Outside My Window...
Typical Alabama summer here. Hot, hot, hot! Had a few scattered thunderstorms this weekend but didn't get much rain from it. Actually just a sprinkle. It was more just occasional distant thunder.
This week I am thankful for...
That things have been peaceful with our neighbor. I am also very thankful for my beautiful mother-in-law! I am blessed to have her in my life. She celebrated a birthday this past week. Happy Birthday again, Meme! She recently had surgery on her foot and I am so very thankful that things so far have gone well with her recovery!
I am also very thankful for my great Aunt Juanita. She passed away a week and a half ago at the age of 91. She was the sister of my grandmother Klase. Out of all of my great-aunts I have two that made a lot of effort to be apart of my life even after Bryan and I got married and moved away. Aunt Juanita was one of them. I am working on writing out a special blog post to share more about her. Just wanted to say how thankful I am that I had her in my life.
What we have been watching...
We rarely take the kids to the movie theater these days because of the cost but we surprised the kids this weekend with a trip to see Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D. It was really fun!
This Weeks Top Ten List...
10 of my favorite things about homeschooling....(in no particular order).
1) Freedom with our schedule.
2) Our family having so much time together rather than apart.
3) Being able to tailor curriculum to the needs of each of our children.
4) More free time for the kids each day.
5) The freedom to use good literature in the basis of our studies.
6) Being able to visit museums and such and take vacations when places are not as crowded.
7) The hands on learning that we can experience.
8) The daily conversations that our family has as a result of being together and learning together.
9) The homeschool community local and long distance that we get to be apart of.
10) The originality and passion I see developing in my children as a result of them being able to pursue their interests in their studies.
My Life With Fibro...
So in my last diary post I shared about the tender points that people with Fibro experience. Today I thought I would share about morning stiffness.
What is Morning Stiffness?
Morning stiffness is pretty self-explanatory – it’s stiffness that you feel when you first wake up in the morning. But what does this stiffness actually feel like? Well, most sufferers describe morning stiffness as a tightness in the muscles and joints throughout the body. This muscle joint stiffness usually lasts for at least 30 minutes, though it can last for hours. It also doesn’t exclusively occur in the morning – it can continue well into the afternoon and evening. This stiffness can impede movement and range of motion as well as cause aches and pains throughout the body.
The majority of fibromyalgia sufferers seem to experience morning stiffness at some point during their illness. At least 70% of people with fibromyalgia deal with morning stiffness on a regular basis. 50% of these people experience chronic morning soreness and stiffness that lasts for hours, day after day, much like a person with arthritis will experience. This morning stiffness can have a huge impact on a person’s daily activities, making it difficult to sit, stand, or rest for extended periods of time.
Where Does Morning Stiffness Occur?
Morning stiffness occurs in the muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments throughout the body. Stiffness can be felt in pretty much any connective tissue, but the extremities are particularly at risk for stiffness. This means that most people with fibromyalgia will feel their morning stiffness in their hands, feet, arms, or legs. The back is also particularly prone to stiffness, especially the lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spine areas.
Aggravating Factors
Certain factors seem to aggravate morning stiffness in patients with fibromyalgia. Many people note that cold and humid weather make their morning stiffness worse. Insomnia, sleep apnea, and other sleep disorders also contribute to the severity of morning stiffness symptoms. Over-exercising certain muscles can lead to stiffness after periods of rest. Anxiety and stress are also known contributors to morning stiffness.
What Causes Morning Stiffness in Fibromyalgia?
No one is really sure what causes muscle stiffness in people with fibromyalgia. In fact, the chronic morning stiffness that so many people with fibromyalgia suffer from is actually kind of a mystery. Typically, morning stiffness is associated with inflammatory forms of arthritis, like rheumatoid arthritis. Morning stiffness in inflammatory arthritis tends to be very common and can last for hours a day. Fibromyalgia, though, is a not an inflammatory arthritis and therefore should not produce the type of muscle soreness and stiffness that it does.
Theories do exist as to why people with fibromyalgia suffer from morning stiffness. Like those with inflammatory arthritis,
*stiffness could be caused by:
*overuse of certain muscle groups
*lack of exercise or activity
*stress caused by inappropriate limb movements
*collection of fluid in the joints
My own experience with this is.......the morning hours are the worst for me. My stiffness usually lasts for a couple of hours. It is often hard for me to walk normal in the morning hours. My first steps are difficult and I have to move slowly and work my towards being able to walk normal. This is one of the symptoms that has made it most difficult for me to get anywhere in the morning hours. If we do have to be somewhere in the early hours of the morn it's very difficult and often makes my pain even worse. We tend to avoid scheduling anything in the morning hours if we can help it for this reason. If I push myself too hard during those first hours of severe stiffness, I end up paying for it for a day or two and will sometimes end up bedridden for a day afterwards. This is the main symptom that caused us to look for a church that held an evening service. Just getting to church during the morning hours was taking it's toll on me and as a result on our family. I can also experience this same stiffness if I am somewhere where I have to sit for long periods of time without being able to move around or get up and walk a bit. Anything beyond 2 hours of straight sitting causes this same stiffness throughout my legs. It makes traveling long distances in the car interesting. We have actually not traveled over a long days drive of 10 hours for the day since coming down with my Fibro. It will be very interesting to see how long it takes us to get to California this August because of having to stop to walk out my stiffness so much. This is also the reason that I am hesitant to fly anywhere. I worry that having to sit on a plane for a long period of time with no space to move would make getting to a connecting flight on time almost impossible. I will definitely never fly again without Bryan or someone with me that could help me in the event that my stiffness ended up becoming really bad as a result of the long period of sitting. Being home most of the time allows me to sit, stand, walk, etc. as I know I need too and helps keep the severe stiffness at bay except for the morning hours after sleeping all night long.
Around the House...
packing....packing....packing.....!
In the Kitchen...
Bryans dad came over for dinner this past week. His wife is in the Ukraine for the summer so I am trying to have him over more than normal to offer him some home cooked meals. I made spaghetti on Friday night and made a bread that everyone in our family loves! It's a really
quick and
easy recipe. I love to throw it together on days when I get busy and forget to do other bread in time for dinner or just desire something quick. It almost got eaten up before I got a picture of some of it. *Grin*
Italian Cheese Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon quick-rise yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water (120° to 130°)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Topping:
1/4 to 1/3 cup prepared Italian salad dressing
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or cheese of your choice)
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add water and oil to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Punch the dough down; place on a greased 12-in. pizza pan and pat into a 12-in. circle. Brush with salad dressing. Combine the seasonings; sprinkle over top. Sprinkle with cheeses. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Yield: 16 slices. Cut into strips like bread sticks.
Random Trivia/Fun Fact for the week...
Did you know?...
Bakersfield, California (where Bryan and I were born and raised) is notorious for some of the worst fog throughout the entire West Coast region, with visibility sometimes dropping to ten feet.
In places where it snows you have snow delays or school cancelled because of snow. Here in the deep south thunderstorms or severe weather will often delay or cancel school. Growing up in Bakersfield one of the only things that we often had delays in school for, was the fog. I remember having some every year. Sometimes you will wake up and look outside and you can't see the street or houses around you because of the fog. I had to drive in really bad fog once and it was pretty scary. I literally couldn't see anything around me. None of the cars in the other lane or in front or behind me nor could I see their lights. I couldn't see the road period- just a glimpse of the white line in the middle of the road right in front of my car and that is what guided me safely home though it took me triple the amount of time to get there. I always loved the fog in Bakersfield and thought it was beautiful, but it does cause wrecks often and can be a real pain if you do have to get out in it.
Favorite Quote of the week...
This Weeks Blast From The Past...
This is my brother, Erik Kenneth Klase. He is 4 years younger than I. He still lives in California and has 4 children. He works on an oil rig off of the coast of California and has an apartment there and a home in Arvin, California. This picture of us was taken in 1995 right after his first child, Isaiah was born. Bryan and I had been living here in Alabama for almost 2 years and I flew back to meet my nephew after his birth that November. *Grin*
This picture was taken one year later in 1996 when Bryan and I flew out for Thanksgiving that year. That is my brother, his first wife, his son, and my parents. I was pregnant with Houston here.
This is another picture of my brother and I with our mom. Mom is holding our Houston. This was about a year and a half later in 1997 on another visit of mine to California after Houston was born.
Some of my favorite things about these past two weeks...
I had a hair appointment 2 weekends ago. I get my hair done every couple of months and we have made a tradition of it for me to take one or two of the older girls with me. My hair stylist works at our local Galleria mall in one of the department stores. It usually takes her 2 hours to get me done up. For that reason I have only taken the three older girls up to this point. Ally still has a hard time sitting still for very long so I know it would drive her crazy to have nothing to do in the salon for 2 hours. We trade off who goes each time. Sometimes 2 of the girls together. Sometimes just one of the girls for more one on one time. After my appointment we always go out to dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (or sometimes we just get pretzels from Auntie Annies or something from McAlisters in the food court) and then shop a little around the mall. It is the only time we ever really get to visit the mall and we find it fun. It's sort of a girly trip out for us. Sometimes the girls get their hair cut too. This month Emmy and Annie went with me.
At Ruby Tuesdays restaurant, enjoying their strawberry tea! Yum!!
I always get the New Orleans Tilapia topped with Parmesan sauce and the rice pilaf and grilled zucchini when we go to Ruby Tuesdays. The girls always enjoy getting a pasta/shrimp dish. We love the food at RT!
A favorite photo from this past week...
My Ally girl in pig tails. I love pig tails on little girls. Right now this is Allys favorite way for me to do her hair.
Have a great week, friends!
~Jen
