<p>Has anyone seen a stork around these parts? I’ll pour some coffee - maybe that will bring him in.</p>
<p>No real news here.</p>
<p>@Youdon’tsay - it’s a bit strange, isn’t it, having a kid with a job that provides benefits? S1 signed up for his company’s 401K plan. They also offer good health benefits but we told him he could stay on ours until he was 26. </p>
<p>Our older son has more in his checking account than we do. Now that’s strange!</p>
<p>Yay for getting kids off the dole! </p>
<p>I have news–new grandson was born this morning! Mom & baby are doing fine. They won’t announce the name until the bris. To get even, I have decided to guess as many weird names as I can think of. :D</p>
<p>I may stay longer than DH & S, and fly back from Portland later. This means DH will have to help S move onto campus. He wanted to know if S could just move himself in. No, my baby cannot move himself onto campus for the last time ever! Gee whiz, have a heart! We’d have to go pick up the car anyway. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Congrats!</p>
<p>Mazal Tov, momannoyed! </p>
<p>Congratulations Momannoyed!! </p>
<p>S2 started his new program and started a new internship. He is happy, so I am happy. S3 goes back to school in a week. We stopped his stuff off on our way to vacation, do he will fly up on his own. I feel a little guilty not moving him in, but since he is moving into a frat house probably it is for the best. Ignorance is bliss. </p>
<p>Congratulations on the new arrival, Momannoyed. You need to change your screen name to Happygrandmom. Is there a male version of “Rumpelstilzkin?”</p>
<p>tx5: yes, when it comes to frat houses, ignorance is definitely bliss. I’m still traumatized from moving S3 out of his house after graduation in May. Good luck to your S2 in his new program.</p>
<p>bestfriendsgirl: sorry to hear about your S1’s car being totaled. Did he find another vehicle?</p>
<p>GSharp: inquiring minds want to know if you prefer lobstah & blueberries, or sweet tea & Smithfield ham? Or are you enjoying thin crust NYC pizza? Congrats to your D2 on the job & the apartment.</p>
<p>LOL Totally forgot about Rumpelstilztkin!</p>
<p>I want to see if these work the same way as on Facebook: (^^^) <(") Should be a shark and a penguin.</p>
<p>Edit: Darn, they don’t!</p>
<p>congrats on the grandbaby momannoyed!!!</p>
<p>Yes G# I am still here, at least for now, new job starts on Monday.
Congrats to your D, mathmom’s S, and others I’ve missed for new jobs/internships, next chapters!</p>
<p>Maine blueberries (and lobsters) are the best. </p>
<p>D started her next chapter. I drove with her to grad college town and left an old car of ours with her for at least the fall. I flew back and did think of G# when I was in ATL and then I rerouted myself home through MDW to get home earlier than original plan and also eastern storm avoidance.</p>
<p>She had proficiency tests, met her advisor, met the prof for the class she is TA-ing. Some missteps were NBD, she forgot her SS card at home and her bike lock key, DH mailed them. She hadn’t been checking her school email but there are only 10 in her cohort so she isn’t in some bureaucratic quagmire. The dept office seemed very on top of things up till now so I’m sure that helps.</p>
<p>Posting from home today since I decided to come home early this week!</p>
<p>Momannoyed – Of course, I extend my congratulations to you on your new-found opportunity to spoil someone (better you than me 
). However, I must extend my extreme disappointment that days later, I still do not see a “Grandparents of the HS Class of 2032 and Beyond!” forum featuring where to find BB&B 25% Off coupons that are good until 2033.</p>
<p>AliceinW – Niagra Falls… check! Burma… check!</p>
<p>Bestfriendsgirl – Sorry to hear about the Buick’s untimely demise. You are right, it is always something!</p>
<p>
D2 sent me her summary benefits and they are pretty good for a new hire… paid health/dental/vision insurance, 401K, and the one that most people find amazing… 4 weeks vacation, 2 weeks sick leave, and 11 holidays. She also said the the view from the 30-something-th floor was nice.</p>
<p>YDS – So glad that DS made it all the way through the ultimate Happy Hour! DW and D2 have been having “the talk” this week too… finances, banking, safety, etc. I think that D2’s eyes may have stopped rolling by now. ;)</p>
<p>
A wise decision. One of my co-worker’s sons wouldn’t let mom anywhere near the frat house. ;)</p>
<p>12rmh18 – I thought of you as soon as I read tx5’s post. Maybe you could pass on some TV and pong table etiquette lessons. And to answer your question, in order…
Lobstah
Smithfield Ham (technically, Surry ham from Edward’s, just take the ferry over from Jamestown <a href=“http://www.edwardsvaham.com/”>http://www.edwardsvaham.com/</a>)
Maine Blueberries (not those crappy “High Bush” ones )
Sweet Tea (D2 will be seeking good Sweet Tea in NYC)</p>
<p>Jackief – Glad to see that you made it back safely. Best of luck to your D on her next chapter too!!! I guess you’ll be sitting with the cool Ruby, .NET, or ABAP kids on Monday, huh?</p>
<p>In dad’s news, my mother had a “visit” from my dad this week. Ok, actually it was a noise in the house from which she could not find the source, my brother could not figure out (over the phone), and she called an electrician who took a while to eventually figure out it was a radio that my dad had left on that was not fully on a channel, so was periodically producing static that sounded like an electrical short in the overhead wiring. Somewhere, dad’s smiling over that one. :)</p>
<p>DW had her B-Day this week… much to her chagrin. But, D2 wrote her an exceptionally nice note in a card. :)</p>
<p>D2 and I will be touching down in NYC tomorrow morning to get her started on her next chapter in her temporary apartment for August. Keeping repeating to myself… Sty-Vah-Sant. My primary role will be to get her started with a subway pass and some groceries. My secondary role is to take her to Serendipity for dinner/dessert. She is nervous, but luckily has a lot of friends from school in NYC. I tried to get DW to come with us, but she said that it would be best for her not to come this time as “all she would do is cry”… she is having a harder time with this than college as it means that her “baby” really is moving out. She thinks that she will be OK when we go back on 9/1 to get D2 moved into her final apartment which involves delivery of her bed and mattress. Have a wonderful weekend all… and wish me luck. ;)</p>
<p>GSharpe! great benefits for your DD!! She will do great.</p>
<p>G# I sooo relate to your DW it is very different then when they went to college.</p>
<p>Congrats to you and your family on the new addition, momannoyed!</p>
<p>Bestfriendsgirl - sorry about your S’s car.</p>
<p>GSharp - belated birthday wishes to your DW and all the best to your D2 as she starts her new job! I hope she loves living in Manhattan.</p>
<p>So, NYC pizza didn’t even make your list? Why is that? ;)</p>
<p>I’m not sure your D2 will find real sweet tea here in NY - unsweetened is more likely. Maybe at Justin Timberlake’s restaurant, Southern Hospitality?</p>
<p>We haven’t been to Serendipity since D was little, but my friends and I used to go there when we were in high school.</p>
<p>Sorry this move is harder for your DW to deal with - I get that, believe me!</p>
<p>@GsharpM7 - if your D@ is really desperate for sweet tea, she should try McDonald’s - Sugar water with a tea bag dipped into it a few times for a snap of flavor. It’s the real deal. And those benefits - wow! S1 only gets six paid holidays a year, but he works for a TV station which has to be staffed at all times. </p>
<p>G# that is good benefits. Looking forward to hearing how everyone does through the start of jobs/grad schools etc and we are not forgetting those in the beyond group. D has her first day of classes today.</p>
<p>G# I will let you know when I move my office closer to the cool kids. Right now I am doing cool training. At least sitting with my old group keeps the smiles going when I hear about the continued problems.</p>
<p>G# - good news about your D2. Hope she likes the temporary digs. </p>
<p>My big news is that S is HOME! 
D is still in Burma, heading to India on Friday. </p>
<p>Happy Tuesday to all. </p>
<p>Happy Tuesday to you as well. S1 is now the proud owner (with the bank) of a 2012 Chevy Cruze. His uncle, who is a total car guy, found it for him. He drove it, loved it and got a better deal than I ever thought he would. </p>
<p>Launch day is tomorrow for S2. He’s going to my, H’s and S1’s alma mater, so in some ways I feel as if I’m in a slightly updated version of the same movie. But some things are very different. This time, it’s not so much about him going away to college as it is him not being in high school anymore, if that makes any sense. I get twinges when I read about his HS on the sports page, or see school groups having carwashes or see kids I know who were behind him in school. And it’s only going to get worse as wrestling and lacrosse seasons start later in the year. That part of motherhood is over for me and I’m mourning it more than I am my youngest leaving the nest. Have any of you multiple-timers gone through this?</p>
<p>Good Morning! We had a great vacation, and now I am on about my 10th load of laundry. S2 did not join us because of his new grad school program, so he was in charge of keeping Dog Henry company. S3 goes back to school tomorrow. Even though he has been home since May, it seems like the summer just flew by. @Bestfriendsgirl I was where you are last year. Without all the school events to go to, my family might say I went a little crazy last year when #3 went off to college. I have never been a crafty person, but I became a “Modge Podge” queen, making all sorts of collages, photo cubes, etc… But by January I was back to my old self again. I started playing tennis again a couple nights a week, I went with my mom to musicals at the local preforming arts center, and eventually enjoyed the lack of stress of conflicting commitments, school lunches, keeping the refrigerator full, etc… </p>
<p>Morning, iPeeps!</p>
<p>Lots going on here. Ds1 started his job in earnest this week, beyond the two weeks of training. I find his work interesting, and I think it could make a real difference in kids’ lives. He has his first phone call with a client today to try to help her figure out how to get the FA she is owed. With an EFC of $0, he says, she should be eligible for the full Pell but isn’t getting it.</p>
<p>He also just got moved up to the A group of a local club team. That’s super-exciting. He was fine being on the B team, but the play is so much better on the A team, more like he’s used to. Also, he brought some (leggy, brunette) co-workers over for dinner one night. That was so fun! The bad thing, for me, about him going away to college is that I didn’t get to meet any of his friends. I like having already met three of his co-workers. And, ahem, one may be spending lots of time over here, but we’ll see how that develops. ;)</p>
<p>Ds2 leaves in four days, and I don’t know who is sadder – me or him. It’s been great this summer, having them both home. The three of us talked about it last night. Ds1 is sad to see ds2 go, too. And then they both complimented me on my parenting! WTH? I’m living the dream.</p>
<p>bfg, I still go to HS games even though the boys are gone. You should, too! I definitely was sadder saying goodbye to ds2 than I was ds1 (no offense, ds1) as, like you, part of his leaving was about what it meant for ME now, with an empty nest. The good news is it went really well. Dh and I found a new interest to share, and that’s really keeping him busy, moreso than me. But it’s nice to have found something we both really enjoy.</p>