Being a fibro mom is intriguing and interesting. With our large family of seven, we never know what’s going to happen day to day. I’ve decided to share our activities, meals, and books read in hopes of giving you ideas and inspiration. Here’s what we’ve been up to lately with our All in a Fibro Week update for July 29, 2018.
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All in a Fibro Week
Sunday
Late Saturday afternoon I received my Instant Pot! I’ve been wanting one of these for the longest time. The slow cooker is amazing – IF you remember to set it. With the Instant Pot, you don’t have to remember hours beforehand. This is an all in one wonder, too. It steams, cooks rice, slow cooks, saute, makes cakes, boils eggs, and more! It’s amazing. I got the six quart Lux series.
There is a Gluten-Free Instant Pot Cookbook that I’m going to pre-order, too. I can’t wait for it to be released! So far, I’ve tried chili (YES!!) and pulled BBQ chicken (YUMMY!). In the meantime, I’m searching for my diet-friendly instant pot recipes on Pinterest that I can give a try. Do you have any to recommend?
Most of Sunday was dedicated to painting our sun room. We weren’t going for a particular theme, and just wanted to get the room painted so it wasn’t such a drab to look at it.
After searching the clearance paints at Lowe’s, we found an eye-catching Mystic Sea paint. It was a beautiful color and I just had to have it for the sun room. One the way to get more paint brushes, I found a beautiful sea turtle picture. I love sea turtles! After painting the room, it reminded us of the beach. Though both of us don’t care for the beach, it’s a relaxing and fitting theme for the room.
Monday and Tuesday
Monday and Tuesday were high pain days for me. My stomach is continuing to give me issues and constantly feels as though there is glass shredding my intestines. I’m careful about what I eat, but somehow I unknowingly ingested a trigger food. The pains brought me physically down and I spent the days in bed. It led to a lot of crying and wondering what is wrong with me. I’ve been sick for too long with no answers and it’s taking a toll on me.
Wednesday
Tuesday night was a sleepless night and Wednesday was an early morning (beginning around five) because of the pain. I canceled my morning appointments because I was in no mood to interact with others. I was still in pain and feeling a bit down. Tim had the day off for a doctor appointment, and when he was done he took Abby and me to lunch at my favorite place, Earth Fare, to cheer me up.
The rain has been on and off for Charleston the last few weeks, and Wednesday was no different. Tim and I were suppose to attend a book signing for Amy Myers, MD, author of the Autoimmune Solution Cookbook. The signing was to take place about an hour away from us, and my mom was going to watch the kids while we were gone. However, we got rained out. The rain was just too much and we thought it would be safer to stay inside.
Instead, we played board games with the kids. We started out with Dead of Winter then switched to Risk 2210 A.D. It was a lot of fun!
I’m all about frugal living especially with a large family. There are a few ways I save in the laundry room and in the kitchen, and I also know how to shop for FREE on Amazon. Can it get any better? Why, yes, it can!
Last week a friend and fellow fibro parent added me to a I Heart Emailing Companies for Coupons. It’s a great way to learn how to approach companies and ask for samples, swag, or coupons for their products. Currently, the admin is challenging us with 5 a day in which we email five companies each day. I’ve been participating and already I received my first mail haul!
It was from Earth Fare, my favorite grocery store. Not only did they send mega coupons for $5 off an order, but they sent me stickers, pens, and a shopping bag. Big score for me! Woohoo! It came super fast (within three or four days) via FedEx. So awesome!
Thursday
My mom and I are still slowly working away at cleaning out her apartment (it’s attached to her main house). She has boxes upon boxes of stuff ranging from current years to when she was young. There’s a lot of memories in there, and she wants to take her time going through it all to sort out what she wants, doesn’t want, and wants to sell.
We spent an hour going through about five or boxes. We found lots of books, letters from when my mom was ten or so, photos, dishes, and more. She did amazing sorting through the boxes and I was able to bring some of her prized possessions home with me. Such an honor!
Last week, I found my Kid Sister doll from the early 1980s. I cleaned up this week and she’s looking much better!
After we did some work, the kids went swimming in my mom’s pool. It’s so crazy to watch my kids swim in the very pool I swam in at their ages. So many memories, and I love that now I can watch my kids create new ones in that pool with my mom, too.
On the way home I picked up a discounted bouquet of flowers for my newly acquired vases. The vases are of various colors and sizes, but all are small enough for small shelves. I put this vase of flowers on my favorite shelf in my office.
Friday
All five of the kids went to the chiropractor on Friday afternoon, but only one would let me snap a photo of her getting adjusted. Of course it was our star and drama queen, Abby. hehe
Later that afternoon, I got more severe stomach pains and had blood in my stool. It was alarmingly, and I immediately called my provider. Her office was closing, and she suggested visiting the urgent care to check out the bleeding. I do have intermittent bleeding, but the source is unknown. My blood counts were checked, and everything is stable. Just another issue to add onto the pile that is this mysterious illness.
Saturday
After a battle with my insurance, I was approved to have a MRI scan done of my abdomen. Hopefully, this will give some reasons to my recent illness so I can start on a path to healing. And as much as I knew this MRI was important and needed to be done, I was still extremely anxious.
I tried to take a Xanax that morning, but could not find it. I don’t take it that often (in fact, I haven’t taken it in over a month), and I only had a few pills left. It couldn’t be found anywhere. That only added to my anxiety. I used breathing techniques and distractions to help cope. It worked all the way up to arriving at the Medical University of South Carolina where I was having the imaging done.
Once I got there and entered the building, there was a huge chalkboard with the question “What brought you joy today?” I loved this! Focusing on the positive is a great distraction tool I use when coping with my issues – any issue, health related or not. And that particular morning I needed a visual reinforcement. How perfect this was!
Once I arrived in the radiology department, my anxiety kicked into full gear. I was nearly in a panic attack and couldn’t decide if I wanted to cry or leave more. I knew I had to stay, but I was terrified of getting an MRI. It sounds crazy – I was terrified of the noises, closed in space, and the powerful magnet (I’ve heard horror stories of MRI machines).
I was taken to the prep area, and that’s when my nerves nearly danced out of my skin. Sitting in the chair with my head in my hands, I pep talked myself. It was difficult when all I wanted to do was flee the area, grab my husband’s hand, and hightail it out of there. The technician arrived, and could see I was anxious. He was kind, and talked me through it one step at a time. He asked my worries, and rationalized each one. By the time I knew it, the test was over and I was free to leave! Hallelujah!
The rest of the day was spent crashing in my bed. My body was so pent up with tension and anxiety that it literally crashed once I got home.
Books Read
Usually the books I get to read come from the local book sale (fill a bag for $5) or from our community’s Little Free Library. However, during one of my recent visits to the emergency room, the nurse and I struck up a conversation about reading. She told me all about Book of the Month, and how I can get a newly published hardcover book for $14.99 a month (that includes shipping). If I don’t see a book I like, I can skip it for the month. I’ll still get charged, but I will get a credit for the next month.
This week I read…
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
Meals
Here are the meals from this week. Whenever I use one of the Autoimmune Solution Cookbook recipes (right now it’s 39% off), I’ll annotate it with ASC and when it’s a recipe from The Wahl’s Protocol (right now it’s 43% off), I’ll annotate it with Wahls.
Sunday
- bbq wings
- rice
- green beans
Monday
- shrimp
- rice
- roasted zucchini, potatoes and onions
Tuesday
- bbq wings
- soup
Wednesday
- grilled burgers minus buns
- avocado
- green beans
Thursday
- Pulled BBQ chicken (instant pot; I substituted the brown sugar with honey and omitted the soy sauce due to allergies)
- chips
- peas
Friday
- chicken potato skillet (Wahls)
- rice
- seaweed
Saturday
- Tigernut waffles (ASC; these were for the kids)
- leftovers for parents