<p>hi AJ!! </p>
<p>dont feel like a dork checkers… i have no idea how to make them either… and wouldnt even know where to start with hearts, and martini glasses and envelopes!!</p>
<p> 
</p>
<p>Hugs and prayers still coming your way, sewemma. </p>
<p>austinmtmom - The ‘news’ your mom got is very frustrating. I am continuing my prayers for her. Your wonderful support must be the best for her right now. {{HUGS}} I am so glad you enjoyed Lady Gaga. 
!</p>
<p>kindredspirit - I’m so glad you enjoyed the UPenn event. I won’t be needing any doughnuts this week… I am eating the rest of the Special K bars from the weekend. I am in a sugar/chocolate coma here. Since they have cereal in them, I am sure they are okay for breakfast? And lunch? And dinner? Help yourself! Thank you so much for your wise words about ‘summer seniors’ and ‘letting it out’. You are so sweet!</p>
<p>Good news, Lafalum84! I love refunds!</p>
<p>shillyshally - Hoping your daughter is having a good time at the beach. Your surprise trip to see a Red Sox game sounds great. Enjoy!</p>
<p>GSharpM7 - 
Thanks!</p>
<p>PAVenturer - More thanks!</p>
<p>mommusic - Glad you had a nice NYC vacation with your son.</p>
<p>mdemvizi - I am sorry you are in a single, but glad that you are near your ‘roommate’. {{HUGS}} WOW! What an amazing attitude you have - even though you are disappointed, you will always do well with your positive outlook. Somehow it is hard for me to believe that you are being a brat… Have a great trip to Florida.</p>
<p>Oh, DougBetsy - {{HUGS}} to you and your son. </p>
<p>LOL re: the Turkey Drop and the Christmas Eve Heave. </p>
<p>anothercrazymom - {{HUGS}} to you, too. And I’m glad the AC is back in working condition. :)</p>
<p>
Oh, so true! I, too, am asking our son to make up a list of all he needs to accomplish before he heads to school. I’m sure I will have to be ‘Bad Cop’ to get it accomplished. </p>
<p>RobD - LOL re: Maniac Week. I think that will be the case here, too. Luckily, our dear daughter has volunteered to do the clothes shopping with him.</p>
<p>aliceinw - Sending my good thoughts to your sister-in-law and to you. {{HUGS}}</p>
<p>somewhereinga - Thanks for the information. Our son thinks he will use his AP credits in English, History, and Government, but not those in Science and Math. </p>
<p>lilmom - You have me rolling! That is too funny.</p>
<p>Hooray for found wallets and cell phones, MaineLonghorn! I can’t imagine our son being without his phone for 24 hours…</p>
<p>Quick, zoosermom, grab one of those adorable toddler pictures of the your daughter and remember the early years… it always helps me. {{HUGS}} Remember, we’re here for you. Vent away.</p>
<p>missemily - I’m glad things are going well at your house. :)</p>
<p>teenage_cliche - I hope your puppy is better soon. LOL re: the Hall Monitor badge. </p>
<p>jc40 - Glad your vacation/orientation was successful. Our son made a ‘school pillow’ in junior high. I had to hold my breath so I didn’t laugh when he brought it home…</p>
<p>Woohoo, CaliforniaDancer! Congratulations on your new computer. That is what our son has, too. It is beautiful! </p>
<p>psychmom - 
Wonderful news! Thanks for that.</p>
<p>LIMOMOF2 - I hope you enjoyed lunch in the city! I hope that housing info arrives soon. I know our son’s is scheduled to arrive next week.</p>
<p>intouch1520 - I’m sorry your daughter did not take the opportunity to enjoy the lake and family time. {{HUGS}} to you and hoping the lost bedding arrives. That is so frustrating! </p>
<p>parent56 - Thanks for that post. It is important to hear what the kids are thinking. </p>
<p>
Um… today is lovely, but yesterday you could have fried an egg on the asphalt. Seriously, he will want a fan to keep the air circulating, but I think he will be okay. I’m glad that your friend’s procedures went well. Sending speedy recovery thoughts and prayers. BMOCC - You crack me up! </p>
<p>BengalMom - LOL re: World of Warcrack. We didn’t ‘allow’ our kids to have any of the ‘M’ video games when they were younger and our son never brought the subject up during his teen years. We knew he was playing them at friends’ houses, but he never had them at home. When he turned 18, he used his Best Buy gift cards to purchase Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Yikes! I said nothing (momof3sons taught me well) but when I see him playing XBox Live, it’s always sports - hockey, soccer, etc. I guess he isn’t getting his $59.99 worth. :)</p>
<p>showmom858 - That housing assignment actually sounds like the rooms our daughter had as an upperclassman. She loved living in the four and six person dorms. Wishing your daughter all the best!</p>
<p>Welcome, ajfischer! Congratulations to you and your daughter. University of Maryland is where ELY’s son is going. Where is ELY? I miss her.</p>
<p>
Do we have the same son? Re: the smilies, etc. Maybe this link will work for you? [College</a> Confidential - Smilies](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/misc.php?do=showsmilies]College”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/misc.php?do=showsmilies) I was a total rookie just six months ago! Good luck! I’m sending hugs to you and prayers for your friend. How thoughtful of you to bring them dinner. </p>
<p>I’m happy to report that my son is perfect for today. That’s because he’s 250+ miles away. He told me he had two rules for his 7th/8th grade campers this week - Keep the cabin clean and don’t sneak out at night. Then he said he’d be disappointed if they didn’t try to sneak out. LOL!</p>
<p>Staying !</p>
<p>BT: Just waving!! Apparently that supply of Special K Bars is working well. Your recap is awesome. Welcome back! (And now I have to go back and check a couple of things I don’t remember. 
)</p>
<p>Glad your S is enjoying his time at camp and hope the kids make his day with their sneak out plans. ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for the sunshine and smiles…</p>
<p>:cool: 
</p>
<p>I’ve been a recent lurker too. You all seem like old friends already!! My son is going to NU this fall and I have a HS junior daughter and a 7th grade son. There will be such a hole in the heart of our home when he leaves. Changes for him are new and exciting. Changes for us will be … strange and unsettling. But I’m also really excited for him too!</p>
<p>Welcome psychmomma! Congrats to your S!..I think many of us share similar feelings for ourselves and our D’s and S’s. Nice to have you! And you’ll feel like you’re with old friends in no time. :)</p>
<p>BT: D1 is doing the same, using all her english and history credits. Might??? have the option of using her biology credits (her engineering major suggests a biology course that is an odd course number that doesn’t correlate directly to the college’s published AP credit guide).</p>
<p>Currently she is signed up for 17 hours split between her music performance major, 2 classes for engineering, and 2 honors seminars. So she calls up today and asks my opinion on signing up for 1 more credit, a chamber music ensemble. and she was acting shocked when my answer was a resounding NO!!! At the end of the conversation she admitted that she knew what my opinion would be, but that it was hard to turn down an opportunity that she knew in many ways she’d enjoy. </p>
<p>I want her to get her feet wet without drowning and enjoy college. As it is, all of the music classes have way more contact hours than she is getting credit for. That 17 hours is actually 24.5 contact hours. Knowing that several of the classes shouldn’t be difficult for her is the only reason I am not overly concerned.</p>
<p>Ironic that we have to tell our kids to NOT overachieve and to try and enjoy life.</p>
<p>psychmomma:</p>
<p>Welcome, and join me and the other two posters (momof3sons and t-boneparent) who are sending sons to Northwestern. Looks like we are building a fair sized contingent now.</p>
<p>I discovered over the last few days that the chair of the math dept (where H is a faculty member) is suggesting NU as a good match for his D, while another faculty colleague is currently with his S touring the engineering schools at NU and Purdue.</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>hi psychmomma… congrats to your son!!</p>
<p>Welcome psychmomma! By NU are you referring to Northeastern or Northwestern? (or Nebraska?)</p>
<p>I have come up with a packing plan that D approves of. Instead of putting stuff in boxes, we have a ton of really nice shopping bags that we’ve collected over the years. Seriously, I’ve had luggage that wasn’t as sturdy as an Abercrombie shopping bag. My MIL used to send her sons to college packed in garbage bags, but I refuse to stoop to that. However, shopping bags are sturdy and fold away flat to either be kept at college or brought home. And they look respectable and smoosh easily in the car. And if one is torn… who cares? It’s a shopping bag! :D</p>
<p>D’s been good about doing everything except her summer reading book. She hates reading in general and summer reading in particular. Can this really be MY child? I’m a bookaholic!</p>
<p>Uh oh … I may have moved too fast on what NU is an abbreviation for and will await clarification from psychmomma. My bad for jumping the gun.</p>
<p>LOL, I may have “psyched” myself out here.</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Insert S for D and you’ve got our situation (although I don’t think S has any summer reading that I know of and the irony is that one of his volunteer summer jobs is in the HS library amongst all those books!)</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>Peeking back in to say hello and report that S2 recently said something along the lines of “gee, I should probably get some stuff together for college”. Miracles do happen! He actually doesn’t need much - just an X-long comforter and a hamper (he wants the standing kind with a laundry bag attached). I’ve looked online at comforters and see so many adorable ones for girls, but really nothing that S2 would deign to consider.</p>
<p>Move-in is exactly 4 weeks from today! He’s going to campus early for a 5-day outdoor trip that’s organized for freshman, with Orientation the following week.</p>
<p>S2’s roommate can bring a TV, for which we’re both grateful as I don’t have an extra one for S2 to bring and wasn’t crazy about buying one.</p>
<p>Having gone through this process with S1 last year, I’ve been much more mellow this year. Worst case there’s a BB&B in the college town; S2 can buy whatever he might need during orientation week.</p>
<p>I think my son is a little apprehensive about college, with most of his worries centering around his sport and how he’ll fit into the team. He hasn’t thought very much about his choice of classes yet, but I’ll talk to him more about his options over the next couple of weeks. I’m also assuming he’ll get good advising once he gets to campus. </p>
<p>He’s having a great summer, has won a couple of tournaments, is working hard on his sport and on his strength training, has totally revamped his diet to be very healthy, and is starting to go to yoga classes with me - well outside his comfort zone, for which I give him lots of credit. I think he’ll do fine in college, but of course it’s understandable for kids embarking on this huge new adventure to be nervous, as evidenced by all the stories here in this thread. </p>
<p>World of Warcrack is a bit of a sore subject here at our house as S1 was very caught up in it for a couple of years in high school. He basically “forgot” to do about 4 months of USHAP homework during that time. He continued to play during his first year of college, but scaled way back due to class and club commitments. This summer he hardly seems to be playing at all. It seems to me that it’s a highly addictive activity, one that is deliberately designed to pressure the players into putting more and more time into it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the recaps, BT, and hello to all the regulars and newbies.</p>
<p>Welcome AJ - I too have an 8th grade son and in true CC fashion I though to myself yesterday that next fall I should be on the lookout for the Parents of the Class of 2015 thread for him. Not that I want to rush the process! Just how CC is now in my everyday thought processes completely, LOL!</p>
<p>Hello- longtime lurker but first-time poster. My husband and I are getting ready to send our twin daughters off to college in a few short weeks. One will attend Hamilton College in upstate NY; the other is going to Wheaton College in Norton, MA. In addition to buying twice as much dorm stuff as we did for our older daughter (a rising senior at Trinity), we are dealing with double the emotional turmoil! I think that a large part of it is the anxiety of being separated from one another, although they would tell you that they’ll be glad to have their own space after 18 years of sharing the same house and small school. I’d love to hear from other parents of twins on this issue. On top of it all, my husband and I are facing an empty nest and we’re not sure how that is going to go…</p>
<p>I think my D has done her summer reading but I know she’s also planning on re-reading it before classes starts. She is not a reader at all but is usually diligent about school reading thankfully. Now my '13er D loves to read and is constantly with a book but drags her feet with any school reading - that kid is just like me in that regard!</p>
<p>World of Warcrack - argh! S2 is playing that. Thank goodness the computer is in our home office, because I finally noticed how much he’s been playing it. We’ve put a limit on it now. “Addicting” is the right word for it.</p>
<p>Hi Twinmama! I am the proud papa of twins who can’t wait to get away from each other! Our daughter is off to University of Richmond in a couple of weeks and our son will be staying local and living in our guest house. I am hoping that once they are separate they will become closer. It honestly has pained me that they just don’t get along. Our daughter is thrilled about leaving and is counting the days. She doesn’t seem to be having any emotional issues with leaving. We are confident that she will do fine. We told her that we will be devastated when we drive away from campus on August 19th but we will get over it by the time we hit I-95 (<10 mi). In reality, she is daddy’s little girl and I will have a harder time than my wife. My daughter is my tennis partner and my baseball fan. Our son just seems to be so ambivalent about the whole college thing. He doesn’t show emotion too much (takes after my wife). He is not as driven as his sister nor as focused on an end goal. He is an NHS student but couldn’t care less about accolades. We’re hoping the next two years help him find some direction in life.</p>
<p>My wife and I are looking forward to some “us time” and some long rides on the motorcycle. I know we are going to miss the kids as we see less and less of them but I don’t foresee any anxiety attacks or meltdowns.</p>
<p>World of Warcrack was a four letter word in our house. Thankfully it came and went in 8th grade, before HS. He’s since taken up Magic Cards but at least that’s interactive, face to face, with other people. He seems to enjoy it like older adults might enjoy bridge, so no concerns here.</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>Thanks for your reply, PAVenturer. I wonder if your experience is different than mine because you have a son and a daughter, rather than 2 daughters. Our girls are quite dependent on one another emotionally, although they do get on each other’s nerves at times! I think time apart will be good for both of them, but I’m sure it will be a difficult transition as well. We’ll have to see how it goes. They will be 4 1/2 hours away from each other, so I’m sure they’ll rely on e-mail, Facebook and Skype, especially to get through the first few weeks apart. Technology can be a wonderful thing!</p>
<p>OK, now I’m getting irritated with D. She’s working 8:30 - 2 or 4:30 every day this week. But after work:
Monday - out to dinner with local kids who are going to Elon
Tues - home
Wed - going with BF to see a sports event
Thurs - going to BF’s house “to help his family eat the fish he caught last weekend.”
Fri - Sunday - going camping with BF and 11 other friends (total 7 guys, 5 girls).<br>
Next weekend - going with BF to my in-law’s in NJ, including a day trip to 6 Flags and tickets to a Red Sox/Yankee game (the game was D’s grad present). I want H & me to go with them, partly because I don’t like the kids driving 3 1/2 hours there on their own. S is staying home because he has to work, and I don’t think H wants to go. So I don’t know if we’re going or not. It’s our anniversary that weekend, too.</p>
<p>See a pattern here? I do. What I don’t see is my child in my house, and she’s leaving us in less than a month. <strong>sigh</strong> If I make her stay home, she’ll just be resentful. She’s working, her room is clean, most of her stuff for college has been purchased, so I have no reason to keep her here. </p>
<p>What really worries me is that it’s going to be the same way during the few days she’s home from college. I’m paying for the plane tickets for her to come home, but I doubt I’ll see much of her - she’ll be hanging with her BF at his nearby college. </p>
<p>Guess I need to suck it up and get my OWN life? :rolleyes:</p>