<p>kajon: So sorry to hear about your loving dog. {{HUGS}}…What a sweet gift for your S to help him remember his “best bud.”</p>
<p>vballmom: Welcome back!</p>
<p>T_c: Have a FABULOUS trip! Safe travels and can’t wait to hear about it when you return. Enjoy the time with your family. :)</p>
<p>:cool: 
</p>
<p>I hope everyone and his/her respective dog is okay! I don’t have any pets myself (my mom is allergic), but I do love dogs, and it’s very sad to hear about dogs in trouble. </p>
<p>Welcome to all the new members! It’s great to have you guys 
</p>
<p>t_c: Have fun! It sounds like a great trip, and we’ll miss you here while you’re gone 
</p>
<p>RobD - you mentioned this a few pages back, but I’m pretty sure Keilexandra had an interest in linguistics. </p>
<p>I’m really excited to go shopping for dorm stuff! I think the most important thing I’ve read on CC is to keep it minimal, so I’m really trying not to buy too much stuff. But I need at least a few things…
I was alarmed to find out last night that there is no Container Store in Pittsburgh (the horror!) My mom was considerably less alarmed. The Container Store is somewhat expensive, but every year they always have the nicest dorm stuff, and I want to at least look at it… I also want to make a voyage to Target, but they do have that in Pittsburgh - I’m trying to buy what I can there as opposed to dragging it on a plane.</p>
<p>t_c - Have a wonderful trip. Maybe we’ll get photos later?</p>
<p>Kajon - So sorry to hear about Charlie. Hugs to you and your S.</p>
<p>vballmom -
Congrats on your son attending University of the Redlands - just returned from a week there accompanying S for a seminar of his and for some west coast touring time for me. What a gorgeous campus! I was so impressed by the landscaping and attention to detail with the maintenance of the campus. Being a visual artist - it was a real treat for the eyes! Trombone professor there is very talented, with some very nice music spaces.</p>
<p>CaliD: Sorry about the Container Store! We love their stuff too. Though there are a few BB&Bs near CMU (see BB&B website), so that if you do the shopping at one near home through their registry, you can pick up at one near CMU when you get there to reduce your schlepping on the plane. It worked out wonderfully for us when my son began his freshman year.</p>
<p>Welcome again, to all our new posters. </p>
<p>Kajon - so sorry to hear about your dog. So sad. I’m sure your S will appreciate your thoughtful gift which will remind him of his beloved best friend.</p>
<p>BUandBC - so glad your pup is home. I know worried you must have been last night.</p>
<p>t_c - wishing you safe travels! Have a great time and take lots of pics - maybe even some you can share with us. :)</p>
<p>CalD - good luck with your shopping. Will you try ordering stuff at BB&B and picking it up at a store in Pittsburgh? Many people recommend that, and while we won’t be doing it that way, an arrangement like that might work out great for you.</p>
<p>ETA - I see KS and I crossposted with the same idea.</p>
<p>LIMOM: :)</p>
<p>Hope all are having a great day!</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>Ha ha, our rug is really heavy duty and we vacuumed it about once a week. Yes, we are very neurotic. I once vacuumed up a tissue by mistake with the Dirt Devil and the whole thing started smoking! Good times. ; )</p>
<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>My S will be attending the U of Chicago this fall and will probably be working much harder than he ever has before. I’m a little nervous about that.</p>
<p>This thread looks like a wonderful resource full of helpful parents. Looking forward to following along as much as I can. (You guys are hard to keep up with!!)</p>
<p>I haven’t even started planning for dorm necessities and the drop-off trip, so I need to get going on all that. And the Thanksgiving air tickets, too. Oh, can’t forget a few tuition payments that need to be made soon . . .</p>
<p>welcome payfor and congrats to your son!! you reminded me that i needed to check my son’s account for payment dates…so far no info in his account</p>
<p>Kajon, I’m sorry for the loss of your dog. They are such an important part of our families, aren’t they?</p>
<p>ks/LIMOMOF2- thanks for the BB&B suggestion! I have heard great reviews about it (on CC of course!), so I have definitely been thinking about doing it. The BB&B nearest me always seems pretty small/slightly run down when I go there, so I’m considering going to a different BB&B and taking a look around. </p>
<p>kajon - I forgot to mention earlier that I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your dog.</p>
<p>Edit - hey, I’m a senior member! I think my last post on this thread made it official, but I didn’t notice until now :)</p>
<p>Welcome to the new posters. As a long time lurker and relatively recent poster, I can assure you that you will be welcome here, and that it is a good place to be.</p>
<p>Kajon, sorry to hear about your dog.
BUandBC, glad that your dog has been returned in good condition.
DB, still waiting for news of Batman.</p>
<p>Congrats on being a senior member CaliD! And a big WELCOME to all the new posters!! We are having a busy weekend this weekend, my best friend’s 8 year old autistic daughter spent the night last night, we are going to a party for some other friends tonight, then fireworks with family tomorrow. Phew! I am glad I got Monday off to recuperate.</p>
<p>My D is going to the University of Redlands next weekend for a week long program called Summer Bridge, it is a free program for upcoming freshman who are 1st generation college students. I am not sure what they will be doing but she is excited about the trip. </p>
<p>1sttimemom - I already received approval for my parent loan, and I am positive that you are only supposed to take out enough for one year at a time. The hardest part was estimating the amount of my loan…I tried to round up by a few hundred dollars because the financial aid office said you only had to actually take what you needed, and it is harder to get approved for more. This way if you need less money you just accept the loan for the actual amount you need…hopefully it will work out that way!</p>
<p>Shopping - we have only bought a few things as we have come across them, and I am determined to go on Monday for a trip to BBB & Target to get some things on the list I made. D keeps vetoing things on my list, saying she would rather have less than more. I guess with her being only 15 minutes from home she feels confident that if she finds she does need something she can just ask us for it and we can bring it to her…</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>Welcome to all the newer thread members! And a special shout out to tboneparent, who I sent a PM to since her S is also NU bound, just like mine and one of momof3sons twin sons.</p>
<p>I’m sad to hear the dog stories. Kajon, I understand your thoughts about making the decision now. We had to put our Basenji down while S was in 5th grade and away for a student exchange in Mexico, so we had to relive the tears and all another time when he returned. We’d stopped at the Home Depot on the way back from the airport when S asked about her, so I’m sure the other shoppers wondered what was going on. Sigh!</p>
<p>Oh, I waited until now in hopes that we’d hear an encouraging word about Batman! Fingers and toes are crossed. Thank goodness for BUandBC82 that your dog is no worse for the wear.</p>
<p>CaliD, oh, the Container Store can be dangerous to the pocketbook but if you need something container wise/organizer wise and they don’t have it, does it really exist? There’s a huge Container Store here at the Century City mall that I hopped in to a few times, while purchasing and getting S’s grad present Apple laptop all set to go.</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>Kajon, I’m so sorry to read about your sweet Charlie. </p>
<p>acm and PAO, I’m sending you my cyber {{hugs}}</p>
<p>Welcome to all the new posters!! :)</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you for the positive thoughts for Batman. It looks like he’s going to be OK. He was at the vet until 7PM last night as he had xrays all day to see if the barium would make it from his stomach to his colon. It did. He went back one more time this morning for a final check. </p>
<p>The xrays clearly show something is choosing to remain in the stomach, but at this time it’s not a blockage. Vet apologized for not having an endoscope so she could go in and see what it is. Might be wad of grass. Or stuffing from a toy. Or remains of of an animal. ewww. Ironically, the vet doesn’t know for sure if the “foreign body” is what caused his belly to bulge/distend. As one final possibility, it might have been caused by a new bag of food. (Same brand as alwasy, just a new bag.)</p>
<p>So, he’s on an Rx diet for the next few days and we have to watch him for a variety of symptoms, but he’s getting better. </p>
<p>Thanks again for all the concern and good thoughts. You guys are the best. :)</p>
<p>GREAT NEWS Doug Betsy! We have been so worried about Batman! :)</p>
<p>oh thank goodness!!! will have to tell my son too! </p>
<p>now that he is fine, i can post… that our bulldog had those same symptoms (few years ago), took him to the vet and his intestine was twisted, he didnt make it through the surgery… so while i kept refreshing to see if there was any news, i was really worried.</p>
<p>DougBetsy: Sounds like good news for Batman! Hope he continues to get better. Thanks for letting us know.</p>
<p>CaliD: CONGRATS on your Senior status! One senior year ends and another begins. ;)</p>
<p>missem: Best to your D for her upcoming visit to Redlands next weekend. Sounds like a nice way to help with the transition. How nice that she’s so excited. I’m sure she will love it. </p>
<p>Welcome PayFor and Congrats to your S! Nice to have you aboard. As aliceinw said, “it’s a good place to be.”</p>
<p>ETA: parent56: sorry to hear about your dog…</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>Oh that’s great news, DB. I’m so relieved.</p>
<p>welcome to all the new posters!</p>