<p>Both boys left early am, and S2 is already back at school and in a rehearsal. S1 has a few hours left…bad connections. Took S3 to Costco and now everyone is happy! It was great having everyone here–nice visit with the inlaws–pretty pleasant overall. We have an ecoli water warning, which is a thrill–yech. We have to boil everything until the reservoir is cleared, I guess. That’s a first. </p>
<p>I’m jealous of your holiday decor, everyone, and in total awe Missy! I still have to put the Costco stuff away…think I’m going to call some girlfriends and see if they want to see “An Education” in a couple of hours. The guys are going to see “Men who stare at Goats” and soup is all made for dinner.</p>
<p>I’m on a quest now. I really want to get things done so that once the kids home for Christmas break I have time with them and not have to work all the time. I just am trying to get things done as soon as possible. Seems that there isn’t much time between the few weeks that they are back at school.</p>
<p>SJTH–we are also on the grid for the ecoli warning. My H insists the dishes can still be put through the dishwasher but I think I will use the sanitary setting. For once my family was not critical of the 6+ flats of water I keep and rotate for earthquake readiness. Have not needed to boil any water yet.
Went cross country skiing today–earliest we have ever gone. The snow was icy and I am wondering if snow shoeing might have been more fun.
missypie-wow! must be beautiful. Did we pick a date for the bus to leave?</p>
<p>Son is sitting in LaGuardia for a couple of hours and wasn’t thrilled when he left. For some reason he never noted the time of his return flight and thought he was getting back to school at something like 5… how that would even be possible when not leaving here until 2 is beyond reasonable thinking even with a time change. So while the time he was home went well, it ended with his being a little stressed.</p>
<p>I only made pies for thanksgiving, but cooked a turkey and the rest on Friday for leftovers. It actually was the best turkey ever… AND gravy was perfect too. Just too bad that no one really appreciated how well timed it all was. Oh well… that’s what happens when there’s no pressure. :)</p>
<p>Son spent a good deal of time with friends, but managed to stick around the house and had a few old friends over on Thanksgiving night. We had gone to my SIL’s so all I had here was left over pie and apparently my pecan was “amazing.” Funny, but I just used the recipe on the side of a bottle of dark corn syrup. Hard to go wrong with sugar, sugar and more sugar – and like two cups of fresh pecans.</p>
<p>I think I am going to get a jump on decorating for the Christmas tomorrow. All my neighbors used the weekend to go completely overboard and at this point, we look like a cross between scrooge and the grinch – A scrinch, if you will. But I agree that to do it now will give me more time to do nothing come the 11th (when S returns). Our oldest D and her BF will also be coming home for Christmas and even though they live together (25 and 30 respectively), I will still find it odd to just give them the guest room.</p>
<p>My niece came home with her BF (who frankly, I think is either in denial or in the closet - and not that there’s anything wrong with that being the case except for the fact that well, at some point the truth will set him free). Anyway… my SIL was short on room with all their house guests and was telling us they were sharing a twin bed. It just seemed really inappropriate - niece is 19 and he’s like 20 something (graduated last spring from college). There was just so much to be weirded out by that I am not even sure what the exact objection is.</p>
<p>Anyway… Son seems very happy with his school and seems to be doing fine and hopes for two A’s out of four classes (the other two high B’s for sure but he doesn’t see them going to the next level), but he cant know anything until he takes the finals as the two A’s will definitely tilt whatever way that goes in the end. He spent a lot of time with D16 and she vacillated between loving it and calling him “mean.” Somethings never change!</p>
<p>And oh! NMN… for some reason my corn pudding recipe had two eggs as ingredients. I left them out and added the tablespoon of Sugar. And it was the perfect consistency. The change is a keeper in this house. Thank you!</p>
<p>D and dorm mate and family friend in school in Boston came to stay this weekend. All 2 girls got along very well. A lot of sleeping, eating and studying! All 3 took Saturday off and ventured into NYC - a 1st for the dorm mate from the mid-west. They apparently had a great time! D also visited with HS friends - not too crazy though.
However…
As much as I like opening my house to friends, etc., I really did miss some quiet time with D. Last night at 9PM, the 2 of us went to the grocery store and to Bed, Bath and Beyond for some bedsheets. We had fun talking and generally fooling around like we always did. I also terribly miss my older S this Thanksgiving. You’d think I 'd get used to it - this being his 4th year away… oh well, Christmas break is right around the corner. D’s final 3 weeks “will be HELL!” S has a much easier time of it - or so he says. Can’t wait to have them back!
PS Roch mom and missypie - oh, come on now!! I feel like such a slacker!
PPS Modadunn - all in all, it sounds like you had a lovely time with S. Good for you!
PPPS Another observation…while dropping off various kids at the Boston- bound Amtrak and at the bus station at Port Authority, I was so touched to see so many genuine hugs and kisses form all these so-grown-up kids to their parents. There was one dad and son hugging at the bus stop. Just as the dad let go, the son who towered over him, went in for another hug and kiss on the cheek. Lord, I thought I would cry.</p>
<p>Modadunn-you made me LOL at the niece thing when we ended up “adjusting” to 19 yr old S and 17 yr old GF in his room with the door open for 2 hours. And both H and I found “reasons” so go in for this and that.
Woody–that was a very sweet picture of the dad and his S–nice.</p>
<p>Son presumably is back at WPI. What a great visit! Immediately took him to a barber since his hair was way out of control (ignored the facial hair - have to pick the battles). Went to Rennaisance Festival, watched “Up” at our neighborhood Thanksgiving film festival (neighbors down the street construct a HUGE screen in the cul-de-sac and show movies all week). He’s thinking about dropping the more marketable major (comp sci) to focus on the less marketable one (game development). Hmmmm.</p>
<p>FFscout
Mine has done the opposite and dropped the game design for math and comp sci. I think his question about what if he found out he loved engineering was rhetorical, and just wanted to know that he was not locked in to his chosen majors.</p>
<p>I think game design is probably highly marketable, just in smaller circles. I understand from #theoryson that FFson is quite good at it.</p>
<p>well, many of you but especially Missypie and my neighbor who cut her tree yesterday, have motivated me to at least start scouting out our tree. Had a wonderful woodsy walk with puppy Song inspecting available doug firs. That may be as far as I get, but at least I’ve been thinking about it - I usually don’t think about it until the middle of December</p>
<p>woody–imagining that scene brought a couple of tears to my eyes. I love seeing those kinds of private, yet public, scenes of everyday life. It’s always a reminder for me about the “sameness” of us all. </p>
<p>Very impressed with the holiday decorating and cleaning done by missy and RMom. I felt like it was an accomplishment to put the outdoor wreaths in the windows up before Dec. 1. I did even clean a few of those windows, but I gave that up when I realized they really needed to be cleaned between the panes of glass. </p>
<p>D’s visit was wonderful. She went out with friends a couple of nights, but she also spent a lot of time at home just watching movies with her brother, reading, exercising, etc. The two of us did a Black Friday trip. She needed snow boots. She probably won’t need to wear them before Christmas, but I’m happy knowing she now has them. The driving time was great for long talks about her life on campus. We talked about boys, classes, parties, etc. I loved every minute. </p>
<p>She’s growing by leaps and bounds. She now reads nonfiction for fun and attends the opera. She was always a reader as a child, but for some reason stopped reading for pleasure in high school. She brought home a history book for the long weekend. It was referenced in another book she was reading for class. She went to the campus library specifically to find this one. I was thrilled. I was also happy to learn she was expanding her horizons and attended two operas. It’s not even so much that she did those two specific things, but that she is taking advantage of the many, varied opportunities available to her. </p>
<p>Has anyone else noticed the lack of the “Turkey Drop” among the 2013ers? Maybe it’s too early in the week for those details, but it struck me that BFs/GFs are still in place for many of them.</p>
<p>No turkey drop here, either. In fact, D recently revealed to us that because BF’s birthday, their anniversary and Christmas all fall in December she bought him an airline ticket to visit her for Valentine’s Day as a combo gift! Glad she shared the info, not sure how I feel about her money management. </p>
<p>missypie, I saw lighted pink flamingoes with Santa hats at Target this weekend. Very festive!</p>
<p>Awesome! I need to check this out. If they are small strings of lights, I will buy some to send in D’s next care package. I sent her the changing-color skeleton lights from Target for Halloween and they were a big hit.</p>
<p>D won’t be done with exams until the 23rd. She’s not happy about that, but it makes sense since they seemed to start later than most schools.</p>
<p>first, corn casserole was a huge hit and the only home-made item at MIL’s catered Thanksgiving. FIL said it tasted like candy - must of been that 1 Tbsp. of sugar Thanks NM!</p>
<p>D’s travel from Boston to Chicago and back was perfect - all flights on time, early even. she found a ride to the airport for the trip out, but the same ride canceled on her the night before she flew back. EDM: she researched the cost of a taxi online before asking us for taxi fare.</p>
<p>more EDM: she had lots of time in the airport on the way out and bought a book - not her usual Jodi Piccoult, but a Toni Morrison book recommended by a professor!</p>
<p>both Ds stayed with B- and SIL, while H and I stayed with the inlaws. that was a great plan in previous years - homes are only about 10 min apart and we all spend all day together. but this year it meant I spent less of this precious time with D1 - they were gone by 10 each night and I didn’t see them again until they woke up at noon the next day. so now I am REALLY looking forward to having her home for winter break. in less than 2 weeks!</p>
<p>went with most of the family to see The Blind Side - eddieodessa and DTE, you’re gonna have to share Tim with me on the bus! what a cutie ;)</p>
<p>missypie - I hope you are enjoying a much-deserved day of rest at work today. can’t wait to see the trees - when is that bus leaving again?</p>
<p>Great visit with DS. I can’t believe the semester will be over in two weeks. Exams begin a week from today, but he has a juried performance Friday. </p>
<p>S has just acquired his first serious GF and she came to our house on Saturday. Ended up spending the day and having dinner with us. She seemed very sweet. They held hands almost the entire time she was here (except for dinner) and stared at each other with big cow eyes. S is 100% smitten. She is not from our town, so he drove her around to see all his old hangouts and took her out for ice cream. </p>
<p>Also, they spent some time in the bomb site known as his room. But H and I made lots of noise in the hallway and found periodic reasons to show up at the doorway with questions/comments/announcements. DH: “Have you guys seen the dog back here?”</p>
<p>S reported later that our behavior was “too nosey and embarassing.” </p>
<p>I went on Target.com and saw them. They won’t work for the care package, but they sure are cute!</p>
<p>As for the “young love” and “turkey drop” (or not…) stories, I have quite the opposite here. D and long time BF split in June. Thankfully it was a friendly split on both sides as that first broken heart is so painful.</p>
Thanks NM!</p>