<p>I too had to jump into a pool, while 9 months pregnant, to pull out another child. I KNEW he was going to fall in…why didn’t his parents ?! Hmmm…now that I think about it, that was a Friday and D15 was born Sunday night…</p>
<p>S10 feels ok today but tired. He hasn’t had much of an appetite either. He was stung last summer when he got too close to a nest…also wasps. He came home for benedryl just because of the number of stings and I am allergic to bees. He’s never really had a reaction before. Last week, a bumblebee stung him on the leg, but no reaction. This sting was a black wasp. our doctor is gone on vacation so will call her when she gets back. What if he’d been out at the farm , 30 minutes from town ?! I think he should keep an epi pen in his glove box and in his backpack for school. It happened SO quick.</p>
<p>Today is beautiful. Sunday , it was still 101 at 5:30 when I drove by the bank. Starting tomorrow, we 're back under heat advisories through the weekend. I still prefer summer over winter though.</p>
<p>This weekend, S10’s girlfriend’s family is having a July 4 th BBQ. (They are from a town 3 1/2 hours away) We are invited. :eek: What does this mean ?</p>
<p>We have a baby kitty in our shed. The same Siamese “stray” cat has kittens here every year. I’ve seen her around, but not near the kitten for quite some time. The other gray one disappeared too. It meows at me and kind of chases me out into the yard. I bought some canned cat food and began feeding it. I know, big mistake, but it was pulling at my heartstrings…</p>
<p>Sorry about my rant yesterday. D texted me today from work to tell me she was going from work to the gym, then would shower, eat and pack. So she’s got it under control, I guess.</p>
<p>Her earlier text nearly gave me a heart attack though (remember, she’s nannying): “Are gas stoves supposed to smell and make noise?” :eek: She’s never dealt with a gas stove before. I called her immediately - she was cooking on the stove which is why it smelled, and the noise was the flame. I had thought the stove was off and was hissing and smelling! </p>
<p>As for parents not watching their kids around water… D lifeguarded the last 2 summers and has stories that would curl your hair. Parents who let their toddlers & preschoolers play on the beach ALONE while they sat in the car in the parking lot, for starters. 12rmh18 - the parents who let their non-swimmer float on a raft in the deep end? :eek: </p>
<p>S has been approved for his apartment! Now he just has to sign the lease, not sure when that will happen. I think the lease is supposed to start Sunday 7/1 - we’ll be in NJ this weekend for a family event and are planning to bring him some more stuff and help him move in on Sunday. I’m getting rid of my old (chipped) dishes and 25 year old pots and pans by pawning them off on him, and getting myself some new ones. :)</p>
<p>Lifeguards: All bodies of water scared me to death when my kids were little. I would never let my kids go to swimming party unless I stayed. And I always watched them like a hawk. I couldn’t relax at pool parties because i was constantly watching the pool. When they were little and we were house hunting I wouldn’t even look at a house with a pool, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. At the beach I still find myself counting (I have three kids, so I would constantly count there is one, there is two, there is three, good. OK, there is one, there is two, there is three…). D1 got caught in a rip current once at the beach. That was very scary.</p>
<p>Laf - so glad for your S! Seems like a lot of people are getting their happy endings lately.</p>
<p>My S2 is a lifeguard right now, and he says he does nothing but blow his whistle at misbehaving kids all day. He hasn’t had to jump in after anybody yet.</p>
<p>We had a drowning in our neighborhood, an 18 month old baby in their own swimming pool. The mother never came back to their house. I will never forget.</p>
<p>thoughts for all those in the colorado fire area!! scary!</p>
<p>college news… one of the summer courses will be over this week, then just 2 classes as well as lab for the rest of the summer. seems like the dreaded physics is going well…A so far!</p>
<p>Morning all! I’ve been off the grid since Saturday & just spent an hour catching up on 2 threads :)</p>
<p>Had a day of iffy weather yesterday due to the aftermath of TS Debby but it is gorgeous today. Visited 2 schools & finally saw a glint in D2s eye at one.</p>
<p>Forecast says it will be 104 when we get home. Awesome. Trying to figure out how I can stay in SC.</p>
<p>My son is attending a private ‘prestigious’ high school in West Los Angeles. It seems so hard for him to differentiate himself. EVERYONE is so motivated and scores high on the exams, etc… We pay over $35,000/yr for high school tuition, and we are beginning to think it might actually hurt his chances for to top university admission. Perhaps it makes more sense to attend a public high school for free and really SHINE. </p>
<p>We are on the fence regarding this but we are struggling with these thoughts…</p>
<p>For example, the UC’s (Berkeley and UCLA) really mainly look at GPA. It is so MUCH harder to score a high GPA from my son’s high school. We know other kids in LA who attend local free public high schools and have UW GPA’s for 4.0, and it is really hard for our son to hit a 3.6… He is in 10th grade now, but we are thinking of transferring him out to save money and have him succeed elsewhere…</p>
<p>D15 got her driver’s permit this morning. Lord help us all. :p</p>
<p>S10 started to leave for lunch today when the boss said, “half hour, right ?”. It’s always been an hour, even the last two summers ?!</p>
<p>He also showed me his arm where the bee stung him Monday. It’s now swollen, red way out around it (about two coffee cups wide) and really hot. He’s been taking benedryl. The doctor’s office did give us a script for epi pins too. What a deal.</p>
<p>Heat Advisory for today. still better than a foot of snow and wind chill warnings…</p>
<p>hi dadforexcellence… tough call… if a prestigous hs…colleges will recognize its rigor so that could help him… not standing out is a problem at these schools though. </p>
<p>Remember that many top universities, top 20, ivies etc have very low acceptance rates, some under 10%…and most students that apply are fully qualified to actually get in… so what school he goes to might not make any difference at all.</p>
<p>if you are paying the full cost of university for your son and possible grad school… i would be tempted to save the hs tuition so not as many loans etc during university.</p>
<p>i sent our son to a specialized math/science school for the perks and better education and i think it did help his admissions…but it was free…probably wouldnt have done it if it had been as expensive as you are quoting</p>
<p>ouch checkers!!! hope he feels better soon… and congrats to your D</p>
<p>DadforExcellence: I live in Southern California. D1 graduated high school in '08 and S2 in '10 (and S3 will graduate in '13). Our kids went to/go to our neighborhood high school, which is a regular, public high school with a high percentage of kids that are ESL/free lunch. It is one of the smaller public schools, is 2 miles from the beach and draws from 2 very distinct neighborhoods. There are pros and cons. The pros are that the kids can do whatever they want. Very few sports teams cut, you might not play, but you can be on the team. Kids do not have to be olympic athletes to play on the team and can play on more than one team (some schools prefer kids specialize in just one sport). If you can hang, you can take AP classes, you can be in drama, journalism, etc… From my experience, our top 2 or 3% get into UCLA and Cal, the top 5% get into UCI, UC Davis, UCSB and UCSD. We have had kids get into IVY’s, but they are few and far between. For upper private schools, like Duke, USC, etc… our kids get mixed results. I think it is harder to stand out at a “prestigious” private school, but if you do, you have a better chance Ivy’s etc…</p>
<p>DadforExcellence: I’m glad one of our CA peeps could provide some insight to the UC schools. That IS a tough call. My S2 went to a highly regarded public math/science magnet school (East Coast) PROs: academic rigor plus motivated students & high caliber instruction (many teachers with advanced degrees). CONs: he was competing against his own classmates for colleges. Athough his stats were very good, it was hard to compete against Intel & Sieman finalists & kids with perfect 2400 SATs or 4.3 gpas. It took its toll on his self-confidence. He lamented the fact that his stats would have stood out more at a different HS, but I wonder if he would have slacked without the competition from his peers… You know your son the best. Good luck!</p>
<p>Checkers: OUCH! That bee sting site sounds awfully large & red. If it is hot to the touch, it might be infected. Your DS might need to go back to the doctor, especially if he spikes a fever.</p>
<p>No news. Trying to stay . Sending good thoughts to those dealing with wildfires, excessive heat & excessive rain.</p>
<p>Checkers - swollen red and hot sounds like an infection to me. Did the doctor’s office see what it looks like now?</p>
<p>D left at 4 am for her sorority’s national convention. They pay for everything so they booked the flights. She took off at 6 am this morning and they have her landing on Sunday night at midnight. I’m thinking of coughing up the money to move her to an earlier flight home. She only got 3 hours of sleep last night (had to get up at 3 am) so I’m wondering if she’s enjoying this first day of the convention at all! There are 3 delegates from each chapter, and she will be rooming with girls from other chapters/colleges that she doesn’t know. It seems like a good learning experience though. It’s a 4 day conference at a large hotel and they seem to understand that 20 year old girls may not have traveled on their own or attended a business conference before, so they sent lots of info on what to wear and little details like how much to tip a sky cap or bellhop.</p>
<p>Laf - I hope your D is having a great time. I think we forget that three hours of sleep is much harder on us than on our 20-year-olds! </p>
<p>This changing jobs thing is complicated! I have a tension headache from trying to figure out insurance issues alone. I don’t even want to think about witholding!</p>
<p>Quick drive-by post to take a work-break. I promise to catch up later. ;)</p>
<p>Much semi-college communication with D2 tonight. Guess which 2014 kid has to go by the Supreme Court tomorrow for work? :eek: I told her to get to work early as there may be a few other people there and to send me a picture if she thinks about it. After work she is going to a taping of PBS NewsHour and taking a studio tour.</p>
<p>I’ll serve the coffee this a.m. - - back from Vegas last weekend, and travelling to spend the weekend with my parents. Dad is recovering from his fifth back surgery, and not surprisingly, the recovery is very slow going. My folks will have their 56th anniversary later on in August; they still have each other, so they’re blessed.</p>
<p>No news from DS lately, though we’re starting to receive the housing notices and “heads up” emails regarding for tuition bills. </p>
<p>Back to work … ugh. Hope all is well for all.</p>
Now he just has to sign the lease, not sure when that will happen. I think the lease is supposed to start Sunday 7/1 - we’ll be in NJ this weekend for a family event and are planning to bring him some more stuff and help him move in on Sunday. I’m getting rid of my old (chipped) dishes and 25 year old pots and pans by pawning them off on him, and getting myself some new ones. :)</p>
I’m thinking of coughing up the money to move her to an earlier flight home. She only got 3 hours of sleep last night (had to get up at 3 am) so I’m wondering if she’s enjoying this first day of the convention at all! There are 3 delegates from each chapter, and she will be rooming with girls from other chapters/colleges that she doesn’t know. It seems like a good learning experience though. It’s a 4 day conference at a large hotel and they seem to understand that 20 year old girls may not have traveled on their own or attended a business conference before, so they sent lots of info on what to wear and little details like how much to tip a sky cap or bellhop.</p>