<p>I know we have all talked about this before but I wanted to see if I am missing anything.</p>
<p>I packed the first two Care Packages last night (as everything Lola wanted me to send will not fit in one). So for you more experienced in this area can you give advice?</p>
<p>A. I have 2 diff Priority Mail boxes from USPS. One is actually the new box they call SHOE BOX. The other is a Flat rate Box a little smaller than the "Shoe Box". Which is the better size? Not worried about the price right now.</p>
<p>B. Should I mail them at the same time or different days so that she wont be stuck with both boxes all at once?</p>
<p>C. I packed the following: Blister pads, Foot powder, Bandaids, White out, Bleach pen, Tide Pen, Shout packets, Bathwash, Face Wipes, Antibacterial Wipes, Shavers, Vitamins, Shampoo, Cond., Brown barrettes, Chamois cloth for shining and individually packaged food in seal sandwich bags (Nuts, Granola) also Protein Bars and Drink Mix. And, of course, a small American Flag and a note of encourgement. ANYTHING I LEFT OUT? Anything on that list is banned? </p>
<p>D. Will cadre go through the box before she gets it?</p>
<p>THANKS! 5 DAYS!!!</p>
<p>Also.. We opened a Navy Fed Credit Union acct.. were we supposed to notify USNA of the acct number for Direct Deposit or will she just take the acct no. with her I-Day?</p>
<p>Make sure you all include in the first box the plastic shoe box for your Mid to store food in. There are rodents in the Hall and it also helps keep their stuff organized.</p>
<p>Yes, the cadre will inspect the packages. They do not want any contraband finding its way in. Everything looks good from what I know and have heard except for maybe the vitamins. I'm not sure if that is approved or not.I remember something about the plebes being given vitamins disguised as "strength and energy" pills. I think they are probably muti-vit's.
I would break up the care packages. Send maybe one a week or so. The foodstuffs will be shared amongst the company so don't expect Lola to get everything in the package. It all evens out as she will get to share the bounty of other mid packages. It's actually 4 days ... 18 hrs...and 17 min's... but who's counting. As far as the Credit Union, they should have sent her a Debit card and a PIN number. I think all you have to do is call and activate the card and sign per the instructions. I'm sure the Acad. has her info for direct deposit. The spending money will come in handy when the go to Baltimore for a baseball game etc. Take care.</p>
<p>Yes, the cadre will go through the boxes and read the postcards so be careful. Nothing cute or cuddly (especially for girls).</p>
<p>Mom's, you might want to check out the spas while you're in Annpolis for I-Day so you can make appointments for your girls during PPW. A little pampering wouldn't go amiss after Plebe Summer. Facials, massages and manicures go a long way.</p>
<p>OK..I am good on C. and D. above .. BUT.. Still wondering about these questions</p>
<p>A. I have 2 diff Priority Mail boxes from USPS. One is actually the new box they call SHOE BOX. The other is a Flat rate Box a little smaller than the "Shoe Box". Which is the better size? Not worried about the price right now.</p>
<p>B. Should I mail them at the same time or different days so that she wont be stuck with both boxes all at once? Does it matter how much mail they get?</p>
<p>P.S. HUDSON and FOUQUET Salon in Annapolis will do Haircut for free if you are doing Locks of Love!! :)</p>
<p>A. Send both, she'll probably save the best one to use during Alpha's</p>
<p>B. Send them on different days and it doesn't matter how much mail they get. Mind you, they don't get the chance to check their mail everyday anyway...they seem to pick it up in bunches</p>
<p>You can bet your last dollar that the USPS has analyzed this from everywhich way but up and that the two boxes represent the same number of cubic inches; if they aren't the same, they are close enough that you might be able to get one more peanut bar in one over the other.</p>
<p>If you mail them w/in the same week, it is very likely she will get them at the same time anyway. Or, about five days apart.</p>
<p>Just send away to your heart's content; she won't look at or eat everything anyway. I think Son still has unopened plebe summer letters.</p>
<p>For the past two years my mid has gone to Hudson & Fouquet because they're within walking distance and her stylist is good. That being said, speed isn't in their vocabulary because they often work on more than one client at a time. Allow 2-3 hours for cut, blow & dry. Also, their prices are in the stratosphere--even more than fancy salons in Orange County. We have a pet name for this salon: Hudson & F***you. No military discounts or fast work for busy mids either.</p>
<p>
[quote]
. I have 2 diff Priority Mail boxes from USPS. One is actually the new box they call SHOE BOX. The other is a Flat rate Box a little smaller than the "Shoe Box". Which is the better size? Not worried about the price right now.</p>
<p>B. Should I mail them at the same time or different days so that she wont be stuck with both boxes all at once? Does it matter how much mail they get?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>one box is not better/worse than the other....just depends on what you are packing, and what fits better in which....
kept a supply of both at home (used the shoe box ones early on because they fit the plastic rubbermaid containers- which were used to store things going forward)- and the flat boxes after that.... seemed to fit things better....</p>
<p>they both cost the same thing at the post office, regardless of weight....so the joke was to see how much I could pack into each one sent..... it is definatly an acquired skill! :)</p>
<p>as for when to send.... again, doesn't really matter-
they don't get delivered upon arrival- so when they are distributed, chances are there will be several for you mid to carry! </p>
<p>don't forget to send lots of hugs and kisses!</p>
<p>usna09.. HA HA! We had a laugh about name too. We heard it was quite nice and the manager was fabulous on the phone. And who can beat the price of FREE :) I am guessing it will be the last time Lola goes there if they are pricey. </p>
<p>navy2010/. I have already started on my cards and letters.. now all i need is the address come I-Day</p>
<p>Bill is probably right about cubic inches, but I often found I could get more in the shirt box. If they're heavy packages I reinforce them with packaging tape--it's fun to see the postal clerks' reaction to the heavy weight of the packages--they feel like they're filled with gold bullion!</p>
<p>mom2lola- definately keep the cards and letters coming....
one suggestion is to number them on the outside corner of the envelope so that they can be opened "in order"..... had a few good laughs from information read out-of-sync....</p>
<p>usna09mom- you are so right!!! Can't tell you how many times the postal clerk stood there shaking the boxes trying to "guess" what was inside! What is sad is just how fast you get to be on a first-name basis with every postal clerk in a 20-mile radius!!! </p>
<p>I kept sending them stuffed to the gills.....worried that the postal service would come to the realization at any moment that they were losing money on the deal!! </p>
<p>One suggestion for the 2011 parents....if you can, send along a duplicate "care package" to the chaplins office, for mids who do not receive anything from home.... there were several last year, and the parents on CC all got together to "adopt a company".... so each one sent a care package to a "mid of alpha, bravo, charlie, delta....etc"....c/o the chaplins office.... in our campaign of "no plebe left behind"......
The parents did a good job, as before long the request came that the chaplins office had more than enough to go around- it was a good feeling shared by all!</p>
<p>All of the talk on care packages really brings back some memories and makes me chuckle. As with all of you, I planned, packed and shipped almost constantly. Other family members did as well. During one of our precious phone calls, my son said "Please stop sending packages.....I don't have anymore room!". We still laugh about that one. The Shout Wipes or Tide Pen or something similar are very helpful, along with snacks, etc. My son said that oftentimes he was so tired at night that he did not have the time or energy to pull out a snack. The one thing that seemed to be helpful was to create a form letter and send it with a self-addressed stamped envelope. I would include questions like "Please send more of the following: ____ gatorade ____ granola bars _____ etc" and have my son simply check the appropriate spaces and send it back. I would also include a question or two about things that he had done so far. Never provided a blank for a negative response. :) This way, he could literally take about 30 seconds to send us a quick note to tell us what he needed. Wow....that was 3 years ago and now he is returning home today from one of his summer training blocks. Now we spend a lot more time talking about career choices, etc and are planning with our family for next year's graduation. It goes very fast! Hang on....it is a wild ride!!!</p>
<p>We have a hard plastic Tupperware type container, slightly larger than a shoebox all packed to be mailed before we leave the academy as recommended.</p>
<p>1) Where is the post office? On the yard or in town?</p>
<p>2) Do we need to put it in a cardboard box or does the post office have one we can put it in, envelope style?</p>
<p>3) We are sending cleaning supplies of all kinds, power bars, maglite, dried fruit and a letter or two. Which I know need to be generic because they will be read.</p>
<p>Just a little post office silly: We live in a very small town, with only one post office. The clerk actually wrote our son's address down when I was in there once during Plebe summer because the swim team kids kept coming in to send packages without all different formats, zipcodes, etc. It is still on the side of her cubicle after 3 years! I guess I'll have to remind her when he graduates. That or give her his new address! </p>
<p>No matter what you send, it will be greatly appreciated. Our son said that it was the package itself, not the contents, that mattered most. I'll have to test that theory and send him something like a box full of styrofoam peanuts. But that would just be mean! :)</p>
<p>Enjoy I-Day and have a great Plebe Summer, '11 parents! You are entering the rollercoaster! Keep hands and feet inside until the ride comes to a complete stop...</p>