<p>:( got the results of D’s blood work back – still iron deficient, 9 months after her initial diagnosis of “runner’s anemia”. She was supposed to take 2 tabs of 60 mg of iron a day, but I don’t think she is and I get tired of reminding her. </p>
<p>At this point, I’m going to tell D to call the pediatrician herself. Taking her iron becomes something else mom nags her about. I want her to take responsibility for her own health and I want to step out of the loop. If she isn’t taking the iron, she needs to tell the dr why she isn’t and see if there’s an alternative. If she is taking it and she’s just not absorbing it, then it’s time to see a hematologist. </p>
<p>It probably doesn’t help that she’s become a vegetarian. I don’t know how methodical she is about getting iron from natural sources. I offered to get her an appointment with a nutritionist so she could plan out what she needs to eat; she said no. “I’d rather have that money to spend on clothes.” I explained that it was covered through insurance (a $50 copay wouldn’t buy her much) but she refused.</p>
<p>We decided to come back from Canada a couple of days early but treat the last two days at home as vacation (i.e., no hanging out with friends or computer but instead with family activities). Today, after exercise and a ShawWife/ShawSon stop at a yard sale where they bought some furniture for the common room of his 10 person suite, we went to The Container Store and BB&B. Our first real foray into pre-school shopping. Got this firecracker of a salesperson at TCS who seemed incredibly enthused about setting up dorm rooms (it actually seemed genuine). We got underbed storage for both kids, folding laundry cubes, closet organizers, shoe holders, and on and on . Then we went out for a nice seafood dinner, and then on to BB&B for baskets for top of shelves, a makeup mirror, and a club chair. </p>
<p>Apparently, the duvet covers at BB&B were not soft enough, so we didn’t buy one or the matching sheets. Did you find any that were supersoft? ShawD was one of those tactically defense kids who wouldn’t wear pants with seams for years. </p>
<p>Then we saw Captain America.</p>
<p>Tomorrow, exercise and possibly more shopping (we need food) and indoor skydiving and perhaps another movie. We’d been enjoying the first season of Boston Legal while we were up in Canada.</p>
<p>Back to nerfs, ShawSon is inviting some college friends up to our house in Canada. He found $2 nerf guns (or something that shoots nerf projectiles. He’s planning to buy a set for each kid and then to give a gift to our nephew and niece whose parents are politically correct to a farethewell and blanch when the nephew lusts after weapon-like toys. We’ve given the nephew swords and knight’s armor, books on medieval weapons (ShawSon’s favorite when he was much younger), and he’s thrilled to have them.</p>
<p>Classof2015 my daughter is the same. If she were my son’s age of 18 I would hand her the ball. I understand completely how you feel. </p>
<p>Well my son finally heard from his roomie. He is from Texas-very new for him. They seem pretty compatible-we will soon find out. The microfridge was ordered by him-at least that’s what I am told.</p>
<p>We now have a bed set and lamp from Target to go along with the set of sheets and cheap mattress pad I picked up last week. I am fortunate-he could sleep on a newspaper and not notice. He moves two weeks from today and we just found out he has from 1-10 PM that day to move in-so we can move in around 4 after her soccer game, see what he needs that day and pick it up, and get him whatever else he needs the following weekend. He has a couple of days alone in the room because he is starting early to do a program so that will be nice. I can’t imagine dealing with this if he was a long distance away-the big task this week is getting my parents moved in one piece.</p>
<p>12 years ago, when my D was getting ready to start 1st grade, an older widowed woman at church offered to give D free piano lessons. D took piano lessons through 9th grade, then started playing piano with the organist at church and learned how to accompany soloists and groups while playing with another person.</p>
<p>D also took voice lessons for 4 -5 years and was in the school choir.</p>
<p>We encouraged this on purpose. We have known for several years that she would likely be a science major and not a music major. We also knew that the piano playing, especially, could be an income producing skill, especially while in college. She can give piano lessons to non piano playing music majors, accompany voice majors, all sorts of things.</p>
<p>Today she is singing a solo at church, accompanying herself. This is something she has done often enough. It is also the last time I will hear her play/sing for quite awhile, as she leaves next week and won’t be home til Christmas.</p>
<p>Class2015…I can understand your concern…I would be a little ticked to have my “adult” teen tell me that the clothes are more important than the health stuff…I agree she needs to be responsible for her health and choices to take the supplements etc. If she keeps a food diary, then a nutritionist should be able to pin point it. </p>
<p>Shawbridge–too funny about the politically correct fam…We have a sister in law–who cringed when we gave her kids water pistols to play with during the summmer/pool…She calls them water-squirters—and so do my nephew and neice… I was really against all that stuff when mine were young and realized that a kid will “make” a gun from a stick, their finger etc…My kiddos have loved their nerf stuff…I still find nerf darts around from time to time. They have had air soft stuff too—I have found air soft pellets in my chirstmas wreaths from some of the “action” happening around the garage! </p>
<p>Pepper= my kiddo is a low maintenance act so I know less is more…AND also know I wont find out about a real need until it comes out in a passing comment. I don’t want to be sad at Christmas when I find out kiddo really needed something all semester…
I realize it’s kiddo’s responsibility to share the need and to take care of it etc…and I don’t want to be enabling and giving kiddo the mesage that I need to take care of it and that kiddo isn’t able to do it alone…
and at the same time want to be sure the bases are covered as well as reasonbly expected since we are a 2 plane flight trip away and cannot supply anything easily
… where the responsibilities of the parents stop and the teens start in this launching is a bit “gray” since some parents are so involved in the prep and others are very hands off…
When I moved in, my parents dropped me off before lunch and left for a vacation… and none of us thought about how I’d get my meal card and ID etc.! All of the other parents were lofting the beds, cutting wall to wall carpets to fit the room and taking their dd s to lunch etc…I don’t want to be leaving my kid without necessities…on the other hand…we won’t be the parents who stay and extra night “just in case” the ds/dd needs something…</p>
<p>Bajamm…Hugs to you. Enjoy the lovely voice and talents of your dd . What a blessing.</p>
<p>**The next new student move-in is University of Missouri (sorority recruitment) on August 14th.
Move-in day is TODAY! Where did the summer go? :eek:</p>
<p>[ul][<em>]Millikin University move-in is just 2 days to go.
[</em>]University of Southern California, University of Missouri, Emory, Baylor and Pitt (band camp) move-ins are just 3 days to go.
[<em>]University of Colorado, Lawrence University (tennis), Harvard (outdoor program), and Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) move-ins are just 4 days to go.
[</em>]University of Virginia, University of Illinois, Cornell, WPI (field hockey), and University of Texas - Austin move-ins are just 5 days to go.
[<em>]Juniata College, University of Alabama, Pomona College, University of Puget Sound, and University of Virginia move-ins are just 6 days to go.
[</em>]Case Western Reserve University move-in is just 7 days to go. [/ul]</p>
<p>The last new student move-in is the University of Southern Oregon on September 22nd<br>
Move-in day in 39 days.</p>
<p>Good luck to Pepperson! These moments do hit hard lately.</p>
<p>Move-in stories … My kids have known ours all their lives, since mine is the day H and I met (not very successfully, I will point out). I think H’s folks dropped him off with a few boxes and duffle bags and left as quickly as possible - they only lived an hour away, and they were neither college-savvy nor city savvy. Two years later I moved in, and H was one of the helpers. I had come by plane, and the street was so torn up that the cabbie left us a block away. The kid I shared the cab with sat with the suitcases because I’d been there before and knew how to get to the dorm. </p>
<p>I’d just gotten over the first couple of weeks of mono and felt embarrassed having to ask for help with a couple of suitcases (the rest of my stuff was arriving by UPS and in a friend’s car that was arriving later). I tapped a “guy” on the shoulder and asked if he could help us, because I had mono and couldn’t carry anything. Of course, all he heard was “I have mono” and thought I was giving him a brush-off. It took us a month before we had another conversation.</p>
<p>Last evening was wonderful. DH, DS1 and DS2 willingly went to see The Help with me. They were the only teenage boys in a full theater. They agreed that the movie was excellent, then we went to our favorite ice cream parlor for shakes and french fries. Bittersweet as it will be some time before we share another evening out. Today is laundry and packing. We make our 7 hour drive to college on Tuesday. The tears are starting… I need to keep busy and remind myself how wonderful this stage in life is for our family.</p>
<p>**The next new student move-in is University of Missouri (sorority recruitment) on August 14th.
Move-in day TODAY! Where did the summer go? :eek:
[ul][<em>]Millikin University move-in is just 2 days to go.
[</em>]University of Southern California, University of Missouri, Emory, Baylor and Pitt (band camp) move-ins are just 3 days to go.
[<em>]University of Colorado, Lawrence University (tennis), Harvard (outdoor program), and Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) move-ins are just 4 days to go.
[</em>]University of Virginia, University of Illinois, Cornell, WPI (field hockey), and University of Texas - Austin move-ins are just 5 days to go.
[<em>]Juniata College, University of Alabama, Pomona College, University of Puget Sound, and University of Virginia move-ins are just 6 days to go.
[</em>]Case Western Reserve University and MIT (pre-orientation) move-ins are just 7 days to go.[/ul]
The last new student move-in is the University of Southern Oregon on September 22nd<br>
Move-in day in 39 days.</p>
<p>We finally saw Harry Potter (3D) and liked it a lot!
DS doesn’t want to bring much stuff. Basically sheets, comforter, towels, clothes, hangers, keyboard w/ bench, music scores, laptop and wires.
He has to prepare for a few music auditions taking place after pre-orientation.
He got his first choice dorm, but the room and roommates are still tentative until September 1st.
We will be renting a car (large) for the occasion, as we don’t own one. We will bring everything down in the lobby of our apartment building and will have to pack the car quickly, as it will be waiting in front of the main entrance.
I can already picture DH getting upset over the keyboard not fitting, lol. I will be sitting in the back seat for the 4+ hour drive.
The whole process is quite bittersweet…</p>
<p>D1 is finally home from 8 weeks at camp. Who knew one person could accumulate so much stuff? I think the laundy will be going nonstop for a while.</p>
<p>We bought her laptop while she was away, and H set it up for her. As soon as she came home, she said “I need to get my laptop all set up, and return a bunch of emails that I have been neglecting while I have been in internet void at camp.” She also has a list of things that she needs to get for school (mainly CVS type stuff- hairbrush, shampoo, etc).</p>
<p>I will let her relax a bit before we tackle thhe actual packing.</p>
<p>^^^My daughter swears by the serta “restoration” 4 inch memory foam topper. She has used it for 2 years. It does not come in twin xl, but she wants to get it anyway for her dorm bed as she is short and it does not matter if she has a gap of 3 inches at top and bottom.</p>
<p>Thanks again for the ideas on shorts with pockets the other day. We didn’t have any luck with the pockets, but found 2-layer shorts (mesh shorts with a kind of bike short underneath). These work for D to put the extra tennis ball in the bike short against her leg. Hey, whatever works, right? You guys are awesome!</p>
<p>D is moving things from one staging room to another. She is obsessing, I know, but I keep telling her that she really does have things under control. (Holliesue, I think you mentioned your kid is “not chill” - I am hip!) Told D to make sure she gets enough rest - advice I also need to take! She has a couple of get-togethers in the next 2 days. Her best friend and she are planning to take ice pops to the kids at HS band camp on Tuesday. Tuesday night, she and S planned a family campfire and s’mores night for a family farewell. (fogfog - great idea about sharing our going away stories! We’ve been doing that too!) Leave Wednesday for the Thursday move-in.</p>
<p>I am holding it together for the most part - although just about lost it yesterday when D and I were out picking up a few last things. She said, “Mom, you are my best friend.” Awwww… (tears welling up in my eyes as I type this) Note to self: make sure to bring the BIG box of Kleenex when we move her in! Luckily, we will return in a couple of weeks for the official Welcome Week (Thursday’s move in is for tennis team).</p>
<p>Took DS to the Container Store today; got a laundry basket, an over-the-door towel rack, some Command hooks, a double-pocket wall-hanging thingy for the wall above the desk for getting papers off the desk surface. Then we went and had lunch, which gave me the opportunity to deliver some CC wisdom from you all. You guys must give good advice, because I got very little eye-rolling from him, so…thanks!!</p>
<p>DS’s older model car would not start when he went outside to leave for work on Friday (dead battery) so Sat. he and DH got the new battery and installed it. But when he turned the car on, it made a “clacking” sound which, to other non-car savvy people like me, means the oil was not maintained and you could have damaged your engine. This resulted in my husband telling my son that he may have created a very expensive paperweight (my gentler version of the actual text) and son replying that he just “forgot”. OOPS. Fortunately, DH did something and added something and all is well. But the really good news is that DS has realized that maybe his parental units do know something occassionally. (Can you hear the heavenly choir singing??)</p>
<p>This led to a big discussion about time management and resources he has at his disposal and how professors are not High School teachers and will not remind you when due dates are approaching. I am so thankful for that dead battery because there was no eye rolling or looking bored or “I know” or “I’ll figure it out” but interest and some thoughtful questions on his part.</p>
<p>We also went to his girlfriend’s graduation/leaving for college party Saturday. Very nice. We have been talking to DS about what this relationship is going to look like when they are in college 10 hours apart and encouraging them to still date but not be exclusive so they can be open to new friends and experiences but acknowledging that he is an adult and has the right to do what he wants to do. So today driving home from BJ’s I casually bring it up. He said her mom has been telling her the same thing and that they briefly talked about it and she understood but didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He looked sad and said she was kinda sad about it. So I am not sure what the outcome really is but at least I know that he heard what I said. And thinking about his first heartbreak made me forget about how my hurts at his leaving. I think this Friday will be hard when she leaves.</p>
<p>We have the final “to buy” list going and a packing list started. It’s amazing how, after all the procrastination and tension, my son is finally on board with getting things done.</p>
<p>It seems like so many of us are rediscovering our children and their wonderfulness and enjoying their young adulthood just as they get ready to launch.</p>
<p>We spent yesterday afternoon at Walmart buying Stuff, after her First Aid class finished (she did the 6 hr Red Cross one) and today putting it in boxes, then watching The Nanny together.</p>