<p>We had a really lovely weekend. DH ended up making risotto with lobster, sauteed zuccs, onions, olives and sun dried tomatoes, salad and garlic bread. I contributed a nice bottle of Chardonnay. For dessert we went to friends were we continued drinking. It ended up being a very late night so we all slept late yesterday. When we got up found Santa had come - so over coffee we opened our pressies, then boychild made french toast dipped in eggnog and a side of bacon. </p>
<p>He took off and went to friends after and DH & I took dogs to the golf course for a long walk. </p>
<p>I was in charge of Xmas dinner. Roast pork loin, roast potatoes and the veggies from the night before. Double fudge brownie choccie ice cream for dessert. </p>
<p>I’m not eating for a week.</p>
<p>When boychild was on the phone with his grandmother I overheard him saying he was going home in a few weeks. :(</p>
<p>AvonHSDad - you realize you might have set a precident for next year! Sounds like a great meal. </p>
<p>Actually sounds like there were lots of good food being served!</p>
<p>MM- ouch, sorry to read about the migraine. </p>
<p>It was so nice to wake up this morning and just sit with a cup of coffee and read. House is in pretty good shape as we tried to keep up with the mess as it happened yesterday. I may actually get to do some big projects this week.</p>
<p>I could relax for Christmas after I saw 2015 son’s 1st semester grades and learned that his tuition scholarship was out of jeopardy. He was very worried about his freshman calculus and physics class but he managed a c+ in the one and a B in the other and ended up with a 3.1 GPA with his other classes. The only one in which he truly excelled was in his major (computer science) but at least we know he is on the right path. With two computer science classes scheduled for next semester and no math (he’s planning to use philosophy classes in logic to meet his other two semesters of math requirement), I think he should have no problem getting his scholarship renewed for another year.</p>
<p>The plumber came this morning with the correct part and we have heat again! I am going to take my coffee and sit by the Christmas tree without a sweater. Thanks to everyone for the warm thoughts sent this way over the last few days.</p>
<p>Mamom - thanks. Actually, I don’t mind being in the kitchen. I think it goes back to the time I spent as a kid with my grandmother in our kitchen when she lived with us for several years. I’ve also gotten a few ideas from many of the food network and related shows. :D</p>
<p>S’s last grade was finally posted last night. He ended up with an A- (93.34%) in US Political Systems (he needed a 95% for a full A). The final first semester GPA is 3.267. As I stated in an earlier post, nothing to complain about and certainly much better than my first semester! :eek: In summary, the first semester was an eye opener. He said based on what he learned about the classes, grading systems, TA’s, profs, and his study habits, he is looking for a 3.6 this coming semester. We will just have to wait and see what develops. :)</p>
<p>First post-surgery doctor’s visit for AvonMom is tomorrow. She is steadily feeling better and requiring less pain medication. :)</p>
<p>Thanks. MaMom- no more headache but unfortunately, I still feel all out of sorts. However, I did make a yummy turkey noodle soup last night for dinner that was received with great reviews from all family members except the one that doesn’t like any kind of poultry/noodle soup- homemade or canned.</p>
<p>D is having to spend part of this morning securing her credit identity since her name, social security, date of birth, address, etc. were stolen from a government contractor who had all this data about some military and military dependents. Tonight, I have to remind h to do that too along with the lovely news that Anonymous may have hacked into one of his credit cards. Apparently they hacked into another defense contractor and got credit card numbers which they are using to make donations to whoever they want. Yes, the internet brings lots of conveniences but some hassles too.</p>
<p>Avon- congrats on S’s first semester report! well done. Good luck with doctors visit Wed. </p>
<p>Apollo- well done on your S’s part also. </p>
<p>We had “the talk” with S last night. He still doesn’t “get it”. I asked him to email his advisor to ask her to review last semesters grades and see if he needs to retake anything and if he can continue onto the next level classes he has already registered for. S’s response was “why? they will tell me if I can’t I don’t have to contact them.” um, how about we get on top of it? Do you really want to wait til school starts then find out. And despite telling him last week he was broke, he still thinks he has hundreds in the bank. H is sitting down with hm right now in an effort to work out a budget. While trying to log into S’s & my joint account they inadvertently locked me out so now i have to call customer service to be able to log in online. I think I have one of those kids who may need to take some time time off, or go to a local state school commuting from home.</p>
<p>mamom – I feel your pain. We are all on vacation, skiing, so H and I plan on having “the talk” with D when we return. But she doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal (having a low GPA) even though she talks about graduate school (where I told her all they look at is your GPA). And I dread waiting until the end of the Spring semester to find out if she can pull it together or not. </p>
<p>On an upnote, S’14 is getting his first As in 10th grade. Another mom said to me: maybe he had to wait for D to leave to start to shine.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any New Year’s plans? I will probably be in bed, H and S’16 will probably pretend to stay up but really fall asleep on the floor watching TV, and I have no clue what D will do. </p>
<p>D’s boyfriend is in the Iowa State marching band. The Iowa State football team is playing in the pinstripe bowl at Yankee Stadium on Dec. 30 and the marching band gets to go perform at halftime. They get to stay in town and go watch the ball drop on New Year’s eve. So, D doesn’t have a date for New Year’s eve, he is half way across the continent. I asked him to take her in his luggage and he just laughed at me.</p>
<p>bajamm- We never go out on New Years, and I usually fall asleep at 10, wake up at 11:45 to watch the ball drop, then go right to bed. I assume D1 and her BF will have some plans, but I don’t know what they are now.</p>
<p>I spent the day helping D1 make her bf his Christmas present, since they are exchanging gifts tomorrow. They are planning on spending the day tomorrow in Boston to celebrate their 'anniversary." She made him a really cute scrapbook of the “38 things I like about you.” I was on high alert to assist with paper choices, layouts, and general “Mom, does this look right?” I told her that I expect a similar book “38 things I like about Mom”.</p>
<p>I am enjoying having the week off from work. We have the presents put away, and need to go to the mall to exchange gifts on Thursday. I really dislike the mall, but, I will have to brave the crowds and suffer.</p>
<p>We spend New Years Eve as a family and fill out a questionnaire that asks about the last year (favorite activities, accomplishments, friends, food, books, movies, etc.) and the upcoming year (things you want to do more of, things you want to learn, people you want to be like, …). We read the ones that were written each year, starting when the kids were 3 and ending with last year’s. They’re funny and touching. We sometimes do it with another family – although it only works if they are comfortable with introspection and with expressing themselves – and we’re often traveling. Last year, we were either at home or in Canada. This year we’ll be on the beach in Mexico.</p>
<p>Similar to Gsmomma, we rarely go out for New Year’s Eve; DH is an early-to-bed person so can’t stay up for midnight. We will have a toast (with sparkling juice since younger DD still has no interest in drinking even a little bit) and then she will go to party. I will try to stay up for the dropping of the ball but often fall asleep myself while waiting. Just a couple of old fuddy-duddies, DH and I!</p>
<p>I hope everyone is still enjoying a little of the holiday spirit. Older DD leaves today - she is driving two hours west to spend a day & night with her BF’s family and then she & he will drive the four hours east (from there) to go back to school. I’m hoping that the weather will hold; I hate when she is driving long distances over winter roads.</p>
<p>Not a fan of NYE. We’re going to the movies and a lite bite out at the diner, either before or after. Boychild is going to a party at a high school buddie’s.</p>
<p>We are not big fans of the NYE party scene either. We would rather stay safe at home and off the roads where most of the idiots and drunks will most likely be. This year we will stay at home and have a toast to the positive results from AvonMom’s recent surgury. S will most likely go to a friends or havs several over for a poker party in the rec room. D will sit with us unless she is babysitting in the neighborhood. We will hold out to watch the ball drop and then call it a night. :)</p>
<p>shawdad: Love your idea of the New Year’s questionnaire. I think I might come up with something like this for my family to do this year. If anyone has suggestions for questions, I’d love to hear them.</p>
<p>As for NYE, we stay home – watching movies, playing board games, eating snacks. We watch the ball drop and head to bed. I hate to be out on the roads that night. Hate to think of my college kids out on the road, too. So far, no one has mentioned other plans, so maybe we will all celebrate together. Then again, many of the plans tend to crop up at the last minute, so who knows?</p>
<p>We don’t usually do much for New Year’s Eve. Maybe Thai food with friends, then a glass of champagne while the ball falls and so to bed. D leaves on the 3d, so we will probably make our schedule conform to what she needs to get done before she goes. She’ll only be back for 2-3 days in March and then not until May, if then, so we need to enjoy this time!</p>
<p>On a happier note, she finally nerved herself up to look at her grades and is really pleased. I hope this will boost her confidence going forward.</p>
<p>ohiomom, I can send you a copy of our questionnaire as it is formatted. We’ve refined it over the years (in part to make it fit the kids at older ages as well as younger ones). Probably easier to email. You can email me your email address and I’ll attach if you want.</p>