<p>Greetings from the family reunion in West Virginia. Hardier souls than me are currently white water rafting. D-in-law and I took the grandson to the indoor pool for a swim. Now, we are enjoying the quiet. Hope to go to the outdoor pool after nap if the sun comes out. Tonight is the dress-up dinner for all of us to honor DH’s parents’ 55th wedding anniversary.</p>
<p>Big news from here: the family will grow by one in April. DS1 and D-in-law are expecting. I’m sure my response was not what they expected, because I was speechless. We thought they were going to wait but they said they decided they didn’t want their son (now 17 months) to be that far removed from his younger sibling. Our boys are 3 years apart; D-in-law and her sister are 2 years apart and they wanted spacing similiar to that. </p>
<p>Oh my. This, like most of my life the past two years, is going to take some time to sink in!</p>
<p>Congratulations OWM!!! That’s big news to spring at a reunion!! I remember when I told my mom I was pregnant with #2 (way back when)- she just kept saying “But…WHY?” - now THAT was not what I expected!</p>
<p>Fogfog: I am envious–my D has been gone the whole summer too but she comes home in 6 days–I can’t wait! Of course, she’s only here for 3 days before going to school and it’s filled with appts (dentist, haircut, etc. etc.). It will be a crazy few days for her packing, trying to say good-bye to friends, etc. While I think we have everything under control for her dorm, I sure hope she doesn’t decide she needs new clothes…there’s no time!</p>
<p>OWM - Many sweet congratulations to you! There are 24mths between my first two boys, and 25mths between the second two. Although sometimes busy it was nice that we were all going the same direction so I can understand the desire to have them close together. I was a young(er) mother then. Once we started down that road I only wanted to be carrying a diaper bag and pack n’ play so long. There are pro’s and con’s as we all know, however my three boys are very close now, probably closer at 16, 18, & 20 then ever. My families reaction back in the day when we announced S2 was on his way was fairly tame, however when we had two tiny ones and announced S3 was on his way they literally laughed out loud. By then I had much thicker skin and didn’t care. This was much better then the reaction of both grandmothers to S1’s impending arrival. My mother kept saying “Oh no” while my MIL yelled “I’m not ready to be a grandmother again!”. My FIL just made stupid remarks about how far along I was relative to our wedding date (yes, S1 was a honeymoon baby after an 18mth engagement…it happens). Supportive, no? ;)</p>
<p>D has 14 meal plan with some flex dollars. We talked about using the meal swipes for the bigger meals and doing granola bars and the like for the other meals. Flex dollars are not enough to provide the “missing meals” entirely, so she will have to be thoughtful. I don’t want her to use a swipe for a non-substantial meal!</p>
<p>I have decide to put c@nd@ms in the box. They will be labeled with “Have you really thought about this?” and “Is he really worth it?” on either side.</p>
<p>LOL mnmomof2! We have decided not to send any with our DS, but I know that they are readily available on campus. But I love your idea of writing on the box :)</p>
<p>How do you quote? I’ve tried to figure it out but I just can’t seem to get it.</p>
<p>Now re: condoms.</p>
<p>Mine is a daughter who is on birth control pills. But I’m thinking of sending condoms too. Because the pill only protects against pregnancy, not the rest of the stuff that’s out there. I know they are free and available on campus but would she ever pick them up? I’m thinking if there’s a spur of the moment thing going on in her dorm room, it’d be handy to have some there. Thioughts on this?</p>
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enter your text here[/ quote] remove the space after the / and before quote.</p>
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<p>It’s super easy and very addictive. If I can do it, ANYONE can do it! I’m always impressed at our members that can do the color and size text…not to mention the pictures.</p>
<p>Regarding sending condoms with your student I believe there are two valuable thoughts here. You really have to consider your student, there is no wrong answer…just the one you make for your family. One thought is it is better to give them to your student in the event that they would not seek them out initially…just in case. The other thought is that the student should take ownership of this. If they are mature enough to have sex, they are mature enough to get the condoms that are readily available on campus. Whatever you decide the most important thing in my opinion is to take the opportunity to talk again with your student. Most people have spoken with their kids over the years, but it’s important to talk to them about protecting themselves & their partners, where they can get condoms, services at the student health center, etc. We also spoke very plainly that the law says if someone is under the influence they can not give consent. I told my son I know he is going to continue to make good, respectful decisions but we need to talk about what the law says. These are all important topics.</p>
<p>OWM- congratulations! Your S and DIL sound like well adjusted, mature kids who are doing well. I wish them the best. </p>
<p>Just got back from the school send off for the Boston area. I was a little surprised there were only 5 kids there. 2 were no shows. It was suppose to be an outdoor BBQ but rain forced it indoors. The host and his wife were super. Host graduated in 1961. 3 folks from advancement were present and nice to talk to. I think we are now committed to hosting a gathering for admitted students next May??? We were very involved in S’s old school and I expect we will be in D’s new school but will be happy to help out S’s college also. S knew one kid from his HS but all the kids seemed to get along great. I was surprised to hear from one girls parents that they plan on driving her truck out to school, 1100 miles, so she has the vehicle available during the school year. I hope she knows how to say no when kids need a ride somewhere.</p>
<p>Went out to dinner with DH & DS. Gee…I’m going to miss these dinners. DS talked about some of his concerns for himself, his buddies. I’m so glad he is truly concerned for his friends (dealing with temptations when there is limited oversight re: hw, studying, going to bed, fun time & the apparent lack of care and involvement from non-custodial divorced parents). I raised the c<em>nd</em>m issue. His answer…First I need a date. I think I have a few weeks before I start adding that to the worry list.</p>
<p>mnmomof2; blueiguana; capenn – it sounds like you, too, have roamed the aisles of BB&B, wondering if they sell a bedding device that goes off with an ear-piercing alarm when beloved D or S starts to engage in unprotected sex.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m sending her with ‘protection’. I can just hear a real smoothie telling her it’s too far to go back to his dorm and hey – it never happens the first time, right?</p>
<p>RE: quote
BI: I also can’t get the “quote” going. The little box under the options won’t let me click to Quote message in reply. I read somewhere that you can only start to quote after achieving certain amount of CC posts.</p>
<p>sunnydayfun you can quote manually by just typing [ quote ] and <a href=“with%20the%20spaces%20removed”>/ quote </a> around the text you want to quote. You should be able to do this from day one.</p>
It reminds me of Seinfeld and ‘Spongeworthy’!! Anyone else remember that? :D</p>