M is for Moo

M is for Moo.  Yes, I am talking about cows - as in, the Chick-Fil-A cows.  Every year, Chick-Fil-A hosts 'Cow Appreciation Day' and it has become our little tradition to get dressed up like cows and go share lunch as a family.  We have been doing it since 2011 and the boys look forward to it as much as I do because Chick-Fil-A is typically spendy and with 3 kids who can eat like adults, it can cost a small fortune to eat there.  The boys were one of the highlights of the store while we were there, which was fun.  They took pictures with Mr. Cow, "Moo"d at everyone who looked at them and would only answer to 'Eat', 'More', or 'Chicken' for the rest of the day.  That would be because they had signs that said 'Eat', 'Mor' and 'Chik'n' when they were dressed up as little calves. Everyone had grilled nuggets, fruit and lemonade for lunch and then (at another location!) had chicken strips, fries and chocolate milk for dinner.  My only complaint is that Cow Appreciation Day falls in July every year and it is blasted hot in July!

M is for Mackeral.  And bass.  And salmon.  And trout.  And all the other kinds of fish the boys learned about today at Bass Pro Shops' Family Summer Camp.  We only managed to make it to two of the workshops due to Apollo's inability to sit still and constant demand to talk over the lay hosting the workshop.  We made it to the Archery and Fishing "camps" though and the boys thoroughly enjoyed what they were able to complete.  From there, we explored Bass Pro Shops and managed to waste another hour just looking at everything inside - there are two enormous fish tanks that mesmerized Apollo and we had some lovely fish photobombs too!  Outside, they had cute little crafts the boys were able to color - a turkey track magnet and a turtle suncatcher.  They didn't hold Apollo's attention long, but he did manage to get them somewhat colored.  He was more interested with shooting the bow/arrow and casting a fishing pole.  Overall, it was a success for what it was, but I could tell that Orion was disappointed we didn't stay for more.  I did take Orion back later in the camp to complete the rest of the workshops without his brothers.

M is for Maintaining.  Apollo now has a new doctor, as was expected.  Upon observing him, she has decided NOT to up his dosage of Intuniv at this time, due to his age.  Since he is under 6, she does not want to go above the 2 MG dosage, but instead had me change the TIME he gets his medicine.  Instead of taking it at bedtime, as he was before, we are now giving it to him in the morning (and once school starts, he will take it here before he gets on the bus).  So far, I am really not seeing a big difference in his overall behavior.  The biggest accomplishment is that we have cut out Melatonin almost completely.  He still gets it once in a while, but his doctor was concerned with him regularly getting such a high dose.  She didn't recommend we reduce it, but we have managed to get him 80% off of it.  If his behavior starts to tilt back towards the insomniac nights, we will begin it again.  He has a med check on August 20 (along with a dentist's appointment too!) and at that time, his doctor said she does have another medication she can add onto the Intuniv to address his defiance if that does not improve.  

W is for Waterslide

W is for Waterslide.  Last week started out spectacularly - at least for Apollo.  For three days straight, he woke up in a good mood, we didn't have any major incidents and he was the only one to clean his room when he was told to do so.  I even bribed the kids a bit by letting them know I would be opening up the homemade waterpark Saturday afternoon and that if they wanted to participate, they needed to make sure they picked up their rooms.  Really, cleaning their rooms entails picking up their toys, putting the dirty clothes in a pile for me to get and putting all their babies and bedclothes back on their bed.  I don't ask much - after all, they're still little and aren't responsible enough to be perfect little cleaners.  Besides, I don't keep my own bedroom spotless, so I don't expect them to either.  I do, however, expect them to quit dumping all of their toys out onto the floor and expecting me to clean them up.  I am finding that since forcing them to pick them up, there is a lot less dumping.  Not saying it never happens, but it happens less.  Every victory, no matter how small, is still a victory.  Anyway, so Apollo got to do the waterslide all by himself for almost an hour on Saturday.  He had an absolute blast.



W is for World War 3.  It has happened.  War has been declared and the opposing sides are Apollo and I - and the issue at hand?  Pooping in his pants.  Apollo has decided that when I tell him that he can't go to the bathroom again 10 minutes after he last went, it is time to poop in his pants.  It started about two weeks ago and right now, we are on day 4 with no poop.  However, in a week and a half, he managed to poop in his pants 7 times... yes, SEVEN times.  I threw out three pair because they were older hand-me-downs from his brother, but several pair were nearly brand new - and kids' underwear isn't cheap! Finally, out of frustration, I made Apollo clean out the 7th pair... and he cried the whole time.  However, we have now not had another incident.  Hopefully, he learned that that type of defiance isn't going to work in this household.  He absolutely hated cleaning out his underwear because he had to touch the poop.  I did swish them out in the toilet, but he had to finish up in the tub in hot water.  He hates water that is hot, so I am hoping that the fear of having to wash them out again will keep him from pooping in his pants again.

T is for Tae Kwon Do

T is for Tae Kwon Do.  As we did last summer, we have enrolled the boys in Tae Kwon Do. This time, the classes are through the City of Mobile and are being held at Davidson High School.  We have 3 classes under our belts so far and Apollo is paying attention most of the time.  Both of his brothers are taking the class with him, so he does get distracted by Phoenix sometimes (who mostly just want to run around and have me chase him down the halls) but overall, he is doing well and mostly trying to emulate Orion.  He is also seems to get along with the other kids okay.  It's not perfectly normal child interaction, but he does at least look in their general direction when he is avoiding them, so there's some progress.  He is also genuinely trying to learn some of the moves.  So far, they have learned forward block, low block, high block, forward punch, front kick and crescent kick.  Could he do them all if I shouted commands?  Probably not.  But he can usually follow along in class and complete most of the tasks without too much confusion or disobedience.  It took him a while last year to get the hang of it too, so by the end of his training (it's a 6 week class), he will likely be doing well.

T is for Testing.  On my concerns, his pediatrician referred Apollo to the USA Speech and Hearing Center to have his hearing testing.  More often than not, Apollo turns the TV up to ridiculous levels and he seems to never hear anyone when he is being spoken to.  As we are still testing him to find out what is causing his social/obedience issues, I wanted to rule out a physical problem with his hearing.  (Phoenix was also referred for speech, so we were going anyway.)  The technicians at the hearing center were very sweet and patient with him and he did so well!  I was very proud of him.  He sat still, he paid attention and he PASSED.  So that means we are dealing with a listening issue, not a hearing issue.  This is what I almost expected, but I didn't want to leave anything to chance, so because the resources were available to us, I had his hearing tested.  It is a bit of a relief to know that at least it is behavioral and not something physical.

T is for Theory.  Speaking of possible causes for Apollo's social issues, we have run into a bit of a road block.  His psychiatrist does not think he is on the autism spectrum, which comes as a bit of a blow because that particular diagnosis explained the majority of his symptoms, so now we are back at square one.  The medication he is on is definitely helping him.  He's had far fewer outbursts and isn't as determined to act on his impulses, but I don't think the dosage is quite where it needs to be yet.  We will find out for sure coming up at his medicine check on July 20th, where they will either raise his dose to the next level, or re-prescribe him at the current dose. In doing a little research on some of my own eccentricities, I have discovered a potential theory for what may be causing the majority of Apollo's issues and it's something I never considered until I sat down and researched it. I have come to the realization that I actually have Sensory Processing Disorder and likely have my entire life.  I can hear things most people can't (like dog whistles, security cameras and muted TVs), I can see millions of colors, I can't eat a lot of foods because my sense of taste goes overboard with bitterness (broccoli, mustard and pickles are all among the offensive foods) and I tend to overeat the good stuff, I am weird about what touches me and how it touches me and my sense of smell is stronger than everyone in my family.  I never thought of it as a disorder or an over-processing of sensory input until I posted on Facebook that I was curious if there was a connection between my sensory overdrive and my migraines.  Someone who read that post suggested it may be SPD and upon further research, I believe she is right.  As an adult, there is little than can be done for me as I am too ingrained in my coping mechanisms and furthermore - it is believed to be hereditary.    So if I have SPD, it is highly likely that Apollo does as well and he is young enough for intervention to be effective, so his therapist is ordering further diagnostic testing for him to try to come to a definitive answer, hopefully before school starts.

T is for Terrified.  The 4th of July holiday was over the weekend, so I decided to try to take the boys to something fun to celebrate.  I knew I didn't want to get into something too big or overwhelming because the last thing I wanted was a meltdown or to have to leave early.  We decided to go to MGM high school in Semmes and go to the Freedom Celebration.  Apollo was bouncing away, happily shifting between the bounce house, petting zoo and obstacle course.  Then we took a short hiatus for a picnic dinner at the car and headed back inside to get a spot in the grandstands for the concert and fireworks.  I made sure to place us in the front with an easy exit just in case of sensory overload.  Even though the concert was insanely loud (no louder than any normal concert), Apollo sat there and seemed to be enjoying the concert.  All 3 boys played with their glow sticks and seemed genuinely pretty happy...  until it happened.  The first fireworks exploded over the stage as the grand finale of the concert and almost immediately, Apollo's eyes went blank, he squeezed them tight and slammed his hands to ears.  I was prepared for this possibility, but nevertheless, it still somewhat took me by surprise.  He was in such a desperate shut down that I couldn't even pull his hands off his ears long enough to tell him we were leaving and I had to physically drag him, kicking and screaming from the stands.  45 pounds of weight is enough to shift around on a regular basis, but when that 45 pounds is slapping limbs all over the place, it can be miserable.  I managed to get him into the wagon and to the car, but his hands didn't come off of his ears until we were 10 miles from MGM and he wouldn't sleep until well after 2 AM due the popping of fireworks everywhere around us at home.  He finally got some relief with earplugs.  I think we are going to be in the market for noise-canceling headphones VERY soon...

T is for Train.  We decided to take a day trip to see how the boys would potentially fare on a longer trip or even a possible overnight trip.  To make the story short, they didn't fare well and were grumpy and tired by the end, so we may be waiting a little longer for any real trips more than an hour or so from home.  However, for dinner today we decided to visit the Derailed Diner in Robertsdale, AL which is built to appear to be a derailed train crashed into a building.  The inside was fun and kitschy - reminded me heavily of Route 66 type decor.  We got to sit in the dining car of the derailed train and the boys enjoyed looking around, pretending to be a on train and coloring their menus.  Apollo made a huge mess of his chocolate milk, but otherwise did pretty well eating.  The food was good but nothing spectacular, so this will likely be a one-time visit.

T is for Triceratops.  As the main attraction for our day trip, we decided to trek over to Elberta, Alabama, to visit Barber Marina and its hidden treasures.   It is essentially a big roadside attraction with lots of places to pull over and get pictures.  The first thing on our list was to stop off at Alabama's version of Stonehenge, lovingly referred to as Bamahenge.  It is an exact replica of Stonehenge and aligned for the solstice as well.  Further on down the road there are dinosaurs!  Hidden among the trees are a T-Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus and an Apatosaurus, even though the latter is kind of hard to find.   While Orion and Phoenix had seen these dinosaurs before, Apollo had not.  He was a bit in awe of the first one (the fierce T-Tex) but by the end of the excursion, he was hugging the Apatosaurus!  Success!  Also found in and around the Marina were knights, a Lady in the Lake and a huge spider!  Much fun was had, but I think it is going to be our last trip for a while.  It was hot and sticky, the boys kept arguing and everyone was whining by the time we got home.  I do believe we are about to change up the seating arrangements in the car because they can't be next to each other for more than 5 minutes before they're bickering.