Need to "AMP UP"

Today I have a lot to do. Two grand-boys are coming for the weekend, which I love, but it always hurts and brings on more fatigue. I need to grocery shop to prepare for them. LOL! Big eaters! I have other little odds and ends to do outside the home today. Hubby gets home at 4:00 and I just don't see it all coming together by then.

I woke up last night in a very bad position, which has left me virtually unable to turn my head at all. I have a long history of cervical spine problems and it HURTS. On top of that, because of leaning to wrap some gifts yesterday my thoracic spine is rotten today. I guess I'm going to have to take vicodin, which means I won't sleep well tonight.

So the weekend will be really busy with a 7 and 13 year old here. I just don't feel prepared.

What do some of you do to prepare when you know you have an event coming up?

BTW, thanks for being there. I am loving it here. Still don't understand quite how to get around, but learning.

Praying for these poor families in Colorado.

Hi L-Kitty,

Oh, I know, I do this too! The girls always came to stay with me and we had so much fun, had tea parties, played dress up, now they are grown and the boys come, their coming is always good for your heart, but can quickly wear out your body!

I try to have food here for them, it is great when you have time to prepare somethings ahead of time, like a pot roast, a vat of homemade vegetable soup, baked ziti, anything that you can warm up that is there when you need it. This gives you time to spend with them instead of all of the slaving in the kitchen while they are with you. If I'm lucky, I try to fry bacon ahead for their breakfast, just warming it.

They also love bologna, the sweet lebanon, ring bologna, cheese and crackers. The deli in our grocery store make delicious chicken tenders and they will steam shrimp for you at the fish dept.

I am presently preparing for our Christmas feast, decorating, wrapping presents, making bows. Gets harder each year, without a doubt. The teens and adults get gift cards, and I shop online for the boys. We will also celebrate the birthdays of my son and grandson, so cakes to bake too, cookies as well.

I still love to have them, still love to do it, but it is getting harder each year, I do a little less each year, hoping they will not notice, or will simply understand. One of them always helps decorate, thank goodness! I have decided to use the good china and crystal, so soon need to get all that out and washed, I set the table ahead of time and cover it all.

I totally understand about getting up stiff, not being able to move certain parts of your body, or just getting a restful night's sleep. The Drs told me I can take morphine and valium waiting 2 hours, this combination has been allowing me to sleep well lately, the valium is used as a muscle relaxer. Maybe you could talk to your Dr about something like this combination.

Wishing you well, enjoy your boys,

SK

Thanks SK. Sounds like we are on the same program! I take clonipin for anxiety and to help me sleep, but even with that i have a hard time getting good rest when i have to use vicodin.

We aren't having Christmas for the first time in 35 years.Not because of my fibro though. Our oldest daughter invited us to their house and they live in Bend Oregon, about a 3 hour drive. They are in the country and have decorated Grizwald style and have snow now. It is such a blessing. We will be taking 4 year old Fritz and 2 year old Ella out on Christmas eve so mom and dad can do some wrapping. We get to dress up because Ella is such a little fashionista. I'm a country girl so my usual attire is blue jeans and a hoodie!

We had a heart break this year with another daughter and drugs. She has 4 boys who we adore. It's sure changed our hearts and our Christmas this year, but we have such fun to look forward to. Stress takes it's toll on us fibro folks, even with fun to look forward to. Hae, we don't even have to put up a tree! Yahoo! I have gotten out a few of my favorite things. The easy stuff to put back away. And my kitten loves to help me wrap!

This morning (and still) my back is so bad from wrapping. I shopped today for easy foods for the weekend with two of the boys.

I love that you are using the good china! I have done the same thing as you in getting the table set days ahead. It allows you time on Christmas to enjoy the family and all the fun. I hope you have a great Christmas. thank you for your ideas SK.

Are we friends? Do you know what difference a friend is on here? I'm so new.

Yes, we certainly are friends L-Kitty, and on the same program! ha! The difference in being friends is the ablilty to send a private message, but we have surpassed that into the realm of reality!

How very nice that your daughter is having the Christmas dinner! We were all down with Bronchitis at Thanksgivnig so the kids were heartbroken not being able to come! We are celebrating on the 22nd as all of the holidays fall on my son's regularly scheduled work days. The operation goes 24/7 and he is a supervisor, I have always told him that I can have a holiday ANY day for him. That's just the way I need to roll!

So we now officially have 1 week! My Mom is with us, we brought her down to live with us a few years ago, and at 80 she is healthier than I am and still a tremendous help! We just finished cleaning the inside of the refrigerator, and I cleaned the table lamps and shades in the Living Room, yes, at midnight! We work a while, rest a longer while!

The china was given to me by my maternal grandmother, it's beautiful Noritake from the 50's, I remember it fondly. It was a service of 8, I have since doubled it, so each granddaughter has a set, had hoped to make it a service of 12 each, but as yet haven't gotten there. It's hand painted with Platinum edge, so don't dare put in the dishwasher, but I am no longer against letting them sit until the next day. I want to spend time with THEM. In the past I would never dream of letting dirty dishes sit overnight, but things have changed! The glasses are gold edged crystal, so no D/W for those either.

Lists, I have lists everywhere, to do lists, grocery lists, gift lists...

Traveling is very hard on me, I can no longer go on the yearly trip to Gatlinburg with hubs to meet up with the wonderful guys he served in Nam withand their wives, so I tell him to go, be with his guys and hug them all for me. We had planned to travel extensively, now I go to the Dr, pharmacy, grocery store. That is about he extent of my traveling!

The best advice I can give you is to stop often, every 30-45 minutes, get out straighten up, walk and stretch. I have even had to lay down flat in the rest areas on the ground to get my back straightened out. This was the advice of my DC, I even had a DC there I would see when I got there to be adjusted immediately, and then usually before we left for another adjustment, but alas, it reached the 'no can do' finality! No fun.

Wrapping has the same affect on me, just that slight bending can set everything off. I am currently taking Enbrel for Psoriatic arthritis, and have a feeling that it will be changed next month, there is not the improvement he had hoped for. Yesterday my left foot and ankle were the size of a basketball, the fear is that it will not help 'as much' as the Enbrel, but he said the Humira can be taken twice a week. Worth a try, of course.

Easy foods, you bet, always have to have them on hand, especially with kids in the house! We still need to go get the fresh turkey and some things. We spent $450.00 last week, shouldn't need a thing, but still do! Can barely afford to eat anymore!

We have some raised beds my husband made and grow some seasonal veggies, onions, squash, red peppers, green beans, he grows the tastiest carrots, and I always have herbs in a little kitchen garden, and my husband has a little strawberry patch for the kids. The boys love to pick those, oh and we have a grape harbor, he built it, it is very nice with a bench under it.

It has been so nice talking with you. I know you are enjoying the boys, and they will never forget the time that they have spent with you! They give you a reason to get up and go on!

Wishing you a very good Christmas too!

SK