<p>FAP, thanks for thinking about CA state employees. It’s crazy here and the sad part is that is not helping, the State may end up paying more in penalties and fines that any savings realized. But in the meantime, I know many people who are hurting and at risk of losing their houses.</p>
<p>Welcome Colorado Mom! I’m looking forward to the next two months getting the kids ready for college! I still can’t believe they’re on their way!</p>
<p>good morning all. coffee’s ready - help yourselves.</p>
<p>Although I technically have the day off, I’m starting with an 8 AM conference call. Hoping for a quiet day after it’s done.</p>
<p>Good morning! Thanks for the coffee, alice. A much-needed pick-me-up after my late night. No, I wasn’t out partying - crazy new neighbors were shooting off fireworks while I was trying to get some sleep (it was about 1 A.M.). </p>
<p>I’m very impressed by the kids who are continuing their studies into the summer. My kids are not! In the past, D’s always been pretty overloaded with AP summer work, plus projects of her own - but not this year! She’s definitely enjoying her free time. S, and entering h.s. freshman, probably has a summer reading assignment, but so far, he hasn’t mentioned it. Not surprised.</p>
<p>Still no shopping going on here, though we will be ordering the laptop any day now. Not sure when D and I will get around to shopping for the other stuff. She doesn’t seem to be that motivated. Shocking, as she normally loves to shop.</p>
<p>Wishing you all a great day.</p>
<p>Good morning!</p>
<p>No dorm shopping done here yet. My MIL made my son a quilt for his dorm room. I haven’t seen it yet. It’s a log cabin pattern using a couple shades of blue and black. The underside is all blue with the UNC insigna. He’ll get it when we go to visit in a couple of weeks. I hope he likes it. We figure if he’s not sure about it yet, he can leave it on his bed at home until he appreciates it. I know she made it masculine and, seeing he’s a guy, we’re assuming it doesn’t need to match his roommate’s.</p>
<p>BT, I’m happy you have your daughter home! Enjoy!</p>
<p>Welcome colorado mom.</p>
<p>We don’t have any dorm shopping, S is just bringing all the stuff he used the last 4 years at BS. He washed his blankets, sheets, and towels and repacked them in Rubbermaid bins all ready for August. He has lamps, underbed storage, extra shelves, a fridge, trash can etc…He accumulated so much over 4 years he is not planning to take it all. The last 2 years at school he was a prefect so he had larger rooms. He had a sofa and an armchair. The chair he gave away, but the newer Ikea sofa he brought home. The sofa is definitely not going down to Va! At least not until he gets he gets an apartment. He went out and bought his own computer with his graduation gifts, so that’s taken care of. He needs a few new pairs of dress khakis and maybe new loafers. I gave him a clothing bugdet and he will shop up to that amount on his credit card. Anything over that amount he pays for himself. </p>
<p>I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and holiday celebrations. Our town has one of the largest fireworks displays in NJ, on the 3rd of July, we had friends over for dinner and viewng! We saw more fireworks yesterday off my in-laws dock and now we are partied out! I think I’ll sit on the beach for a few hours today and just read.</p>
<p>Morning folks!</p>
<p>Hope everyone enjoyed the fireworks!</p>
<p>Austinmtmom: Thanks! :)</p>
<p>Psychmom: Thanks for the shopping wishes as well and hope your kids enjoyed the Yankee game! Maybe they brought some luck for that great walk-off win! :)</p>
<p>RobD: Enjoy your shopping trip with D today! May you have much success and coupon coups!</p>
<p>Learninginprog: YAY for your S selecting his laptop! I’m sure he got exactly what he wants and needs! And in my limited experience, boys seem much less interested in dorm shopping than girls. Comparing my own S and D….not even close!</p>
<p>BT: I’m so glad you have your sweet daughter home and are enjoying your time and HUGS! Thanks also for the good shopping thoughts. We had a great time, despite the crowds and heat. D was able to get some dorm things, though mostly focused on shoes!<br>
Advice for your visit to the mall today? Just go early and stay 
And remember to use your coupons. ;)</p>
<p>CaliD: Hope your driving practice went well. Enjoy the fair and fireworks tonight. Sounds like fun!</p>
<p>Coloradomom: Welcome and BEST to your S on his Northeastern journey. </p>
<p>Aliceinw: Nice to have shopping lists! And thanks for the added fireworks. Austinmtmom taught you well. And thanks for the morning java! Hope you get to have a quiet day after your call.</p>
<p>LIMOM: Sorry to hear about your “crazy” new neighbors. Hope you were able to get some rest…Not much studying going on here either, though D is getting to enjoy a lot of pleasure reading. Glad your D is enjoying her free time as well.</p>
<p>BUandBC: How thoughtful and sweet of your MIL to make your S a quilt. It sounds wonderful. Hope he likes it!</p>
<p>Jackie: Hope you enjoyed your Cape trip and that your D has a good day at camp today.</p>
<p>We are off to do a bit more visiting to a mall today! Not much else going on except sunshine and relaxation.</p>
<p>Wishing all a wonderful extended holiday if you are off from work.</p>
<p>Have a great one all!</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>ETA: acm: Sounds like your S is good to go! Sounds like wonderful fireworks celebrations. I’m sure your guests were thrilled. Enjoy your day on the beach with a good book. :)</p>
<p>good morning. I don’t have anything meaningful to post today. Just thanks again for all the Bat-love. :)</p>
<p>DB: “Bat-love” is very meaningful. Enjoy and I hope he is continuing to improve.</p>
<p>Good Morning All
Just a chime in about dorm shopping… The first year my S was at boarding school I went crazy buying all sorts of cool dorm room things (he could have cared less). This is what I learned:
- a first aid kit, bandaids, neosporin, tylenol, advil, cold meds is priceless. DS went through bandaids like crazy and apparently he was the only one on his floor to have them so I think we “bandaided” half his dorm. And in a dorm of boys you can only imagine what types of injuries their rough housing led to!
- 3M removeable sticky hooks, sticky things to hang posters and the like were also well used
- a screwdriver that came with multiple types of ends was well used
- an octopus looking thing was essentially a long extension cord with multiple plug in places (I know I am not describing this well)
- we bought cheap egg crate bed foam and matteress covers each year at Target and just threw the old ones out. Not worth cleaning, packing or shipping for the $20 they cost in the first place
-one of those plastic bins that has the drawers in it was very usefull. It doubled as a bedside table and as extra storage - pop up laundry bin was used
- desk lamp was used
- mini frig was used
- a small fan was used every day, even in the dead of winter
- disposable plastic cutlery, cups and plates. Why wash dishes! This is a boy thing</p>
<p>Things that were NEVER used:
- extra sheet sets
- swiffers or any other cleaning product
- mini vaccume never even left the box
- beds were adjustable so the bed risers were never used</p>
<p>I am sure there is much more. I should have written this after packing up his dorm room after graduation. I could not believe all the stuff!</p>
<p>good morning all!!! great list cecil…and about the same as my son’s for boarding school… was kind of gross seeing that extra set of sheets still in package after a year LOL</p>
<p>parent56, thank you so much for the beautiful poem. We have 2 other dogs, but it is just so darn quiet around here without Charlie. He was the one who always “alerted” me whenever there was a squirrel in the yard. This morning I broke down in tears because I grabbed all three leashes to take the dogs out and then remembered…I only need two.</p>
<p>As for college bedding. S1 does not use a top sheet, so I need to find a comforter that is a) soft and b) can fit easily into the washing machine. I love the twin xl’s from The Company Store, but I guess he wants a true red or a gray and they have more tropical colors.</p>
<p>My biggest issue will be the rug. He says he doesn’t want his feet to touch the disgusting dorm room floors. I was thinking about getting those carpet squares because they would be much easier to transport. Anyone ever used them?</p>
<p>good morning to all! Especially Batman, glad he is on the road to recovery. He is one of our “forum babies” since DB got him during the 2010 thread. Reading through the pages waiting to get to the update on him, it reminded me of how Pixar puts the names of all the babies of all the workers who were born during the making of the film into the credits.</p>
<p>Welcome to all the new posters- PayFor- my D is headed to Chicago this fall also, not sure what she plans to study something humanities focused, she put BJ down as her first choice dorm option. She is away for the summer so I worry that important things are posted on the mychicago web area that I can’t helicopter and check for her.</p>
<p>I enjoyed a wonderful albeit short weekend on Cape Cod. There was no traffic down on Fri night or home last night making the trip very enjoyable. Got through Boston before dark so didn’t have to deal with people slowing down on the highway to watch the fireworks, had that happen one year. I packed up my laptop but left it at home! which is why I wasn’t checking in. D2 had her ipod touch but I didn’t ask her to borrow it for a fix. Nice weekend disconnected, two nice days on the beach. One of the recappers (BT?) asked about the sharks, well usually we do watch Jaws over this weekend but didn’t bring that down either. The sharks spotted so far this year are out a bit from where we were, and there haven’t been any beach closings this year. Last year they did close some beaches in Chatham where the sharks were munching in the seal colonies. We usually go to West Dennis Beach, we do have a boat and have gone out to the seal areas off Chatham but usually go in the bay. Whales have come in and beached on the bayside beaches but sharks don’t usually go in too far there. So no sharks encounters for us :)</p>
<p>I’m not sure if we’ll get a mattress topper for D1. To people get twin size or do XL exist? She spends the summer on a camp cot and doesn’t complain, so maybe this isn’t important to her. I think I would go for the $99 BB one mentioned between the $20 egg crate (because I personally do not prefer the egg crates, maybe she would) or the $350 one mentioned. </p>
<p>eta (thanks Kajon) Also need to figure out a carpet. Without knowing the room dimensions, not sure what to do. When I went to college we bought a remnant from someone selling them on move-in day. All we would need is a remnant, and we will be driving so could pick it up here. I guess I could ask the carpet stores, don’t want to overpay. Maybe I can go hang around local colleges and try to pick one up before we leave.</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>Ah, the rug. How could I forget. We saw one at Lowe’s when S was in 9th grade at boarding school. It was about 5x7’ and was a pirate map. Obviously made for a much younger kid - or so I thought! DS fell in love with it and it has been a fixutre in his dorm ever since. He INSISTED on bringing it home with him. We actually had to carefully lay it on the driveway and power wash it with dishsoap and the hose. It is clean (more or less) and will be going to college.</p>
<p>A pirate map. Who knew!</p>
<p>The post by cecil on what was used at boarding school could have been written by me - same experience (maybe it’s a boy thing). Anyway, only thing I would add would be a digital thermometer to the first aid kit. S came down with H1N1 flu last year and couldn’t decide if he should go to the health center; I asked him if he had a fever and he said “how should I know?” He took one back to school with him after that. It’s small and may not be used much (or at all) but it’s good to have one when you do need it.</p>
<p>I do recall finding the twin XL egg crate mattress pads (I think at Target?) at back to school time (they don’t always carry them). And I agree with just tossing them at the end of the year, although one year we used it as cushioning to wrap his flat screen computer monitor in to transport home.</p>
<p>hugs Kajon!!!</p>
<p>sent rug 1st year…so gross by the end…never sent another.</p>
<p>Morning all!! Happy Monday!</p>
<p>Coloradomom - Welcome!! CONGRATS to your S on Northeastern.</p>
<p>aliceinw - Awesome job with the fireworks!!</p>
<p>BUandBC - That quilt sounds beautiful. What a wonderful gift.</p>
<p>BT - Hope you are enjoying your time with your D! And camp was definitely a 10!! The show was really good and the parents all loved it.</p>
<p>cecil - Thanks for the list. We are almost done with the shopping. I held off on buying a few things because I am having fun shopping with D so this way we have to go do some more ;)</p>
<p>jackief - Sounds like a fabulous weekend! Glad the sharks stayed away for you!</p>
<p>ks - Have fun shopping and more fun relaxing!</p>
<p>Today is the first day of rehearsals for Cabaret! D is super excited. Since it is summer stock she will perform in one show and tech the other, which is Sweet Charity. She is hoping for props crew again so I am keeping my fingers crossed for her.</p>
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<p>Not being one to stick around for movie credits (and you’d think I’d know better, living in the LA region), I find this tradition of Pixar way cool!</p>
<p>Our back yard has a view towards downtown LA. Last night, I saw more fireworks than I ever have from that vantage point. Many had to have been illegal (e.g. not a sanctioned fireworks show) but I gather all is well this AM, as I haven’t heard of news reports of fires. Oh, but our dogs Conroy and Buffy were barking to beat the band. This went on for about the fifteen minutes or so of the greatest fireworks set offs. They look exhausted at the end and just flopped out and went to sleep, LOL</p>
<p>:cool: 
</p>
<p>welcome coloradomom!!! </p>
<p>austinmtmom… sounds wonderful for your D</p>
<p>jackief… i watched the Boston fireworks on tv!</p>
<p>LIMom, S2 is getting bored since he’s not getting enough hours at work, which is one of the main reasons for starting on the language stuff now. We also want to get the laptop soon so he can get comfortable with it and he can teach us how to Skype. :)</p>
<p>If anyone knows where to find XL Twin mattress covers, please share! Have not been finding anything in the stores or online.</p>
<p>Am sending S2 off with Chinet plates and plastic utensils. It may not be green, but it’s better than having green stuff growing in his room! :P</p>