<p>^^^LOL. Yeah EXACTLY that.</p>
<p>Weetbixmum so you didn’t pack any vegmite? How about Timtams?! Thanks for thinking of us in the London riots To answer Fogfogs question, there wasnt a cause as such. The police shooting of a suspect might have been an initial spark but events quickly spiralled far beyond that. S is finally turning his attention towards packing as his friends are heading Stateside. He also has many Canadian friends and was impressed when I told him I knew someone (ShawD) attending Queens where one of his best friends from England is also heading.</p>
<p>As usual, I am trying to catch up after being away…it seems like so many are on their way! In this house, the conversation regarding packing generally goes something like:</p>
<p>S: Mom, should we start packing?
Me: Um, yes, in a few days.</p>
<p>A few days later…</p>
<p>S: Mom,we really should start packing.
Me: We’ll get to it later!</p>
<p>I think I’m not ready to let go…</p>
<p>Exactly Missypie…!!
What if for a marriage app at a church or something–she needs that date!!</p>
<p>I have had to salvage some stuff from a cleanout done the last week of May right around graduation…and I pulled Congratulations cards from grandparents and relatives during todays dleanout–as those cards came from a big award ceremony!</p>
<p>Truly glad kiddo isn’t a pack-rat–and at the same time there are things I wish kiddo were a bit more sentimental about—</p>
<p>Part of this comes from our living abroad and traveling alot–My kids learned that the house and stuff didn’t make a home and that we were happy with little even if all we had was one room and a shared bath with another family. Kiddo is super flexible and easy going, and yet being a little sentimental over a photo or card would be ok. So far I dont think there is any plan for memorabilia in the packing scenario. I made a suggestion about a cool idea for pics–and got blown off. Frankly I think kiddo would be happy to have it–and is just unsure whether anyone is going to have any pics etc of friends and memorable events etc.</p>
<p>Just called to confirm the hotel reservation I made back in December…gosh this time last year we were heading into the apps process and I was asking kiddo how the first pass at the essays was coming along.</p>
<p>College4three, August 29th is still more than a week away. When I ask my son when he intends to pack, he rolls his eyes and says “next week mom”. When I mentioned needing hangers, he said “I have never used hangers before, why would I use them now?” Sigh.</p>
<p>We are in a (slightly) more relaxed mode since D has one of the later move-in dates (September 3). And I am still revelling in having her home after she had been away for 6 weeks. But we just had an odd roommate issue arise.</p>
<p>D went on her Class of 2015 facebook page; she was going to touch base with her roommate (an international student who had friended her on facebook, so that seemed like the best communication tool) on a couple of things. So what does she see but a recent posting from said prospective roommate asking if it is possible to change dorms! What the heck - she hasn’t even met D! A little awkward. D decided to put her refrigerator, etc. inquiry on hold… The freshman dorms aren’t that different, and the one D is in just had some minor remodeling done. It is one of the ones that houses students in a special Great Conversations program, but only a quarter of the students in that house are in that program. I don’t know why that would be an issue anyway. </p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t take it personally. There are always lots of rumors about dorms - party dorms, nerdy dorms, dorms with no wi fi and ac, etc. Reason for trying to switch dorms CERTAINLY has nothing to do with your daughter.</p>
<p>oy, D packed 60 teeshirts. When I gently reminded her that she has limited space for clothes , she about had a heart attack (she had whittled down the 60 from the hundreds she owns!). So I told her to pick her top 25 and pack those, then divide the others by groups of ten, put them in separate bags-labeled first alternate group, 2nd alternate group. If we find that there is more room than I expect there is, she can then add more to those she keeps there. Otherwise when we visit her or she visits us, we can do a t-shirt exchange so she can get to wear all her precious tee’s. Oy…</p>
<p>@aniger: that’s funny about the hangers. S has tons of clothing on hangers, and when we did the BB & B run (saved $90 with my coupon hoarding), I suggested something nicer than the leftover dry cleaner ones. He shrugged and said, “Why start now?”</p>
<p>@ cooker - I’m so sorry your daughter had to get that information that way! It’s so ‘in your face’! I agree that there is so much heresay and rumor that flis around regarding housing. Some of it is true and some of it not. All due respect to our international parents and their kids here because I’m not talking about you here…but cooker your DD’s roommate may be more prone to this type of hype as she’s an international. If she hasn’t visited the school, or only visited once she may have very little personal knowledge, have heard something and it became a really big deal to her. Kids build things up so much in their minds. I’m sure she is especially angsty going so far from home. As for how to go forward, I can’t offer help there…but I would try as much as possible not to take it personally. </p>
<p>Perhaps a subtle way to approach the roommate would be to post her a hello message on the facebook page that way she knows she’s seen it and the roommate can address it if she wants to. I may be missing drawbacks to this…</p>
<p>@ Holliesue - Ohmygosh! I love it, first and second alternate groupings for t’shirts! This would make a great entry for a mom’s blog! I’m rolling. 
It’s such a sweet way to address it though, seriously.</p>
<p>We, too, are doing the priority 1, priority 2, etc. bags depending on space. D found it amusing today that with most of her clothes bagged up she is basically “packing” a bag now for her last week at home … what will she wear the last day that she won’t miss, since it will be dirty and might not go with her? … I reminded her that anything could come later, that I’d be happy to wash and send it. Actually she’s starting to get a big kick out of this whole thing and sees the fun in a lot of it.</p>
<p>She told me a friend of hers left yesterday, and that during their last conversation they talked about that weird feeling of going through your stuff and reliving then packing (or throwing) away your childhood. Friend said, “It’s horrible; put it off as long as possible!” So if we parents think there is a conspiracy going on - there is!</p>
<p>D IS a packrat, has never had to move or share a room. But she’s doing an admirable job now of completing this job. And she’s been giving me lots of interesting insights on how she thinks her friends will do - lots of thoughts about fish/pond experiences and how people’s choices seem to be playing out. At least among this group the adage of “it all works out just as it should” seems to be coming true. </p>
<p>I got a laugh from the hanger comments! I gave D some multi-skirt hangers today; I don’t think she’s ever seen them before, but she realized right away how useful they could be. However, when I mentioned whether she’s talked to roommates about if anyone’s bringing an iron, she said, “Why?”</p>
<p>The good news is her school for some reason has free laundry; she can throw something in the dryer for 10 minutes to freshen it up. THAT she knows how to do. Not that she learned it from me …</p>
<p>Arisamp: Hugs. This is an emotional time for all of us. </p>
<p>I loved the t-shirt and hanger stories. My D has a ridiculous volume of clothing, and I have no idea how she intends to choose what to take. I’m just happy that she’s feeling better and back to focusing on college stuff.</p>
<p>cooker, there are lots of reasons kids might think they should request a change. ShawD thought, mistakenly, that she had been assigned against her will to an all girls dorm and was planning to visit before school started to request a change of dorms.</p>
<p>samuck, glad we could help you seem connected in Canada.</p>
<p>holliesue, I love the shock that she won’t have room to store all 60 of her precious t-shirts. Your solution was just right.</p>
<p>I have a clothes question. ShawWife suggested that we give ShawD an annual budget for clothes. She is a passionately enthusiastic kid (that probably understates things) who loves to shop but is frugal. She is something on the order of 5’9" and 120 lbs so she looks good in almost everything but she has definite and excellent fashion tastes. She’s equally, if not more, passionate about makeup. She was pleased to read in the student guide that “Formal clothes: there are lots of opportunities to dress up big at Queen’s.” For guys dressing for a form is easy: the same dark suit or tux each time. For girls?</p>
<p>So, here’s the question: What would be a reasonable budget for clothes (or clothes and makeup) for a year? </p>
<p>While we don’t want to throw away money, money does not feel tight. Indeed Queen’s will be $20K per year less than her high school and $40K per year less than what we were expecting to pay for a US college. So, without wanting her to developed a spoiled or entitled sense, we’d like her to have a nice budget. But, ShawWife is not a shopper at all. So, neither of us has a clue as to what would be a reasonable budget to give her.</p>
<p>re budget- I have no idea about Canada. But for example, a dress in the women’s dept at Macy’s that my D would wear (not something too trendy but decent quality) runs between $40 (if it is on sale but not a super sale) to $120. (You can get cheapy dresses of lesser quality and “adultness” at Penney’s and Forever 21 for $20). A “nice” sweater in Pendleton’s catalog will run $60-90. Now if you have some good basics (e.g. black pencil skirt, nice jeans) you pair them with new, more style specific/seasonal items. So the basics don’t have to be replaced except they go out of style or wear out. You can spend anywhere from $200 a year to several thousand (or more). A nice prom like dress (e.g. fancy cocktail dress) is mostly over $100 and often between $200-300. How many new ones does she need each year? </p>
<p>Good quality makeup is expensive. Maybelline and Cover Girl probably won’t cover it if she is into makeup. Clinique is a good brand for younger women and its foundation runs around $25. A woman if she wears it every day might buy foundation every other month- so 6 times a year. Blush , eyeliner, moisturizer, blemish cover, have to be replaced regularly as does mascara (lipstick and eye shadow last a long time). So again it depends on how much your D wears and how high end she wants to go (there are a lot of trendy lines at Sephora but I know Lancomb foundation runs around $40 and Chanel more I think ). </p>
<p>So you can see it all adds up (and this is not counting wool tights, insulated boots, or undergarments- all can be expensive.) If you can afford it, and your D wants to figure it out herself, she could probably give you an idea of what she thinks she’ll need (e.g two fancy dresses, one cocktail dress, three skirts, 4 jeans, 6 pairs of shoes, one boots, miscellaneous undergarments, etc.) and estimate what she usually pays for the items.</p>
<p>For my D we are giving her a clothing allowance twice a year that covers everything. She has a tendency to like higher end, traditional clothing so we went to the Upper East Side Goodwill story in NYC because we can’t in good conscience pay retail for the kinds of clothes she likes in the quantity she wants.</p>
<p>S2 is launched!!! </p>
<p>He arrived at dorm room with his massive amount of stuff–took 2 trips up to the room using a large wheeled bin the U provides. We used technique offered here to wrap his hanger-stuff in a bed sheet–and it worked perfectly. Thanks cc! Everything fit in his closet (barely) and he and S1 bunked his bed up 6 inches or so for all milk crates to stack beneath bed just fine. His bedding was soft enough (!), the pocket on the fitted sheet was deep enough for his featherbed topper (!), and his big monitor was quickly hooked up. It took some time, but it looks terrific!</p>
<p>Then S2’s new roommate and family appeared. Very nice boy and folks! They came with one rolling suitcase, one cardboard box, a Brita pitcher and a sheet/comforter set in package. That. Was. It. </p>
<p>Oh, my! We were so glad S2 arrived first so he could tuck away his huge array of pillows/linen/clothes/computer stuff/ laundry/cleaning/snacks/books/supplies/chargers/power strips/shampoo/shoes/whatever before this disparity in <em>stuff</em> might be truly noticed!</p>
<p>We took S1 & S2 to a nice restaurant on campus for lunch and then said sweet goodbyes. It has not been very stressful here since we know the college, know the dorm, have S1 still at the school, etc. And S2 became the angel-child this past few weeks, which was so shocking! I was expecting the dirty nest thing–which may help with separation? Instead H & I are now left with a very empty feeling indeed as our very mature guy flies the coop. Gulp. I’m not a crier type, but well… The ride home was pretty tough. </p>
<p>Meantime, S2 seems just chipper! Got a quick text that he placed out (by test) of 2 required semesters of Spanish. Woohoo! He’ll only need to take the 3rd level or he might test out of that, too. </p>
<p>Okay. So I’m a bit emotional here. But feeling very very proud.</p>
<p>Hope you & kids all get an easy move-in, find that everything fits in the closet/drawers, and get a low-maintenance roommate too!</p>
<p>So exciting to read everyone’s move-in stories! I’m encouraged to see that things seem to be going pretty smoothly for everyone. We’re still waiting to hear about a new roommate assignment, so can’t make any progress on potentially divvying up things like fridge or microwave or what have you. S isn’t particularly concerned, which is nice for him, but jeez, inquiring minds want to know. Grr.</p>
<p>Well as I sit here typing DS has walked GF to car for last goodbye and it has been going on for 20 mins. Hurts to see them so sad. We had a lovely dinner with her and right before she left she hugged DH and I and then thrust beautiful notes in our hands and fled. I was so glad she didn’t get to see my tears.</p>
<p>It is encouraging to read about all the kiddos who are at school already and all the parents who survived. Please keep those tales coming!</p>
<p>Sent from my ADR6350 using CC App</p>
<p>We had success tonight! I came home from work and D had put all of her new shirts on hangars. Unlike the boys, she actually uses hangars, and loves the ones we got. </p>
<p>We had moved all of her ‘stuff’, not to be confused with her ‘personal items’ into the den and sorted, took off packaging, and filled 2 of the 3 plastic stacking drawers. D is obsessed with office supplies, so she had a good time putting away the stapler, pens, rubber band ball, etc into their own organizer trays. We also put the duvet cover on the duvet, which I am so glad we did in our house instead of the dorm, since we had room to spread out.</p>
<p>She did make a major decision- the camp trunk will stay home. She figures that since she is in a triple, she will try to conserve space as much as possible.</p>
<p>All she has left to pack are her clothes. I am taking off tomorrow to assist, or to sit and cheer her on, which ever she needs. Friday is move in day. She talked to her roomies today, and confirmed that she will be the first one to move in. Roomie1 moves in on Saturday for cross country, and Roomie2 will move in on Sunday with the rest of the incoming freshmen.</p>
<p>After sorting her ‘stuff’, she does feel more relaxed, but she really hates packing. BF came over to ‘help’, which really meant that he sat there and provided moral support. We both said to D “If you forget something, we will both see you in a few days, so don’t worry.” I am so glad that she isn’t moving across the country. I don’t think that either one of us could handle it.</p>