke Ben up. He woke up fairly quickly and easily but had the confused “where am I and what just happened?” look on his face. Before she could give him the meds, he jumped up and ran to the living room. (He really does jump and run as his primary modes of locomotion. He rarely walks. When he does walk, he’s usually only doing it so he can shuffle and kick up dirt, or he’s pacing. It’s not dramatic word choices in my writing, it’s Ben being Ben.) She was able to dope his face and tell him she fixed YouTube on his tablet. Then she went and got her stuff and joined him in the living room.

Daughter and Ben hung out together in the living room for the next couple hours. Zeus and I hung out in my room. I spent the time getting caught up on my WP reader and email. I felt myself getting dozy a few times, but fought it off. Sleeping in the afternoon always makes me feel so logey afterward.

At 2:30 Ben Bounced me. He wanted my tablet. I asked him why he wanted mine when Mommy had fixed YouTube on his. No answer. Then he wanted me to take his temperature. Oh-kaaaay?? I got the thermometer and took his temperature and showed him the green. (I didn’t even notice the readout so I dont know what the actual temperature was) I asked if he had an ouchie, if he needed medicine for ouch. He said “All better.” Okay… I told him I was glad he was better and let me know if he needed medicine for ouch. He took my tablet and ran back to the living room. Very Random! Very Casa Cuckoo!

Younger texted. She’s okay or okay-ish and wants to use my car for Postmates tonight between 4:00pm-9:30pm. I told her no problem and asked if I needed to come get her. She texted that she would drive the Saturn over. Okay… Great for me, I had a feeling that I’d be pretty tired by 9:30pm tonight, but this car and her use of it was such an issue on Saturday night. Ah, the pettiness of some arguments!

Younger called me at 4:40 to tell me that Partner had taken the key to the Saturn with them, so Younger needed me to pick her up. Ugh! I talked to Older, we decided I would get Ben a Happy Meal while I was out and also get her more wine. (Since I wasn’t going to have use of the Saturn after Ben went to sleep) When I went to my room to get changed and grab my stuff to go get Younger, I saw that Ben was dozing off in my bed. Swell! I woke him up, asked if he wanted a Happy Meal, he said yes, so I told him he needed to stay awake. Older had him sit on the couch with her but he was grumpy, complaining that his head hurt. She gave him ibuprofen.

I got Younger, skipped the Golden Arches since Older called to say Ben had fallen asleep again, got the wine and came home. Younger will bring my car back later, probably close to 10pm. I don’t know if I need to drive her home or if Partner will pick her up or what. I guess I’ll find out later.

Older and I decided to let Ben sleep. We’ll wake him up at 6:15 or 6:30 to take meds, use the bathroom and get in bed. If he remembers about the Happy Meal, I’ll call Auntie to bring it.

Tonight’s exit song is from an old Christmas Movie, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”, but I love the message of the song. It’s not a Christmas song, it’s a how to change and live your life song. It’s a great philosophy, and check out the stop-motion animation.

Thank you for hanging out with us on this very Cuckoo day! Its was pretty chill after sunrise or thereabouts and the little hiccup this evening. Things are always happening, even when nothing happens. When something DOES happen, it happens BIG! Come on by tomorrow, there will be Laundry. Very exciting! Will it be hung out to dry or will I have to face the Quarter Lady? Will Ben sleep all night? Will I? Tune in tomorrow… we enjoy having you join our Adventures!

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HUGS!

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