<p>I’ll help with the post count, too. Congrats to the merit money winners! I apologize, as I don’t keep up with all the posts on CC, but I love a good competition (2009 vs 2010)! </p>
<p>We’ve gotten a package with post-grad party info. That is when it hit me – high school is really almost over. No word on AP exam fees, yet, but I bet they are coming very soon. We pay the full freight for each test ($83? last year?). Senior prom is at the end of May. </p>
<p>Ds has some great college acceptances already, but we have to wait on the finaid packages, even for his two EA schools that he got acceptances to back in mid-December. And that’s a little hard on him, because one of his very top choices is one of those EA acceptance schools.</p>
<p>I went shopping yesterday for those white pants for graduation. As I suspected, S1’s actual size is not available. As a result, the Painless Path (mom buys them and brings them home; S1 doesn’t think about them until the afternoon of graduation) is closed to us. Now I have to drag him into Brooks Brothers to see which wrong size will work best.
(NB, chinos are not easily taken in, due to waistband construction.) </p>
<p>The upside of this is that even I will enjoy taking my son, whose hair reaches darn close to his elbows, into Brooks Brothers. Stay tuned for updates! And maybe video at 11. ;)</p>
<p>Deja, you just reminded me that in fact I am NOT done bleeding $$ to S1’s school. I wrote the check for graduation (etc.) the other day and celebrated, but you’re absolutely right: The AP bill is yet to come. 4x testing fee here, whatever it has climbed to for this year. Rats.</p>
Love it! I can relate. Throughout high school, my son has had long, curly hair and a full beard. He got the hair trimmed specifically for some plays. And he had orders to get the beard trimmed for mock trial. But that’s it, mostly. Nothing for debate or forensics or quiz bowl (of course it wouldn’t matter for quiz bowl!). </p>
<p>Last summer, however, he had college interviews, and he knew he had to change his appearance for one school in particular. So he had his (curly) hair trimmed (never a regular cut, though), and shaved his beard. And then he had some college interviews (alumni) in January, so once again he shaved for them. And now he’s interviewing for a full ride scholarship, and he’s decided to shave for that one, too. </p>
<p>His senior portrait was taken shortly after the college interviews last summer. He said that it was misleading, because now his yearbook picture won’t look as he looked through most of high school. I wasn’t complaining!</p>
<p>Rachacha I’m so jealous. D has her dress - well we bought it – still needs alterations. Trying to look for shoes. Spent one long day at Eastview Mall looking in any store that has shoes – no luck. Not sure where to go now for them. Starting to look on line but she is a hard fit shoewise. I’ve been trying to get the group to decide if they want a limo and for how many. I’m getting nothing back. By the time they decide that they want one there will be none available. They keep saying that it’s months away. True but it will be here before they know it.</p>
<p>D’s school had 2 snow days this week. I hope they don’t extend school in June, right now she’s leaving a few days after what is supposed to be (unless they push it back) graduation day.</p>
<p>PLEASE Don’t bring up Prom Dresses! D called me Thursday in a crying fit that saying that “everyone” is out prom dress shopping and she needed to get a prom dress NOW before all the prom dresses are taken! Prom isn’t until the end of May, I assured her that there will be PROM DRESSES available for girls looking to shop in APRIL not MARCH!!</p>
<p>Get thee to zappos.com right now! Actually, wait until the beginning of your credit card cycle. D ordered 14 pair of silver shoes with rhinestones from zappos.com ($985 worth!), they were shipped for free and arrived the next day, she tried them all on, chose one pair, printed a free return label for the others and we shipped them back, for free, the next day. Free shipping there and back, you can search by size, color, heel height, and if it’s early enough in your credit card cycle, the credit for the return is processed the same month as the original charge.</p>
<p>^^Totally agree! We use Zappo’s like a shoe-store-in-our-living-room. We live in a small town and have big feet, so shoe shopping can be time-consuming and frustrating. Zappo’s is perfect for us.</p>
<p>Our school gets the AP test fees UP FRONT! I had to pay $85 x 4 last spring when she made her schedule, plus another $300 for the classes that are cross-registrations w/ the state U. D has also been in a panic about prom dress shopping. As soon as one friend had hers it created this mob mentality. Oy! D found her dream dress yesterday and will be wearing her shoes from junior prom (a stipulation I made before agreeing to buy them in the first place.)</p>
<p>Another plug for Zappos–they had pole vault shoes that I couldn’t find on the major sporting goods sites! Love them!</p>
<p>We did the AP fees upfront in the fall as well (they don’t release report cards until all fees are paid) and it was $85 x 6.</p>
<p>DD has indicated no interest in going shopping for a prom dress nor has she consulted with her friends to find out what types of dresses they’re buying so we’re at a standstill here.</p>
<p>Ooh, just checked D’s financial page at the school she chose. We have some forms to fill out, I guess we’re moving along. Here is what is on her To-Do list:</p>
<p>Certification Statement 09-10<br>
Stafford Loan Request Form 10</p>
<p>Interesting - we haven’t gotten the bill yet, but the AP site says $86/test. </p>
<p>I hadn’t really processed S1’s testing schedule, but now I see that he has three in a row, and then a full week off before the fourth. And he gets the worst one over first, so I guess that’s good.</p>
<p>“We live in a small town and have big feet” made me lol and reminded me of Dogpatch the town in that comic whose name is escaping me…they all had big feet.</p>
<p>HMW please try to take video of your S1 and the Brooks Bros. guys so we can watch on utube.</p>
<p>Historymom, I think the week 1 AI contestans are the strongest–can’t wait to see the Judge’s picks.</p>
<p>Prom dresses: I’m so jealous. With three boys, I never get to do the girl stuff. Sometimes my girl-mom friends will invite me along–and I always pretty much demand seeing everyone all dressed up, however fleeting.</p>
<p>Went shopping for banquet dresses with my 16 year old a couple of Saturdays ago. Ah, to be 16 and beautiful and to look good in all of the 20 dresses she tries on…When I was at that stage of my life, I sewed everything - all my prom dresses. I made my first wedding dress, my second was made for me…I’ve truly never had the “trying on 20 beautiful dresses” experience myself, so I’m quite patient with D when she tries on hers.</p>