High School Class of 2016/College Class 2020

[Pea-n-Me]

^ DD says they use it for attendance and also about something else, not exactly sure, lol

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

I don't know what I was thinking but I should have shopped since Christmas like you instead everything was bought this last month.

Me too. I wanted to start earlier but just had no time. We spent about $1,000 in the last 2 weeks or so. DD got gift $ for graduation so we used some if it for a new laptop, so at least it hurt a little less.

 

[Hidden_Mickey]

My kids are 20, 18, 15, 13 and 13 - these are going to be some lean years!

My cousin just found out she is having triplets. We are excited for her but, I keep thinking, how are they going to pay for college for 3 at once?!

 

[MomofKatie]

What is a clicker? I saw it on a packing list but thought...why does she need a tv remote control, lol?!

I'm still not completely sure, but from what I hear, it is used interactively with "smart boards" and other in-class technology. The kids can 'click' to show attendance, take quizzes, and do other things like that.

 

[Monykalyn]

A lot has happened in the last few weeks.

Two weeks ago, DD went camping for the weekend with her group of friends. While there, she stepped in a hole and twisted her ankle. She had an appointment with her podiatrist on Monday - he took one look at it and ordered an MRI. It appears that, of the three tendons that hold your ankle together, she tore two completely through and the last one is hanging by a thread. Marching band is out and she will need surgery which will require three weeks on crutches. Our plan is to wait until classes start and find a Friday that she doesn't have a test or something important going on and I will go get her Thursday, have the surgery on Friday, and return her to school on Sunday. In the meantime, the doc has her in an ankle brace that should keep it stable enough for getting to and from class. Her school has a lot of athletes so I am sure that they have provisions to help kids that need assistance as athletes are always getting hurt. It looks like they have a shuttle that goes from one end of campus twice a day (all her classes are at the opposite end of campus from the dorms). There is also a van that will give you customized rides if you have an actual disability and register with the disabilities services on campus. She said she will just use her crutches to get around, but she has never been on crutches before so I'll be willing to bet she'll change her mind.

Then (unrelated to DD or college), last weekend my four-month-old kitten couldn't keep anything down. He was so lethargic that I got worried and took him to the emergency vet. Xrays showed something in his stomach blocking the entry to his intestines so they did surgery and found what appears to be about four inches of the weather stripping from my front door and a hair tie. He is now walking around in the cone of shame and he regrets his life decisions. That surgery cost more than what I paid for DDs tuition this semester.

Fast-forward to move-in day, yesterday. She had early move-in with the other band kids (she is still allowed to go to band camp - they want her involved in hopes she can march at some point). They didn't have helpers or carts and she is on the second floor (thank goodness for elevators). We had the Grand Prix loaded to the gills and she packed a lot of boxes super heavy. I fortunately brought a box of garbage bags and split up the big boxes into easier to carry bags. They have card access to the doors, so every time we had to get into the building we had to drop what we had and do the card and then her access code. We were directed to a side parking lot that the girl in the lobby said would be easier for the wing of the building DD's in. After moving everything in, we discovered that it's actually much closer to the lobby and our original parking would have been better. Live and learn. I love her room. Full kitchen, living room and separate bedrooms for the two girls. Her roommate moves in Monday. DD has to tell her to bring shower curtain rings because they somehow never got packed. Oh - and I have a wisdom tooth that's screaming to come out. We are a mess. She called last night and was thrilled that there are two other band members who are injured and can't march. She's not thrilled that they're injured but that she doesn't have to be alone on the sidelines. One of the freshman band kids in her section has a car so they went out exploring last night and got lost and had a blast driving around. Brings back memories.

And then today they had the tornado warning. They spent a good part of the afternoon closed in the bandroom. It came pretty close, but didn't hit, thank goodness. That's enough to give me grey hairs. One of her new friends left her window open with the computer right in front of it. I would die.

So - classes don't start until next Monday the 29th. Band camp is over Wednesday and then they have a few days of orientation-type activities. Hopefully she will find enough to keep her busy until then.

oh my goodness you have had an adventure and anxiety filled time!!! Glad to hear all are doing OK now (well except for that dang wisdom tooth!)

 

[mom2rtk]

A lot has happened in the last few weeks.

Two weeks ago, DD went camping for the weekend with her group of friends. While there, she stepped in a hole and twisted her ankle. She had an appointment with her podiatrist on Monday - he took one look at it and ordered an MRI. It appears that, of the three tendons that hold your ankle together, she tore two completely through and the last one is hanging by a thread. Marching band is out and she will need surgery which will require three weeks on crutches. Our plan is to wait until classes start and find a Friday that she doesn't have a test or something important going on and I will go get her Thursday, have the surgery on Friday, and return her to school on Sunday. In the meantime, the doc has her in an ankle brace that should keep it stable enough for getting to and from class. Her school has a lot of athletes so I am sure that they have provisions to help kids that need assistance as athletes are always getting hurt. It looks like they have a shuttle that goes from one end of campus twice a day (all her classes are at the opposite end of campus from the dorms). There is also a van that will give you customized rides if you have an actual disability and register with the disabilities services on campus. She said she will just use her crutches to get around, but she has never been on crutches before so I'll be willing to bet she'll change her mind.

Then (unrelated to DD or college), last weekend my four-month-old kitten couldn't keep anything down. He was so lethargic that I got worried and took him to the emergency vet. Xrays showed something in his stomach blocking the entry to his intestines so they did surgery and found what appears to be about four inches of the weather stripping from my front door and a hair tie. He is now walking around in the cone of shame and he regrets his life decisions. That surgery cost more than what I paid for DDs tuition this semester.

Fast-forward to move-in day, yesterday. She had early move-in with the other band kids (she is still allowed to go to band camp - they want her involved in hopes she can march at some point). They didn't have helpers or carts and she is on the second floor (thank goodness for elevators). We had the Grand Prix loaded to the gills and she packed a lot of boxes super heavy. I fortunately brought a box of garbage bags and split up the big boxes into easier to carry bags. They have card access to the doors, so every time we had to get into the building we had to drop what we had and do the card and then her access code. We were directed to a side parking lot that the girl in the lobby said would be easier for the wing of the building DD's in. After moving everything in, we discovered that it's actually much closer to the lobby and our original parking would have been better. Live and learn. I love her room. Full kitchen, living room and separate bedrooms for the two girls. Her roommate moves in Monday. DD has to tell her to bring shower curtain rings because they somehow never got packed. Oh - and I have a wisdom tooth that's screaming to come out. We are a mess. She called last night and was thrilled that there are two other band members who are injured and can't march. She's not thrilled that they're injured but that she doesn't have to be alone on the sidelines. One of the freshman band kids in her section has a car so they went out exploring last night and got lost and had a blast driving around. Brings back memories.

And then today they had the tornado warning. They spent a good part of the afternoon closed in the bandroom. It came pretty close, but didn't hit, thank goodness. That's enough to give me grey hairs. One of her new friends left her window open with the computer right in front of it. I would die.

So - classes don't start until next Monday the 29th. Band camp is over Wednesday and then they have a few days of orientation-type activities. Hopefully she will find enough to keep her busy until then.

I think that officially qualifies as a rough start! I sure hope things settle down for you and your DD soon.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm still not completely sure, but from what I hear, it is used interactively with "smart boards" and other in-class technology. The kids can 'click' to show attendance, take quizzes, and do other things like that.

That's correct. I know my son used one in his early lecture hall classes. It's a way for them to be interactive in large classroom settings. I haven't heard him mention it in a couple years, so maybe his classes are just smaller so not needed any more.

 

[Kimberlyann11]

Yes. Of course she should do it herself if possible. It's just that sometimes they think they can do it all without help.

That's true and food for thought. She has been asking me to call the doctor and tell him that her ankle feels great with the brace and she should be okay to march. I told her to email him herself . Well she tried marching backwards and realized that there's no way it will work. She also thinks crutches are going to be easy. She has never had them and doesn't realize that you have to use a whole different bunch of muscles to get yourself around. One of her sideline friends has crutches and one of the knee scooters but prefers the crutches.

Once we know for sure when her surgery will be, maybe I will call and ask some questions - lay the groundwork.

 

[Kimberlyann11]

oh my goodness you have had an adventure and anxiety filled time!!! Glad to hear all are doing OK now (well except for that dang wisdom tooth!)

The wisdom tooth will have to wait until Tuesday. Tomorrow I have work and then Magic the cat goes to the vet to get his stitches out so he can get rid of the cone of shame. I am loaded with painkillers.

I think that officially qualifies as a rough start! I sure hope things settle down for you and your DD soon.

Thanks - she seems to have fallen in right away with a fun group of kids. The band had an after-practice buffet at a restaurant last night and five of them piled in a car and ended up at the wrong place. They thought they were being hazed.
A quick google search solved the mystery and got to the right restaurant which has a very similar name. She has a number of kids that she already refers to as "my friend" so I am happy to see that she is fitting in so well.

 

[tzolkin]

So, we moved DD into her dorm on Thursday and classes start today.

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions and now it's just weird adjusting to being a family of four instead of five. (We were able to split a pizza evenly though )

Hello Everyone.
It has been sometime since I last posted.

As some may or may not recall, my dd was going to be in class of 16./But last year, she became pregnant, finishing her Junior year. Ended up taking her GED a little after baby girl was born.
She had wanted to do a job with animals for years, but our big German Shepard,Delgado died suddenly shortly after baby was born and my dd saw when it happened and was like she didn't think she could work with animals.

Well, tomorrow, the GED program is having a "graduation" ceremony, complete with, cap,gown and tassel. And she has started saying she wants to go take the Vet Assistant class she would have taken her Senior year (they offer the same class to adults in the evening).
So very happy for her. Baby girl is almost 11 months walking a few steps.
It has been one heck of a year.

But congrats to all of our young people on their new path.

Congratulations to your DD.

I had my oldest when I was a senior in HS. It was a difficult and stressful time, made even more so by others insisting that my life was ruined and I would not be able to achieve my life goals. I would just like to encourage you that I have lived a very happy, successful, and fulfilled life so far and I am sure your daughter will do the same.

Over the weekend we were going through pictures and thinking about how 17 years ago I was starting college and now my "baby" is starting college herself.

 

[jetskigrl]

A lot has happened in the last few weeks.

Two weeks ago, DD went camping for the weekend with her group of friends. While there, she stepped in a hole and twisted her ankle. She had an appointment with her podiatrist on Monday - he took one look at it and ordered an MRI. It appears that, of the three tendons that hold your ankle together, she tore two completely through and the last one is hanging by a thread. Marching band is out and she will need surgery which will require three weeks on crutches. Our plan is to wait until classes start and find a Friday that she doesn't have a test or something important going on and I will go get her Thursday, have the surgery on Friday, and return her to school on Sunday. In the meantime, the doc has her in an ankle brace that should keep it stable enough for getting to and from class. Her school has a lot of athletes so I am sure that they have provisions to help kids that need assistance as athletes are always getting hurt. It looks like they have a shuttle that goes from one end of campus twice a day (all her classes are at the opposite end of campus from the dorms). There is also a van that will give you customized rides if you have an actual disability and register with the disabilities services on campus. She said she will just use her crutches to get around, but she has never been on crutches before so I'll be willing to bet she'll change her mind.

Then (unrelated to DD or college), last weekend my four-month-old kitten couldn't keep anything down. He was so lethargic that I got worried and took him to the emergency vet. Xrays showed something in his stomach blocking the entry to his intestines so they did surgery and found what appears to be about four inches of the weather stripping from my front door and a hair tie. He is now walking around in the cone of shame and he regrets his life decisions. That surgery cost more than what I paid for DDs tuition this semester.

Fast-forward to move-in day, yesterday. She had early move-in with the other band kids (she is still allowed to go to band camp - they want her involved in hopes she can march at some point). They didn't have helpers or carts and she is on the second floor (thank goodness for elevators). We had the Grand Prix loaded to the gills and she packed a lot of boxes super heavy. I fortunately brought a box of garbage bags and split up the big boxes into easier to carry bags. They have card access to the doors, so every time we had to get into the building we had to drop what we had and do the card and then her access code. We were directed to a side parking lot that the girl in the lobby said would be easier for the wing of the building DD's in. After moving everything in, we discovered that it's actually much closer to the lobby and our original parking would have been better. Live and learn. I love her room. Full kitchen, living room and separate bedrooms for the two girls. Her roommate moves in Monday. DD has to tell her to bring shower curtain rings because they somehow never got packed. Oh - and I have a wisdom tooth that's screaming to come out. We are a mess. She called last night and was thrilled that there are two other band members who are injured and can't march. She's not thrilled that they're injured but that she doesn't have to be alone on the sidelines. One of the freshman band kids in her section has a car so they went out exploring last night and got lost and had a blast driving around. Brings back memories.

And then today they had the tornado warning. They spent a good part of the afternoon closed in the bandroom. It came pretty close, but didn't hit, thank goodness. That's enough to give me grey hairs. One of her new friends left her window open with the computer right in front of it. I would die.

So - classes don't start until next Monday the 29th. Band camp is over Wednesday and then they have a few days of orientation-type activities. Hopefully she will find enough to keep her busy until then.

Oh no....I'm sorry that you all had such a rough start of it all. I hope that her ankle heals quickly after surgery so that she can join up with the rest of the marching band as quickly as possible! Also hugs for you and for you kitten. That is a lot to be dealing with all at once!!

 

[jetskigrl]

Well - DD is all moved in and things are going really well. She has been spending time with her new roommate (who is super nice) and one of her quad mates. The forth girl has not been seen or heard from so they are just waiting for her to show up.
Family Day went well and DD got to meet more of the honors kids in person (they have been chatting on FB but she only met one of them before now).

She called last night to tell me that she attended the ice breaker get-together with the other kids on her floor and the RA (when we left, she wasn't sure she wanted to go because she was tired. But we told her we thought it would be good for her to meet more of the kids in the building). They travelled as a group to other floors and met the other RAs and residents. She said they had a blast hanging out and then all went down to dinner in the dining room together, where she made even more friends.

They are working out the bugs of the new building so it will be a while before everything works smoothly, LOL. At move-in they all got t-shirts that said "I lived here first" lol. But what a blessing that she is starting school this year. With the opening of the on-campus residence hall they also added a new student store, new health center, greatly expanded the food options, etc. It is like a whole new campus.

 

[Monykalyn]

Soooo-classes have started. DD has already dropped her geology class (it is basically same one she took in HS and already has the college credit for) and changed it to intermediate Spanish. But the book store won't buy back the book (also has ebook she already activated so that is a loss). She is going to try the off campus bookstores to see if they will take book back-if not she will just keep as a reference/review book, which she is thinking about doing anyway.

And she set off the smoke alarm in her dorm room. At 930 at night. Stunk up her room and hallway-and since her room is by elevators-the elevators too. She forgot to put the water in the those microwaveable mac and cheese cups. She texted at 1130 pm how she and roomie were washing clothes etc. Guess she is getting started on those "college" stories right away...

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

We just got back from dropping my son off at school. We flew back on Tuesday after spending a week in Illinois. My DS attended the last orientation which allowed him to move into his dorm a few days early (which made it super easy for the move in). My mom, younger DS, and I hung around for a week making sure he was all set. We also had tons of shopping to do for him since we flew and held off buying things until we got there (what an expensive week, not to mention we discovered he had enough room under his loft bed for an armchair so we had to hunt all the thrift shops to get him one).

The school was really great with first week activities. They kept the kids busy and had lots of fun opportunities so they could meet new people. I was relieved to hear that DS has found a group already to hang out with. He just started his classes yesterday and so far so good.

Someone else had mentioned the same thing, but I also had my son in my senior year at the age of 17. My son went along the ride with me for my college experience including going to my study abroad in Chile with me for six months (I joke with him that I plan on going to his study abroad when the time comes....well at least a visit). I am proud of the life I have carved out and proud to see my son get to have the college experience I did not.

 

[wishesuponastar]

Folks, I am late to the game but joining this thread now. I have been absent from the DIS for a while, as we decided to do some other vacations. My DD18 is moving into her dorm on Wednesday and I need my DIS community for support!!! She had a rough senior year, (tough classes, a really bad cold that lingered, etc.). We have been busy the last few weeks shopping. She has been packing. Rather than read all the post in the threads, can you tell me if I missed anything about planning for freshman year that is really important?

Our current drama is that DD was told her roommate's name a month ago. They texted each other and connected on Facebook. Then DD asked her a question about sharing a refrigerator. No answer, for a week. Then the girl finally said "I'm not your roommate anymore". She had been on campus attending an orientation for a program we never heard of, and we are guessing that she made a friend that she decided to room with. DD has been logging into her residence hall account every day, checking to see if she has been assigned a new roommate, but is still in limbo, for 2 weeks. She could handle being alone or moving into a triple, but not knowing is causing anxiety for all of us. Ugh.

I'm so sorry about the roommate situation but it probably will work out better for your daughter since that one sounds like she would have not been a good fit for your daughter. Any news on a new roommate?

 

[wishesuponastar]

We moved daughter in yesterday. Left our home at 6:30am for a 3 hour drive then didn't get home until 9:30pm. Long day. When we got to the college they had a team if students that unloaded your car, so thankful and they were fast! Done in minutes. We helped daughter unpack everything then we went for pizza and wings lunch.

We found out that there was a mandatory meeting for the students at 5:30pm so while daughter was at that we went to the Apple store for an Ethernet cable adapter. When we got back daughter was done with her meeting but she wanted to say goodbye to us. She had a good nights sleep she told us today.

 

[wishesuponastar]

Is anyone else hoping absence will make the heart fonder with their college kid? I love my daughter but she never seemed appreciative of the things I did for her like her laundry etc. and she always seemed annoyed at me. I'm hoping the time apart will help us. Maybe it's just a mother daughter thing?

 

[luvsJack]

Dd isn't as far away as some of your kids are. So she came home last weekend and she went with us last night to an event at church, but I am already seeing a change in her. She is already a little bit more appreciative and none of the constant annoyance with us. She just seems a bit more mature.

I would guess that for those who won't see their kids for awhile, they will see a big change.

 

[punkin]

My DD is still home, but she's been incredibly good natured and loving lately...a huge departure from most of last school year.

 

[Tinijocaro]

We dropped off two kids in one day. About an hour from each other. DS21 is a senior and DD18 is a freshman. She took the longest because we had to run to walmart for a few things she had forgotten.

To top the day off, we went to a Buffalo Bills football game. Long day.