Parents of the HS Class of 2011 - We're awesome!

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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<p>Good morning all,</p>

<p>Breakfast buffet is open :)</p>

<p>Gsmomma~ I remember a friend looking for a plain white dress last year was a definite challenge…good luck in Cambridge :p</p>

<p>ST&FL~ so wonderful to have friends comment in a positive way on the new college students, warm a Mama’s heart.We will have our -college student is back dinner party- next Saturday, S2 is gone already but S1 is here. So here we go!</p>

<p>Blue~Thank you for reminding me about the beans I had almost forgotten…so I opened a jar and southern S1 had them for good luck at dinner (so did DH).</p>

<p>We went to our friends’ open house and the food was outstanding she had a medley of dishes from around the world. She works in NYC (art circle) so the crowd was as eclectic as the food. Wonderful way to reboot the mind & palate for a new Year!</p>

<p>Neighborhood party today :D</p>

<p>Stay warm everybody :cool:</p>

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<p>Gsmomma: Happy 15th Birthday to your dd! Good luck finding the white dress for d1.</p>

<p>2education: Thanks for breakfast! Oh, it seems too soon for your S2 to be headed back to school. It seems like they just got here!</p>

<p>ST & FL: Nice to hear the positive comments about the college kids!</p>

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<p>gsmomma: davids bridal dot com has an entire selection of white dresses. Go the the special occasion section, and look under black and white dresses (I checked it out). Some are on sale, too.
Happy 2012 all!
Kids were out, H and I watched tv. Alas, I am not a cook, so we had a simple dinner.
Now we’re off to catch some after New year’s sales.</p>

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<p>No work today. We will take the tree down and undecorate the house today. Winter finally arrived as periodic bands of lake effect snow come and go. We are on the light side of the weather with no more than an inch whereas the snow belt already has upwards of 8 inches in some areas and that could easily double by tomorrow morning.</p>

<p>We had our annual New Year’s breakfast of home made french toast and a fresh fruit berry compote this morning as DS was at an overnight party for New Years so we delayed for a day. Its one of the few things that will get the kids up early. AvonMom is still recuperating but doing better. Back to the doctors on Wednesday. We have a spring break cruise scheduled so we are hoping we get the OK from the doctor for AvonMom to travel. We need to know in a few weeks as the final date for payment or cancelation is coimg up later this month. We are hoping we get thumbs up as we (she) could use the break. </p>

<p>DH returns to HS on Wednesday as well. DS flys back to school on Tuesday afternoon next week so we have him home for another week. He will work this week, get a haircut and take care of other necessities. We will have an early 19th birthday dinner party for him next weekend as his birthday is at the end of the month.</p>

<p>Sounds like everyone had an enjoyable New Year’s holiday weekend. Let’s hope for a positive 2012 with lots of good news on the family and school fronts!! Yesterday was the college class of 2016 Common Application submittal deadline date. I sure didn’t miss that stress this year!!</p>

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<p>Happy New Year everyone! Sounds like the board’s been cooking up a storm! Glad to hear of AvonMom’s continued recovery, yay!</p>

<p>We’ve had a wonderful break. Family, parties, football, too much eating :eek:</p>

<p>Put S1 on a plane to school this morning, classes start tomorrow…break went too fast for him. Probably won’t be back in town until 4th of July as he’s planning on going somewhere with school friends for spring break, and then has his summer internship in another state that starts 3 days after school gets out…4th of July seems very far away, for all of us. He is a homebody in the extreme, an absence of this length is quite unsettling for him. I tell him to think about military personnel who are deployed for 12 and sometimes 18 months. Anyway, I’m not beyond sending him a ticket for a long weekend if he seems especially distressed. </p>

<p>He had a bunch of high school friends over for NYE, (all college juniors). They had a celebration that included champagne and jello shots (so funny to see this as this group never partied in high school). They all then crashed in our basement. DH and I were amused as we sat at the breakfast table reading the NYT as kid after kid came wandering upstairs with bed head looking for a cup of coffee. Many of them have just returned or are about to embark on a semester abroad. We heard about semesters in Istanbul, Morocco, and Rome with others going to Budapest and Moscow. DH and I just drooled. Both of us regret not taking a semester abroad and yet S1 cannot do this as he is a Chem E. who is getting a BS/MS in four years and has not a single ounce of wiggle room to have an adventure like that. </p>

<p>Our Yalie will more than make up for our lack of sojourning I’m sure- he is across the pond as I write this, gallivanting with friends and skiing the Alps. He’s returning to New Haven this Saturday, jet lagged but happy I’m sure.</p>

<p>I missed the entire ‘beans for New Years’ thing, seriously never heard about it before, I must be living in a cave :). I had never heard of Bluebell ice cream either, but when I went to the store yesterday for pie a la mode material I saw it in the freezer case, and it was on sale, so I bought it. It was amazing! The things we learn about on this board! :smiley: :D</p>

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<p>Hi All,</p>

<p>For New Years I made a Moroccan Tagine–I have the clay vessel and did a chicken dish. We played Risk…and by 10:30 I was ready for bed. By 11:30ish the game was over and we watched the ball drop…Skipped the champagne for a grappa and called it a night by 1ish…the kids stayed up til 3am…</p>

<p>Well as far as getting the holiday decorations down–the stuff from outside is down and stored. The inside stuff, tree etc will get done today after kiddo comes back from playing ultimate frisbee and having lunch w friends. Kiddo did some workouts over the break and will likely start back training tom so that team training again at school isn’t a big shock after weeks of feasting and sleeping. Do not know how much kiddo will get together with other hs alumni for the rest of break.</p>

<p>I am also going to see what might need to be shipped to the U–as kiddo flew home with just a small carry on–w 1 outfit of dressy clothes, 2 pair of jeans, and some workout gear. The Christmas gifts (some clothes etc) won’t fit in the bag. </p>

<p>Any leftovers - ie cake, sweets, choc covered pretzles, the carmel apples sent my my MiL etc etc might be mailed to the U or will be thrown out. Everything is going out… Except–the Blue Bell Homestyle vanilla-- :)</p>

<p>As far as games and holiday entertainment etc–I have been blown out of the water on Monopoly twice and Risk once. I do best on Trivial Pursuit, Backgammon and Scrabble. Also it has been like a year since I attempted the drums or guitar for Rock band etc…and I am so out of practice.
I can handle the Wii games like bowling, ping pong and tennis… and yet have no eye-hand coordination for the stealth games on the PS3. Then again, I’d rather go bowling, play ping pong or tenis IRL as opposed to this virtual world.</p>

<p>Yalemom–the skiing in the alps sounds great! Next time you should get to go too :)</p>

<p>As far as the man-cold thing…whenever that stuff appears, I am pretty merciless. My question is “did you take something…?.” and I get “what should I take?”…
UH…ok I have been over the difference between an antihistamine and a decongestant etc etc many times over the years…
So I suggest he get to the nearest CVS and buy what he needs…I tell him to read the package…
I have managed a house/cooked/cleaned with flu and then bronchitis…so I have no mercy on the man cold drama…</p>

<p>I just spent my morning on a long walk with DH, then used about a gallon of vinegar and a scrubby sponge taking off the hard water deposits from the bathroom faucets/sinks/shower doors. With some help from the kiddos and DH, I will have the house vacuumed, all bedding and towels washed, and the refrigerator cleaned up etc…before kiddo 2 heads back to hs this week.</p>

<p>Shawdad–Hadn’t thought of that–yet it makes sense… behavior is odd and there have been some other interesting things that have come up over the years…The son is 14…
I try to be as accomodating as possible whenever we have guests…</p>

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<p>Happy New Year to all. Glad to hear about all the great gatherings and yummy food and cyber hugs to the ones having hard times. </p>

<p>fogfog-can you guys do our house next? :)</p>

<p>S1’s 19th birthday is coming up before he leaves. I have asked him if he wants to take friends out for movie/dinner, have a paintball party or have a party at home. We will be glad to pay for it and we won’t be at party if he prefers. He said “NO” to all of them! Why he does not want a birthday celebration with his friends? Maybe he does not like to be the center of attention? I can’t remember the last time we had a party for him (15th or 16th birthday maybe). What did I go wrong with that boy???</p>

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<p>Sunny–my DS is the same. I offered a grad party, bday party, NYE party all to no avail. Instead he shows up unannounced with friends after I told him he needed to straighten up basement if friends were coming over. His response?? I didn’t know where we were going. Arghhh. That’s why you clean up in advance–just in case. Mind you they almost always end up at our house–yes he drives me crazy at times.</p>

<p>Bajamm-my DS2 sounds like yours. We’ll have to share strategies for success.</p>

<p>Happy new years to all. Im with those of you planning a diet. I’ve eaten way too much over the holidays!!</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using CC App</p>

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<p>I think we had success with a white dress! I actually did a Google search for “White dress for sorority initiation” and found a few websites. One was called ‘shopwhitedress.com’. All they sell are white dresses- imagine that! She ordered 2, with the thought that she can return one , or offer it to one of her sorority sisters. I did confirm the return policy, which allows for returns within 30 days.</p>

<p>We had a nice dinner in Harvard Square for D2’s birthday.</p>

<p>I am so not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow after having almost 2 weeks off.</p>

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<p>AvonHSDad, we also had a spring break cruise scheduled last year when my DH was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Put a little pressure on the doc to get it taken care of right away. All was good for the cruise. Much needed recuperation. Relaxing week without a worry. Wonderful medicine for a crippled soul. Godspeed.</p>

<p>All the decorations are put away. College kids (DD and DS) still have until the 15th at home. DH and I are back to work tomorrow. bummer.</p>

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<p>Well, things here are returning to normal also… we took down all of the decorations today and packed them and the tree away. DH and I are back to work tomorrow and classes start tomorrow for older DD. Younger DD leaves a week from tomorrow - seems like she just got home but it’s actually been 3 weeks already. </p>

<p>On one hand, I wish my girls could have stayed longer. I love them and miss them when they aren’t here. OTOH, I’m actually kind of looking forward to having my house (and my life) back. DH and I had just kind of figured out our “new normal” and were enjoying setting our own schedules and doing what we wanted WHEN we wanted to… this must be the sunny side of the empty-nester street.</p>

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<p>How funny is it that some of you are already seeing your children return to school, while my D1 is still waiting for the last of her grades to be posted from last semester? :slight_smile: </p>

<p>The white dress hunt reminds me of days of yore when D1 and D2 needed all-white outfits for summer camp. They both attended a Jewish camp where everyone dresses all in white for the Jewish sabbath on Friday night and Saturday day. We’d start hunting for white dresses, skirts, tops, shorts and pants a couple months in advance. It’s gotten much easier in recent years. Maybe white has become more popular?</p>

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<p>Interesting timing, Slithey Tove. Some schools also have optional winter sessions, so the kids could be home for most of January. On grades, ShawSon and ShawD have gotten courses for some courses and not others.</p>

<p>We’re spending some of our time in Mexico getting information about nursing programs and ShawD is beginning to work on applications. We’ve gotten some valuable information from the people of CC. And ShawSon completed his application for an independent major (to go along with econ and math). But, it is not all work: today we went sea kaying and saw these giant manta rays jumping out of the water – they were jumping 10 feet out of the water which was just amazing. Tomorrow, after kayaking, we’re going to drive to a place where we can hike to waterfalls and then go to the city (San Jose del Cabo or Cabo San Lucas) for dinner and then food shopping. In our little town, we’ve found that the restaurants are actually cheaper than what it would cost to prepare the meal by buying ingredients at the supermarket.</p>

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<p>Day 2 of work, diet & treadmill, so please excuse my typing.</p>

<p>Little sleep last night, dozed at 8 pm then couldn’t get to sleep at 11 which became compounded when S wasn’t home until late. I could go back to sleep for 3 or 4 hours. I think I will go ask S what his plans are for the day, lol.</p>

<p>All the decorations are down but there are some lingering snacks everywhere. I hesitate to get rid of it since I’ll be living on it once the man cold germs hit. I’ve been taking airborne, vitC & sleeping in the guest room not that any of it will help. Too many germs all over the house. S made soup for H yesterday & went to CVS to get some additional meds. He can be very nurturing like that, too bad he is leaving Fri. He is premed currently but not sure he will have the grades.</p>

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<p>Happy New Year! </p>

<p>I returned to work today so its at least back to normal for me. D1 has follow-up appointment from her surgery tomorrow so she will stay at school after that. Classes don’t start back until the 9th but I think she’s just ready to get back to school. Rest of the kids go back to school Jan 9th as well. DH goes back to work tomorrow so I was the only one who had to get up and out this cold Georgia morning. :-(</p>

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<p>Hope the first semester grades are working out well…</p>

<p>Just saw our son’s grades…two A-, one B, and one C+ (Bio). Would have liked a better grade in Biology but he had some low test scores early on and had to work a bit harder to get his overall grade up. At least it’s good enough to count towards the degree.</p>

<p>The thing about his grades that I’m really happy about is that they are basically what he told us he was expecting. We’ve had our share of unpleasant surprises during his HS years so it’s nice to see that he was on top of things (at least for the most part).</p>

<p>He’ll be around until the 20th…hope the weather will cooperate for us to at least one good ski trip while he’s home.</p>

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<p>I just dropped D at the airport and am feeling blue. H is at work, S went back to HS today and won’t be home until after 8pm, the house cleaners were here this morning so everything is neat and clean as though no one lives here at all, and it is very quiet.</p>

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<p>DS is home almost two more weeks and already very ambivalent re his departure. Like Proudmom, we have a new normal that we enjoy immensely, and we have cut back on some of our activities since DS returned. On the other hand, I just like having him around! I think he feels the same ambivalence - likes school but also likes being home. He is actually returning to school a week before classes start to “hang” with his friends. That said, he can’t decide whether or not he’ll come home for March break and I need to know to get best airfare.</p>

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<p>Hi all, have not been on in some while and when I do start to write something I keep getting interrupted and end up deleting what I have already written. Have had a great break, kids don’t go back till next week, although D4 started back today.</p>

<p>Had a New Year’s Eve Game night at our house then headed down to the beach for a bonfire and to watch fireworks. Luckily the weather cooperated and we were experiencing nice January weather. Of course it was bound to happen and today is brrrrr 27 degrees! Tree is down but will wait till kids go to continue going through the house. </p>

<p>Been hitting the gym with the kids…managed to “find” 10 pounds over this past month and need to “lose” it and a bit more.</p>

<p>Will check in later after I read through past posts, don’t want to have to delete yet another post because I time out or someone wants something!</p>

<p>Happy New Year!</p>

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<p>It is caucus night in Iowa! I stayed home, though D is taking part in her very first polictical activity as a registered voter. </p>

<p>I am unsure as to which party she is caucusing with. I know which party she is registered for and I know she thought the other party’s caucus would be more interesting. (GOP is voting on a nominee tonight and the Dem’s are discussing issues they want to take to the state convention in preparation for the national convention). Iowa has open registration, which means people can change parties or even register as they enter a caucus or polling place. </p>

<p>As both her mother and a poli sci major, I am looking forward to hearing from her what she thinks of the process.</p>