At Home Tune Up Survival-- Mom with CF

[bloggymom]

I am going in less than two week from now to have a PICC put in and get med levels just right. It's the coming home and finding a good routine is what is freaking me out.

I am a stay at home mom with a homeschooling pre-teen and I have a husband who works longs hours. I usually stay in hospital full tune up time (2-3 weeks)and come with the NO PICC and only oral meds. This time I am looking at PICC in arm for 3 months plus oral meds. IV drugs only once a day. !! My mom is staying for short while but I will eventually be on my own!!

How do the moms doing at home tune ups find a good routine and family not fall apart or go hungry??

How do you keep with the the house (do you hire a housekeeper)??

How do you manage the fatigue that the hard core drugs cause??

Do you make tons of freezer meals ahead of time or buy lots of convenient food?? My husband loathes convenient food. Yikes!!

My husband is self-employed and swamped with work. He comes home in the evenings and crashes (in bed long before the rest of us).

I am afraid my house is going to be a pig-sty in a matter of a few day after my mom goes home. I am ready to call for a roll-off and empty my house so that my guys have nothing to clutter the house with. Extreme, yes, I know. My guys are messies.

I am more than willing to lower my standards but I am not willing to live in a wretched mess while doing IV drugs and trying to rest. I am tempted to beg them to leave me inpatient for the 3 months. Yes, I am a freaking out major time.

 

[Aboveallislove]

First, I can imagine you are overwhelmed thinking about everything. My two thoughts: Start now with the pre-teen and new responsibilities as a member of the family. . . things you normally do and he/she can take over. Could be that some of the homeschooling is lightened and picked up over the summer to allow for them to help more. I am full-time care giver for 3 year old with CF and work 20-25 hours a week from home so I have some menus/take-out suggestions that might work too, if you are interested. My parameters are very few (less than 5) ingredient; cooks in oven, and little prep, and still yummy!!

 

[bloggymom]

Some quick and easy recipes would be great!!

I have been teaching my son how to to chores since he was really little. He can do laundry if I direct him and he makes a wonderful can of soup and crackers. My son has ADHD and has a tendency to be unsafe. I can lay down for a nap as long as he has strict orders to watch tv, play video games or play in his room.

 

[Melissa75]

((Hugs)) I read your MAC cavity thread, didn't have anything useful to add, but meant to offer my sympathies there, so i am offering them now.


Some way to cut corners are cooking big and then morphing the leftovers into meals from day to day.


a dozen soft boiled eggs: breakfast with toast, next day egg salad for lunch
a roast whole chicken with sweet potatoes and onions, two days later chick salad for dinner (+leftover mushy potatoes and onions with ketchup for my lunch, can't quite get others on board for that
slow cooked pork butt (with a jar of pomegranate mole) filling for tacos one day, two days later pulled pork BBQ on rolls (I got that idea for a guy here).
i make no less than two cups of rice at a time, and eat it thruout the week with Indian mango lime chutney from a jar
I buy vacuum sealed frozen fish (whole foods has nice variety and still cheaper than convenience foods) defrost same day and fry or bake with butter/lemon/garlic/some are premarinated.
beans...I pressure cook a pound at a time, takes about 45 min, incl. post cook stirfry with garlic and olive oil, keeps for well over a week
wash all the veggies when u/husband return from store, and have them ready for meals--I often have in the fridge: washed cilantro, prewashed lettuce, a head of cabbage, washed and cut broccoli or cauliflower. I buy gallon tie bags (cheaper than ziploc and less plastic waste) and put the hard stuff in them, and the leafy stuff i wrap in paper towels. Things like kale or collards take up so much space I use them same day.


do you have a Portuguese BBQ (churrasqueria sp?) near your home? We've one that sells whole bbq chicken with rice and veggies--I'm talking a overflowing 13x9 tray--for $14. yum.

 

[Aboveallislove]

omg Melissa--you have nearly all my ideas for double-up meals! I'll post more later.

 

[LouLou]

omg Melissa--you have nearly all my ideas for double-up meals! I'll post more later.

ask someone to send out a request for meals through TakeThemAMeal.com to all friends, family and church in the area. Then you post it on FB and blog for even more people!

I prefer a Tues. and Thurs. schedule and hopefully they will make enough for leftovers the next day. Have the sender say in the email that you will leave a cooler outside and to please place it in there so you don't have to see visitors if you don't want to. Send the boys out one day or more a week for dinner. Hire a cleaner (who you don't need to clean up for!!) to come every 2 wks or monthly.

 

[BikerEd]

Bloggy:
I am NOT a Mommy, but I am a Dad. My wife and I both work (alot) and when the girls where young we kind of went through this, sans the homeschool. If I may offer my two cents:
1. DON’T freak out, it will only make gettingbetter harder and longer.

2. Crock-Pot. You can make a ton of meals withthose and since you already home school you obviously know how to make learningsomething fun. So, have “little” messy guy help you putting meals together andmaking it “spiffy” (note: spiffy is not cleaning, or so they think). In every interviewGordon Ramsey credits is mother for his passion for cooking.

Well that’s my two cents.

Best of luck

Ed

 

[bloggymom]

All of the food ideas look wonderful. I am going to start a shopping list. A huge shopping list!!!

BikerEd, I will try not to freak out!! I think I need to get a crockpot.

LouLou, the "Take them a meal" sounds dreamy. We don't have family that live near us and we don't have friends. In our life there are the guys that hubby works with (construction guys) and that is it.

 

[Aboveallislove]

Here are my 2 meal "meals" all of which are minor prep and all go in oven so I'm not watching/standing over the stove!!
Pork Tenderloin: 2 (1 to 1.5 pound) packages of pork tenderloins. Put in a zip lock bag and dump in 1/4 cup soy suace, 1/4 cup borbon, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and marinate at least 2 hours. Remove from marinate and book at 325 for 45 minutes (or until 160). Really good with mustard sauce: 2/3 cups sour cream, 2/3 cup mayo, 2 tablespoons dry mustard, 3 to 4 green onions finally chopped. Mix.
Left overs: Slice thinly and add b-b-que sauce. I will actually have enough to freeze the thin sliced leftovers and then deforst and add b-bque saw for sandwhiches another time.

Pork Roast: Sprinkle a good "rub" (i.e., salt, pepper, whatever mix you like–we love Daddy Hinkle!) and 10 minutes before done, spread apricot jam on top.
Left overs: Slice thinly and make bar-b-que pork sandwhiches.

Roast Chicken (with Stuffing): Do 2 at a time so you have plenty for leftovers. I actually use Stove Top stuffing to stuff, but just pour the dry mix in a bowl and add tap water to moisten–the flavor from the chicken makes the stuffing taste like non-boxed stuff and it adds flavor to the chicken. I don’t even bother making the stuffing the "right away" literally just mix with a fork in a bowl before stuffing. Then drizzle butter over and salt and butter.
Left overs: B-b-que chicken (just a bottle of b-b-que sauce) , chicken salad (let me know if you want a recipe) or chicken encilladas (recipe below)

Chicken Enciladas: Got off the green encilada can but prefer red sauce--honestly amazingly easy and yummy! Take left over chicken and mix with cream cheese (to creamy but not too much cream cheese), and a can of mexican (green) peppers. Place mix in tortilla shell, roll, dump encillada sauce over it and sprinkle with cheese. Cook at 350 for about an hour.

Chicken Bake:
4 frozen chicken breast
4 slices of cheese slices
110 oz can of cream of mushroom w/ roasted garlic (or just plain)
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups seasoned stuffing mix
1/4 melted butter
Put chicken breast in baking pan and top each with slice of cheese. Combine soup and wine in small bowl and wisk and pour over chicken. Sprinkle with stuffing and drizzle with butter. Cook at 350 for about 1 hour
Left overs: You can make a bigger batch and then use the left over breast for a b-b-que chicken, chicken encilladas, or just whole and on a bun for another night. (DH actually doesn’t mind having exact same meal a second night so I’ll just wrap up the extra breast. Frozen chicken breasts are great for lots of things too so good to have those handy.

Baked Potato/Twice Baked Potato: Make a bunch of baked potato. Eat some, make twice baked with leftovers

Ravoli (rolls): Get frozen ravioli (uncooked without sauce). Rather than boil on the stove, dump in a casserole pan and cover with your favorite sauce and bake for an hour at 350. Get frozen "good" rolls in a bag and heat what you want to go with it.

 

[bloggymom]

those recipes sound yummy!! Thank you!!

 

[Iamqueenofeverything]

How do the moms doing at home tune ups find a good routine and family not fall apart or go hungry?? do easy reciepes. find out who delievers and get someone to get take out.

How do you keep with the the house (do you hire a housekeeper)?? do a little bit everyday.

How do you manage the fatigue that the hard core drugs cause?? sleep whenver! it's ok!

make a schedule to where your pre teen and husband can help out. ask family and freinds too!