Follow up

Finally, the pictures I promised of the kids sledding. We went sledding on Wednesday after school before all the snow melted.

Mason has been diagnosed with gastroparesis. His stomach doesn't propel the food into the small intestine with the force that it needs to empty. He will be going on a low fiber diet to see if it will help and then undergo the gastric emptying test in 2-3 months. If at any time he has more stomach pains he will need to under go another endoscopy. The doctor has never seen this in someone this young and is hoping Mason will outgrow it.

The food that was found in his stomach is called a bezoar. It was about 7 cm long and bigger than a golf ball. His appetite has really improved and hopefully he will now put on some weight. I can tell he is feeling so much better.

I am done with tutoring now. I was let go because of a state law that states a special ed student needs a special ed tutor. Because of some changes the hours were going to drop drastically anyway so it's for the best especially with Mark gone four nights a week with class.

Valynn and Mason started swim lessons again last night. They both enjoy swimming and had fun. Basketball starts tomorrow, I'm debating on signing up to coach, we'll see if they need more coaches tomorrow. Mark's parents are coming for the weekend so we'll be busy with them and we have the annual church meeting at the Lutheran Church on Sunday. And who can forget the Vikings game! Mark and the kids have Monday off so we're going to enjoy a long weekend.

Gastric emptying test

Mason had his gastric emptying test today. It didn't go as well as we would have liked. After two hours his stomach was only 49% empty. The radiologist didn't know how much it should be empty but said if it was 50% empty at 1 hour we could go home. At one hour she didn't even bother calculating it because she knew it wasn't 50%. He was fed radioactive eggs and then a picture was taken every 15 minutes for the first hour and then at the 2 hour mark. I have a piece of paper stating he is radioactive in case he sets off any alarms in the next three days. Right before the picture at the 2 hour mark he told me he was hungry even though half his lunch was still in his stomach. We have the follow up appointment on Thursday and will know what our next step is.

We had a nice weekend around here. The kids went sledding down the big hill by the dam Saturday and Sunday. I'll post pictures tomorrow. The kids had a blast and on one run Valynn went a little too far and ended up in the creek at the bottom. Mark said there was water running over the sled and Valynn was standing on the bank laughing.

On Saturday we had a couple over for supper, the wife grew up about 20 miles from me. We had a great visit. Kyra was happy to be back in school today, she loves school. Kyleigh has been a busy body. Tonight I went to put her plate in the dishwasher and she started throwing a tantrum, I handed her the plate and she put it in the dishwasher. She is really starting to grow up. She has really become a jabberbox. Valynn is happy to be back in school. Swimming starts this week for Valynn and Mason. On Sunday there was a house fire in Princeville, everyone got out safely. One little boy was in Mason's class, it was two years ago that we had this with Valynn's class.

Have a good week, I'll update on Thursday.

Exhausting...

That how we are describing the phase that Kyleigh is in right now. The only time we get to relax is when she's sleeping. She likes to stand on the chairs in the dining room and while up there will climb on the table. The other day she figured out how to pull the stool out from under the buffet, where we stored to keep her from playing with things on the counter, set it upright and push it to the counter to play with the computer. The stool is now stored in the sunroom. This morning she figured out how to open the sunroom door and was able to pull the stool into the kitchen, pushed it next to the stove and was going to help me make breakfast. After breakfast my goal was to clean out the freezer because water dispenser for the ice maker had become frozen. Kyleigh was a big help emptying the freezer and then she has spent the last 30 minutes putting things back in the freezer, taking them out and putting them back in the cooler. As you can see, she found my chocolate candy stash and proceeded to help herself to some chocolate but she was also nice enough to share with her siblings. Her favorite chore is to help unload the dishwasher, she hands me the silverware. The problem is she likes to do that whether the dishes are clean or dirty.

The last couple of days Kyleigh has really started jabbering. She seems like she is picking up a few new words but we'll see if she keeps using them or choses to forget them like in the past.

Valynn and Mason had a snow day on Thursday, close to 8 inches on new stuff, they did a little sledding and played around most of the day. Mason has his gastric emptying test on Monday. He had a fever on Thursday so he got to miss school on Friday. He seems to have lost his appetite again which worries us but he says his stomach still feels great. Valynn had a sleep over last night at the neighbors, she was invited to two so she had to turn one down.

We hope everyone stays warm and have a great weekend. You will be able to find me chasing after Kyleigh with a weary look on my face while I try to clean house and get ready for company coming for supper tonight.

Mason update

Mason did a great job today at his endoscopy. The doctor found some undigested food decomposing in his stomach. This is the likely culprit for his stomach pains. The doctor said the food has been in there for months and he removed the rotting food from the stomach. He doesn't know why the food didn't exit the stomach and he will undergo a gastric emptying test in the next few weeks. We go back next week for a follow up on the biopsies. We are thankful it is something minor and that they were able to find what was causing his stomach problems.

Update

Kyra's culture came back negative so we are going to take the wait and see approach. If she continues complaining we'll take her back in.

Mason has an endoscopy scheduled for January 6th. He will be checked for H. Pylori, celiac disease, acid reflux, and food allergy, along with a couple of other things. The doctor said 12 out of 13 times he finds something, the other 1 time it's a pain that is unexplained.

Valynn is at a sleep over tonight. It's a bittersweet one as Allie is moving the end of January so it'll be her last one at Allie's. Kyleigh is busy being Kyleigh and having fun with her new "trick", turning the TV on and off.

Mark has been home in the afternoons all week. Kids and I are enjoying him being home. Work is going good and we see and end in sight for the semester. We are ready for Christmas, the kids can't wait to open their gifts (I'm excited about mine as well).

We wish every one a Merry Christmas!

PT Conferences

Warning parent brag: We had Parent Teacher conferences this morning. Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Mason was home sick three days last week. Mark is home sick today. Yesterday was Mark's birthday. We were going to have the neighbors over tonight to celebrate but canceled because he wasn't feeling good. Last week I found out I was head room mom for Kyra's class (somehow the note got lost), so other moms and I are scrambling to get ready for the Halloween party next week. Anyway, here's the results of the conferences.

Valynn: Top of her class in math and reading and very well behaved. She needs to speak up a little more and read out loud slower. Otherwise she is doing great. She is starting to get letter grades this year in Spelling and Math and received an A+ in both subjects.

Mason: Top of the class in math and reading and very well behaved. He is starting to talk a little more and is starting to get friends. His weak point is his handwriting which he is working on and getting better. We're working on his lower case letters.

We were happy with both conferences so Mark and I went out for breakfast since we were paying for a baby sitter. I worked after breakfast this morning then Kyra, Valynn, and I got our haircut.

We have a busy weekend of Halloween parties and hope to finally make it to church this weekend.

Birthday Boy!!

Mason is 6 today. He took Tanner's Apple Cider donuts to school today for his birthday treats. He's been waiting patiently/impatiently for his birthday. We are having his party next weekend. For his birthday supper tonight he requested cheddar hot dogs, mac and cheese, peas, and strawberries (I think I can handle it). He has three and a half weeks until he gets his birthday present, a trip to Disney World, just him and Valynn. Kyra and Kyleigh get to stay at home with Grandma Larson, they'll get their chance in about 5 years.

Kyleigh now has two teeth on the top. This might explain the fussiness and sleepless nights.

Have a good weel!

And Mason scores.....and there was a party....and a new vehicle

It's been a whirlwind week. On Thursday we went to Naperville, IL to pick up the suburban we bought. So far we are liking it, I don't have any pictures so here's the link. On Friday Kyra and Kyleigh had their well child visits. Kyra is 30 pounds and 36 1/2 inches. Kyleigh weighed 18 # 4 oz (10%) and was 29 in (48%). Friday night we had Kyleigh's birthday party. Another bash held in the garage, we had a great visit with everyone and Kyleigh got a lot of nice gifts, that her siblings like to play with. As you can see, Kyleigh got wore out from her party and fell asleep on the floor. Kyleigh's cake was decorated after we got home from Naperville on Thursday, we decided the simpler the better with her. The top picture is Kyleigh and the neighbor boy Collin, he turned one on August 8th.

Today was Mason's first flag football game. He did a great job. He played outside lineman, inside lineman, and running back. He carried the ball three times as the running back, he scored two touchdowns one for 50 yards and one for 30 yards. His other run was for 25 yards. He did a great job. He got close to getting a couple of flags on defense. Mason is to the left of the coach on the right in the top picture and the kid on the left in the bottom picture after he scored his second touchdown.

This week the kids start going to school for full days, which is 45 minutes longer than what they have been. School is going better for Mason, he had a rough start, but is liking it now. Mason's birthday is coming up on Thursday.

First day of school

Today is the first day of school for Valynn and Mason. Yes, I'm a little sad that I'm sending another off to school. I know Mason will do great, he picked his favorite breakfast of scrambled eggs with bacon, mushrooms, and onions for breakfast. Mark walked the kids to the bus and then met Mason at the high school to take him to his classroom for the first day. I met the bus at the elementary school to walk Valynn to her classroom. Kyra and Kyleigh are a little lost without their older sibling but I know we'll do just fine. I have to say if this is a sign of things to come I'm going to get more done during the day, alas, I'm sure it's just a fluke that I was able to clean up after breakfast, wash dishes, unload and load the dishwasher, bake Kyra's cake, and frost her turrets all during Kyleigh's morning nap.

Today is also Mark and my 9 year wedding anniversary. We celebrated a couple of weeks ago when the kids were in North Dakota. It's hard to believe that it's been 9 years already. 9 years ago neither of us thought we would be parents to fours kids, two of whom are school age and we couldn't be happier.

We had a long weekend here with sick kids. Friday night about 11:00 Mason got sick. Around 1:30 Valynn started getting sick. We were up every 15-45 minutes with one of them, at least they can hit buckets. It was a very long night until about 6:00 in the morning when their stomachs finally settled down. We were good until about 1:00 Saturday afternoon when Kyleigh got sick. Luckily she only threw up twice. Saturday and Sunday were pretty much spent lounging around and taking it easy. Mark worked on his garage and we now have garage door openers and outside lights.

Yesterday we met some friends at Tanner's Orchard. The kids have fun playing in the playground and of course eating some cider donuts. I have a couple of pictures I hope to get later but they are on a different camera. I had to send mine in to get fixed and am borrowing a friends camera for the next few weeks because of all the times to have a camera break it's during birthday season at the Rinkel household.

We are gearing up for birthday, first up is Kyra's this Friday. She's is having a castle cake, I can't wait to see the finished product. Have a good week!

Bringing home the bacon?

Actually it calculates out to a mere slice. On the last day of school I decided to work for a whopping two hours. Hey, I wouldn't want to tax myself. Valynn was excited because I subbed in the first grade classroom next to hers. Summer is officially here and we're starting it out with a trip to the museum tomorrow. I hope to visit 8 science places around Central Illinois with Valynn for the Academy of Science Scavenger hunt and we're beginning tomorrow.

Valynn's game on Friday didn't go very well, they got beaten pretty good. The girls from Hanna City could do one thing very well, field a ball, accurately throw it to first, and the first base girl could catch it. We keep getting better every game. Valynn had an off night and struck out twice. Yes, that is me as first base coach, don't you love the outfit?

Mason had his first game on Saturday. He got two awesome hits, they went into the outfield. Now he has to learn how to go after the ball when it's hit towards him.

We stayed busy at home this weekend. I worked in the garden and Mark worked on his garage. We picked strawberries yesterday and got about 3 cups worth. They got eaten for supper. The kids have been having fun in the tent, we set it up this weekend, so far no sleep overs planned in it. Tomorrow Kyleigh has her 9 month check up so I'll post her stats when we get home. Yesterday she learned how to push herself to sitting when she's on her stomach and how to pull herself up to a standing position.

Have a great week!

My babies are growing up, sniff sniff

Kyleigh is 9 months today. She is getting into so many things now, I want her immobile again (not really). Today is also Kindergarten registration for Mason.

Field Trip

What a miserable day for a field trip. We went to the zoo with Mason's preschool class. It rained the whole time, we've gotten close to two inches so far. Mason and Kyra didn't seem to care that they were getting wet. Kyleigh spent the morning with Chantel so she didn't have to face the elements. Mason and Kyra had fun looking at the animals. In June the new African exhibit opens up. We are looking forward to a low key weekend.

Mason's big day

Happy birthday to my 5 year old boy. Wow, time sure flies. He's excited to open his gifts and for his party on Friday. He also started school today and took treats for his birthday. He made his treats with grandma. He was ready to go back and he did a terrific job according to Ms. Angie. Kyra also started her "school" today, since it was the first day of MOPS. We went for about an hour so I could show Kyleigh off and meet the new moms. Today we're going to bake Mason's birthday cake so dad can start decorating it tonight. We're also going to have the supper of Mason's choice, hot dogs and chips.

Warning.. Proud Parenting Moment

On Monday Mark set up a small bike without training wheels for Valynn to try. She got the hang of it almost immediately but was only able to go short distances. Mason wasn't able to ride the bike so Mark jacked up his training wheels. Last night we went back out for them to practice. Valynn decided she wanted to try her bike, and she got the hang of it right away. Mason then decided to try again and he was able to ride without training wheels as well. We're so proud of both kids, they need help starting and can't turn around yet, but that'll come.

Safety Town

I think we are finally over all illnesses here. Today we had a play group at Safety Town. It's a bicycle course designed like roads. There is a bridge and an underpass, stop lights, and one ways. I had forgotten about this place. Mason had a great time and wants to go back. I'm sure Valynn will want to go when she sees the pictures. Kyra had fun riding her bike (tractor) as well. It also wears kids out, Mason and Kyra are napping. Tomorrow night is Valynn's bridging ceremony to Brownies. On Friday she had a field trip to Wildlife Prairie State park.

Riding the Combine

After many failed attempts, we were finally able to get Mason a ride on the combine. I'll let you know how he liked it when he returns home. We are wrapping up a busy week. Valynn started Tumbling this week since her dance class was cancelled. She had fun. Valynn also officially started Daisy Scouts this week. I only worked half a day this week, I taught 3rd grade. We have a busy weekend ahead so I had best get back to work.

Happy Birthday Mason

Mason turned 4 yesterday, unfortunately the day was spent traveling, his party is on Friday. We had a great weekend but we spent too many hours on the road (15 ours one way). We had a great time at Christy and Jake's wedding (Christy was my college roommate), we got to visit with friends from college that we haven't seen or talked to in years. The kids had a great time on the farm and were good for Aunt Gwen and mom and dad enjoyed a kid free night. We took the kids over to the mud fest and they were able to see the all of the trucks and 4 wheelers playing in the mud. We have a busy week this week. Mason starts school tomorrow and Kyra and I start MOPS (it's a mom's group). Mason and Kyra have doctors appointments today so I will post their stats later, Mason also starts gymnastics and Valynn starts dance. I have my first PTA meeting tonight (I can't believe I'm that old). Have a great week.