We are officially ONE and DONE!!!
D got her official acceptance to OU today! Now she can start on her apps to the school of music and the honors program and start working on private scholarships…
^^^Madly envious, @3scoutsmom !
Congratulations to everyone who’s had good news while I play catch up!
@lvmjac1 : “As the kids are heading back to class they announce it over the loud speaker to the entire school. It’s a really big deal in our high school mostly because all of the kids who were looked as “geeks” through most of high school are now looked at much differently.”
I cried the first couple of times I saw what I remember to be a PSA for STEM-based education, where the final visual was simply, “…And the Geeks shall inherit the Earth.”
Congrats @3scoutsmom . Good luck with Honors and all of those private scholarships.
@3scoutsmom - those are the three most beautiful words in English language these days! Woot woot, congradulations!!!
@AsleepAtTheWheel : Yes, I am aware you were speaking of a different service they offer. They do have the program I speak of, though, which was great because he does not have a car, and shipping it would have been an act of, as one parent wrote years ago, “reverse economics” - where it costs $30 to send about $18 worth of Ramen was the example she used. I had also been pleased to discover the program because their linen had gone on deep sale when I purchased his sheet sets, and the electronics had been discounted as well, so I took advantage of the “hold” program and sent him off with one simple suitcase.
Thrilled for you, @3scoutsmom! And congrats to @4kids2graduate and any others who’ve had good news recently. We likely won’t hear anything for another month. So hard to wait.
I signed up at BBB but we only got a few little things there for S14. We got some organizing stuff at Ikea, a comforter on sale from some department store (he was surprisingly picky about that so we had to look at a lot of stores), and a lamp from Target. Minimalist boy. I had previously gotten each member of the family their own color-coded towels so he just brought his own set.
Tonight we watched our girls soccer team advance to state semifinals. S16 sat with all the guys from the boys soccer team. It was nice to see him with a social life. He also did better than he thought on the quarter grades. So far it’s been a good week.
@fretfulmother: “Am I in the tiny minority having planned to do what my parents did and send mostly the old household towels etc.?”
This had originally been my plan, but after he visited about three colleges, and slept in other kids’ rooms, he came home after one visit and told me that he’d had a conversation with one of the host kids and somehow they got around to bedding, or room style, or something, and then my son took a look at this guy’s bedding. The pillowcase and sheet set did not match, and my son told the kid that he was the only kid he’d stayed with who, like him, don’t match their linen. The boy remarked that everyone at the school in his dorm seemed to have been sent off with new, matching sets but him, and that, yes, the other kids had noticed.
This made me think that maybe today’s kids are less apt to just make a mish-mosh out of how they set up house. Now, when I was in school, if a boy had a sheet on his mattress it was a sign his mother had sent him out into the world knowing how to take care of himself. Goodness, they turned their t-shirts inside out and wore them an extra day rather than wash them in good time.
DS16 sits for his Eagle Board of Review on the 19th, but attended his last scout meeting as a scout tonight because he ages out tomorrow. He came home quite emotional. He’s been a scout since he was in first grade. If he plans to go to leaders training and one school he’s applied to has a fraternity for Eagle Scouts. Hard to believe it’s over.
I was amazed at how much it costs to ship big things (without Amazon Prime) @palm715! Please let us know if you discover any tips.
I agree with the others, @collegemom2boys: he’ll look great and fit in if he wears a suit.
Congratulations to @4kidstograduate and @3scoutsmom! Hurrah!
@waitingtoexhale: poignant story “yes, the other kids had noticed.”
@carolinamom2boys: Congratulations to your son. That is a long road you’ve all walked. May his review go well, and then his induction. We had the honor to attend an Eagle Scout ceremony, and, my, what an incredible sense of loyalty and duty, allegiance and brotherhood could be felt in that room when one turned to see the veteran members of the troop who showed up, and the elders of the community who were held out as instrumental to the growth and development of the new Eagle Scout. Congrats, again.
Thank you @Waiting2exhale . I’m very proud of the young man he’s become.
News Worth doing the “Nay Nay” for!
I love it when pieces fall into place. All that hard work paying off!
@ Waiting2Exhale That is the best sentiment! Thank you for that! I will undoubtedly reuse that quote often. And regarding the dorm bedding…I think it depends on the school and the students. I have seen both situations where some had a mish mosh of items (mostly guys) but many guys even did have matching sets (BBB dorm set). The girls usually have more matching accessories. But I have to say that I outfitted my S this past fall pretty good because I remembered the block out curtains and tension rods (which got an envious look from the 2 girls across the hall whose windows were bare). I also know my S would never iron so I outfitted him with a steamer. Now if he was smart he would lend it out to all the girls on the floor who might need it! More than likely though he’s forgotten he has it and is a wrinkled hot mess at times. If anyone hasn’t guessed I am a bit OCD about some things and ironing even slightly wrinkled clothes is a definite one.
@ HiToWaMom Hello and Welcome
@3scoutsmom Wow So Very Excited and Happy for you and your D! Envious too but in the best possible way! Its must be great feeling!
@carolinamom2boys That is quite a bittersweet moment! A milestone that your S (and you too) I am sure is very happy about attaining but it also means that somethings are over and will never be the same. These moments are and will continue to hit us as we go through this last high school year and move on to the new chapter of college life. Lets all send each other virtual excited hugs and boxes of tissues depending on the circumstance at the moment!
@EastGrad I have an account with Fed Ex and if you choose ground shipping and use your own packaging it is not too bad. Its only really expensive if you need it there quickly. Or you can use two or more days shipping with Fed Ex’s packaging and it is not too bad either. I sent a package (not too heavy) to my son but did not send it overnight or two days and it was only maybe $7.00. Not awful and SOOOO much more reliable than the Post Office. I have heard absolute horror stories about the Post Office losing things for weeks even with tracking! I use this Fed Ex option when I am sending something from home and cannot use Amazon Prime.
@waiting2exhale - thank you! That is indeed, both poignant and bothersome about kids noticing each other’s sheets. I have no idea what other kids had on their beds except for my bf … who became fretfulfather LOL. And those very sheets, I think, are still somewhere in a drawer. Hey, that’s a good source for linens, right? 
What about setting up the DC16s with credit cards or other ways to start establishing credit as they head to college? I know nothing about such things.
Thanks @lvmjac1 Right now I think I need to find some real tissues, the virtual ones, while greatly appreciated, just aren’t cutting it for this blubbering hot mess. :((
@lvmjac1 : "Now if he was smart he would lend it out to all the girls on the floor who might need it! "
So funny. I asked my son to have a Belgian Waffle waiting for me when I came to visit, and he told me he didn’t know how to make them, as he didn’t understand the waffle machine thingie. I told him to walk up to a girl and ask her to show him, and more than likely, that would both have him armed with that information, and he’d get to talk to a pretty girl. “Can’t lose,” I told him. He thought that outrageous.
I arrived about 15 minutes later than the planned time, but was treated to a still-warm Belgian waffle. I knew better than to ask if the ‘pretty girl’ thing worked, but one of us was slightly blushing.
@dyiu13 - As I recall from the olden days, cc companies are all out in force to register kids when they arrive. In general, it’s probably not the best idea to sign up for everything. We’re going to get a Discover card for DS16 in his own name to start building credit, and add him to our accounts for our main Mastercard. He already has a checking and savings account with online access and a debit card. In fact, I think he had direct deposit for his summer job. Kids today seem much more connected with things like this. I remember my dad teaching me how to write a check!
Hey I found something I like on BBB, not too pricey:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/zippy-sack-puppy-fitted-blanket/3275191
Do you think they’d go for this one? So easy and washable! 
I found it because I was looking for a fitted comforter/spread/blanket to reduce (a) the falling of blankets on the floor and (b) the slovenly appearance even with casual bed-making.