Not what we were hoping for...

Just a quick update. We got Mason's biopsy results back yesterday. His eosinophil number was 80, 15 is the cut off. His endoscopy in November was <1 and his endoscopy last September was 156. Eosinophil's are the allergens. Mason is back on his dairy free diet. Originally we were going to have him undergo any more endoscopies but after getting these results we have changed our minds. He is on medicine for the next two months to hopefully clear the eosinophils from his esophagus. He will then add potatoes to his diet and then after a month undergo another endoscopy in the hopes of being able to add that back to his diet. He was very disappointed but was a trooper with the news. We have decided that after the potato endoscopy we will allow him to have the occasional dairy. There is a chance he might outgrow the allergy. This is a fairly new disease and we are lucky to have a doctor that is educated on EE (eosinophilic esophagitis). After his appointment we stopped to pick up some food before heading to Mason's baseball game. Mason had a good game, got some great hits, and got the last out of the game. He was playing pitcher and got the ball and stepped on home before the other teams runner got there.

I'll write more hopefully tomorrow. It's been a busy week but just wanted to give you an update.

How much did they take out?

Mason got a great report on his endoscopy. No visible allergens in his esophagus! He had some problems with his vision when he came out of anesthesia, he was dizzy and seeing double. We were there at 7:45 and walking out at 10:00. Pastor Knouse met us again, he's been there the last three times to pray with us before Mason goes back for prep. He asked why we didn't tell him the first time Mason went in so Pastor is always one of the first one to know when a procedure is scheduled.

Last night at 9:00 Mason had 2 bowls of cereal, yogurt, goldfish, and lemonade since he couldn't eat after midnight. Since his procedure he's had a cheddar 'n beef from Arby's and onion rings, 2 bowls of cereal, a banana, an apple, a hot dog, 1 1/2 brats, doritos, snap peas (8), fruit leather, and beverages.

It's 9:30 and the kids are still awake. After supper I sent them outside to play and they were playing so well together I didn't have them come in until 9:00. It's bath time and they get to see dad tonight because he's on his way home! Mason was supposed to have a baseball game tonight but we decided that it was probably best that he didn't have balls flying at his head since he had vision problems earlier in the day and he reflexes might be slowed due to the anesthesia.

And the race is on....

Mason placed 5th in his den in the Pinewood Derby and didn't place in the pack. He did good for his first year. Mason's car is the John Deere Green pickup (that's the color paint they had on the farm). He had fun and Valynn wants to enter the family competition next year. Valynn is home from school today, she has a low grade fever of about 100. We did a first for us and let her stay home alone while I took Kyra to school. I called her about 4 times and I'm proud to say I didn't panic when she didn't answer one of the times I called. She was back in the office absorbed in a book she was reading, and if you know Valynn, if she's reading a book she blocks everything else out.  She's also going to stay home alone when Mason goes to piano. Of course we wouldn't have done this if our neighbors weren't home so she could call them if she needed something and who I just about called when she wasn't answering the phone. Unfortunately there are 5 kids sick on the block so the stuff is just going around.

I subbed in Kindergarten last Thursday and Friday. It went very well, it's always nice when the teacher is in the building so if you need anything you can ask. Kyra and Kyleigh went to a neighbor that has an in home daycare. They did very well and had a lot of fun. I am very proud of myself, I got myself, and all four kids out the door on time. Mark is gone before the kids wake up so he wasn't any help. I also got 4 lunches packed. I can say I definitely wouldn't want to do that everyday.

The weekend was nice, besides the Pinewood Derby we had our annual meeting at church followed by a potluck. We then watched football the rest of the day. As you can imagine, it was almost like the Superbowl around here. Mark started his MBA class on Thursday, wish me luck, he's going to be MIA until March. This is his last week of classes at ICC and next week he starts his training on the factory floor.

Have a great week.

Mason update!

Mason's blood test came back normal. He is being referred to an allergist. Ironically I was just there today for Valynn and briefly discussed it with the doctor. Valynn's doing good this time of year is always rough with allergies. Valynn had a great time at her sleepover. Mason had fun at his JFL game on Saturday, he played lineman and did a good job blocking. We have a busy week ahead of us. Mark has a week of black belt training so he's at class from 7:00-5:30 everyday. We have a Boy Scout intro meeting tonight, PTO open house to see the classrooms tomorrow night. It's homecoming week and the two older kids are in the parade on Friday.

Have a good week!

Mason and the mysterious twist to his stomach problems....

It seems that Mason has developed a food allergy in the past few weeks. We took him for a blood draw today and will know hopefully know what foods next week. He's on some new meds and we'll eliminate what he's allergic too and hopefully he'll feel better.

On the Kyleigh front, she has gone two days now without a pee accident, in the mornings at least. When we put a diaper on her she has had a couple of accidents. Yesterday she came tearing through the kitchen leaving a poop trail behind her.  She at least had the right idea even if she was a little late. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she continues this positive trend! It might having something to do with Kyra telling Kyleigh every 10 minutes, "If you pee in the potty you get a skittle", she does this because she gets a skittle too.

Valynn is spending the night at a friends house. She really needed this, she's been feeling left out with everything going on with Mason.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Mason is 7!

Happy Birthday to Mason. He is 7 today and so far having a great day. He took cupcakes to school and was feeling good so far today. He had x-rays done on Wednesday and the thought is he is constipated, which happens when you are on a low fiber diet. So hopefully that solves his stomach problems. Tonight is his birthday party. He loves helping Mark fix things and helping Mark around the house. School is going good now and he enjoys playing sports.

Kyleigh had her two year well child visit yesterday and I knew we had a peanut but I didn't know she was that small. She's still on the charts, but barely. Kyleigh weighs 22 pounds 6 oz (4%).  Height 34 1/2 in. (63%).  Head is in the 88%. Yesterday we applied for passports for Kyra and Kyleigh. We met Mark at McDonalds for lunch and some of Kyra's preschool friends were there, she had a good time playing with them. Kyra and Kyleigh both started gymnastics on Tuesday. They had fun and did a good job listening. Kyra is on her own but I help Kyleigh. We are able to do them at the same time which is nice.

Have a safe labor day weekend! We will be busy here, the neighbors are working on the pump house this weekend and we're hosting the group since the pump house is on our property. We also hope to get in the garden.

Here is a picture of Mason's cake. I can't take credit for it, it is Piplup, a Pokemon. Mark did a wonderful job.

Kyra is 4

I'm a little late in posting this but just haven't had the time. Kyra turned 4 on the 21st. She woke up that morning and asked if she was now 4. The next day she woke up and said, she was still 4. I love this age and their excitement. We had a joint birthday party for her and Kyleigh. Kyra had a unicorn birthday and Kyleigh had a whale birthday, so we incorporated the two into one cake. The leaning unicorn was my construction and we prayed it would stay upright until the party. The girls had a great birthday and we had a full house.

Kyra continues to amaze us with her vocabulary. She uses words we don't think she should know the meaning of. She loves to talk and sing. Just today she woke up and talked to Mark for a 1/2 hour in the bathroom while he was getting ready for work and then came out to the kitchen and talked nonstop for another 15 minutes to me. She is our social butterfly. She is excited to go back to school in a couple of weeks. She was a princess for her birthday and got all dressed up and completed the look with a tiara. She also loves to draw and color, anything to do with crafts. She is finally riding her bike with confidence, she got a bike helmet for her birthday.

Mark and I had a great anniversary. The Ingle's watched and fed the kids for us while Mark and I went out for supper. We then stayed for a couple of beers. It's hard to believe how far we've come in 10 years. Neither one of us would have said we would be celebrating 10 years with four kids and one of them turning 9. We are looking forward to the day when we will be done with diapers. Mark starts classes again this week and Mason has his first football game on Saturday.

Mason is home sick today. He's been running a fever off and on for about 10 days now. He is also complaining about his stomach hurting again. I am hoping it is nerves from school starting but this is exactly how his stomach problems started last year. He has an appointment on Friday.

The past week.

So I'm a little behind with the blog. I'll just go in a sequential order. Last Friday was my birthday. Valynn made the cake all by herself and Mark decorated it. Mason had a field trip to the zoo. We had a great time looking at the animals on the tour and playing on the playground, until it started to rain. We went out for supper, bought my birthday gift, an ipod touch, and came home for cake. Valynn's softball game was cancelled due to the rain.

Saturday was a lazy day. I tried to work in the garden but Kyleigh was being fussy and Mark was studying. I spent most of the day laying around because I also didn't feel well, Saturday night I got the fever the kids had had and spent most of Sunday sleeping or on the couch. Monday I took Kyleigh to the doctor and she/we had hand, foot, and mouth disease. It's a viral infection that kids get.

Tuesday I had the new neighbor over for lunch and had a very nice visit. That afternoon was an interesting one. I was sitting on the couch keeping an eye on the news in case any weather information came on and missed what most of my neighbors saw, a tornado about a mile from our house (I'll have to sit on the couch facing the window next time). The sirens didn't go off because the National Weather Service didn't see it on radar and the rumor is no "trained" spotter called it in so their policy is to not ring the siren even though the local fire department and a county police officer called it in. The fire department called the school which then had the kids take cover until the threat had passed, unfortunately the school failed to inform the parents that they were keeping the kids late so we didn't know what was happening until we called the school to find out where the bus was. The important thing was that no one was hurt.

 On Wednesday Valynn had her field trip to.... the zoo. That's right I've been to the zoo three times in less than three weeks. Valynn had fun and she had a different tour than the others and got to spend some time in a classroom and see some animals that aren't on display. Wednesday night Valynn had a softball game. She did a great job again and got some good hits in.

Thursday I worked out in the flower bed. While out there Buttons decides to bring a live mouse into the flowerbed to play with. He would let the mouse hide and then try to find it, bat it around a little and then let the mouse hide again. He did this for an hour. Meanwhile a bird is irate that Buttons is there and he's diving towards Buttons. The bird then got reinforcements so he had two birds diving him while he's playing hide and seek with a mouse.

Mason had a follow up with his GI doctor. He's gained less than 1/2 a pound in 6 weeks but he gained so we don't have to go back for 3 months, unless he has any problems.

Today I worked out in the garden for a little bit pulling weeds, I decided nature was telling me something after finding two snakes in the straw I was spreading and decided to call it a day. Valynn's game was cancelled tonight due to graduation so she'll have three games next week. We have a busy weekend planned as we get ready for company, Grandma Larson, Aunt Paige, and cousin Ty. We also have to get the garages cleaned out for the Block Party next weekend.

Have a safe Memorial Day and remember our Veterans!

Are you fancy?

Mason had his Fancy Nancy party for moms today. Are we fancy or what?

Kyra and Kyleigh spent the morning at the Ingle's. They had fun as always. What does it mean when you drop the kids off and they're mixing margaritas? (They were getting ready for a family get together tonight, but I thought it was funny).

Mark and I are going out with the Johnson's tonight. We're going out for supper and that's as far as our plans have gone. Mason has his first Teeball practice tomorrow.

Have a great weekend.

Mason soccer

Finally, some pictures of Mason playing soccer. It was a crappy day out today. At half time it started sprinkling. The called a rain delay but the other coach and us decided to play through the rain which quickly passed. The other team was short players so one member of our team played as their goalie. We won again today and after about 5 goals we had Mason stay back to play defense so that others got a chance to try to score. We have one game left on Saturday and then we get to move on to the next sport.

Valynn's team lost today but she did a great job. She was more aggressive than she has been and did a great job getting in there and fighting for the ball. She wasn't happy about the rain either and also had a rain delay during her game.

Have a good week all!

Mason update

Mason had a follow up at the GI doctor today. In the last two months he hasn't gained any weight, he lost a few ounces but that is probably due to his clothing. He did grow 1/4".  Mason goes back in 6 weeks and at that time might be placed on medication for his gastroparesis, we are hoping to avoid this because of the side effects.

It's been a crazy week around here. I had a church council meeting on Sunday and we had a Home Owners meeting on Tuesday, I am secretary for another year. Yesterday we had family dentist appointments and I'm happy to report that no one had a cavity. This weekend both Valynn and Mason have something on Saturday and we have soccer on Sunday.

Today Mason would ask Kyleigh how old she is and she would hold up one finger and say "two".  Kyleigh has been frustrating lately. She is into everything, she won't leave anything alone, and wears on one nerves. She is getting more vocal which is good.

Kyra was excited to be back in school this week.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. We got most of the garden planted tonight, we're keeping our fingers crossed that is doesn't freeze now.

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!