Organizing life with Cystic Fibrosis

I have had some people ask me what works best in managing a day with 2 children with Cystic Fibrosis.    I am so privileged to be a stay at home mom and homeschooler, so I understand that this may not work for all.

#1....Keep everyone in the household healthy!  Get rid of the processed food and eat good fats and lots of organic fruits, vegetables and meat.  Look into magnesium, omega 3's, probiotics and hypertonic saline solution for your CFers.  Consider taking out gluten and dairy also.

#2...When you find a system that works, stick to it!!!  Kids most often resist change, but as long as you stick to the plan consistently, they will follow right along and most likely thrive from it. 

#3...I have pill boxes for both boys that look completely different and fill them with all the pills they take for each meal and snack.  After waking the boys in the morning and giving them their morning hugs, I fill them up for the day.

#4...Instead of boiling nebulizers each day, I have a 3 day supply.  Each boy has a different strainer that they can reach and plop their nebulizers in, all taken apart, on their own.

#5...We have a quiet time almost everyday.  Where the boys have to stay in separate rooms (so I don't have to worry about them getting into a squabble) and they are not allowed to come out and distract me from my chores.  During that time, I am usually catching up on dishes and hanging up laundry. 

#6...We are blessed to have vests for both boys.  Most often I will have them doing their vests at the same time.  Usually that is right before school starts, so I can get their school stuff ready, or before dinner, so I can cook without interruption.

#7...Utilize the help of your spouse.  It is not an easy job keeping our children healthy!  God Bless those single parents doing it on their own!!!  My husband is often seen washing dishes, getting nebulizers ready, making juice and a plethora of other things.  I don't know want to imagine what life would be like without him!!!!

#8...One of my newer things, is planning out meals.  I only get to go shopping every 2 weeks, so I have to be a pretty good planner for that.  I can't believe how much easier it is when it comes to dinner times.  I have a list of 10 recipes I am going to try in the next 2 weeks and I just need to pick a meal and go with it.  We have about 4 options for breakfast (cereal, scrambled eggs, green smoothie and pancakes or waffles)  and we just eat leftovers for lunch, nachos or nitrate free hot dogs.

#9...Although it is most often frustrating to me that I can't get everything done.  My priorities are my husband and my kids.  If my house is not in perfect shape, so be it.  Getting quality time with my family is of the utmost importance!

#10...I try my darndest not to let my kids get away with anything, just because their life is not the same as most kids.  They do have about 2 hours taken out of their day, doing treatments and drinking their healthy juice.  But this is their life from here on out and I want them to grow up to be adults taking responsibility for their health and all other aspects of their life.  They both have their own chores and are required to clean up after themselves.

Okay, I made it to 10 suggestions.  Hope this helped.  You are more then welcome to leave more suggestions in the comment section!!