If you missed the start of this series, you can find it here. A lot of things will be the same or very similar.
I did my Sciencey Stuff Data Gathering and Ben did his chalk thang. Daughter made pizza for him but he was ignoring it. Around 6pm he jumped up, ran outside to the dirt hole and began madly sweeping the dirt into the air. I asked Daughter why he jumped up and ran off like that, she looked at her watch and said because she forgot to give him his night meds. Yep, that’d do it.
She got him to take his meds and come inside. By 6:10 or so, the Sun was definitely down and it was starting to get a little dark, with clouds coming in. I didn’t run his bath until 6:30 cuz I wanted him to eat. I took a few more pictures and edited the ones I already had.
I had a super Happy moment around 5:45 when the biggest flock of Parrots I’ve seen did a fly-by, circled then headed off into the sunset, joyfully squawking the whole time.
First Sunset
Then Parrots
After Ben was clean and off to bed and Sven was covered, I did the Things and some of the Stuff, wrote an email, sent a couple texts, did some WP stuff, ate some more of the leftover parmesan chicken and cheese tortellini soup, took my pill around 12:30 and ended my Thor’sDay very early Friday.
I’m not sure what time Ben got in bed with me this morning. I know he asked me to go to the living room several times before I could wake up enough to get up. I also know I was a little late in giving him his meds, it was closer 7am than 6:30am. NBD. I put kibble down for Zeus and Officially Greeted him, before he exploded with wiggly whiney excitement. Goofy Mutt!
Then I uncovered Sven and did the things. The three worms from yesterday were under the greens… poor Sven hasn’t had worms in several days because he doesn’t eat enough greens to find them, and his aim sucks! They went on top of the fresh greens again, but Sven went for blueberries first. Or that’s just what he got first. Eventually I took pity on him and took most of the greens out of his dish for a few minutes so he’d have a better chance at the worms… he got two of the three, then I put the greens back. He needs the greens more than the worms… healthwise.
Daughter got up around 7:30am and after checking the eastern sky, overcast, I got Horizontal and started going through my email… and dozed off.
Ben joined me in bed, very wiggly and bedquakey, around 9:15. He kept saying “Gramma?” and I’d answer… but he kept saying it and pulled my shoulder so he could see my face… then he said “Gramma, I want more Pink Cookies, please.” Ugh! He woke me up for Pink Cookies??? Of course he did.
I went and got the extra box from on top of the fridge. Daughter was saying she told him to leave me alone. When she saw me grab the cookies she said she didn’t know those were there. Jiminey Cricket On A Motorscooter! They were in plain sight. In the same place we put them if we have them. I didn’t say anything… no point… I took the cookies in to HRH, who thanked me, then ignored them. (Deep breaths, Angie… deep breaths!) Ben continued to hang out in my room, watching his tablet.
I put Sven in the shower and he got all blissed out. When I checked on him later he was at the other end of the tub, and Angry! His beard was SO black. I dont know if the water got too hot or too cold or what his problem was, but I took him out and wrapped him in a towel, then walked outside with him.
Look at that grumpy beard! He’s so bright and yellow, but his beard is so black. He’s not sure if he’s happy or angry. He’s got complicated emotions, our Sven. I set him down on the outside of the window AC for a little while
Daughter came and talked to him through the window. We stayed outside for about ten or fifteen minutes, then I put him back in his terrarium… and he got grumpy again. Poor Sven!
One bit of wonder and awe occurred while I was outside… a dragonfly circled me. I live nowhere near a lake or pond. I have no idea where this dragonfly came from, but they’re special to me. A very magical moment, and I even got a picture. Kinda like my seagull picture though, so I won’t bore you with it. You’re welcome.
Around 1pm I put on some public clothes, mask and dreaded shoes and went to the grocery store. Daughter wanted to make more soup and we needed a few other things… like more Pink Cookies. Ben had his half Adderall and was chillin on the couch, watching his tablet. I figured it was the best time to go unless I wanted to wait til after he was in bed. Daughter called out of work for tonight. She said she’s feeling a little better but only a little. I told her it would be better to rest another day than push it and make herself worse. She has a great work ethic, but I’m seeing the “American Work Ethic” more and more as a bad thing. People shouldn’t risk their health over their jobs. And Daughter is a nurse. I wouldn’t want to be in the hospital and have my nurse be sick, especially since she has “COVID like symptoms”. Her test was negative, it’s some other virus, but still… as a patient, I would be afraid or at the very least, worried.
Anyway, grocery shopping. So much fun… NOT! I got the stuff on my list, (brought a pen this time and crossed things off. No repeats of the missing ramen) and even grabbed a pack of frozen beef bones for Dogzilla. Got home, got mobbed, went and hid in my room, got followed. Aw, dang!
Daughter gave Zeus one of his bones. And Ben spent the rest of the afternoon trying to take it away from him… I have no idea why Ben always takes things away from Zeus. Sometimes Ben seems like such a mean, bratty, bully. Zeus was not giving up his bone to Ben, and he didn’t have to. I told Ben over and over to leave it alone, Zeus was going to bite him. Ben got a straw and was trying to poke it into the marrow to knock the bone out of Zeus’ mouth. And of course the Big Dumb Dog couldn’t take the bone somewhere else. No, he had to stay near me. And Ben had to be in the bedroom with me. It’s wonderful to be so loved. Okay, that was sarcastic, but I truly DO appreciate how lucky I am to be surrounded by love. I could do with a little more independence from Zeus though. I also wish I understood Ben’s motivation. I hate to think that he does understand how mean it is to take toys and stuff away from Zeus and he just doesn’t care.
Daughter says she’s going to start cooking at 5pm, soup for us and “white chicken” for Ben. Hopefully the rest of the evening will go smoothly. We’re getting ready to enter the chaos time. I’m just glad there’ll be no Driving Miss Daisy tonight.
Love this song! Another “classic rock” great!
Not so much drama today, so that’s good. Ben is restless or bored or not feeling well or something… he’s been edgy the past few days. I guess we’ll see what happens. It will either build to a big Meltdown, or it will blow over. Nothing much on the agenda for tomorrow that I know of. Daughter is scheduled to work, but again… we’ll see. Maybe some laundry… I guess we’ll figure it all out tomorrow. ¡Hasta mañana!
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HUGS!
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King Ben's Grandma 
Incredible pictures of Sven even if he is a bit angry. Yay for 🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜! That Adderall sounds effective. Ya I hate it when my kids are rough with each other or mean in any way. I let a lot of crazy stuff and not understanding fly when my parents would pick at everything. But they would know that mom flips out if they try to hurt someone.
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Zeus is a big dog so when Ben bumps into or uses him as a bongo drum, I let it go, Zeus can play rough too. But Zeus never bites (I told Ben he would, but he never has) so I let it go if he growls or nips at Ben for poking him in the eye, or trying to take his bone. I figure they’re like siblings… they’re gonna be mean and rough sometimes.
But, yeah… totally lose it when Ben just punches Zeus for no reason. I just wish Zeus would stay away from Ben when he can’t control himself, or when he’s in a mood or whatever.🤷🏼♀️
The Adderall is great for his ADHD. Crazy that it’s straight up amphetamine. It’s chills him out and helps him focus though. He fell asleep the first time he took a full dose. Took speed and fell asleep. Kid obviously had wonky brain chemistry
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I’m keeping it in mind in case we need an alternative med plan. Were there any others he was taking?
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He takes clonidine, seroquel and trazodone.
The seroquel is a psych med and he takes it basically to chill him out. We started it after the risperdal problems, and abilify didnt do anything.
Clonidine is a blood pressure med that helps with sleep
Trazodone is an antidepressant…for sleep
We tried ritalin for ADHD but it made him violent. Seriously aggressive. We stopped after like 5 days
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Thanks 😊
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A cool visit from the parrots 🦜 and the dragonfly. Not a bad day, yet less sleep at night. Hope your daughter feels better. Soup is the perfect way to treat sniffles. Have a restful night my friend
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Daughter is feeling a little better, but still fighting the virus. It hit her pretty hard. She’s been resting. Its all she can do. It was a decent day. The weather is changing… clouds rolled in this evening. Feels almost like it might rain… This is 2020, anything could happen😉🤪😂
Have an awesome Saturday!💕💃🏼🌠✨🦋
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Take care my friend and have a good day tomorrow
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Great pics! Kind of a downer week for me. Missing ppl a lot… just overall sads. Hopefully we will both get good sleep tonight 🎃🧡
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I’ve noticed you seemed kinda bummed ☹ I wish your girls were closer like mine. Well not in the same house, like Older😉
Stupid 2020!
Yes, good sleep! 😴😴
It feels like a storm is coming in. Weird weather!!💕🦋
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I just read Jeff’s post, so I read your dinner as “par-mee-see-an” chicken. 🙂 Wow, Sven’s beard was black! What a grumpy dragon. Hope he’s feeling yellow soon. 🙂 And I hope daughter is feeling better soon. Here’s hoping you guys had a good night and a great day today!
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I was thinking the same thing after reading Jeff’s post🤣🤣🤣 She uses the shredded kind though, so it’s proper Parmesan😂😂😂
Night was good, morning was early but calm… he asked if the bus was coming today, and seemed happy that it wasnt.
You’re totally done Zooming with D!🎉💃🏼 Just gotta get through tomorrow… I bet it still doesn’t feel real. It didn’t feel real to me until the bus pulled away, and I still expected a phone call to come get him all day😂😂
I’m excited for you!💃🏼💕
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Cool song, Cosmic Sis!! Omg wild parrots and a cool dragonfly?? Sounds like paradise! (Insert David Lee Roth song here lol 😂)
I wish I could provide some kind of spectrummy insider insight to why Ben takes Zeus’s toys away (!), but I can’t; I would not know 😔
I guess it’s an x-file for now (?) 💗
Big hugs and much love!! 😍💗🎊🎉🌟🌴💖☀️😎🌟☀️🙌🧘♀️☮️💙☯️
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It may not be an ASD thing… it might be a Ben is being a little Bootyhead thing🙄🤦🏼♀️
I remind Daughter and myself all the time that everything he does cannot by laid at autism’s doorstep. He is a 12 year old child and most 12 year old children need to be shipped to Abu Dhabi, like Nermal from Garfield😉😂😂😂
His sense of humor is more slapstick and bratty than the biting sarcasm or fart jokes the girls and I use. Which makes sense with his speech difficulties.
Mostly I just leave The Boys to their thing. Zeus would never intentionally hurt Ben. If Ben gets hurt as a result of being a Butthead…🤷🏼♀️ maybe he’ll stop being a Butthead.😂😂😂
The Parrots and a dragonfly and every once in a while, the seagull… I feel like I’m in a magic fairy tale.😂😂😂 I’m very childlike about some things. And proud of it!🤗🥰🦜🌺🌻🌸💫✨💃🏼🌊🦄💕
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Hehe and proud you have every right to be! 😍🙌🙌. Omg it sounds like a magical wonderland 💗🌴🏞☀️✨⚡️✨
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There was a cool front here… soup sounds yummy! 🥰🎶💃 hugs 🤗
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The breeze last night had a bite… it was chilly. SoCal chilly😉 I had to put on long pants and a t-shirt over my tank top. I thought I was gonna have to go for long sleeves, but not yet…🤣🤣🤣 The Guessers say we might even get rain in the next couple days. I’ll believe when I see it! 💃🏼🌠🦋🌸🌻🌺💫✨🤗🥰💕
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Sven is a fine looking chap. So very distinguished. That’s a song I’ve not heard in a while. Look after yourself Angie. xxx
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Sven is comic relief! I can always count on him to make me laugh. I’m looking after myself as well as I can. The only recent injury was a little splinter in my hand. It has been removed.😂😂
I hope you’re maintaining an injury free status as well!😉💌💌💌
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Glad to hear your daughter’s not rushing back to work. These viruses can really hang around if you don’t rest. I agree with you – work to live, not live to work!
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The American Work Ethic has been giving 150% , working 50 or 51 weeks of the year, at least 40 hours per week and putting your job before your family.
It’s crap! And we all bought into it.🙄🤦🏼♀️ We are proud of it… and it’s CRAP!
Not gonna get on my soap box and rant🤐🤐🤐
It IS just a job. And she does need to protect her health. Getting sicker won’t be good for her or the hospital she works for.💕
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Glad daughter tested negative for Covid. Whew.
So nice to see the birds. We had many in our garden this Am. So comforting.
And a dragon fly! Yaaasss. I love them. So interesting.
Hoping to fertilize my plants today. I made a concoction of comfry, alfalfa, bone meal, blood meal, kelp, molasses, water and have a pump which adds air. It is a great solution to adding nutrients to the soil. My new obsession.
Hang in this beautiful Sunday
Teri
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I’m glad you have your garden! Working with growing things is good for your spirit. Not to mention, fresh veggies are healthier for your body! 💖💕
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This: “I had a super Happy moment around 5:45 when the biggest flock of Parrots I’ve seen did a fly-by, circled then headed off into the sunset, joyfully squawking the whole time.”
If only we could all joyfully squawk whenever we had the chance. I think the world would be much more peaceful…
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Joyfully squawk, Happy Dance… yes, people need to quit worrying about what other people think and just put their joy on blast!
I’ve seen people doing weird/silly/bizarro things in public and if they were having fun, everyone smiled as they passed. Joy is more contagious than Kooties and it’s GOOD for us!!
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