<p>flmathmom: I’m glad that you came to a decision. Please let us know how you like the Ipad2. I would love to get one, but my family thinks that I am technologically challenged.</p>
<p>@ momjr - They think you’re technically challenged so you can’t have an ipad…it’s a pretty intuitive thing so I’m not following. Tell them that’s WHY you should have an ipad…it’s just THAT easy. ;)</p>
<p>For backup, at ShawSon’s school, if you store stuff on their drive, it is automatically backed up. My preference is for DropBox, which gives 2 GB storage for free ($10/month if more) and is instantly accessible and keeps a current version of what you have on your machine, or Mozy (2 GB free or $6/month) or Backblaze ($5/month). The latter two are not instantly accessible but save many prior versions.</p>
<p>We are on the countdown as D heads out on August 8. Washed the new sheets and towels yesterday and D practiced her new found ironing skills ironing the sheets “so they would look nice when she moves in”. Had to smile while she was ironing thinking how many times she will iron those sheets again… probably never.</p>
<p>We have spent today purging her room- so many good memories. And, finally threw out the remnants of all the college recruitment stuff. Filled a blue recycling bag, the trash men are going to love us tomorrow. I persuaded her to keep and file away the college acceptance/ scholarship letters. I think she will enjoy reading these in years to come.</p>
<p>I am exhausted and we still have another closet to tackle tomorrow!..and then there is her clothes.</p>
<p>H bought S an external hard drive for backups. Hopefully, S is religous about doing it. </p>
<p>VaMom - S had to have a few baby teeth removed also when he was about 7yo. Surprisingly it was pretty painless. I wish your DS2 a quick recovery.</p>
<p>Gibson - Iam still hanging on to all S’s acceptances. I look at that pile wondering why I can’t bring myself to toss it. I sometimes iron pillowcases if they are real wrinkled. We moved 11yo D to another bedroom and ended up with over 5 bags of stuff being thrown out. Where did it come from??</p>
<p>mamom, when looking into insurance also check out nssi. We have used them for a few years now and have had claims 2 out of three of the years. They payed promptly and actually sent us a renewal notice for next year, which I was worried they wouldn’t with the number of claims that we had! The rates for coverage, with a very low ($25.00) deductible were very reasonable.</p>
<p>capenn15, S doesn’t seem thrilled with the summer reading book either. He has read a few chapters and that’s all so far. I heard that the author is going to give a presentation during NSO. What is PennStart? Are we missing something?</p>
<p>
Thank you, I will. I feel like I have heard so much about CSI that it was a sure bet. Nice to know there are alternatives.</p>
<p>cappenn - congrats on the Eagle Scout accomplishment.</p>
<p>Ran into my friend whose company hired my S as a “groundskeeper” (his title since he went for onc day of training on how to know when a lawn needs water!). She said she has heard S is well liked and they are very happy with him. They will hire him back on breaks and next summer if he wants. Of course, if he keeps spending money like he is, he will need to quit college and work FT.</p>
<p>Almost forgot about this. H calls me at work to tell me about plans for flying out for family weekend in Sept. 11yo D and S are really close and she hasn’t seen his school yet. We really felt it was important to get her out there. H wanted to take her out of school that Friday and fly out early which I promptly nixed and told him to find a flight after school. He called me while I was trying to get an email out and I wasn’t really listening. The consequences could have been bad, very bad. He was getting ready to book a flight from Bos to Atlanta to Milwaukee. Total travel time was 5 hours. Thankfully I came out of my zone when I heard 5 hours and realized what he was planning on doing it just before he booked the flight. OMG, what was he thinking??? I told him forget it and to keep looking.</p>
<p>We’ve kept the letter of acceptances from other schools as well as their finaid offers. It’s just a a 1/2 inch of papers in a file and interesting stuff to look back on.</p>
<p>Our son bought himself an external hard drive a couple of years ago and begged us to get one for our computers too. Instead my husband has them all networked together and routinely moves stuff from one to another. Son is generally our IT specialist so we’re leaving all that stuff up to him about what he’ll need. He’s very much stressing about the possibility of only having ONE monitor. oh my!</p>
<p>capenn - Congrats on the Eagle achievement! My oldest son is an Eagle Scout and I know how much work that is for everyone involved.</p>
<p>Blue - Good shopping score!</p>
<p>My husband and I went to a Phillies game tonight (just the two of us!) and it was quite fun. Of course the win made it sweeter, but the weather was perfect too. Son is at his orientation in VT. They are camping out tonight and it’s a good thing he packed his sweatshirt - it’s 67 degrees. We haven’t been that low for a long time here!</p>
<p>As soon as I get my iPad, I will definitely give a full report. Other than my lack of knowledge about cell phones, I’m very comfortable around techy stuff. OTOH, my DH will be the true test of how easy the iiPad is for those who are technically challenged. He still doesn’t understand the concept of closing a program on the computer. I’ll come back to my PC after a few hours away and find everything shut down (Internet, Excel, Word). He’ll say, “All I did was check my email.”</p>
<p>Shawbridge - thanks for the backup sites</p>
<p>
I kept them all. DS would have dumped them.</p>
<p>DS’s school sent us info on NSSI for insurance so that is who we used.</p>
<p>capenn congrats on the eagle scout!</p>
<p>As for backing up to DropBox etc., keep in mind whether your child’s school has any bandwidth limits.</p>
<p>I read backwards a few pages to know that you all have been discussing school supplies, insurance and a rendez-vous while I am on vacation with five teenagers, my son and daughter-in-law and grandson AND my 85-year-old mother.</p>
<p>Four generations is a challenge and I wish my mother would just sit back and enjoy rather than complain about every little item that doesn’t get put back in the appropriate place. Her attitude is sucking the joy out of the experience for me a bit. She’s no longer the mom who let all four of her children take a friend on vacation, or the mom who cook dinner for whoever happened to be at our house at right time. She is some crabby woman with no tolerance for anything that disrupts her routine. It’s truly breaking my heart.</p>
<p>But the kids are great and everyone helps with meals and cleanup and the weather is amazing. 78, light breeze, sunny. Pure Michigan summer.</p>
<p>OWM-Glad your vacation is going well except for the cranky elder.</p>
<p>I had not thought of a clip on fan for the bed area (esp. if a loft or bunk). Thanks. We have a tower fan in DS room now and he has used it for years. and loves it.</p>
<p>BI- Congrats on your bargain of the day! Always love when you can get what you want AND at a bargain!</p>
<p>capenn- Congratulations on your S Eagle Scout. My D earned her Gold Award, so I know how great an accomplishment it is.</p>
<p>OWM- so sorry about your mom. Try to enjoy the time with the kids if you can.</p>
<p>I kept all of the acceptance and scholarship letters, and put them in D’s high school scrapbook</p>
<p>OWM so sorry for the difficult changes you are seeing with your mom. I hope as the week goes on she will settle in a little more.</p>
<p>Not much here-son is writing away and tells me this is the best summer ever! He has his last visit to the “baby doctor” today-under duress! He feels so out of place there but I wanted him to finish up with her and then we will find him a new doctor. I am taking him this PM and my daughter this AM-she told me the other day she has been having a lot of dizzy spells, blurred vision, and headaches for MONTHS but didn’t want to say anything because she was afraid of having bloodwork-so now I am worried about her. It never ends, does it?</p>
<p>Then on Friday we pack and head off to Hershey Park for maybe the last time together. He is going for his little sister and cousins but I think he is also going for him-this marks the end of an era-we have been doing this for at least ten years-and I am glad he is coming with us. I just finished the beach laundry yesterday and now back on the road-I will be happy when I get there and I’ll leave it at that-other than to say how much I dread having to take Route 95 in CT.</p>
<p>Progress is being made on the laptop-he finally found the specs on the school’s website after I asked him yesterday what was going on with his search and he told me he looked “for hours” and couldn’t find them-could I please help him? I told him since I found them in about 30 seconds I would not-he would have to figure it out-which amazingly enough he did. 
Of course he wanted to run out yesterday and buy one-not so fast kid-we have to do our research!</p>
<p>Progress! :)</p>
<p>OWM: I’m sorry that your mom is putting a damper on the vacation. Try to enjoy the time with the kids and tune her out.</p>
<p>Pepper: I hope that your daughter is okay. Maybe she needs glasses. I hear you on the pediatrician. Between D1’s mono and D2’s string of illnesses, we have been to the pediatrician countless times in the past year. I like seeing the babies in the waiting room, but my daughters feel pretty silly. I was going to switch D1 to an internist, but the pediatrician said that she could stay until she graduates next spring. At this point, it makes more sense to wait and have her find a doctor wherever she settles.</p>
<p>Capenn and Parentofpeople: My D didn’t like the Penn orientation book when she was a freshman either. Other than that, NSO at Penn is phenominal. Some of the highlights were a reception at the Philly Museum of Art, and a toga party at the Penn Museum. My D is still close friends with people she met that week. Feel free to PM me with any Penn questions.</p>
<p>OWM - So sorry for the damper your mom is putting on your holiday with the kids. It’s amazing how one person can suck the fun out of things. Hopefully you can take joy in everyone else around you and focus on that!</p>
<p>Pepper - My youngest will be at Hersey Park on Friday. He came in last night asking if he could go with his three best friends (and parental units from next door) if he finished all his AP World History summer work…the kid knows how to work me. My boys left their kid-Dr several years ago when we moved and found a family practice Dr. It worked out well since the boys were hitting teen years and were ready for a change.</p>
<p>OWM - Ohhhhh I have been there! My kids were always the ones who “grew up in a barn” and were to blame when anything went missing because they probably “hit it” somewhere. Then along came my nephew (aka the crazy boy) and she quickly experienced a child who does purposefully hid things, and bite people and…suddenly my kids were a little more angelic. Good times, good times… Hop into that kayak and get some peace! And maybe spike her drink?</p>
<p>Pepper - Hope your day at the dr. goes well. As you drive through Jersey, give us a wave!</p>
<p>Ds is going off to work then girlfriend’s and then to the shore. I am going to buy a minifridge I think after having done enough research. Biggest research left is to figure out whether it will fit in my car now that I have downsized into a CRV (bad timing on my part!)</p>
<p>FIMom - I have always had a PC but I recently purchased an iPad2. I am on the net quite a bit for work so using the iPad on the deck or porch is very convenient. I just love it! Now that i have had the Apple experience, I will probably buy a Mac next spring when my laptop turns 3…although my laptop is in good shape it will become my backup. We have purchased Dells for my business for the last 11 years and every single one of them have lost the hard drive, fan unit or mother board within three weeks of the three year mark! Most of the time it costs more to fix them than to buy a new one…So for my business I just get a new one at the three year mark and pass the old one if is still working to someone else in the family. I am very happy with my iPad and to be honest, I will never give it up…as I sit on my porch with my puppy typing this. It is a gorgeous morning in New England today, not a cloud in the sky about 75 degrees.</p>
<p>D1 has been struggling to get rid of bronchitis and a sinus infection. It has come and gone twice since graduation. The doc finally gave her a z-pack…hopefully this will get rid of it once and for all.</p>
<p>Have a great day everyone!</p>