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.

Z is for Zoo

Z is for Zoo.  We took a road trip last week to the Hattiesburg Zoo as a babysitting excursion with my niece.  It was a good bit of a drive over (almost 2 hours due to thunderstorms), but once we got there, the skies cleared and though everything was wet, it turned into a nice day.  By the end of the day, the skies were bright blue and it wasn't too terribly hot, even though we were all sweaty and nasty due to the humidity.  Even though we were an hour and a half inland, it was still sticky wet and the air was straight up heavy.  However, over the course of the four hours we spent at the zoo, the kids had a blast.  The zoo wasn't the largest or the first zoo the kids have visited, but it was a pleasant trip with very little bickering between the kids.  In fact, I can't think of a single snafu between the kids.  Yes, they had their moments, but nothing more than a little whining.  I am very proud of how all the kids acted, even Apollo.  However, we have learned that we are also dealing with a potentially dangerous symptom - wandering.  Watching four kids in a zoo is a little ambitious and Apollo wandered away from me more than once.  Thankfully, he was never far, but it was a slightly terrifying moment to turn back from helping one child to find that the one who just right next to you has wandered off - especially when that child doesn't understand normal boundaries.  He was located very quickly both times he wandered off, but I am considering a kid leash for him.  Maybe not one of the backpack variety (though I do have one for the three year old who tends to be a runner), but maybe a wrist leash like I had as a kid.  I remember it, so I am sure I was at least five the last time it was used and I don't fault my parents one bit.

The kids really enjoyed the bug playground.  In fact, they would have stayed there absolutely all day had I let them.  They also loved the train, which we saved for the last part of our regular tour of the zoo, right before our picnic.  Their favorite animals were the Galapagos Tortoise, Peacock, Lemur and Zebras.  They also liked the petting zoo, where they got to pet African pigs and goats.  Also seen - tigers, alligators, flamingos, a giant anteater, a coatamundi  and prairie dogs along with lots of snakes, birds and lizards.  Overall, it was a lovely little excursion which ended with a fun trip to the splash pad located inside the zoo!  There was even a hurricane simulator there that we used as a fun dryer.  The splash pad excursion lasted over an hour and the final exhibit was the gift shop.  It was also the most tension of the entire day.  Adrianne quickly settled on a tiger and Orion found a tortoise and decided that was what he wanted, even though he had been talking nonstop about the snakes.  So when Apollo also wanted the tortoise, I tried to convince Orion to get a snake instead and that began an argument between them that lasted fifteen minutes.  I finally convince Apollo to get a snake, and he is now in love with it.  So in the end, we brought home Ringo the Lemur, Spike the Tortoise and Kaa the Snake.  Tricky the Tiger went home with Adrianne. The kids got a little whiny on the drive home, but it was over an hour and a half home after being at the zoo all day, so it wasn't totally unexpected and I would do it again - but with a leash for my little wanderer.

Z is for Zzzzz.  It is now June and the temperature outside is already reaching the level of ridiculousness.   Since the boys have consistently been coming inside smelling like they just came from a barn, I decided it was time for our annual summer buzzcuts.  You can see Apollo's above a little bit, but it is so much more obvious with a before and after picture.  He was a little hesitant about it and he hates the sound the clippers make, but thankfully this is typically a once-a-year type thing for him.  His hair is thick and when it gets long, it gets super stinky when he sweats.   His hair is going to be a pain in the neck by the end of summer due to his double cowlick, but for the next couple of months, we can take hair-brushing off our long list of getting dressed necessities since he takes forever to get ready as it is right now.

Z is for Zip.  Following the zoo trip, we opened the OAP Waterpark in our backyard.  My dad and I built the boys a homemade waterslide and splash pad.  We also have a family swimming pool that I got last year on deep discount.  It isn't a deep one, but it was nice to cool off in while the sun was heating things up.  Even Phoenix was fearlessly sliding down the waterslide into a homemade retainer pool at the bottom - last year's stained, leaky family pool.   The boys played for over an hour before momma decided it was time to go inside and get ready for dinner, but there were very few squabbles - mostly over who got to slide down on which kickboard and who got to play water basketball.  Overall, it was a fun time had by all and they are already requesting to do it again!  I told them they have to let the yard recover for a while before we can do it again, but I know I now have a useful bargaining chip for getting chores done!

F is for Family

F is for Family.  We had a family reunion on Dauphin Island, which was an obvious cause for concern.  Obviously, I wanted Apollo to be able to connect with family that he doesn't always get to see, but I worried that his social anxiety may rear its ugly head, or worse - that we would have a total and complete meltdown and be stuck an hour from home with people who aren't familiar with Apollo and would essentially come across as strangers to him.  I was less concerned with the adults, as he seems to be okay with most people who are grown - it's strange children he freaks out around.  There ended up being 11 kids under the age of 18 there, including Apollo and he was familiar with 6 of them, so there were only 4 strange kids.  In the best interest of everyone involved, I gave Apollo an extra Melatonin to take the edge off and reminded him that everyone there was a cousin.  Success!  The magic word! I admit I could become tempted with this special word to get Apollo to feel more comfortable with every strange child, but then it would lose its effectiveness and I absolutely don't want that.  So Apollo is willing to let down his guard for family in general, even strange family, and I will leave it at that - only actual cousins can be cousins. He did start to get agitated early in the day, but he crawled under the couch cushions and took a short little nap and he was much more relaxed afterwards - he even played a little bit of tag with some of the cousins. 

F is for Frolic.  After hanging out with the extended family for several hours, we downsized back to my aunt's condo and took the kids to the beach.  With it being just the "super six" that Apollo is used to, all of his walls crumbled down and he acted much like a normal child would.   Well, as normal as Apollo gets anyway.  He had so much fun digging in the sand, sticking his toes in the surf and finally diving into the waves.  I had to make sure that Apollo stayed in the super-shallows as he doesn't know how to swim yet, but he was content enough to sit in 4 inches of water and splash and giggle.  The kids spent over 30 minutes doing this - just diving into the water and splashing like they didn't have a care in the world.  Even little Phoenix was getting into the action.

F is for Finally.  As in we finally have our glasses!  They came in this week, so we swung by and picked them up - and let the chaos begin.  He is NOT happy about them.  In fact, I would even hazard to guess that he hates them - mostly.  I do think he is getting better with them now that he realizes he can actually SEE with them on, but it is going to be a long uphill battle to normalize the glasses with him.  Orion was simpler, but I think his vision is a bit worse than Apollo's, so the glasses made a bigger difference for him.  So far, I think we are looking mostly at astigmatism and (hopefully) not a serious one.  The good news is that with the glasses on properly (and him not snatching them off his face every two minutes), he can read 1/2 inch print from his lap.  I will take that any day!  Plus, he looks super cute and studious with them on.  He was disappointed he couldn't have blue ones, but I didn't want Orion and him to mix up their glasses, since their prescriptions are vastly different.  As a compromise, he got the same glasses, but in gunmetal gray.

F is for F@*k Up.  To wrap up this week's recap is going to one of the more irritating moments of my LIFE.  I am normally even-keeled, extremely patient and have found myself able to handle more of people's bulls&$% than most.  That probably comes from being dealt a mediocre hand and making it work.  Learning to cope with and help Apollo conquer his condition has bred a sense of control I never thought I would have.  Don't get me wrong, I lose my cool - all the time and over silly things.  But when it really counts, I am almost always able to calm myself and keep it inside... to play nice.  However, Apollo's doctor caused me to slip over that thin line between calm and chaos - he screwed up Apollo's medication.  In fact, he sent over the wrong prescription!  When I noticed Apollo was out, I immediately ran up to Wal-Mart to pick up the refill of his new dosage.  However, the doctor sent over the wrong prescription and insurance wouldn't authorize it.  First thing the next morning, I began calling the doctor - and calling and calling and calling.  I left so many messages I could recite them in my sleep!  A whole day and nobody could manage to pick up a phone and return the message of a mother whose child was out of medication and was unable to pick up more.  So he missed his first dose that night.  The pharmacist assured me that missing one dose wouldn't be detrimental to his well-being, so I sucked it up and took Apollo to the doctor's office the next morning for his rescheduled therapy appointment - only to find out it had been cancelled AGAIN.

Apollo has not seen his therapist since he started medication over 2 months ago.  Now I am even more frustrated, but decided that since I was in the office, I would get the medication issue sorted out then.  I demanded they fix it, they assured me they would and I got a call around 10 AM that they had sent over the right prescription.  Again, I go to Wal-Mart only to find out that that pharmacy is out and they had to transfer it to another store.  Then comes the doozy - the other store won't fill the prescription because the medication Apollo has been put on (which has been a lifesaver!) isn't even supposed to be prescribed for kids under 6!  Apollo was FOUR when it was prescribed.  It works so well for him though that I lost my cool a bit with the pharmacist and told him to tell me what I needed to do to get my kid his medication because missing a second dose and coming off of the medication abruptly could cause rebound hypertension, which is without saying, a potentially dangerous situation.  In the end, I went out for a THIRD time in one day to attempt to get his medication (with a migraine - hello auras!), apologized to the pharmacist for letting mama bear out of her cage, was reassured that they understood but were just covering themselves from any lawsuits, signed a waiver that I understood he wasn't supposed to be prescribed this medication, left a nasty voicemail for the supervisor at the doctor's office and FINALLY got Apollo's prescription with the reassurance that I won't have to sign another waiver and next time will be easier.  It had better be - sometimes it can be a little difficult to put mama bear back in her cage once you set her free.

G is for Glow in the Dark

G is for Glow in the Dark.  We have had an extremely wet Spring around here and thus, one of the boys' soccer games got rained out.   In order to make it up, the park decided to do a glow-in-the-dark game at night to provide something fun for the kids.  In true ballpark fashion, it was utter chaos!  Nothing out of the ordinary, but again, the coach didn't bother to show up and only two of our kids came to the game.  So they joined another team and all 4 teams played a big scrimmage game with all the kids playing at once.  Somehow these kids, who normally whine after 15 minutes, played 35 minutes straight before taking a break.  Of course, when they DID take a break, the kids lost all interest in the game and just wanted to chase each other all over the football field where they play.  Nothing else new.  What WAS new?  Apollo paid attention to the coach, played as a team with the other kids AND scored one of the two goals that won the game for his "team."  Yes, my baby scored a GOAL.   G is for GOAL! And he did it with purpose, not on accident.  He kicked the ball 3/4 of the way down the field, dribbled it and kicked it into the goal, past the goalie!  It was a proud mama moment, even though I only heard it - it was dark and hard to see the kids aside from their glow sticks.

G is for Graduation Party.  As in Orion's, since Apollo is not yet in school.  In Mobile County, they don't celebrate anything aside from high school graduation, which I have always disliked.  It was that way when I went to school too, but I didn't know any different then.  I do now.  My Facebook feed this week has been blowing up with pictures of sweet little 6 years old in graduation gowns and I admit, I stomped my foot and decided to do my own thing for Orion.  So we got balloons, we decorated the house and we went to Chuck E Cheese for pizza and games.  The kids LOVE Chuck E Cheese and we generally make it there about four times a year, for various reasons.  Usually, it's because that's how long it takes for me to save up spare dollars to pay for it.  Apollo had a blast - he danced at the show, scarfed down pizza and Pepsi, played in the tubs (with both brothers and very few arguments) and ran around like a maniac playing games.  He even sat somewhat still to get his picture "taken" at the sketch book machine and got himself an "access card."  He gave both machines the "stink eye" but it was an improvement over the last dozen times he's been.  He even ran up to Chuck E, gave him a high five and took a pretty awesome picture with him.  All without a single moment of meltdown.  Progress! 

G is for Grandmama.  Those of you who have been reading for a while know that Grandmama is Apollo's best friend and we have recently begun his weekly trips to visit again.  I dropped him off today as normal and returned to get him two and a half hours later.  Grandmama swears he behaved, but I have my doubts.  He and Orion fought before AND after his detour to Grandmama's house, but maybe he did behave himself for his best friend.  I know he ate like his normal self - peanut butter and jelly and who knows what else.  Kid eats from the moment he walks in the door to the moment he walks out.  I love that he gets the time to visit with her though.  It does generally help him, especially in regaining his footing in this crazy world of emotions.   

C is for Carousel of Progress

C is for Carousel of Progress.  It has been just over a month since Apollo was put onto medication to manage his impulses.  The immediate family has noticed a marked improvement in some aspects of his behavior.  He still throws temper tantrums - in fact, he threw 3 today (one of which lasted over 15 minutes).  One was because he hurt himself bouncing in his chair, one was because he didn't want Orion to help him pick up the blocks (that he had been told 5 times to pick up) and one was because of the tiniest rumble of thunder that didn't even rattle the dog (who is scared by her own shadow due to her senility - thunder is catastrophic and sends her into tremors).  The latter resulted in the 15 minute tantrum because he refused to listen to anything I had to say and I felt I was doing more harm than good in trying to comfort him, so I walked away.  He is still anti-social and withdrawn from strange children, but he is more engaging with children he has seen more than two or three times.  He still hyper-focuses on things like a certain movie, a game or wanting to do something, but the struggle to redirect him is a little easier.  The biggest change has been his inattention to dangerous situations.  He is indeed less impulsive and does hesitate most of the time before doing something he knows better than to do - he hasn't tried to plug anything in on his own in a while!  So baby steps... we're better than we were, but we aren't where the doctor thinks we could be, so we have gone up on his dose and will check back in two months ahead of school starting to check his progress.  Hopefully we find ourselves another turn around the carousel...

C is for Confusion.  In the same vein, I was informed today that Apollo is NOT on the spectrum.  In some ways, it is a relief, but mostly it is a feeling of defeat.  I thought we had nailed down a cause of his abnormal behavior, but it appears that the culprit has not yet been identified.  I did not get a chance to speak with his therapist today as she was out of the office, but she is the one who confirmed him to be on the spectrum.  I am not ruling it out just yet.  It's not that I necessarily WANT him to be on the spectrum, but having a name for the foe you are fighting makes the battle seem more manageable.  Right now, we're hunting in the dark and blindly stabbing at symptoms rather than addressing his abnormalities as a whole, but as long as we are working to fix things so he can function close to normal, then it's a fight I will continue to fight.  ADD was mentioned, as was ADHD (although until he started this new medicine, hyper-activity wasn't a concern) along with a half dozen other possibilities including a touch of OCD and possibly PDD.  It like we're playing alphabet roulette and I'm just staring at the wheel willing it to stop SOMEWHERE because I know his behavior isn't normal.  Most of his quirks aren't alarming - they're more annoying than anything, but some of them do pose a risk to his safety and the safety of others.

C is for Collision Course.  Apollo is registered for Kindergarten, yet another concern in a growing list of concerns.  We have requested Orion's current teacher as he has met her, she thinks he's adorable and she has requested to teach him.  She is familiar with most of his quirks and isn't afraid to take him on.  She's stern, but fair and I feel like Orion has learned a lot and blossomed under her tutelage, so I would welcome her as a teacher for Apollo.  From what Orion tells me, any of the Kindergarten teachers would be fine, but Mrs. Smith is his favorite - and this from a child who is a social butterfly (so much so that he gets in trouble for it all the time) and communicates better with other children than adults.  I trust Orion's judgement on the matter and hopefully whoever Apollo ends up with will be prepared for my little comet - he's bright, easily set off and can become unstable when things don't go his way.  I imagine I will get at least one phone call from school regarding his uncontrollable temper-tantrum.  If he has Mrs. Smith, she has already been informed how to deal with him and to bring him back under control.  Hopefully I am wrong about the whole collision course analogy, but I've got a feeling that plunging my anti-social child into a room of 20 loud, overbearing, hyperactive little people is going to send his whatever-we're-calling-it-now into overdrive and end up in a cosmic meltdown - probably within the first week.

C is for Cousin.  While he may shy away from the majority of children, Apollo has always had a certain connection to his cousins.  He has lots of them and has seemingly almost always gotten on well with them, at least as far as I could tell.  He hasn't seen his paternal cousins since his 2nd birthday, which was 3 years ago now, but he got along well enough with them when he did see them.  Orion is the only one who actively spent time with his paternal cousins because we moved to Florida before Apollo was born.  However, the couple times we were able to visit Tennessee, he played well enough with them.  The last time we went, he was 18 months old and was very laid back and easy-going, a far cry from the high-strung child he is now.  Well, I shouldn't say he is high-strung - he is more of a hermit than any adult would ever believe, but children are simply not his cup of tea.  His best friend is MY grandmother, but he does allow himself to enjoy Caitlyn and Adrianne, two of his maternal female cousins that he sees on a fairly frequent basis.  He tolerates Caleb, but that is likely due to Caleb's personality quirks and the similarity of Caleb to Orion.  You want to talk high-maintenance?  That would be Orion and Caleb, not Apollo.  However, through our soccer season, we have come to find out that he is cousins with one of the four players on his team, Nichole.  She and he didn't have much real interaction aside from running together on the soccer field until the "C" word was mentioned.  Nichole's mother and I informed the pair they are cousins at their team party for soccer and I could visibly SEE the wall crumble between them.  For the rest of that day, they acted like they'd been besties for years.  And he has ALWAYS gotten on well with Nichole younger brother, perhaps because Bubba reminds him (at least he reminds me) of Phoenix.

C is for Clouds.  Something we have seen a LOT of over these last two weeks is clouds - and rain.  Lots of thunder and lightning, but nothing like what the Midwest and Texas have been seeing.  Not to jinx us or anything, but it seems that nasty weather typically makes a detour around our little slice of Alabama.  It goes North of us to Washington county, or South of us out in the Gulf of Mexico.  The rain was so constant that their soccer games last week were nearly canceled.  They ended up holding the games anyway, but we didn't have enough kids show up to play so his team forfeited and started our team party early, which meant our team had the giant inflatables all to themselves for about 20 minutes before the big kids infiltrated.  Who schedules 3/4 year olds to share an inflatable party with 9-13 year olds?  Apparently, our ball park does.  Needless to say, we snagged our kids off pretty quickly, but they had enough fun in their 20 minutes to create a memorable party, plus Apollo got both a trophy and a medal.  The highlight of his day was definitely finding out Nichole is his cousin though - he has not stopped talking about it since.

C is for Cupcakes.  Today is Apollo's 5th birthday.  At least, it's officially his birthday.  We celebrated a month ago with his party, presents and people.  Today was much more low-key since we had a slew of doctor's visits this afternoon.  Once we finished up, we swung by Wal-Mart and picked up mini cupcakes (the only ones without food dye, ugh, don't get me started!) and some ice cream.  Then we went by Chick-Fil-A and redeemed some freebies I had been harboring for a rainy day - no pun intended.   Apollo ate half a small fry and 7 chicken nuggets, plus 2 mini cupcakes and a serving of ice cream!  He is definitely doing some growing lately, although I don't think I trust the scales used today.  According to them, he gained 3 pounds and shrunk 2 inches in a week.  I am thinking they are off a bit - he was 45 pounds and 44 inches at the doctor last week.   Tonight ended up being an early night because we were all worn out from dealing with tantrums and bad moods, but we did manage to slip in enough good moments today for it to imprint in his mind positively.  (Forgive the wall in the background, the paint used to paint our house before we bought it was CHEAP and we have to repaint every room the kids have been in because everything sticks to it and won't come off without taking off the paint - seriously, I've tried washing the walls so many times... so yeah, that was juice from a year ago - it still won't come off.)

O is for Outrageous

O is for Outrageous.  Saturday morning, Apollo had his next to last soccer game with his 3/4 Galaxy team.  Yet again, I had to "coach" his team because the coach couldn't make it.  I don't know what I'm doing and Apollo doesn't listen to me, so it was interesting.  I felt like I did more "rearranging" kids than actual coaching, but Apollo did better than I expected.  We had our issues, of course, and that has to be expected when one is dealing with autism in any form.  You just have to learn to let the little things roll off your back and focus on correcting the big behaviors.  Apollo is not (and never will be) allowed to just run off the field like he wants to half the time, but if he wants to sit down on the grass and pick it, well, he's not the only one. I was pleasantly surprised this time to find he was kinda starting to get it - he kicked the ball the right direction and almost scored a goal.  His team won 2-0, so it was a pleasant beginning to a very long day.  As soon as his game was over, the whining began.  "I'm hot" and "I'm hungry" were constant complaints as we waited for Orion's game to begin.  Orion's game was a complete disaster - the short version?  His team is also a "ghost team" that gets neglected and his team has 5 players which is the minimum.  One got hurt Saturday and it escalated quickly into a near-fight, swearing and the cops being called - all of which Apollo was witness to, hence the outrageous beginning to our day.  Thankfully, he was so busy doing other things that the swearing never really reached his ears.  I guess O is for oblivious too - a rarely appreciated autism symptom.

O is for Ouch.  Following the eventful morning at the ballpark, Apollo and his brothers attended a birthday party to which they had been invited.  It was held at Jumps-A-Lot, one our local bounce around type places.  Apollo was WILD, but (to my surprise) somewhat controlled.  He blended right in with the other kids, none of whom he knew besides the birthday boy and his brother (who are our neighbors), and his own brothers.  The first place he went was to the giant slide and the bounce house, two things that are fairly familiar to him as he has done these type things before.  It took him a bit longer to warm up to the obstacle course that included a twenty foot high "rock wall" type climb, a speed slide and some other bits and pieces.  Once he conquered it the first time, it was hard to keep him off of it.   He was fearless, which is one of his extremes.  He's either completely terrified and you couldn't pay him a million dollars to do it, or he is gung ho like he just doesn't give a damn.  Some days he will even ping-pong between the two - those are the frustrating days.  Little man even managed to complete (and of course obsess over) the Big Baller obstacle course - think Wipe Out from TV.  I will post a picture of him doing it, but once he figured it out, he did it another 20 times in a row.  It was overall a pretty good experience for him (and me) until he realized that he had not one, but two friction burns from the giant slide.  It has proven to be a potentially life-threatening injury of course and requires intensive care around the clock (IE: he woke me up at 2 AM this morning because his band-aid came off and it was all over if I didn't replace it).

O is for Optometrist.  On Monday, Apollo went to the eye doctor for his yearly checkup.  When he was 2, I was told that he (like Orion) needed glasses due to an astigmatism and he was given glasses, which he promptly broke. Last year, he refused to sit still long enough to even attempt to measure his astigmatism and the vision test itself was practically a joke.  In the end, the doctor acknowledged he could use glasses but that at his age and cooperation level, it may not do much good.  So we opted to skip on glasses last year and see how his vision changed.  Well, this year he was able to sit still and poor baby got his momma's astigmatism just like his big brother.  His isn't as bad, but it's there.  He's also a bit farsighted, whereas Orion's issue is almost all astigmatism.  The vision test itself still proved to be a losing battle this year, due to a completely new problem.  Apollo has begun to make up answers to "tests" the way he thinks they should be, rather than what they really are.  At least, that's how it seems.  He laughed and giggled and said, "I can't see that... it needs to be bigger" but then he would look AROUND the "glasses" and still claim he couldn't see, even when he had already identified that same letter at the same size not five minutes before.  Even switching to the pictures yielded flawed results.  The doctor was able to get Apollo's vision corrected to 20/30 which we will take at this time.  His glasses are on order and he really does look super cute with them, so I am hoping this pair will work out better (and last longer!) than last time. 

O is for Otorhinolaryngology, aka an ENT (ear, nost, throat) doctor.  Apollo's well child visit ended up getting postponed due to insurance not being due to cover it yet, but they went ahead and checking his hearing because I have become increasingly worried that there may be an underlying issue magnifying his listening problems.  Sometimes, it is obvious that just straight up isn't listening to you and is ignoring you on purpose.  Other times, it is much harder to tell if maybe he's actually not hearing you.  The first indication that really pointed me in the direction to worry is the fact that if left unchecked, he will slowly bump the TV up to insanely loud level.  Loud enough for the neighbors to hear - probably loud enough for the little Moon men to hear.  And it has happened numerous times that he will turn to the TV up to unbearable levels, will request for me to turn up the radio when it is already thumping, or he will not react to something he normally would, such as telling him that he is going to see grandmama.  When that child doesn't squeal with delight at the mention of grandmama, you really do have to wonder if he didn't hear you.  So we have an appointment with Audiology at the University of South Alabama to have his hearing tested and narrow down the issue to whether his listening issue is medical and can be helped with a hearing aid or therapy, or if it related to his autism and he is tuning out the world on a whim.  Part of me is hoping for the former because it is correctable, and sometimes that makes me sad because who would ever wish medical intervention on their child? But if this issue proves to not be his ears and instead is a quirk, then there is little that I can do about it so it's a catch-22.   But I have to come find that a lot of things with autism are...

S is for Spring

S is for Spring.  To me, Spring means packing away jackets and pulling out shorts.  It also means lots of afternoon showers and overnight thunderstorms.  Apollo doesn't like thunderstorms.  The thunder itself makes him very anxious and he gets clingy on nights when the weather has deteriorated - sometimes to the point where he will work himself into a tizzy over everything, anything, or nothing at all. One little crack of thunder and he melts into a puddle of anxiety.  The lightning and heavy rains aren't his favorites, but he tolerates them much better. But of course, with all the April Showers come May Flowers.  Now that it is May and any chance of a cold snap has passed, the boys and I got out in the backyard this afternoon and planted a small garden.  It wasn't done professionally and we used last year's seeds and cheap potting soil, but the boys are already peeking out the back door "watching them grow."  I've tried telling Apollo it's going to be a couple of weeks until we see any flowers, if any grow at all.  Either he doesn't believe me or he has set his beliefs on the notion that those flowers are magical and will sprout up like they do in time-lapse videos.   But it has definitely piqued his interest, so we will see if he will help me water the little garden or not.  I am half expecting not, but between the three of my boys, maybe I can get one of them to help me.   They were sure jumping at the bit to help me put dirt in the pots - maybe a little too anxious.  There are now random patches of potting soil in the backyard where my three year old over-zealously "helped."  Apollo was actually quite helpful transferring the soil from the bag into the 16 pots, but several sets of seeds aren't planted as deep as they should be since he either didn't hear me or didn't understand me when I said to fill them up to a little under half full.  Oh well, if we get flowers, I am going to have some very happy little boys and if we don't, then we'll have a lesson that things don't always turn out as expected.

S is for Sprinklers.  After two weeks of on and off rain and lots of flooding in the area, we have finally seen some sweet sunshine and the ground has dried up - just enough for us to soak it again.   While I am not planning on pulling out any of the major water toys until after school is out, I relented and surprised the boys with one of the sprinklers I got last year during summer clearance.  I am saving the fun and fancy free one for summer, but I picked up several old-school style sprinklers and brought one out last weekend.  Since then, the boys have played in the sprinkler three different times and it still hasn't gotten old for them.  Each time, they went crazy for over 30 minutes, one time closer to an hour and the pure joy was phenomenal.  To see all three of my boys playing together, working together and not fighting was pure bliss.  Like I said, it isn't anything fancy - just one of those rectangular ones that has a silver bar with holes in it that rotates back and forth and sprays water, but they love it.   Think back to your own childhood.  The one at my grandmother's house was yellow.  I remember it fondly, so it must be a childhood thing.  All I know is Apollo truly enjoys the sprinklers and he only got in trouble twice for standing on it, so it was relatively issue-free.  The plus side is that it is something he truly enjoys doing WITH his brothers, whereas he would normally prefer to play without them or for very limited amounts of time.  There's also nothing to fight over, so that could be a big part of why it is so successful.

S is for Soccer.  The big one, the big gamble.  I'm still not completely sure the risk has been worth the outcome.  I have seen a side to Apollo that hasn't shown itself since he was very little - the desire to play with other children.  But it hasn't been a wholly enjoyable experience - actually far from it.  He doesn't pay attention at practice, he wanders away during games and sometimes he would rather play with the other team instead of against them.  But sometimes... sometimes he gets it and it is glorious.  Sometimes he'll kick the ball with stoic determination, he'll share the ball with his teammates and he'll smile and laugh and shine brighter than the sun.  Most of the time, however, it's a battle just to get him to stay IN the game, much less participate.  There have been more times than I can remember that I have had to chase Apollo down and drag him back to the field to play and/or practice.  I cringe every time he gets the ball because I know that if he kicks it out, he's going to follow it...and follow it... and follow it - wherever that may take him.  It's a relief that his little teammate is actually quite a good little player and Apollo is content enough to usually be the one to throw/kick it in to him and then run along with him while the other kid scores/tries to score.  It's a struggle to get his cleats on, he usually can't find his shin guards (which often makes us late - I can't remember the last time we made it to practice on time) and he whines that he's tired/thirsty/hungry/bored/etc more often than he attempts to play.  It has cost a small fortune for him to play this season (over $100 once registration, uniform accessories and gear are considered) and it will likely be his last, as time has shown that at this time, team sports are not the way to go for Apollo.  We have come to the conclusion that, at least at this time, an individual sport like Tae Kwon Do or perhaps an art class may be more suitable for Apollo.  Perhaps this will change once he starts school in the fall and he is around 20 children a day for 8 hours at a time, perhaps it won't change and he will always do better with he, himself and him.  For now, we are going to play out the season and take the good with the bad, because even though the bad can be frustrating and disheartening, there are moments that makes it all worth it - the money, the frustration, the fussing, the time - yeah, I would have to say it's all worth it for my baby to have moments where he REALIZES that he matters. Moments like these: