<p>Son has been home more than a week. Had a wonderful first semester. Great grades. Lots of friends. A lovely girlfriend. Was all thrilled to go out and shovel the 20-plus inches of snow we have. He had me take a bunch of photos and post them to his Facebook so all his friends in the deep south could see the snow.</p>
<p>I do snowball luminaries if there is snow available. I think it’s a Finnish thing. Just make a little igloo out of snowballs in a round pyramid shape. i think it takes about 10-12 snowballs each. Pop a votive candle in. Repeat as needed for the length of the walk. They last forever - so cold the candle doesn’t melt quickly. They are absolutely beautiful.</p>
<p>woody, that sounds like it would be perfect for this year. People line the road with the luminaries here (along the front of the property) so we have about a pretty long expanse but you can space them further apart if feeling lazy. If not windy, we could probably just set the candles directly in the snow.</p>
<p>Woody and TheAnalyst…what a nice neighborhood project! I have done ice luminarias several times throughout the years. I save milk cartons and add water then freeze outdoors. Sometimes I add greens/berries that freeze inside to add color. They really are beautiful. Didn’t do it this year though…too much going on! Maybe the snowball idea would be fun for the girls to do! We certainly have the snow!</p>
<p>Both girls are home! D2 out and about visiting friends and D1 content to be relaxing at home.</p>
<p>I used to make Ice Luminaries for a party we used to have every year – but one year the form cracked and that was the end of that “tradition.” During the summer in Chautauqua NY the entire lake is surrounded by red flares for the 4th of July… same theory. it looks pretty cool.</p>
<p>So glad to see kids are making their way home. A friend of mine’s son is doing a planes, trains and automobiles version hopefully today at some point. Son went to see avatar last night at the zoo’s omni theater. He said it was different then he thought he was going to be but the graphics were pretty good. Personally, I want to see Sherlock Holmes and It’s complicated. Neither of which opens until Christmas Day. </p>
<p>D25 is driving home from Ohio on Wednesday. It’s supposed to start snowing Weds and not stop until the weekend. I hope it’s only flurries because driving through wisconsin in snow is not fun. Two years ago I drove to Chicago during a blizzard before Christmas and a 7 hour drive took 12 hours. Suburbans were literally blowing off the road. I think my average speed was something like 15 miles an hour - it was absurd. I will hope it’s more flurries than blizzard.</p>
<p>sounds like heaven, momreads</p>
<p>Modadunn…just bought tickets to see Avatar at the Zoo Imax for the day after Christmas! Will put them in stockings for all of us including both boyfriends! Hoping for a nice family event!</p>
<p>D1 is home for three weeks, during which time we are supposed to find “the dress” (wedding in July), and I don’t know what else (caterer? florist? photographer?). Mall of America sounds easy by comparison …</p>
<p>LOVE the luminaria idea–so lovely in a community. My boys are all home; massive cleaning today and finally may decorate the tree. Hope everyone has kids where they’re supposed to be and, if they’re not home yet, get home safely soon.</p>
<p>D is almost home, on the last leg from Chicago. There is a small delay on the last flight but not too long until she is here! I feel so lucky that it is all going so smoothly and hope that the rest of you awaiting your childrens’ arrivals won’t be waiting for too long.</p>
<p>Avatar and Sherlock Holmes are on our after-Christmas watch list as well. Avatar at the zoo sounds great NM! We may have to copy that idea. </p>
<p>I don’t know how I’ll get everything done before we leave, but somehow it will happen. Too bad that I need to work these next two days. H does well with directions, so I’ll put him to work and hopefully can get D and S to pitch in.</p>
<p>I was feeling so accomplished last night…Christmas cards out, almost everything bought, gifts wrapped in coordinating paper and arranged under the tree…then at bedtime, D was wondering aloud about the gift they get to open on Christmas ever that is usually pajamas…darn! had forgotten all about that little tradition.</p>
<p>We used to do the Christmas pjs on Christmas Eve, too! They were so cute! Stopped several years ago…not sure why???</p>
<p>PJ’s here on Christmas Eve. Just try to get similiar colors. Started it so kids would look cute on Christmas morning. Did not do it one year when D was 22 or so and that made her sad so back to it we went. I wrap the gifts using only one color of ribbon per person. Only I know which color goes to which person. Makes it fun as they cannot really figure it out ahead of time too much.
Waiting for S to get shoes on to leave for the dentist–wisdom teeth out today. He had a choice between last summer and Christmas week so here we go. Sure crunches my time and am hoping he gets off easy in the pain dept.</p>
<p>We do the same thing, but this is the one tradition I am thinking of forgoing. One of the reasons we used to buy them was so that everyone was photographable on Christmas morning especially when they were really little. Now, they barely WEAR PJ’S let alone are in need of Christmas themed ones. D16 asked for an oversized t-shirt and shorts and that’s when I was like… I could save a serious chunk of change if I let this one go. Will see what Nordstrom Rack has on sale before I squelched it completely. Plus, I’d also have to accomodate D25’s BF who is 6’6" and wears something like a 36-38 length anything! He is also skinny. Sounds like he’s a hard buy.</p>
<p>Oregon… </p>
<p>I would have suggested he take some tylenol before going, but just make sure he stays on the pain meds exactly as prescribed for the first 24-48 hours and he should be fine.</p>
<p>Oregon – D had same choice: wisdom teeth in the summer or over break. She chose the summer (and now we are all glad she did). She was extremely diligent about keeping her jaw iced, as ordered. Because she was given Vicodin we found/made a cane for her like “House” uses. All in all, a pretty swift recovery.</p>
<p>oregon…D1 had anti-inflammatories and antibiotics added right to her iv. She had no swelling, no bruising…it was great! D2 has gum grafts scheduled right after New Years. She is off until end of Jan so we scheduled now since she had her fall sport. We hear it is very painful…great.</p>
<p>My D was scheduled for wisdom teeth extraction today as well - she balked. Memories of a terible experience over summer. The recovery was fine. The actual pulling was not. I explained to dentist that some folks need more than a shot of Novacaine. Will reschedule… is ther ever a good time to have them out??
IV?? That’s the ticket!</p>
<p>PS Another thread mentioned the “This American Life” show on the #1 Party school - Penn State. It mentioned a “fracket” - a jacket you don’t mind losing at a frat party.</p>
<p>I heard most of that *This American Life *on the drinking culture at Penn State…yikes!!!</p>
<p>Okay, folks, I’m awfully squeamish about dental matters…if we don’t turn the conversation to something more pleasant (LOL, heath care reform, raising taxes and the bad economy are preferable topics to oral surgery in my book), I’ll have to sign off for a while. When I was a sophomore in college, my dentist told me to come back the next year to have my wisdom teeth out and I never went back to him!!!</p>