<p>What a great idea!! Who couldn’t shed a few pounds:)</p>
<p>A big welcome to momjr, porkchop and samuck. </p>
<p>A big congrats to missypie and MilitaryMom.</p>
<p>Peer reviewing essays - I’m not a fan. My son’s have been very personal. I don’t think he would have written them the same way if his classmates were going to read them.</p>
<p>Bedbugs - OMG. Gross me out. As time comes closer, we will need to instruct our kids on the telltale signs and warn them about secondhand furniture.</p>
<p>Hope everyone’s kids have a productive weekend.</p>
<p>First application done for our instate flagship. NMSF application done. Part I of reach application done. ACT tomorrow then football game instate flagship. A pretty good week! Our goal is to be all done by November 1.</p>
<p>D2 is off on the traditional Senior Class Retreat at the coast. First week of school appears to have been positive on all fronts, the most important part being no pain in the leg that was diagnosed with a stress fracture in May! </p>
<p>D3, a second grader, is on the couch complaining about her stomach hurting. Hope it’s not a long weekend.</p>
<p>fogfog - I’m in on the weight loss campaign. 2011 is a big year for us: my 50th bday, D2’s graduation nine days later, D1’s 21st three weeks after that, and in December, our 25th anniversary! It would be nice to know I’m not the only one trying to drop some weight.</p>
<p>phbmom-I am also trying to lose a few pounds before my 50th (two months to go)! Want to look good for the pictures…and hope to keep it off for D’s graduation in June!</p>
<p>Thank you for welcoming us new parents. I go on this site to channel my anxiety away and not stress out my daughter. She is NOT focused on colleges at all. In fact, last night she switched her ACT date from tomorrow until October so she can go to a concert instead. School just started today though, so I think her interest will pick up soon. At least we have a list and favorite she will apply EA to, so she knows she has to get her essays done by Nov. 1st. It’s going to be a busy couple of months!</p>
<p>S1’s taking the ACT tomorrow aiming to improve on his 32 composite for merit aid. What do you think? I’ve been trying for a year to get him to consider other (smaller, more demanding) schools for computer science but he is really only interested in Purdue. Purdue is in state and depending on how he scores tomorrow, he has a good chance of getting some merit aid. If that’s all he wants, should I be happy and just let him only apply there? I wanted him to consider RPI, WPI and RIT but he really doesn’t care. He was so unenthusiastic we decided to wait until after he was accepted at those schools and we saw how much financial and merit aid before we spent $$$ to visit those schools. I AM glad that I got him to look at the plans of study for the different colleges at Purdue and he agreed with me that the College of Science would be better for him than the College of Technology (He doesn’t want the School of Engineering). He had previously been talking about the CoT and I was concerned that he would be getting an expensive junior college education instead of an academic program.</p>
<p>Welcome danceclass.</p>
<p>Olderwiser - My S has similar deadline (he has 5 EAs or early RD out of 7 total). He wants to get back to life and fun and weekends without essays.</p>
<p>Apollo - I’ll say again that my friend’s genius son is absolutely blissfully happy at Purdue. I don’t know exactly which college he’s in, but definitely in computer science. They have no qualms about the quality of the education he’s receiving. And they love the price, even OOS.</p>
<p>Danceclass - you said it! Life with a senior is so much the balance between the serious and the silly. We’ve seen plenty of it already around here, too. But I think we can get everything done in October, too.</p>
<p>Is anyone tired of Senior year already? The parties, the retreats, the campouts, etc. If I have to hear “it’s my senior year” one more time… Maybe it will calm down in a few weeks. I’m excited for everyone, but it seems like the volume is on 10. I saw S’s good friend- straight A’s, etc, etc driving with a cell phone to his ear the other day. In our state that is an automatic 6 month loss of license or maybe 1 year. Everyone needs to relax. I hope S isn’t doing it too.<br>
S is one and done with his SATs so he doesn’t have that pressure as well as an acceptance at a match, so he is feelin good. Which is great and I feel good about it too. We will see if he takes a final SAT2.</p>
<p>Glad to see some new faces!!</p>
<p>and glad to have some takers for the lbs loss between now and graduation!!!</p>
<p>AND</p>
<p>Good luck tom. for those taking the ACT. Our kiddo is taking it–had a very nice score in the spring–however something really odd happened during the test and that one section is WAAAAY off from the other scores. So worth taking another shot at it.
Kiddo skipped a dinner out with friends and a football game to take it tom (rested)</p>
<p>This bed bug thing is sooo nasty. I was googling well known schools and frankly have been surprised by the colleges and housing dept talking about it…
AND then it makes me wonder about the colleges/housing NOT talking about it…
You would think that these dorms would be inspected during the summers and treated …
We will definitely be doing the full mattress wrap/cover for kiddo…</p>
<p>Have a great evening ;o) Cheers.</p>
<p>Morning all</p>
<p>Kiddo1 left for the ACT…
We were all up early and I made a nice breakfast…that test runs til 1pm so kiddo took a snack and water bottle…
Fingers crossed for kiddo and all taking it today.</p>
<p>Has anyone read about this
[Schwarzenegger-Shriver</a> daughter writes first book - Yahoo! News](<a href=“http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100910/ap_en_ot/us_books_katherine_schwarzenegger]Schwarzenegger-Shriver”>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100910/ap_en_ot/us_books_katherine_schwarzenegger)</p>
<p>I am glad that there are young women out there like her who are trying to change what the media culture says/does in respect to women–
As a mom I also like the Dove campaigns. </p>
<p>Was thinking about the essay topics you all discussed earlier–and its true that the essays can be interesting or ho-hum depending on the audience. Kiddo’s one essay–which I feel is nice–the GC didn’t like it so much. GC had a totally different view of it–so it is helpful to have someone read these things beyond the family/parents because we know the context and an outsider will read it with an outsider’s vision.</p>
<p>Day1-beginning weigh in ;o)</p>
<p>Good morning all,</p>
<p>I am not quite sure if ever posted here 
</p>
<p>Just wanted to wish everyone good luck for the ACT today.:)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Unfortunately S’s current english class in not doing the college essay thing. I wish they were. But, getting back to your question. In S’s AP English Lang/Comp class last year every paper was peer reviewed sometimes several times by different students as the paper evolved. The kids took peer editing very seriously and for the most part made constructive comments. OTOH, I suppose another student reviewing your S’s essay could steal his ideas, use some of his verbage on his essay. Not sure how you get around it. If the essay deals with personal stuff he would rather his peers not see, how about writing one of the supplimental essays instead?</p>
<p>AcsinGA- your pm box is full :)</p>
<p>Welcome to all the newcomers!</p>
<p>I am in on the weight loss. </p>
<p>Today is going to be "list everything (books/clothes) that needs to be sold on ebay. Get the fall clothes out. It is getting cold here at night, not sure how much longer we will be wearing shorts. And get rid of some more cr*p we don’t need at trash pickup on Monday. </p>
<p>Boys are off trying to finish the big construction stuff on S’s Eagle scout project. Then all that will be left is landscaping. Fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Not a band parent myself–
and this a a bit different–being “walking precision” at a game in Japan not a marching band…</p>
<p>however</p>
<p>[Butterfinger</a> - Comedy Network](<a href=“http://comedy.video.yahoo.com/?v=8204995]Butterfinger”>http://comedy.video.yahoo.com/?v=8204995)</p>
<p>pretty neat.</p>
<p>mom: you need to put in a couple of hours on the applications this weekend
d: but i have plans with ____ and ____
mom: not if you don’t put in a couple of hours on the applications!</p>
<p>Mean Mom! </p>
<p>She is on track and I want her to stay there!</p>
<p>^mnmomof2–</p>
<p>I remember clearly when my daughter first discovered that I am a “Mean Mommy.” She was two or three years old, and I remember wondering where she had ever heard that term (as she didn’t go to preschool or watch TV at that age, and didn’t have an older sibling.)</p>
<p>Our children will enjoy their senior year activities so much more if they have made progress on their applications and don’t have them hanging over their heads!</p>