Connor: Blog Of The Day

I think that the reason Fred wears underpants on his head is for good luck.  He might have started because he passed a test while wearing them on his head.  Fred probably avoids black cats or breaking mirrors.  I think he finds himself  only wearing his underpants on his head for really important tests.  While it may seem crazy to some people it helps him out.  I also think that he believes his underpants give him the power to read minds.

Mommio: Swim Night

There were tons of bugs...the grill didn't work...but who cares.  Our first Friday night family swim/grill night was a great success.  We made good use of the new table (again), had fun with Nana and Popo and got to have Daddio in the lake with us.  Friday nights are great!

Gabe: Blog of the Day

I think that Fred is crazy because he fell off a roof and bonked his head.  I think he puts underwear on his head because hates wearing underwear on his butt because it makes his butt itchy.    I think he puts them on his toes when he sleeps because his head gets  really hot under the blanket .

Avery: Blog Of The Day

Okay, so, Fred wears his underwear on his head because he thinks it is the new way to wear his clothes. He thought that everyone would be wearing the underwear on their heads, but he was so not right. He wore multicolored ones. He wore blue, red, green, black and pink! He knew that people would wear colorful ones but under their clothes.   He also wore it on his toes at night because it warmed his toes up. Also he did stuff to his toes because he was a big fan of the Hundred Toes site. He read it all the time. I think he still reads it (Just kidding)! Also, another thing he thinks is fashionable is he is paints his nails pink every day. When he went to school no one was wearing pink paint on their nails. Not even the girls. Also he didn't see any underwear on peoples head or anything. I bet he was sooooo embarrassed.

Marney: Blog Of The Day

I think that Fred is sick and he thinks that he can put underwear on his head because he is confused and he thinks his head is his butt. I think that when he goes to school he thinks that it is cool to were underwear on his head.  And his mom does not know that he is sick, she thinks he is just being crazy.  He likes to were underwear on his head. I think that is funny.

Mason: Blog Of The Day

I think Fred wants to be different from everyone else. He does other things to be different too. He eats cereal with a fork. He's awake at night but asleep in the morning. He uses an eraser to write.

Daddio: 5/31/10 Blog of the Day

For today's blog of the day, I want you to read the following poem by Jack Prelutsky, called As Soon As Fred Gets Out of Bed:

As soon as Fred gets out of bed,
his underwear goes on his head.
His mother laughs, "Don't put it there,
a head's no place for underwear!"
But near his ears, above his brains,
is where Fred's underwear remains.

At night when Fred goes back to bed,
he deftly plucks it off his head.
His mother switches off the light
and softly croons, "Good night! Good night!"
And then, for reasons no one knows,
Fred's underwear goes on his toes.

As you can see, not all poems need to be serious and dull, but they can also be fun and silly.  For today's blog, post up a paragraph about Fred and why he wears his underwear on his head.  Maybe it's just because he likes to be different, or maybe it's for a very important reason- it's up to you.  Are there other odd things that Fred does too?  Use your imagination to tell us more about Fred.

Mommio: Non-Traditional Schooling

I was determined that this last Monday was going to be a real "school day", with us in the hospital for a week the entire schedule was gone (again).  But, I was far too tired and unprepared to get school started on Monday morning so we came up with some educational alternatives for the day.  We have been trying to fit in more cooperative work lately, so I paired Mason and Gabe up to build robot from a kit that Connor was given in the hospital.  Avery and Marney were begging for a project of their own and we finally settled on letting them make the menu and grocery list for the week.  They were thrilled at this and thought it would be a breeze.
Mason and Gabe were a great team and built the robot ("Rob") from scratch by following the directions, without fighting and with very little help from me.  I was very impressed.  Good work guys!

 For the girls, things did not go as smoothly.  They started off quickly but soon hit a wall when they realized how many steps were involved in cooking and shopping for a family of ten.  Make the menu, find the recipes for things we make from scratch, make a list of EVERYTHING we need for everything on the menu plus all the other household things, check the list to see what we have and what we need, write out the grocery list in a way we could understand it at the store.  Whew!  So, after four hours and lots of grumbling they did accomplish the task and even went shopping with their list the next day (another eye opener for them).  Overall, they worked really hard, learned a lot and an added bonus- realized how much work I am doing on this each week.  Good work girls, feel free to do it again next week!

Mommio: Lake Fun!

This Wednesday was the first time this year we have had friends over to play in the lake...we all had a blast and can't wait to do it every week.  And thanks to Nana and Popo for the great new picnic table!

Avery: Blog Of The Day

Ant Survival!

By Avery

Hi, I am Ramona the ant and I want to tell you about when I was on Ant Survival! Okay, so it all started on my tenth birthday (YEAH! FLASHBACK!) I was in my room sleeping and then I heard this buzzing noise. I woke up and looked around and saw my cousin!
     " Buzz! Why do you have to wake me up now!?", I asked with anger.
     " Sorry Romona. Sorry I was buzzing around. Get it? I said "buzzing around" and I'm a bee. Why are you sleeping in? Wait...wait... let me guess, I really shouldn't care."
     " Yeah! So why are you here right now?"
     " It's you're birthday! Why shouldn't I be here?"
     " Good point. So are you guys planning a party for me? Please tell me!"
     Buzz flu out of the room. Why is he not telling me anything? I hope he does something good for my birthday. I walked out of my bedroom and saw this helicopter in the living room.
     " AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Mom! Why is there a helicopter in the house?", I screamed.
     " Oh... this one? It's a little birthday present."
     " Mom... it is a remote controlled one. We don't even know how to use it."
     " No, no, no. This is so that you can go onto your favorite tv show."
     " Larry King Live!"
     " No."
     " Fox news?!"
     " No."
     " Um... Spongebob?"
     " No! Ant Survival!"
     " Really!?"
     " Yes!"
     " Oh... I stopped watching that show five years ago.", I frowned.
     " Well... that's okay. We will just push this stuff back out of the hole. I'm going to get Aunt Jerry and Uncle Marry."
     " Okay, I'll go onto the show. Only if I win."
     " Okay!"
     " Bye Mom, Dad, Jerry, Marry, Josh, Kelly, Buzz, Polly, Rolly, Chi  Chi, Moo and Jane!"
     I hopped onto the plane and went to the tv show. When I got there I saw all of my friends there. They ran up to me and gave me a hug. That was a very strange thing for them to do. They never give anyone hugs. I ran to the host and his behind him. I really loved the new host. The last one was Ryan Seacrest, but now it's Larry from Larry King Live! I was so, so happy! Larry picked me up and started talking about the show. I didn't really listen. Wow. I finally get to meet him! This is the best day ever. I wish Larry could come to our hole and have a sleep over. To bad he's a human.
     " Hello? Are you listening at all?", he asked.
     " Oh... I'm sorry. I was listening to some of it."
     " Well you need to pay attention to everyone here. If you don't you might lose!"
     I jumped off of his hand and died.
     "Is she dead?"
     " I don't know. Maybe she did that suicide thing that people do."
     I was so unhappy! I did not die. Why?
     "Ouch!"
     " Yes! She is alive."
     " What is going on? Who are you?"
     " You are still on tv you know. You jumped off of Larry's hand and almost died. Oh... also I am Stacey. I am here to help you. I am in the ant emergency team."
     " Are those birds?"
     " Where?"
     " Right over there by the cup."
     Every one started running around and screaming. Stacey picked me up and took me home. I was very tired and mad. It was the worst birthday ever. Now that is my story.

THE END!

Mason: Blog Of The Day

The Fight 

By Mason

One day there was a boy playing on a beach that filled up an entire two buckets with sand. Then this ant climbed onto one of the buckets. Then this helicopter, the same size of the ant, flew onto the other side of the bucket. So then the ant grabbed a tree and hit the helicopter with it. The helicopter used its propellers  to cut off one of the ant's  antennae. And it did. The ant picked up the helicopter from the bottom and threw it in the water. The helicopter was never seen again. 

The End

Connor: Blog Of The Day

The Adventures of an Ant

By Connor

That day started terribly, the Queen told me "Thou must go gather food or thou will lose thy job."

I knew I had to obey, so I went to the beach because humans leave the most tasty food there.  My mission was simple, recover food, but there was something that I noticed in the distance that distracted me.  I traveled a few miles, or inches if your a human, and saw the same item closer up.  It was an extremely large, red goblet. I scaled the cup with some difficulty and saw a thing on top of it.  This strange thing seemed to fly.  It had wings, I think humans call this thing a helicopter.  The helicopter was not moving, so I thought it had left its exoskeleton on the cup, like a crab.  I walked onto the helicopter with ease and found weird controls and things that we ants never saw before.  Finally, I got the helicopter working, as well as got the hang of flying it.  I flew back to the colony and dropped the food into the food pile.  I walked off of the helicopter and talked to the queen. "There be thine colony's food for the week"  I said to the queen with dignity. "Thou hath done well" she replied handing me a gummy worm. The End   

Gabe: Blog Of The Day

Helicopter Ant

By Gabe 

One day there was a big fire ant in the hot desert.  He was on top of a cup full of very sweet and fresh honey.  Then he was eating honey and a little helicopter, a little bigger than him, came and landed on the cup.   They played I Spy with nothing to spy.   The fire ant spied the little purple helicopter.   The little purple helicopter spied the fire ant.  They had a lot of fun playing I Spy.  They loved each other so much.  Then the fire ant got on the little purple helicopter and flew away.

The End

Marney: Blog Of The Day

 Chasing Ant

By Marney

One day there was little a kid named Gabe. The kid was playing in the sand at the beach and he was filling up his red bucket.  Then an ant climbed the wall quickly and came up to the top of the bucket.  The ant was running away from a blue helicopter.  The helicopter was chasing the ant because the ant was running to a bunch of people on the beach and the ant was biting the people.  So the helicopter was trying to stop the ant because he was biting.  So he caught the ant and then the helicopter lived happily ever after.

Kiki's Blog of the Day

The Ant and the Helicopter

The was an ant and a helicopter on a cup and they couldn't get off it.  Then there was a big storm.  They fell off the cup and then they were in the desert.  The End.

Daddio: 4/28/10 Blog of the Day

Write a story about the following picture:

Mommio: Hop-Frog Endings

In our Poe Unit Study yesterday we read Hop-Frog, which is a story about a court jester who takes revenge on the evil King.  In this story the jester convinces the King and his courtiers to dress as orangutans for the masquerade ball, scaring the guests- and then Hop-Frog ties them to the chandelier and sets them on fire.  The kids were paired up and given the assignment of writing an alternate ending to the story.  The requirements were that the characters are the same, the costumes have to be different and  Hop-Frog still has to get his revenge.  Here are their new endings:

Connor's Hop-Frog Ending

When the king asked for a costume Hop-Frog replied "Your highness I think you and your ministers shall dress as fools and I dress as the king.  It would be something the guests have never seen."  Afterward Trippetta would make the whole castle look suitable for a masquerade.  Hop-Frog convinced her to set out banana peels around the perimeter of the ball room.  The guests entered at nine o'clock and then three hours later the king and his ministers entered through the door slipping on every banana peel in the ball room.  Finally when they slipped on the last banana peel they fell out the window.  Hop-Frog still playing the role of the king said to forget the fools ever existed.  Hop-Frog and his queen Trippetta now rule over the kingdom for he never took off the costume.

Mason and Gabe's Hop-Frog Ending

So Hop Frog decided  to dress the king and his 7 friends up in Tin Man costumes.  So he burns thick metal and shapes it to look like Tin Man. Then he puts the costumes on them.  Then he puts maple syrup on the ground outside the window.  Then he sets up a ramp with the chair for them.   Then they roll in to the ramp and fall out the window on the second floor in to the maple syrup and stick to the ground. Hop Frog  and Trippetta go and control the castle because the King is locked out forever.

Marney and Avery's Hop-Frog Ending

"I have a great game that will scare everyone that comes to the party", said Hop-Frog with excitement.

     "Oh, really,tell me about it!", yelled the king.

     " I will need you and your seven friends to dress up in lion costumes around 1:00."

     " That is a great idea. Have the costumes ready soon"

     Hop-Frog started making the crazy costumes for the king and his friends. He worked as hard as he could. There were several parts to the costumes. There was the main, tail, the body and the paws. Suddenly the king walked in and said

     " Are you done yet? It is almost one and we need to get ready."

     " Of course I am done. Now I need you to take of your clothes and put these suits on."

     About an hour later the king and his friends put on the strange suits. Then the dwarf (Hop-Frog) came in and tied their hands together. Suddenly one of the king's friends said,

     " Is this part of the game?"

     " Yes, yes it is. Now it is time for the party.", replied the dwarf.

     Hop-Frog and the lions went into the party room. The room looked amazing! There were tons of mysterious people everywhere. Candles were spread out through the rooms. Suddenly everyone saw the lions and started screaming.

     " Now I am going to stop this mess and make the lions go away.", yelled Hop-Frog.

Surprisingly Hop-Frog pushed the lions onto the ground and grabbed a knife out of his pocket. He cut their throats and they all died. Then Hop-Frog lived happily with his friend.

Connor: Blog of The Day

In the poem Ozymandias the narrator meets a traveler whom tells him of a statue with only legs on the pedestal, the body long gone.  The traveler says that the head with a gruesome expression on its face is buried in the sand of the dessert in which the traveler and narrator are standing.  On the pedestal there is writing that says that the man whom the statue once resembled was mean yet extremely important. Ozymandias may have once been a great king or thought he was a king.  The traveler looked at it and thought Ozymandias was a jerk.  It just shows that as time changes one's view of how you lived changes as well. 

Mason: Blog Of The Day

Ozymandius was very important to people thousands of years ago. Thousands of years later he is not so important anymore. What happens in the poem is that the narrator meets a traveler. The traveler told him what he saw. What he saw was a statue with two legs, no body and a head buried in the sand near the stone legs. On the bottom of the statue it said it was Ozymandias and that he was a king.

Marney: Blog Of The Day

I think that a traveler came to a desert.   He saw a bunch of  statues. One was legs. It said I am the king of kings.  He was nobody. I think that because it does not sound like that he is alive.  I think that he was important when he was alive.

Avery: Blog Of The Day

I think that it is a poem about a traveler telling a story about someone in the desert. The desert is rocky and has tons of sand everywhere. Also there is a man walking around in the desert trying to survive the heat. Then the man decides to start moving farther. Suddenly he saw some ancient art work. There are two statues, one legs the other is a face. It has, like a mean scary face. Then he reads what is on the art and it says stuff about the king, Ozymandius. The man stays in the desert and keeps on looking at the strange art. Later he dies and there is nothing left in the desert at all!  I think that the poem was a little like El Dorado by Edgar Allan Poe.
  Okay I think that Ozymandius is the mighty king. A king that lives in a castle near the desert sometime a long, long, long, long, time ago. Ozymandius thinks that he was the best person in the world, to me he sounds very selfish. The traveler did not care about the king and he thought that the king was so lame. I think that Percy is tying say that you think about everything in different ways as you grow up.

Gabe: Blog Of The Day

I think it is a poem about a traveler who finds a statue of a king in the desert.  I think Ozymandius is a big mighty king in the desert. I think Ozymandius is a ancient person like cave man.  I think he was very selfish because he says he was king of all kings.  I think the traveler thought he was important. Ozymandius was a really important guy but thousands of years later he is not important.

Kiki's Blog of the Day...The Unicorn

There was a unicorn that wanted to eat a pig.  And then the pig wanted to eat the unicorn.  So they both got out of their cages and ate each.  Then there was another pig and unicorn and the pig like the unicorn.  So they didn't eat each other but were very good friends.  Then there was a mean orange.  The End

Daddio: Blog of the Day 5/26/10

For today's blog of the day, I want you to read a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley called Ozymandius.  Percy Bysshe Shelley was a famous poet during his time because he was friends with another famous poet, Lord Byron, and he was also married to Mary Shelley, who was famous for writing Frankenstein.

Read the poem and then write what you think the poem is about.  In preparation for your post, ask yourself these questions (but don't just repeat the questions and give answers in your post- these questions are meant to help you try to interpret and understand the poem): Who was Ozymandius? When Ozymandius was still alive, who do you think he was?  How important do you think Ozymandius thought he was?  How important do you think the Traveler thought Ozymandius was? What are some of the ideas you think Percy Bysshe Shelley wanted you to understand about how the passage of time can change your perspective?

OZYMANDIUS

By Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Mommio: The Medicine

Here's a little pictorial on how to give Connor his medicine through the PICC line. Take the antibiotic out of the fridge 15 minutes before starting. Then after washing hands really well and putting on gloves this is how it goes-

Step 1: Get all your supplies in order.  Open all plastic on syringes.  Get all air bubbles our of each one.  Open alcohol wipes to have ready.

Step 2: Clean IV cap with an alcohol wipe, DO NOT touch it with your gloves, skin, clothing, etc.

Step 3: Open the clip on the IV line.  Push in 4ml of saline, using the "push,pause" technique.  Push little bits at a time.

Step 4: After checking the label on the antibiotic syringe for the correct name and medicine, push in the entire syringe VERY slowly over a 3-5 minute time period.

Step 5: Clean the cap with alcohol again.

Step 6: Push in 4ml of saline again.

Step 7: Push in 2 ml of heparin, to prevent blood clots in the tubing. Close the clip on the line.

Done! Wait 8 hours and repeat.

Daddio: Great way to kick off the blog again.

I was worried that today's blog of the day was going to be too difficult for you guys today, but you all did great.  I think it's awesome that you all took totally different perspectives of the French Revolution.  I'm also glad that Averi thought it was important to teach people not to eat poo.  That was thoughtful, honey.

Keep up the good work, guys.

Gabe: Blog Of The Day

Dear Diary,
I finally burned down a house today.  But then a man came.  He was scary.  He also does not like me.   I burned an old rich person's house.  It was a really weird day.  The scary guys name is Napoleon.  I think poor people should have money.

Avery: Blog Of The Day

Dear Sam,
I have been here at least two days and it is really bad. The first day I went to camp out in the city and suddenly there was a war the next day. The French people are going crazy! They are killing people, taking people to jail when there is no reason to and they are being very, very rude and mean. Also someone tried to kill me this morning. Good thing I used to take fighting and dodging lessons when I was a kid. I have not hurt anyone yet, but I have ran away from everyone that comes near me. I am not going to kill or hurt anyone in this war. I bet you are thinking that I am a scaredy cat... or... or a chicken, but I just want to be nice to people. Like yesterday I saved a four year old from this fire. He was one of the mean rich kids. I still saved him because he was four and didn't know how to use a knife or stab people with sticks. He has been living in my tent with me for a while. He showed me how to hunt for food, so that we could eat food instead of dirt and poo. Right now I am eating some yummy fish and deer meat and writing you a letter. I have a few deep cuts and bad bruises, but on the bight side I am not dead. I can't wait to come back home and be safe. Oh... I will be bringing the little boy I saved with me. I will teach him how to be nice and how to do his plus ones. I will be home in three days. I will be riding a blonde horse that is wearing no saddle and I will have a kid behind me. The kid will be riding a little grayish brown pony that has a big saddle.
From Averi

Mason:Blog Of The Day

Priscilla jones
5857 Boston Drive
Boston, Mass.
March 10,1786
Dear Nana,
I have been visiting France for two days. Ive been visiting the poor people out in the farm country of France. The poor people are doing very bad because they have to work very hard to pay taxes. They don't have money for food because they have to pay the taxes. The poor people are not happy because of the rich people and king Louis. They are thinking of starting a revolution against king Louis. I agree with the revolution.
From,
Mason

Napoleon Bonaparte aka Connor: Blog of The Day

Dear Diary,                                                                                                                            May/ 16/1799
Yesterday was great, I just had to walk off my boat and France was mine.  I've got it good. I am the first non French ruler of France.  I have my whole week planned out as follows: Monday swim and hire new workers, Tuesday nap and enjoy my days, Wednesday have an artisan paint a portrait of me, Thursday I will conquer Britian, Friday I will easily enjoy this new empire and study those Egyptian artifacts I found and kept for myself.  Being rich and smart really pays off.  I have taxed the citizens even more and yet they treat me better than old King Louis.   I have excited myself  with the prospect of ruling the world.  I am great at riding my small horse, perfectly suited to my height.  I will speak to you again much later. As the French would say, "Bon Voyage". 

Marney: Blog Of The Day

May 15, 1788

Dear Diary,
One day I was in my house and I was hearing a bad thing going on outside. I looked outside and saw a war was going on.  It was so bad that a person got killed. I thought that a bunch of people will get killed. I think that it will not happen to me.  So all of the rich people's houses were all bad, one was all mashed.  I will not go out of this house until it is over.  Then 30 people got killed, I think that is even worse. I got my snack and then it got all mashed because I was mad that people got killed. 

Mommio: Jack Turns Two!

Sometime last Sunday before the big rush to the ER we had a little birthday party for Jack.  Here are some highlights from his froggie party...

The Frogs

The Birthday Boy and His Dad

Playing With His New Toy

Opening Hand-made Foil-wrapped Gifts

The Singing and Blowing Out Candles

Digging In

The Rest Of The Party Gang

Daddio: Blog of the Day 5/24/10

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!  As Mommio posted up a week ago, the blog is getting out of control, and we think that we're actually posting so much that it's too much for friends and family to read.  So we're cutting it back to three days a week-- Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

For today's blog of the day, I want you to blog about the French Revolution.  Here's a little background on the French Revolution from Wikipedia:

"The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a period of radical social and political upheaval in French and European history. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years. French society underwent an epic transformation as feudal, aristocratic, and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from liberal political groups and the masses on the streets. Old ideas about hierarchy and tradition succumbed to new Enlightenment principles of citizenship and inalienable rights."

Confusing?  Don't worry, this page on Factmonster explains it much more simply.  Read up on the French Revolution and click through the different links to learn as much as you can about it.

Now I want you to post as an eyewitness reporter for some part of the French Revolution.  You can post up like you're an American reporter writing for a newspaper back home; you can post as a person living in France writing a diary entry about what you see; or you can even post as a visitor to France writing a letter to a friend.  Use your imagination and have fun.

Mommio: Our Week

Last week was...ummm...well, it was memorable and all a blur at the same time.  But we are home safe and sound now and attempting to have a real week.  We still have one in a cast (to come off this week) and one with IV medications (for the next month), so we are sticking close to home but should still be able to have some good days. We'll see!
M- school, Connor's home nurse (Luke) visits, Poe Unit Study, house chores
T-  Nana Day, Gabe's cast off, yoga class, Connor & Mason Wii Night
W- school, lake with friends, Max & Jack yoga class, RPG night
T- school, Poe Unit Study, art & music with Weavers, yoga class, Connor & Mason Teen Library League
F- school, Poe Unit Study, family lake night
S- yard chores, science & chemistry with Daddio, movie night
S- family lake day, Kennedy birthday party & night out

Mommio: Harvest

Something happened when we were gone at the hospital for a week, there was rain and heat and the garden went CRAZY!  Mostly with weeds, which I tried to get under control this morning.  And somewhere in there were lots of veggies to harvest.  Here's what we picked just today to use this week: tons of leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, green onions, red onions, lots of mint, oregano, carrots, our first batch of russet potatoes, swiss chard for Nana and our first harvest of pole beans.

Daddio: Home from the Hospital!

Either Mommio or I will give a more detailed update tomorrow, but I just wanted to let everyone know that we were discharged from the hospital and got home this afternoon. The home health company came by and gave us training and all our supplies to administer Connor's antibiotics through his PICC line. Then we spent the rest of the evening with the whole family eating pizza, watching Glee and just being happy to all be back together again.

After only getting six hours sleep total over the past two nights in the hospital with Connor, it was a struggle to stay up until now (10:30 pm) so I could give him his antibiotic, but I made it! I'd post pictures, but I need to go hibernate for the next 12 hours.

It's good to be home. We missed you, Toes.

Ava&Gabe: A Video For Connor

Mommio: Girls, Girls, Girls

Gabe wouldn't let me take pictures BUT...Gabe has moved tonight to start sleeping in the girl's room for a while so that Connor can sleep in a room with Mason when he gets home.  That was nice of him.  And the girls have decided this evening that moving into their room includes an initiation of sorts- they have managed to dress him in their clothes, put make up on and a wig.  They sure are persuasive, it's kind of scary. Connor should be aware that Gabe is willing to sacrifice his boyhood to be a good brother!

Mommio: Connor Update

I am home for some down time again while Daddio keeps Connor company at the hospital.  So, here's the update on his condition and what we've been doing.  The tests have started to come back on his infection and it is a staph infection for sure, they just don't know what kind or which antibiotic will treat it best yet.  So, the Infectious Disease doctors are still working on that in their lab.  In the meantime, Connor has been disconnected from a few things.  His drain was taken out of his knee.  The ice cooler wrap was taken off.  The knee immobilizer was taken off.  His IV line was removed and yesterday he went through a procedure to have a PICC line put in.  More about that in a minute. So, except when he is getting his medicines, he is free to walk around with his walker or wheel around the hospital.  Kyle took him outside for a while today and they were planning to eat downstairs in the cafeteria since Connor expressed he was feeling some "cabin fever". He is feeling great through, no pain- but the itching and rash that he usually gets after a surgery is bothering him again.  One of the highlights of his day yesterday was when a therapy dog- Bridget- came to visit.  She laid with him for almost an hour.

 He was also very happy about his turkey, mashed potato and root beer dinner last night!

 Yesterday he also had a PICC line put in.  This is basically a heavy duty IV system made for long term antibiotic use.  To put it in they used ultrasound, a magnet detector and a xray machine.  It was fascinating!  They put a skinny IV tube into the vein on the inside of his upper right arm, then they pushed that tube all the way through the vein to right above his heart.  It empties the medicine out directly into the superior vena cava- which is the main vein that carries blood back to the heart.  Here is a diagram of what a PICC line looks like.

Here it is in Connor's arm.

And here we are this morning when the PICC nurses came to change the bandages on the line.

Having this PICC line in will allow us to continue to give Connor all the IV medicines he will need over the next month or so to clear up this infection.  Daddio and I will both be trained on how to use it tomorrow, and then a nurse will also be coming to the house every week to clean the area and bring us supplies.  Hopefully the coming home part will happen in the next two days!

Mommio: Connor's Hospital Stuff

A quick tour of Connor's hospital stuff.

Here's Connor in his hospital bed.

This is the control panel for the bed.  Hours of fun!

Here's his empty breakfast tray.  He had eggs and bacon.  They have great room service...he can order anything he wants from the menu, anytime of the day and it shows up 30 minutes later.   I hear he had chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes for lunch.

Here is Connor's IV.  Soon to be replaced by a picc line- which is a type of IV that has a direct line into his system and is made for long term drips.

Here is his IV stand and all the bags of stuff dripping into it.  There are two different antibiotics and some saline.  The box with controls is used to set the amount to drip and how quickly it drips.

Here is what his leg looks like right now.  It is inside a knee brace, under that there is an ice pack that is hooked up to an electric cooling pack and there is a drain in his knee.

Here is his drain.  It's really different from the one Daddio had.  He will probably be getting it taken out tonight.

This is the cooling unit that they so LOUDLY refill in the middle of the night with ice.

This is his new wheelchair that we will rent until he is allowed to bend his leg.

Here Connor is getting a ride.

Here is the white board where they write the names of the nurses and the date.  This is very important because the nurses are changing often and it is also really easy to forget what day it is when you are sitting in the hospital.

This is the teeny, tiny guest bed.  It opens up so that two adults can sleep on it.  It's very uncomfortable but MUCH better than the pull out chairs they had at the last Children's Hospital.

And here is Daddio in his favorite spot.