Part 188☀️ ~ The Adventures of King Ben & Zeus the Big Dumb Dog

~ King Ben's Grandma

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

Daughter made pizza for Ben’s dinner, he ate three pieces, he was hungry. She gave him his bath and he went to bed right after. I was busy doing Science. I got my Autumnal Equinox picture. I also took several sets of pictures from two locations as the sun was going down. All the photos have been taken from the side door. As the sun sets farther south, I might not be able to see it from the side door, so I was setting up a new vantage point. For comparison, it’s more accurate to take the pictures from the same place… Science.

I was bummed to find that June 20, 2020 was a cloudy night and the sun was not visible when it set. I’ve chosen pictures from the 19th and 21st. Pictures from the 18th and 22nd also show the sun setting in the same place.

A couple of the two vantage points, and some pretties

After all the Sciencey Stuff was done, I relaxed, wrote an email, did my Night Stuff, and did some WP stuff. I ate the rest of my “Italian sushi salad”, and at 12:30am I took my pill. I went to sleep sometime after 1am.

The wakeup this morning was a Bounce, then he got under the blankets to steal some heat. It was still dark outside… it was 5am, and Ben was AWAKE! He commanded me to the living room as he wiggle-jiggled off the bed and ran off in that direction. I moved too slow apparently cuz he ran back and told me again “Gramma come living room!” and watched til I was shuffling toward the door.

I started my Couch Sittin Duty and tried to stay awake as the SpazmaTaz bounced all over the room. He’d flop onto the couch, sit for five seconds and then he was up and pacing. When it started to get light, I went out to look at the sky, and to get away from Mr Ants In His Pants. He followed me out and started sweeping in his dirt hole.

I came back in and did the Sven stuff. I found a worm next to one of the tiles. I guess he missed it yesterday. I added it to today’s greens and worms.

He scattered his greens and there were still two worms in the dish. I picked it up and put the worms on top and presented it to him again… He was in the Judgey Corner. (he was pouting, he should’ve gone to the Pouting Corner) I had a sunrise to watch and a SpazmaTaz in a dirt hole to monitor, so I was back and forth a few times. I guess the worms must’ve gone under the greens, Sven looked at the dish, but the next time I came in, it didn’t look touched and he was on his rock.

Ben was still sweeping when the med alarm went off at 6:45am. I took the meds to him in his dirt hole. He swallowed his pills and started sweeping again. I took his water bottle back inside and went back out to take more pictures. He eventually got tired of sweeping and started busting the concrete. Not great, but better than some things he likes to do.

There were a lot of birds visiting during sunrise… crows, Parrots in the distance, a few birds that were too small to identify, and my seagull. The sunrise was pretty. No clouds today which meant it was gonna be hot.

I closed the house up and switched the AC on. It was set at 70°F and it switched on for a few seconds every once in a while. Then I started Couch Sittin Duty again.

Ben was still all over the place. Flopping and bebopping, pacing and building whatever against and on top of Sven’s terrarium. He stepped on Zeus a few times, he threw himself on the floor a bunch of times, and when he did sit down, he was fake-laughing extremely loudly and throwing his body around… into me.

My patience was definitely tested this morning. It might’ve been easier or less irritating if I’d slept longer than four hours. I tried to ignore the constant motion and noise. I was waiting for Daughter to get up and take over.

She wandered out at 8:55am. I went directly to my room. Ten minutes later her BFF was at the door. I’m guessing that if BFF hadn’t called her, she might’ve slept even later. BFF was stopping by to lend Daughter the money to pay for Ben’s shot. Payday is Friday, but after what happened with mail and her check last time, we are being very careful with the money we have. $53 isn’t a huge amount, but it’s not pocket change either. Anyway, BFF brought the money by, then had to leave to do her thing.

Daughter had a phone consult with Ben’s med doctor at 9:30am. The results of the consults are always the same… she doesn’t want to make med changes during transitions. The entire past six months has been one transition after another. Things will continue to change for the foreseeable future. Ben has been on the same dosage of meds for well over a year. It’s not unreasonable to need an increase. It’s his sleep that we are most concerned with. His sleep and his ADHD. When he is unable to stop moving, when he’s not getting enough rest, these things affect every facet of his life. And our lives too.

Ben spent the morning scripting Angry Words, flopping himself onto my bed, pacing back and forth between my room and the living room… it was a Bad Day. I could tell by the way he was so restless this morning and it just kept getting worse.

He had a Zoom scheduled for 11:30 and Daughter gave him the warning countdowns. At 11:20 he ran off to his room. Daughter started yelling for him to sit in the Chair Of Zoom at 11:28. Over and over she was yelling for him. After five minutes of no response she went to his room to tell him to sit in the chair. I was getting irritated at the repetition and went to see if I could help. He wasn’t going to the chair because he was busy getting FULLY DRESSED! Of course he was. I helped him get the rest of the stuff on, he was already wearing the pants, the button down shirt, and the vest. We got the tie on, and the jacket. Then I directed him to the chair. He wasn’t done until he had his socks and shoes on, so I helped with those. Then he finally sat in the chair… ten minutes late.

The Zoom session went like most of them. Ben was disruptive or messing with other stuff. He refused to participate. He got up several times. They ended the session at 11:55am.

Ben came back to my room with Super Dog (a stuffed toy) and watched himself do an Angry reenactment in my mirrored closet door. He threw Super Dog on the bed several times, hitting me each time. I ignored it. Then he Bounced onto the bed and leaned over me to grab the material of my shirt in both hands to do more Angry play. I don’t like it, but it’s better to let him do it once and get it out of his system. Unfortunately, he leaned with his elbow right into the sore spot on my abdomen, right into my bruised liver. I told him to please be careful, that I had an Ouchie right there and pointed to the spot. He made a fist and punched me in the spot. Then he laughed about it.

Dang, it hurt bad! I was crying, couldn’t help it. He ran off to the living room, still laughing. Then he went outside to destroy some stuff out there. Daughter talked him into coming back inside. It was hot, 93°F (34°C), especially with him being Fully Dressed and punching and kicking at hangers, boxes and anything else within reach.

He came and flopped on my bed again. Daughter brought him some ibuprofen just in case all this acting out was due to pain, she also brought him a whole Adderall instead of half. He had been so hyper all day, and the Adderall does seem to help him focus and calm down. She went back to the living room. Ben stayed in my room with his tablet.

I hollered out the 2:30 med alarm. Daughter brought the meds to Ben, who was still hanging out in my room. He pretty much stayed in my room, watching his tablet the rest of the afternoon. He randomly punched Zeus once, made him yelp, poor puppy. I told Ben it wasn’t funny, he made Zeus cry. He said “Sorry Zeus”. I don’t know how to make Ben understand that randomly punching people or the dog is NOT funny. I tell him all the time and have told him since he was little, “No hitting. Hitting hurts.”

I don’t know if it was the Adderall at 12:30, the ibuprofen at 12:30, the combo, or if whatever was causing the “behaviors” finally worked itself out. I was just happy that he was calm.

At 4:30 Ben went into the living room to play with his dominoes. Daughter started cooking. Ben was making Happy Noises as he played. So much better than Angry Words. Thank goodness Daughter is off tonight. I think if we’d had the Driving Miss Daisy stress added to the mix, today would’ve included a meltdown. It still might… things flip fast at the Casa.

Browsing through the U-Toob, looking for something a little different, something to lift me a little… sometimes we get exactly what we need.

Redemption Songs – Eddie Vedder and Beyonce

Today was a classic example of how things go at Casa Cuckoo… it was long and rough. Getting punched was definitely not the highlight of my day. Some days are relaxed, some days are up and down, rollercoaster rides, and some days start off wrong, and get worse. How boring life would be if every day was the same, right? What will tomorrow bring? Adventures of one sort or the other. Stop by and find out. ¡Hasta mañana!

.

.

HUGS!

.

.

27 thoughts on “Part 188☀️ ~ The Adventures of King Ben & Zeus the Big Dumb Dog”

  1. Ugh – it sounds like Ben had a day and it was tough on him and those around him. I am sorry he punched you and it hurt. I take my share of swings and some really do hurt. I liked the ….Science too! It is interesting to watch the change and I like how you write about your sciencey stuff. 🙂 I hope tomorrow is better for you guys. A new day and fresh start!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Exactly! A new day, fresh start.

      Ben is super strong and he went for a knockout punch. 🙄 I expect to get hit, kicked, bitten or whatever during a meltdown, but that was… I don’t even know what that was.

      I think if people paid more attention to Nature, and the movement of the Sun & phases of the Moon, the birds, the plants… if they paid more attention, they would show more concern and our planet wouldn’t be in so much trouble… maybe🤷🏼‍♀️

      Here’s hoping Thursday is kind to both of us!🤞💕

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  2. Ugh! Sorry you had such a rough day. I love your song post today. If you like doing sciency stuff you could always run a search on epiphany asd blog Peter Loyd Thomas. He’s a really smart dad of an autistic child who helps people know about off list medications for autism. You have way more chance in the US. of doctors being willing to prescribe off list. I really think that the hyposensitivity issue our kids have where they are so rough makes low dose clonazepam a good choice for them. You can find other parents on the site who give it to their kids. It’s a special low dose formulation that is not habit forming. I’ve also read that they are prescribing this to adults with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. It works on benzodiazepine receptors and helps with anxiety. The anxiety can show itself as aggression. The supplements I take for this numbness and pain I feel work on these same receptors in the brain. Just a thought you can take or leave :). You know me, can’t stop being annoyingly helpful, lol.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Helpful yes, annoying no. I appreciate any and all information. Ben’s med Doctor won’t change anything for a while. We’ve thought about cannabis too. There are studies, a big one in Israel with autistic children and cannabis. Don’t wanna do it without his Doctor’s okay though. It’s legal for medical & recreational use in California, so that wouldn’t be an issue.
      Dr Bonni Goldstein wrote a book about all the cannabinoid receptors in the body. All over the place, including the GI tract.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Ya just do your research! Do you respond well to cannabis? It’s legal here in Canada too. I had to quit a part time job I had caring for a woman with MS because she used it medicinally and when my cannaboid (sp?) receptors get activated it causes me terrible pain. I would care for her and then couldn’t sleep all night from the pain the second hand smoke caused me. You just want to make sure he’s not like me. If I ever used it it would ruin my life. It’s big money so they always put a positive spin on the advertising.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  3. It must have really hurt to be punched where you’re already sore. I’m so sorry. Ben had a lot of energy today. I’m glad you didn’t have to do driving tonight too. I sure hope everyone gets a good night’s sleep. That’s so neat about the sun! You really can see the difference, the way it’s moved! Thank you for taking the beautiful pictures and sharing them with us. And, going to such care to put up the comparison photos! Beautiful song too. 🎶 Huge hugs 🤗💖✨💫🌷🦜🦄

    Like

    Reply

    1. Nothing like being sucker punched on a bruise by your grandson, then having him maniacally laugh about it.🙄 I know he didn’t understand. He saw me crying later and asked why. I told him he hurt me when he hit me. I think it might have clicked a little. Whether it sticks or not🤷🏼‍♀️
      Rough day. But tomorrow is a new day, and we’ll start fresh and see what adventures await!

      I’m glad you liked my Sciencey Report😉 Next is Winter Solstice on Dec 21. That will be the farthest south. Then it will move back to the Equinox spot in the Spring…
      Sleep well… sweet dreams🍪✨💫💕

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. Ouch! That must’ve hurt. I think the movies kids watch these days make them think that hitting and punching is normal and no one gets hurt.
    It’s also the rule that if you sleep late, you’ll have to get up early! So you should try to sleep early, then maybe you’ll get to sleep in.
    The photographic evidence proves your theory Angie. The sun keeps on changing its angle.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yep! The Sun is setting further south each day. It will reach it’s most Southern point on the Winter Solstice, December 21. Then it will start moving north again. In Spring on the Vernal Equinox it should set in the same spot as the Autumnal Equinox. It’s all super interesting to me.

      I hope Ben has a better day tomorrow. Some days he just wakes up “off” and he can’t explain why.

      The hitting is in all the animated shows, Disney has violence. Ben is a fan of slapstick comedy. 🙄🤪

      Hope your Thursday is awesome!🌈🥰✨

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. It is indeed interesting to see how the sun set moves from one point to another through out the year. !
        I do hope Been has better days ahead. Maybe if his meds get changed around or dose adjusted, he will feel better.
        Disney has a lot to answer for with all this hitting and violence in kids shows.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  5. Just a quick shout out to say that I’ve been out of town for a while, so I’m a bit behind with your life travelogue. Hopefully I can catch up, as I don’t want to miss any important developments. Sending a digital hug to ease your not-so-fun day…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the hugs! Always welcomed and appreciated🤗🥰💕💌
      Kid has fantastic aim and a lot of strength. The punch was a knockout 🤪 He caught me with his elbow this morning, then Dogzilla got me too. I’m thinking I may need kevlar🤔😂😂
      I always liked Pearl Jam better than Nirvana. Just a Pearl Jam kinda day, and great minds (inside clumsy bodies😉😂) think alike💌💌

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Sorry to hear you didn’t get enough sleep, had Ben duty when he was naughty, got socked in the ouchie, and he wouldn’t give you Angie time all day.
    It makes me sad. I know it’s hard. Your daughter was losing her cool and yelling, which made Ben afraid or fearful of being with her. And my guess, is that he knows that ignoring his mom bothers her, so it is his way of getting back at her. Ugh.

    Glad at least he asked to have a zoom teacher call. That was positive.

    Hang in there.

    Teri

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. He wanted to talk to his Therapists and that’s only once a week and he missed it. He didn’t want to come out of the dirt hole. He really should understand a schedule by now, they use them at school and we have one on the fridge. Ben, like all kids and all people for that matter, likes to do what he wants, when he wants to do it.🤷🏼‍♀️

      Wednesday was a tough one! Today has been better, but he’s been edgy. We have to take him to get a booster shot at 4:30 today… 30 minutes from now. Wish us luck🤪😱

      💖💕

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. Oh. My goodness. A punch there? And then laughing? I know he probably doesn’t realize the full extent of what he did, but dayyuuum 😣🤕. I’m sorry love 💞💞

    I love your science-y pics though!! I always find it so refreshing when people notice and appreciate the world around them. I try (and often succeed) to do the same thing! It makes life much more fun and interesting and fulfilling 😍❣️🍻👏🏼🌴🌺☮️😁🙌🏼

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’ve been watching Jupiter and Saturn all summer too. With the moon hanging out with them, no wonder everyone is emotional😉 I’ve also been watching Mars rise. I dont usually see Venus. By the time it’s high enough for me to see from the back gate, the Sun is up and Venus isnt visible anymore☹ I’m all about astronomy now😉🤣🤣🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Yay!! It’s science-y stuff after all 😂😉. Yeah, Saturn is about to rain hell on my parade – it’s fixing to grand-cross me in about 4 months lol 😱😳😱😳😂⛈⚡️⛈🌦🌈☮️🙏🍀💗

        Like

        Reply

          1. Hehe I think I know 😉. That’s under the tropical astrological system 😁. Under the True Sidereal system, they’d probably be in Pisces. Mars in Pisces doesn’t like conflict too much, and disperses its energy more empathetically. Is very mellow indeed 😉👍👍. Saturn would likely be there too 😁💝🌺🌷❣️☮️♓️♓️

            Liked by 1 person

            Reply

Leave a Reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.