Muddy fun in Winter

It is January 17, 2015.  It was 50 degrees for a short time today.  We enjoyed as much outside time as possible!  Just when I think ~ man we have this crazy crap under control, we are finally able to manage our sensory needs.... THIS HAPPENS.

We had gone outside when the wind picked up to fly a kite.  I had a really great one that we have had since before we got married that folded into a small bag.  The kite was the coolest.  So we were letting the gusts of wind pop it in the air.  And SNAP...the string broke.  We almost had it and a gust swooshed it into a neighbors tree and we are unable to retrieve it.  It will whip around for a long time I imagine. 

Then Espen decided to JUMP into this mud hole.  I had torn up my front flower bed before the weather changed and the ground froze.  So there are holes along the front of the house that are shaded and sloshy with mud!  (This is my spring project ~ to re-do the flower bed/front). 

Super quickly he goes from jumping in the mud hole to smearing it on his face and before I can stop him, he is laying in the hole.  In the new coat and shoes I might add. 

I was wearing flip flops ~ because it had been sunny and 50!  Because I have my toes nicely painted and because I miss the summer sun!!  Needless to say, I was not in the mood to run away from a mud covered child who decided to chase me.  Yet I did because I did not want mud on me! 

Doug was throwing snowballs at him.  Yes because that is how we do it. 

We let him play in the muddy mess and run around the front yard covered in mud for a good 30 minutes.  There are plenty of witnesses to the crazy that happens here, folks drive by all the time, we live on a corner!  He was happy, laughing and generally just having a blast.  The muddy mess doesn't even bother me.  We are used having him undress in the garage and shower downstairs.  We are used to getting the mud (or other messy substance) off of clothes, shoes and child.

It happens fast.  The loosing control of NORMAL.  We are constantly on the verge of perfecting NORMAL behaviors and then quickly we deteriorate!   It is not because we are lazy or lack discipline.  This constant need for strange "release" of energy is how Espen has always been.  Look back at my blog the last 5 years ~ you will see a pattern!


This need for messy, gross motor explosions is a complete immersion in sensory sensations... He all at once feels the cold, wet mud.  His shoes get heavy.  His pants were droopy.  (Not to mention, they were on backwards all day!).  The cold wind blew that wet mud dry quickly on his hands and face, and he felt it crust.  The sound of the mud sloshing and splatting on him and the side of the house pleased him.  The smell of the earth, because believe me, he lay there smelling the smells of mud and grass and snow.  It was slippery and fun.  As weird as it is, THIS is happy for Espen.  This moment when he can feel, smell, touch all of it.  How do you stop that?! 

I could easily stop it.  I can have more rules.  I can get mad.  I can use time out or other corrective measures.... but this is what calms my kid and "resets" him for a while longer.  I allow him to just be who he is in the space he is in.  And today the space was that mud hole.

The medication helps with his behavior folks.  It makes him feel less wiggly and better able to focus on tasks at hand.  The medication is for ADHD.  It does not take away his sensory needs.  Imagine the stress I put him under when we  had been awake since 6:30am, gone to Cabella's, picked up from the food co-op, gotten dog food and watched the weather change pretty dramatically.  Think of the sensory input from those outings. 

This muddy messy play got him back to a place in himself that felt right.  This is self driven sensory input.  This makes him work.  It has for 5 years.  Before I had a name for any of it, I knew he was messy beyond the typical child.  I can recognize his need for this seemingly out of control extreme mess. 

This is who we are.  This is how we roll.  This is the mess you will often encounter if you see us outside.  It is why play clothes are so important here!  Espen won't be able to make this kind of mess as he gets older.  Perhaps it is why he is driven to the "messy, loud, dirty sports" like monster trucks, mud runs and dirt bikes ~ he can acceptably be dirty!  For now however, this does him good, calms him, makes him smile and laugh like crazy and it is all washable! 

I guess we don't have the sensory diet under control ~ we are just as wildy crazy as we were, just less often! 

(Yes the coat, pants and shoes are totally clean ~ no mud stains or anything!).