We have tried a week of remedy for constipation for Connor’s tummy ache.  Connor is loving the prunes and they are working quite well.  Unfortunately the tummy ache did not go away.  Yesterday Connor complained to the teachers again and more often than usual in a day.  So we decided to try the next step in the doctors advice yesterday, ranitidine for reflux.  Connor is not a huge fan of taking medicine, and it took some convincing before the medicine was taken.  I decided that we will do the medicine twice daily for a week to see the effect.  Today after school, Connor finally said his tummy did not hurt.  We are quite happy for the improvement and hope that it will continue.

     We attended Marcus’s 5th Birthday Party on Sunday.  As soon as we arrived at their backyard we saw the cool big jumpy house, but the boys were interested in playing soccer on the lawn instead.  They played for awhile then moved on to basketball and their climbing structure.  They were still not interested to try the popular jumpy house.  We then decided to take a break for some tacos.  Connor was happy eating two tacos and some rice.  Logan wanted only the tacos, but once he saw them, he changed his mind.  However after he tried the chicken one, he loved it and ended up eating three.  After they ate, the boys went off to play, so Stuart and I just hung out at the patio.  Later Michelle came over to share that Logan asked her to tell us his whereabouts.  He and Connor were hanging out at the “secret hideout” in the back of the tennis court with Mckayla and her friend Annabelle.  They ended up being there for a long time, and only returned periodically to use the restroom or got a drink of water.  Connor also told me a big story about this secret place and only the four kids were allowed in there. 

     Later, all the guests gathered to sing to the birthday boy and enjoyed the ice cream cake.  Then everyone returned to play, and Connor and Logan went back to the secret hideout.  Michelle mentioned that Marcus was interested to show his motorized car toy to the boys as they had not seen it, and we were happy to stay behind.  After most guests left, Marcus came driving out in his cool car.  It immediately drew all the remaining kids’ attention.  Marcus showed Tyler and Tyson how to drive the car and they were off vrooming.  Logan and Connor were fascinated with the car, but did not want to drive it.  Since the jumpy house emptied out, the boys finally (with a little prodding from Stuart) wanted to have their fun in there.  They played for quite awhile, and later went back to the secret hideout with Mckayla for a little bit.  Finally it was time for us to leave the fun party.  Happy Birthday Marcus!

     I left early on Saturday morning to go to a diabetes conference, so Stuart was on duty with the boys for the day.  Logan had a make-up basketball game at the same time as the piano class, so Connor had to skip out on piano this week.  The basketball game was the last one for the season, so Stuart took Logan and Connor there for it.  I heard that several players did not show up, and therefore, the game was played with only 3-4 players per team.  Logan played his usual, trying and not being too assertive. Connor sat at the sideline with Stuart the entire time; he made some nice drawings with stickers that he showed me later.  Afterward, Stuart made them their favorite lunch and everyone was happy.

    I left the conference and came home earlier than expected, and the boys were playing a game together.  Later, I joined them to go to the library to find a book both boys were looking forward to.  We were not successful, but we found many other books for our bedtime reading.  Overall, the boys were good and cooperative for the day which made the day easy for Stuart.

     Last Thursday, the teacher reported that Connor had a tummy ache after nap, and he had a 99s temperature.  But he was eating the snack and playing happily as usual.  The same thing happened on Friday.  Over the weekend Connor had a slight runny nose, but no other complaints at all.  On Monday after school, the teacher asked me how Connor was over the weekend as the same symptom recurred again on Monday.  The tummy ache had always stopped by the time I picked him up from school.  Other than this mysterious tummy ache, Connor is acting well and has good appetite as always.  He does not seem to be making the whole thing up, but he was not able to give too much detailed information about the pain either.  The ache is still on going for a short period of time everyday.  This morning Connor woke up slightly earlier and snuggled in with me.  As he was laying there, he reported having tummy ache.  I asked him the location and if it is small pain or big pain; he answered “medium”.  He still wanted a big breakfast but we held back some food, and we made him a doctor appointment in the afternoon.

    Stuart picked Connor up from school shortly after nap and I met up with them at the hospital for the appointment.  Connor was so happy to see me and he showed me the deck of Yu Gi Oh cards he brought along.  He was cooperative with the nurse during his check in (ht 43 in, wt 45 lbs) and with the exam by the doctor.  He answered “hurt” or “not hurt” to the doctor as she was examining his abdomen.  The doctor reported that Connor’s symptoms might be related to constipation or stomach acid issue.  We were given some suggestions to try to reduce his discomfort and to figure out the cause.  Then Connor thanked the doctor and we left.  I decided to take Connor with me to finish up my last half an hour of work while Stuart took off to return to his.  Connor said hi to Kathy and a few of my coworkers in the office, and then he sat quietly playing with his cards and drawing while eating some raisins.  It was nice having a little buddy next to me while I worked, and we enjoyed the carpool lane to drive home too.

    I had another Art Vistas lesson today.  I have been busy with a trip planning that I did not pay much attention or talk about art vistas until this weekend.  Stuart was totally surprised that the lesson was today.  This hands-on project was straight forward which was another reason that I did not stress too much about it.  I cut some papers and got supplies ready this morning at school after dropping Logan off, then I returned to get Connor registered for kindergarten for the upcoming school year.  After grocery shopping and a quick lunch, it was almost time to return to school.

     I rolled my cart through the lunch area; I did not see Logan this time, but the girls from his classroom were excited about Art Vistas.  My parent helpers and I quickly got ready while the kids returned from lunch.  Once they settled down on the rug, I began the lesson by reviewing the previous elements of art we learned, then we discussed how artists apply them to show textures which was the topic for the day.  The kids were very eager to answer questions as usual.  Logan raised his hand a lot and I called on him twice.  The second time he asked a random question which led a boy going off on tangent, so I had to bring them back.  I then showed the class and we practiced three techniques using oil pastels to show textures, i.e. stippling, hatching/cross-hatching and masking.  Finally the kids attempted to use one or more of these techniques to create their own drawings.  The parents and I went around the room to remind the kids to use the learned techniques.  Most kids were imaginative and their drawings were cool.  The class was good today, but occasionally became more rowdy so the teacher had to calm them down for my further instruction.  Toward the end of the class, I also asked the kids to draw and design a cover with “Art Vistas” and their name in preparation for the portfolio.

    We got a surprised report in Connor’s bag on Friday.  Connor achieves “ALL of the times” in almost every categories except two detailed items.  One was knowing geometric shapes which we thought Connor is familiar with.  The second one was “hopping” which we can imagine.  However Stuart did play hop scotch with Connor recently and he seemed to do fine.  We told Connor how proud we are that he is being a good student at school, and he just smiled about it.