So tonight J had a bit of a meltdown. Bless his baby heart. He just really likes things to be a certain way and he does not like his things to be messed with. With that in mind we make sure to have him keep his bedroom locked as his brother loves to get into it and explore. Not a good mix. So tonight J went upstairs to put away a stack of shirts and I suddenly heard screams and wails from the upstairs region. "I can't believe it, he did it again!" I knew immediately what had happened. Z had gotten into J's room and "rearranged" things. For some reason Z likes to take J's plastic ikea table that he uses to put puzzles together and put it on J's bed then balance an animal or two on top of that. I think he considers it art, J considers it destruction, I actually consider it amusing (I know bad mom award).
I think the reason I consider it amusing is I've grown to just embrace the idea that in our home things just turn up in unusual and unique places. I actually consider it a good day when necessary things (car keys, house keys, purses, wallets, etc) stay where they are put. I think for me I've adopted a if you can't beat them join them, or at least be amused at them. For instance, Z loves blankets. Quilts mostly. We have several quilts that Brandon's mom and grandma have given us, some being very old and sentimental and we are trying really hard to preserve them but that is proving harder and harder. For some reason Z finds them no matter where I hide them. He then wears them around the house, puts them on the side porch where he likes to go burrow into a pile of various pillows and blankets, or shoves them into a storage bench he likes to close himself into. I find them when he's at school, wash them again, hide them in a new place and our game of hide and seek starts all over again. Believe me, this child is not wanting for quilts. He's got at least 4 of them on his bed!
Something else we find in unusual places is clothing. Now I know many of us have problems with our kids leaving their clothes all over the house. The thing with Z is that he starts to strip as soon as he hits the back door. Yesterday I came home from work and stepped into the house to see his underpants, shorts, and t-shirt on the back entryway floor. He really hates to wear clothes. I have learned to just be glad that he keeps his clothes on everyplace else other than our house. I'll take my victories where I can get them.
Toys are also found in unusual places. These bring me the most amusement. I have found beanie babies in the bushes. I realized that Z squeezed them out a partially open window, probably figuring that even if he wasn't able to get outside he would give his beloved stuffed animals freedom. I have found beanie babies in our trees. For those of you who don't know Z loves to climb trees and my thought was he probably just wanted some company. I think Z would stay in the tree 24/7 if we let him so he figured his beanies would feel the same way. I have attempted to go bed before and found my bed invaded by friendly if not prolific wind-up toys or a whole zoo of little people animals.
The boys just really like to control their environment, and to be frank I can't blame them. If I had a disorder that made much of my life feel out of control I would want to have control over as much as I could. I guess in that becomes my reality. How much do I let them control their environment and how much do I make their home a place of peace and calm where they can control how the interact with it? We have to teach the boys how to interact with the world and how to adapt when they are out of their home but when we are home I want them to be comfortable and at peace. That is not always possible, especially when J leaves his door open and Z uses that as an opportunity for free expression on J's bed but that's a level of adaptation I'm willing to work with.
Maybe things aren't so unusual after all.
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