Recurring Bartholian Cyst - Questions Answered (My Normal Life/Routine)

Okay, I am sure a lot of people have been wondering or have actually come right out and asked me some questions...so here my best response to them.  I've been asked a LOT of things about how I live my life through the constant struggle.

kristlenotanonymous asked me "how do you get thru the constant bedrest and discomfort and misery?"...well here is that response...

I will attempt to answer that as best as possible.  I mainly organized my life and ran with that.  I keep myself busy taking care of everyone, so that I don't have to worry about anything else.  If I have time to stop and think about things...that's when I start to REALLY get depressed and my husband has to step in.

If I had an issue with something, I came up with a solution.  Problems with the kids leaving a mess and you can't clean it because you're on bed rest?  Well, no problem...organize it!  Fix the problem.  Find a solution so you don't have to be there 24-7.

If you have kids, you damn well better be able to take care of them...because I am.  That's my logic anyways.

Otherwise...I suck up the pain.  Take a pain pill, get in the bath, and keep on going.  It sucks, but nothing sucks more then your house becoming uninhabitable or your kids feeling like they don't have a mother.

This is how I run my life...and I do run my life.  I divided my life into "good days" and "bad days".  My good days are used to help with the burden on a bad day.



Doctors

I don't let anyone open me up with that lidocain stuff anymore.  I make sure I am fully numb everywhere BEFORE they do anything.  I like to tell the ER staff a little lie that I am "immune to most numbing medications", thus they have to give me 2-3x the normal dose.  It usually works.  I also tend to do this at the dentist.  Doctors and dentists will sometimes to try "use as little as possible to get the job done".  I don't put up with that bullshit.  I even make sure they knock me out for a normal routine cleaning, because those hurt like hell.

My husband attends EVERY appointment I have.  I schedule these sometimes 3 months in advance.  He has a lot of patience, most of the time.  1) He knows by the time I am actually IN the doctor's office, that I am NOT a happy camper and I can't see down there to make sure no one is gonna "surprise" me with anything. 2) That has happened to me before - and I was so furious I got the doctor written up for what he did to me.  I consider "surprising" someone with a scalpel is akin to assault.  3) He knows after the injections, that it's hell to walk.  So he will actually drive the car around for me, get me a wheelchair, and help me into the house/car.

Before I found my doctor, I was going through absolute hell every time I had a cyst.  If you are a military spouse, and getting treated on a base...well, you get a different doctor every time you go in for an appointment.  These doctors are usually absolute shit.  I've never had a GOOD doctor on base, EVER.  Get one off post.  Do an "initial interview" with them.  Test them with questions about your condition.  I tested my current one.  She passed with flying colors.  Others suggested random surgeries to fix the problem, told me to "get over it", or other things.  I was even suggested to get a hysterectomy once, but I REALLY wanted my son (who was born 6 months ago)...so I told them old geezer to fuck off.

However, my doctor is OFF base.  My doctor is my saving grace.  She gets it.  She understands.  Other doctors wanted to keep opening me up for surgeries, but she told me absolutely not to.  Other doctors laughed at me, said my issue was all in my mind.  Uh huh...  I've been told I'm lying about my pain.  I've been told a lot of things, before this doctor.  This doctor CAME UP with the treatments I am getting.  She prescribed me narcotics for the "bad days".  She went to TOWN on me.  She investigated.  She did her damn job!

I DO get the alcohol injections every 6 months now (NEVER allowed while pregnant).  After the injections, I wait an hour and take a REALLY hot bath.  Think scolding.  My kids even take baths with me during the week (I take one once a night) when the water is not so hot for them.  We consider it "play time".  We do a LOT of "play time" things to make up for not being so active.

I recently was diagnosed 3 DAYS after giving birth with meningitis, severe postpartum pre-eclampsia, and  a slew of other issues that no one EVER diagnosed me with.  Having to go through a 3rd birth, with an active cyst, (again) was just too much for me.  I almost died.  If it wasn't for my doctor (who diagnosed me and FORCED the ER staff to admit me), I wouldn't be here.  (Just WAIT til you get something like meningitis with a bartholian cyst...it'll rock your pain world!)  Would you be surprised that the admitting ER doctor told me that "google doesn't have all the answers"?  LOL  Yup, that was said...even though my doctor called in advance and warned them about what I had.

My advice is ALWAYS to find a doctor that FITS you and KNOWS what they are doing.  Sadly, these types of doctors are VERY hard to find.




Clothing

My daily life is a lot of "allowances".  I put up with not being able to wear tight pants.  I actually wear dresses with wedges most of the time, when I am outside.  I do NOT wear underwear.  They are actually too tight on me.  But, you'd never know that unless you LOOKED.

Otherwise, I'm walking around in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.  Yup, that's ME.  I put out a persona that I am "super mom" to the outside world.  What?  You want to know what I wear?  Okay...think 60s mom dressed.  It's old-fashioned, but I get the "freedom" in my cyst area.  

I actually wear the teal and white polka-dotted one quite often.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2013-New-Fashion-Women-Maggie-Tang-50s-60s-Swing-Polka-dot-Dress-Pinup-Vintage-Rockabilly-Retro/1137488710.html?af=ppc&isdl=y&src=Google&albch=Google&albcp=Search_Search-ALL-PLA&albkw=None_US-Shopping-Search-Product-AliExpress_none_none&albag=home_none_Search-ALL-PLA_1013999999870&albmt=broad&albst=search-text&albom=OTHERS_None_20130807_Aliexpress&creative=31447451305&ptsid=1013999999870&gclid=CjgKEAjw2pSdBRCc5Or_vuWw7TgSJAA5txZgcCY_F5faug5m9EjdtX39n_eEvLpAuvp6f_HvDH8GffD_BwE

Though the blue one on here, is prettier and I don't have to worry about my shoulders maybe looking too chunky:  http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Vintage-Polka-Dots-Retro-50s-60s-Halter-swing-Pinup-Rockabilly-Housewife-Dress-/301192379231?pt=US_CSA_WC_Dresses&var&hash=item462076fb5f&_uhb=1

Don't even ask me where I came up with my shoulders looking chunky.  It just popped into my head one day and never left.

I have some tight pants that sometimes I will wear, but that is ONLY if I know I won't be out of the house long.  I also have t-shirts and shorts, for when I do yard work.  I usually wear flip flops when I am in "casual wear".




Relatives/Social Life

I explain over and over again to relatives what is wrong with me.  They still don't get it.  Even my own father thinks I'm nuts, and he can't wrap his head around this diagnosis.  I've explained it to my dad about twelve times since 2002.  Apparently, I have a LOT of patience to KEEP explaining this to people.

I have a great rapport with most of my friends and family.  My phone is always on when I am at home.  I am the "helper".  They have an issue or need to vent?  I am there.  I have a ROLE in their lives.  I didn't just check out.  I picked up NEW things to do while on bed rest.

My friends and family actually call me the "mom" of the family.  Apparently, I am a "mom" to everyone I know.

I only rarely go out on a date night with my kids/husband.  I do NOT do an out of the house date night with just my husband.  We usually order in, or he will pick up a to-go order for us to eat at home.  I don't really like restaurants, so this works for me.




Monitoring My Kids

I put up with having to entertain my kids from the bedroom.  We watch movies, shows, play music and I watch them dance, they play legos on my bed...etc...  I also put a baby monitor in my room, and my girls have walkie talkies on the same frequency...so I position those around the house.  This way, I can hear them wherever they are IN the house but not in my line of sight.

The kids can also hear me through the monitors/walkie talkies.  So, if they are being bad and fighting with each other...I can punish them accordingly.

My kids were actually raised to be self-sufficient.  They don't NEED me to make them food or play with them...etc.  But, most of the time I do it anyways.  My 8 year old can actually cook full meals, but I refuse to allow her to do this without supervision.  This is why...I do the already made meals.




School

My husband picks up a lot of my slack sometimes.  This past year was the first year I could actually sit in the car long enough to drive my youngest daughter to school and pick both of them up.  My eldest was ecstatic every time she saw me pick her up and my youngest was super excited whenever I dropped her off.  He used to do ALL of the school stuff.

My daughter's old school would NOT let him do field trips (because he's a man...?).  I had to do those.  I prepared for DAYS before the field trip.  I got a lot of rest, baths, and bed rest BEFORE the trip.  The day OF the trip, I take TWO pain pills.  (No one could even guess that I do this...)  If I feel a twinge of pain, I get another pill out and take it.  Yes, I used to go through my pain medications a lot faster because of this...but, it was ALL worth it.

I attend every parent conference.  EVERY SINGLE ONE.  I hate it, but I do it.  I schedule these immediately on the school's website for right after they get out of school.  This way, I know exactly when it is and have a choice.  I also make sure that if my husband is not with me, that he is on the phone with me (speaker phone is awesome).

My girls are fantastic at school.  We do homework on the bed, with their little pencil boxes (filled with stuff they need...pencils, sharpeners, scissors, crayons, markeys...etc) that I organize every August 1st for them.  They take these with them to school, and pull them out during homework time.  However, because of the amount of homework (our school gives out 10+ hours of homework every Monday, and the other days are about 3 hours of homework).

For their school clothes, I use a "good day" and set out their entire outfits for two weeks in advance.  I have the days and dates written on note cards, placed on top of their clothes.  I even pick out a hairstyle and clip/headband to go with the outfit.  I do each of their hair EVERY day, in bed or otherwise.  These clothes are known as being "Mommy approved".

Shoes are easy to do.  I keep those organized in black boxes by the front door.  Each person in the house has one.  Each person puts their shoes up in them.  Even my husband.  We store them in plain black boxes that only cost $15.00 per person, but I got them at a steal for $7.00 a piece.  http://www.walmart.com/ip/JaBox-Collapsible-Storage-Box/24372417

For projects like their science projects, those are actually started a year in advance.  Yes, it isn't mandatory...but we like to do things RIGHT.  I even started on my kids' science project for next year.  The pieces are stored in my computer room until completed.  Usually our science projects don't exceed $10.00 per kid.

My kids are always getting awards or having musicals too.  I attend every single one of them too.  Yes, it sucks sitting there and it hurts a lot.  But, I take a pain pill and ride it out.  My husband usually attends with me.  We video-tape EVERYTHING.  We also show up an hour before ANY event, so we get good seats and so he can help if the school needs it.

Teachers are always surprised that I am SO invested in my kids' lives.  The teachers have no idea about my health issues.  They compare me to normal moms and say that I am always the  best parent around.  Well, no shit, because I go out of my way to care for my children.

Last year, I even did parking enforcement for the school.  I became well-known in the school fairly easily because of this.  Now, even though my kids' are NOT in their classrooms, the teachers know me by name.  I am RESPECTED at that school.  (Not by the other parents, but whatever...)  Before, the teachers treated me like I was an 18 year old mom to a 7 year old...now, they know better.




Saving Money/Gifts

People are always wondering HOW I manage to do ALL of this...but it's simple.  I use a calendar (one that's in the kitchen for the entire family to see), and write on it what I want to accomplish in that day.  My calendars are legendary.  (For example: St. Patrick's Day classroom treats I scheduled in January.  Each Monday, I would make 5 treats - sometimes a lot more)

I run with the small things.  I make crafts in bed for their classrooms. Other moms are jealous of "how much time I have".  Right.  If they only knew how much it actually hurt to sit up like that and spend time on garbage for their little brats for EVERY holiday.  My kids learned quite a bit about crafts from me.  I am NOT even a craft person.  I will NEVER spend more then $1.00 per child, as we usually have to make 60 of each gift.  I shop cheap in advance, and make them WAY before they are due.  Then, I store them in my walk-in closet until we turn them in.

Mother's Day was a hand painted pot, with two flower pens...per child:






I make a LOT of presents for my own kids for their holidays.  I also start holidays/gifts WAY early.  I actually finished the costumes for the kids last week...and it's only July 2nd.  Birthdays and Christmas are ALWAYS a huge hit in my house.  I even make dresses and easy square quilts for my own kids by hand-stitching things in my bed.  The clippies, headbands, and other odd assortments I make...I actually used to sell for $10 a piece.  I don't do that anymore, because Ebay is full of scammers.  However, my kids LOVE their stuff I make them...and the other moms are always asking me how/when/where I got them.  Their jealousy keeps me going a LOT of the time.  (If only you met these other parents and their snots...you'd want to kill them all)  These moms are NORMAL, and yet...I manage to SURPASS them EVERY time.  I take a LOT of pride in that.







The kids also have a "craft rack", for all of their paper and extra goodies like crayons.  I also organized those in mini-storage containers.   It's just a normal metal rack, usually used in a laundry room, and I just organized it a bit for them.  I manage to get most of their craft stuff on sale, during the return to school sales.  We have tons of school supplies.  I even buy their coloring books at the dollar store.

I scour the internet for coupons and deals.  Bi-weekly at the grocery store, I am known to save over $100.00 on a $400 trip.  The cashiers even know me by sight and name now.  I am that infamous. ;P  In fact, my eldest and youngest birthdays just passed.  I used Kmart points out the butt...to order it all online.  I wound up getting FREE baby clothes for Christmas this year.  My son's presents are all done now.  (I already have his toys)  My youngest got all of her clothes for her birthday for FREE, too.  I'm a big fan of Kmart right now.

I also have an impressive food storage supply.  My entire garage has shelves that I place sealed containers on.  I even make our own pie fillings every year.  Once a fruit goes on sale, I buy some of it...usually not much, and can it on a good day.  So, when holidays come around...I am actually SAVING money by storing this food.  This is also good for if I can't go to the grocery store immediately when we get paid.  We always have food storage to draw from.

(Shelves:  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-5-Shelf-Shelving-Unit-Light-Platinum/8282891?action=product_interest&action_type=title&placement_id=irs_middle&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id=49324152495&category=0%3A4044%3A90828%3A656639&client_guid=ad5b6696-a1ce-4d18-b675-b0a768d57988&config_id=0&parent_item_id=8251818&guid=ab173cc7-b0ba-43a2-8248-2cdb0fa285f0&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&findingMethod=p13n)

I also use two shelves strictly for cans.  I put soda on one shelf, and the other is used for canned goods like pasta sauce...or something that I didn't make but was on sale.  (Canned shelves looks like this...:  http://www.unoclean.com/RB-Wire-CRS4243672-Metal-Frame-Can-Storage-Dispensing-Rack-System-4-Tiers.aspx)


I store ALL of my holiday decorations (most made by me), in storage containers.  They are labelled with the holiday name and stored in the garage.  When a holiday is coming around, I just pull the storage box off the shelf and put it in the office until I can put up/take down decorations.  You should see my Christmas ones, I have 10 boxes easily for Christmas.

These are the ones I use, except bigger:  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-16.5-Gallon-66-Quart-Latch-Storage-Box-Set-of-6/20699702
I chose clear, because I wanted to make sure that I could SEE what was in the boxes.  Just in case.

I store all of my sewing things in this:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-3-Drawer-Wide-Cart/16415880

Mine has 6 drawers and it is all labelled/organized.

My craft box is a disaster.  I am working on organizing that myself.  All my craft stuff is currently stored in a big storage container and placed in my living room.  Oi.  I definitely need a craft room.  I'm considering turning part of my office into a craft room.




Household Chores

I do NOT push myself.  I do sometimes, but I strive NOT to.  I space things out so that it can all get done.  I scoured the internet for some sort of bribe to get them to start doing it...but none of it helped me.  I actually wound up telling my kids once a month we will do something fun (sometimes it's Jump Zone, sometimes it's something at home) if they do their chores.  My eldest is an organized and clean freak like me, so she latched onto it.  My youngest girl only got involved because my oldest did.  The baby obviously can't do any chores.

Instead, I used my trusty calendar and wrote on there each and every day what I would be doing.  AKA EVERY day has at least ONE chore for me to do.  My house will NEVER look like a pig sty.  I have a calendar for chores ONLY.

The dishes, I will do a load a day.  Everyone in the house knows how to put their dishes immediately into the dishwasher.  Usually, I'll have to rearrange it, but it's still less work for me.  If the dishwasher is running or full, then they stack their dishes by the sink and I will do it the next time I go into the kitchen.

The laundry, a load a day.  I will fold two loads every other day.  Once the laundry is folded, I place the items on the stairs for the family to bring to their respective rooms.  I have laundry hampers in each room, and when there is no load in the washing machine - the girls gather it all and toss it in for me.  My oldest can actually start the washing machine and dryer by herself.

Mopping the floor is done once a week (Wed).  My kids can sweep and mop by themselves if needed.  However, I do a better job at it - so I try to do it myself.

The cat litter boxes are actually cleaned by my oldest daughter.  She knows how to clean them properly, and we set it up so it isn't that much work for her.  This gets done once every two days.

The puppy and cat food is done  by my youngest daughter.  We store both foods in huge old cat litter tubs, and she scoops it out into their bowls.  The bowls get washed once a week, by me.

Our puppy tends to poop and pee around the house.  We have tried everything we can to get her to stop doing this, but to no avail.  So, my girls are also in charge of picking up puppy poop once to twice a day.  I am in charge of washing the carpets, but my oldest knows how to do it.  I do this once a week.

I also air out the house once a week.  This involves opening all windows, lighting candles, turning on all fans, and spraying nice smelling disinfectant everywhere.

My kids help with chores.  1) It's easier on me.  2)  It teaches them personal responsibility.  3) My kids aren't going to turn into spoiled little shits.  My girls get two chores a day, and it helps immensely.

My girls know that every Wednesday is always a BIG clean up job for mommy.  I go into their rooms, make a pile in the hallway of stuff I want them to put up correctly.  They do it without fail, though sometimes need reminding.

These are just some of our chores we do around the house.




Yard Work

I fill my green compost can with weeds once a week during the summer.  I have been slowly been reviving my yard from the weed disaster, and I finally finished the front yard.  So, my hard work is showing.  I now have bushes in the front and my entire front yard is mulched.  I really should post some updated side by sides of that.

We actually get so many weeds every year that we easily spend $75 a month on weed killer, and have to pay someone to professional spray ($200) once a year.  Then, we need to reseed and go from there.  The original owners were college students with 4 kids, and literally didn't keep up the yard...we are paying for that.

I also fill the black trash can every day with trash.  I do this around noon, when everyone is either napping or playing (during the summer).  During school time, I usually take it out after bringing the girls home.  I also check the mail before I go get the kids from school.

I mow the lawn every Saturday, assuming my neighbors aren't having yet another party.  If they are having a party and parked in front of my house, I do it on the next available day.  I have resorted to putting the trash cans by the curb, so no one is parked outside my house when I need to mow (if you kick up a rock onto someone's wind shield, you have to pay for it).  No, my husband does not mow the lawn or take out the trash.  I do that.

My husband DOES do the heavy stuff in the yard, with a lot of bitching from me.  Last year, he leveled a few huge mounds of rocks/dirt we had in the yard to make it level.  Then, he watered and seeded the lawn.  He also planted our bushes this year.


Work

I work part time at home.  I also do swagbucks online, and make easily about $75 a month, which I use for gifts.  I usually use this money on "fun things" too.  I usually use part of this money to reward my kids for being good with their chores (or being good in general), or for fun.  For example, this August we will be going to a massive water slide place.  I have already earned enough for admission and for our food while there.  We will also probably be staying in a hotel, so I am currently finishing up affording the hotel.

I used to work, but it never lasts long once I am outside the house.  It was too painful going to work, so I absolutely couldn't do it.  I don't attempt to work anymore.  The longest I have lasted at a job, since diagnosed, was 3 years (full time).  That was mainly due to working in a call center and not having to move around too much.  I put puzzles together in my spare time between phone calls, to take my mind off of the pain.

My girls were actually very emotional the last time I worked (exactly one year ago).  They would cry hysterically when I dropped them off at school.  They HATED me working.  After a while, it became too much for me.  I don't deal with coworker bullshit well, and I didn't need the money...so fuck working if my kids' hate me working.

I recently enrolled in school again.  I am going to take ONE class to start with and get a degree in social work.  This will all be done online.  I *think* I can handle being a social worker. I used to be an ADA that specialized in child abuse, so this would be right up my alley with less stress.

I do have two degrees, however my credits are either non-transferable or too old to be used.  So, I have to start from scratch.  Not many people understand that once you haven't been to college OR used your degrees in such a long time...that they are pretty much worthless and you won't get hired because of the, unless you want to do the same EXACT thing you were doing before.

Thus, I have to start over and am hoping to start taking more the one class eventually.  Yes, it will take a long time.  However, I am hoping that eventually I will be able to up the classes over time and work my way up to being full time student.





Feeding Your Kids

You want to know how I can feed my kids while I am on bed rest?  That was simple.  I make their meals in little storage containers.  (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rubbermaid-Easy-Find-Lids-24-Piece-Plus-4-Food-Storage-Set/16550121) 

On a good day, I will make enough meals for 2 weeks in advance.  My little "fridge snacks" always have a sandwich, a snack (cookies, muffins, or chips), and a drink.  I also make "closet snacks", which are "fillers" for in between meals. For breakfast, I divide up the cereal into plastic bags.  I also put milk into old little water bottles.  My girls know to get a baggie of cereal and a "milk bottle" for breakfast, on their own.  If my kids are hungry before dinner, I tell them which type of snack to get.  (My sister has a 10 and 8 year old, she was in awe of how I do this...and surprised she never thought of it first...)

EVERY Sunday, I ALWAYS make pancakes for my kids.  Without fail.  I also park my butt on the couch, and we watch some cartoons while we eat.  Every Wednesday is game night.  Park my butt on the couch, we play a viscous game of sorry..or whatever they decide.  Every Friday is movie night.  Park my butt on the couch, tell the girls to get their popcorn snack baggies (pre-made) and we all watch a movie as a family.

I also do things on a good day, like making 4 dozen muffins, cookies, or cupcakes.  I store these in sealed containers in the fridge.  I take out a small plate and place them on the island.  These are always up for grabs.  Sometimes, I will drag out my pie making skills and pre-slice the pies onto plates.

We also do big batches of things like home made chili, or home made chicken soup.  I divide these up into portions and store them in either the freezer or the fridge.

My kids know how to use the microwave, and they are allowed to do that without my help.  My kids will ask me how long something needs to be heated up for, and they have an instant-meal.

The ONLY chore my husband really has around the house, besides helping with the baby/kids, is dinner.  I do NOT do dinner.




Having A Baby

My son is what you'd consider an angel baby.  He is currently 6 months old, and only cries when he has a dirty diaper or when he is hungry.  Otherwise, he is smiles all the time.

I pre-planned for him to have colic.  I made sure that any type of formula I had, that it would be for colic.  I also made sure to have gas drops and all types of things for him, when he was born.  Yes, these are stored in mini-color coded boxes for him...and they are labelled.

I premake bottles.  I put together actual bottles during the morning, and make about 5 a day.  If needed, I keep bottles on my counter with formula already divided up into them.  The formula doesn't go old when sitting in the bottles, because I put the bottle tops on them and don't add the water.  We use the ones closest to the edge of the counter first, this way...we don't have a bottle sitting out forever and then some.

My son's diapers are stored in/on shelves around the house.  I have three floors in my house, so I keep some diapers/wet wipes/extra formula cans in my bathroom, living room, and his room.  This covers all floors of the house, and we don't need to run around the house.  I also keep blankets and spit up cloths in all of these rooms, just in case he is tired or sick.

His bathroom, attached to his bedroom downstairs, keeps his medicine organized and all of his bath stuff.  We also store extra bath stuff in the linen closet near the girls' bathroom.

His toys are organized on shelves and in color-coded boxes too.  His clothes are sorted and organized in a dresser.

Even his baby wash cloths and his socks are organized into color coded mini-boxes.

When he needs a bath, he usually takes one with me.  Sometimes, like three times a week, my girls ask me if they can do it.  I allow them to do this now, without supervision.  They handle it quickly and play with him a lot during tub time.  Yes, I do randomly check on them and am always not far away.

I also have a swing in my bedroom.  I have a bouncy jumper seat in my bedroom and one downstairs in the playroom doorway.  I'd like to get one for the living room dividing wall between the living room and kitchen, but the dividing wall won't hold a bouncy jumper seat.  So, instead, I put a normal rolly chair in the living room and use his high chair for the kitchen.

My son is actually easily entertained.  He enjoys watching me do things, so I can put him somewhere and he is fine as long as he can see me.

Sometimes he has his cranky moments, but those are rare.  He just mainly wants attention....as with all babies.




Toys/Playroom

We actually have a huge playroom for the kids.  It's the size of three bedrooms combined and all wide open.  I put a huge TV in there (which they only get to watch with permission), and organized the shit out of it.  There is a couch, mini-kitchen (with tons of toys), their play shelves, a small coffee table for them to play on, and a slew of other things.

My girls can read, so we labelled EVERYTHING.  We store their toys on these type of shelves:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/ClosetMaid-Cubeicals-9-Cube-Organizer-White/22301286

We actually have 4 of those REALLY big shelves around the playroom, and it's all labelled and organized for each child.

I use these boxes for their different types of toys:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Homes-and-Gardens-Collapsible-Fabric-Storage-Cube-Set-of-2/33601205

Each child has color-coded boxes.  My oldest girl is bright blue.  My youngest daughter is pink.  My son is green.  For boxes that contain things that ALL of them can use (like books or mini-kitchen...), those are tan.

When it is clean up time, the kids know to put their toys away in their correct boxes.  Once every two months, I go through the boxes myself and make sure they are keeping to the organization.




Bathrooms
I use mini-boxes for their medicine.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Honey-Can-Do-6-Pack-Mini-Non-Woven-Foldable-Cube-Aqua/21958273

Once again, we use the color-code method on their boxes.

I use storage containers for their clippies/headbands, which are also stored in their bathrooms underneath their sink.  Mini-storage containers for their necklaces/bracelets.  I am actually thinking of changing this to a clippie holder that I will make, instead.

I even made them toothbrush holders.  These are NOT color-coded, but their toothbrushes are the correct color for whichever kid.  (I also keep extra tooth brushes in MY bathroom, just in case)

I also made each child a towel that can wrap around and be buttoned, which are hung on pegs behind the bathroom door.  These are also color-coded, and were given to them for Christmas last year.

My girls know how to clean their own bathroom, completely.  Once a month, I make them clean the toilets.  My oldest actually enjoys toilet cleaning.  Odd, I know.




I think that about covers it.  I do a billion things from my bedroom to make up for the disaster that is my health.  THAT is how I deal with all of this.  I fixed a lot of problems because of my bed rest issues, and I still play an active role in my family's life.  I actually wind up doing close to 99% of the work around the house/yard.  This bothers me sometimes, but really...without it...I'd drop into instant misery and hate my life immensely.

I am the micro-manager of my world and family.  I do it ALL, and every day - even though I am in constant pain - I am PROUD of what I accomplish.

I am PROUD to have survived meningitis.  Almost dying changes your outlook on EVERYTHING.  Because of that, I don't put up with bullshit and I LOVE my life.  No matter how much pain is involved.

If there are any other questions, let me know.



Edit:  Also, to the other stay at home moms with normal health and no issues...I'd like to say this.  You may come up with better crafts or have a prettier house then I do, but I'm massively ill.  How does that make you feel?  Because, to me, it makes me feel pretty fucking amazing to be compared to a NORMAL person and usually coming out the better.

To the woman who commented that she does all this and then some for her kids, without health problems, you suck at your mom job.  If someone as sick as me can do all of this, without any help from family/friends/husband.  Then you should get off your ass and start doing a BETTER job at raising your kids.  Because, I sure as hell have you fucking beat.

To my neighbors and other parents in my small town, kiss my ass.  99% of the other kids that live here, are spoiled rotten little shits.  You should have NEVER had kids if you can't take care of them and RAISE them correctly.