Let the Prom Drama CONTINUE . . . . . . . .

[Sandy V.]

That's a little bit of what my SIL is afraid of. The family is involved with major league baseball. I'm not sure exactly how, but I know the dad is a coach of some sort and two of the three brothers are signed to major league contracts (currently playing at the lower levels but are expected to be called up to the majors and have hefty contracts). The DFi was hoping to do the same but had injuries that ended his career last year (he does have a M.B.A. though and has a good job now).

She's afraid they're going to expect a "major" wedding too! She said that they seem like very nice people though, and all she can do is all she can do. It doesn't help any that both she and her husband are semi-retired and are in the middle of building a new house! You know, timing is everything!

100% true! Until I got involved in this stuff, I never dreamed how fast stuff books up (particularly in wedding prime time June ).

DD's RM's is getting married in Destin, FL, and her mother said that it would have been cheaper for her to have gotten married in Jamaica or another one of the islands, but she couldn't persuade her DD to go for that. You know, if you aren't going to get married at home anyway, why not go the less expensive route in a nicer resort (just a different beach)?

I am eternally grateful that DD has used some common sense!

Melissa, are you listening to all of this? Your DD will be grown before you know it.

Why all of a sudden am I feeling very poor?!?!?! And very grateful that I have only one daughter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Must be that time of year - financing kids' college costs and living vicariously through those of you planning weddings.

 

[horseshowmom]

Why all of a sudden am I feeling very poor?!?!?! And very grateful that I have only one daughter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Must be that time of year - financing kids' college costs and living vicariously through those of you planning weddings.

Oh, eventually that "vicarious" part will turn into full blown wedding mode before too many more years pass!

And, yes, I am very grateful that I only have one daughter!

 

[mamacatnv]

Gheesh as if I don't have enough to worry about - thanks ladies!

You know, there is some benefit to coming from the more liberal "coast" it is not uncommon for both sides to pitch in on weddings or even for the couple to do it themselves. I haven't given much thought to the whole wedding thing, I'm still figuring out the whole college thing.

DH and I paid for our own wedding. When my brother got married 3 years ago (first wedding for both of them), they paid for it and I paid for the small family dinner the night before the wedding. This dinner was different from the rehearsal luncheon which her family took care of. We were not invited to the rehearsal, there was no reason to be, none of us were part of the wedding party. Since neither of our parents were in attendance for the wedding DH told my brother we would pick up the tab for dinner. There were about 15 of us and my SIL held it at a Mexican restaurant so it wasn't stupid expensive. My DH just thought it would be a nice gesture. Truth be told, I am sure DH did it for me because he knows how it bugs me that our parents are not involved in our lives.

I do not have an issue with kids assuming some of the costs of their higher educations. I don't mean like we are tossing him out the door and saying you are on your own, but I do mean he can take out a small loan and work P.T. to help with some of his expenses. Honestly, I can't write a $20K check at the moment, so he doesn't have much choice I guess we could raid our retirement accounts or take out parent loans, but DH and I both agree that there is no reason DS can't help out. Our plan is if he does well, we will pay down the loan balances as much as we can, but we hope if he has something invested in this adventure that he will take it seriously and put his best effort into his education. One can hope

 

[mamacatnv]

I forgot to tell you guys - the BIG HUGE Black Widow spider is HISTORY! Finally, I can step into my garage without getting DS and I came home last night about 9:30 and when we pulled into the garage we saw her, staring us down, shining her fangs I hadn't seen her in almost a week and was convinced she was seeking out one of my shoes or was just waiting for me to go to sleep. I have worn nothing but flip flops all week (PSA we don't leave shoes in the garage because of summer spiders) DS stopped the van about 1/4 of the way into the garage and hopped out of the van. DH bought some new spider killer and it was sitting there on the nearby shelf waiting to be put to work. The label says it kills on contact, including widows, it better, otherwise we now are living with one really ticked off spider! DS gets the can of spray and stealthily sneaks up on his tip toes even and blasts the spider! She was twitching on her web and then retreated behind the freezer. I was trying not to cheer He soaked her really good so I am pretty confident that she is history. (insert chuckling evil smiling twisty hands smilie) Hopefully we got her before she had a chance to breed and I am also hoping that any other black beauties that might be hanging out in my garage packed their bags and hit the road last night. I can't even begin to describe how much I hate and fear spiders. Totally irrational, I know Doesn't help that I watched the Discovery Channel over the weekend and Dr. G was at first concerned that one of her bodies in the morgue might have been a widow bite.

Another update:
We went to DD's new Charter school on Saturday and I must say we were very impressed. (I was worried) The school bought an old bowling alley and gutted it. There is a very large common room along with the classrooms that are huge. They have high ceilings and built in projectors in the ceilings along with built in cabinets and sinks. The only thing that is kind of weird is that none of the downstairs classrooms have windows. There are 3 classrooms upstairs on street level that do, they are the 5th grade rooms. The buliding is built into a hill and the walls are cinderblock. The nice thing is there is also a science and an art classroom (something none of our elem. schools have) each room is full of sinks and cabinets. There is also a computer lab and a separate music room. DD will have science and art classes taught by qualified teachers that is separate from what goes on in her regular class. She is very excited about this. We did not get to meet her teacher, there are 3 - 4th grade classes, the size is restricted to 18 kids (another huge plus) and they have hired or retained 2 of the teachers, the 3rd is in the reference checking process. The director told us that they sent out offer letters in May and had all the positions filled but as the economy and housing markets have continued to tank he has had several teachers who have had to back out because they couldn't sell their houses in their current markets. He said they had to do some further recruiting but he is confident that they have completed the process. He also said they will not hire new teachers, they want proven experience. I know experience doesn't mean everything but it is nice to know that experience is something they are willing to pay for.


Those are my updates, hope all is well in your necks of the woods. Sandy, it's almost football season

 

[Sandy V.]

Gheesh as if I don't have enough to worry about - thanks ladies!

You know, there is some benefit to coming from the more liberal "coast" it is not uncommon for both sides to pitch in on weddings or even for the couple to do it themselves. I haven't given much thought to the whole wedding thing, I'm still figuring out the whole college thing.

DH and I paid for our own wedding. When my brother got married 3 years ago (first wedding for both of them), they paid for it and I paid for the small family dinner the night before the wedding. This dinner was different from the rehearsal luncheon which her family took care of. We were not invited to the rehearsal, there was no reason to be, none of us were part of the wedding party. Since neither of our parents were in attendance for the wedding DH told my brother we would pick up the tab for dinner. There were about 15 of us and my SIL held it at a Mexican restaurant so it wasn't stupid expensive. My DH just thought it would be a nice gesture. Truth be told, I am sure DH did it for me because he knows how it bugs me that our parents are not involved in our lives.

I do not have an issue with kids assuming some of the costs of their higher educations. I don't mean like we are tossing him out the door and saying you are on your own, but I do mean he can take out a small loan and work P.T. to help with some of his expenses. Honestly, I can't write a $20K check at the moment, so he doesn't have much choice I guess we could raid our retirement accounts or take out parent loans, but DH and I both agree that there is no reason DS can't help out. Our plan is if he does well, we will pay down the loan balances as much as we can, but we hope if he has something invested in this adventure that he will take it seriously and put his best effort into his education. One can hope

What are friends for? Other than to give you things to think about!!!!

DH and I paid for most of our wedding as well. It was a relatively simple affair; we were 23 and I hadn't been to that many weddings so I kinda winged it as to what was done. I'm like you - financially, I am in "college mode" right now and weddings are definitely NOT part of my immediate picture.

DD talks about having a "nice" wedding in the future, but I fear that her definition of "nice" and mine are two different things. Thankfully, I think she realizes that DH and I will pay some set amount and it will be up to her and her fiancee' to cover any extras. I think you should concentrate more on the marriage and less on the ceremony, but I know that it's hard not to get carried away unless you've got a budget in mind.

Kids can be so naive about all of this. My MIL was telling me that our niece thought that when you rented a reception hall, the wedding cake was included in the price!!! Umm, no dear!!

Our "deal" with our kids is that we will pay for tuition, room & board, and books. Any "fun money" is on them. We are paying for an undergraduate degree, but they will be responsible for anything beyond that (we may contribute towards post-graduate stuff if our finances and desire allow, but we're not telling them that at the moment). Fortunately, both kids are very appreciative of our contributions.

 

[Sandy V.]

Melissa, I'm glad that the spider is dead and you can go into your garage without fear!!!!! Kudos to your DS for taking on Mr. Spider!!

Sounds like the charter school is very promising. I like the small class sizes and the separate art and science classrooms. That gives the kids lots of great opportunities. So when does your DD start back to school?

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. We're not big on gifts, so none given and none anticipated, but I think we are going out for dinner tonight. Our trip is our gift.

Well ladies, I'd better get back to work. Have a great day!!!!

 

[mamacatnv]

What are friends for? Other than to give you things to think about!!!!

Geez, thanks

DH and I paid for most of our wedding as well. It was a relatively simple affair; we were 23 and I hadn't been to that many weddings so I kinda winged it as to what was done. I'm like you - financially, I am in "college mode" right now and weddings are definitely NOT part of my immediate picture.

Our wedding was also very small, I think there were 25 people there. We got married outdoors in the snow up at Lake Tahoe and then had a small appetizer reception at my GrandMothers house. Only our closest friends made the drive to Tahoe along with My Bro, Dad and DH's parents who flew in.

DD talks about having a "nice" wedding in the future, but I fear that her definition of "nice" and mine are two different things. Thankfully, I think she realizes that DH and I will pay some set amount and it will be up to her and her fiancee' to cover any extras. I think you should concentrate more on the marriage and less on the ceremony, but I know that it's hard not to get carried away unless you've got a budget in mind.

we live in the age of "PLatinum Weddings" DH gets concerned when DD watches that show

Kids can be so naive about all of this. My MIL was telling me that our niece thought that when you rented a reception hall, the wedding cake was included in the price!!! Umm, no dear!!

I remember when my BFF got married a few years ago and I was floored at the cost of her cake - it was close to $1000 which I thought was the stupidest thing I had ever seen. For a cake!

Our "deal" with our kids is that we will pay for tuition, room & board, and books. Any "fun money" is on them. We are paying for an undergraduate degree, but they will be responsible for anything beyond that (we may contribute towards post-graduate stuff if our finances and desire allow, but we're not telling them that at the moment). Fortunately, both kids are very appreciative of our contributions.

That's a pretty good deal in my book!

 

[mamacatnv]

Melissa, I'm glad that the spider is dead and you can go into your garage without fear!!!!! Kudos to your DS for taking on Mr. Spider!!

I hate spiders shudderrrrrrrr........DS was bit on his low back by a Brown Recluse when he was a toddler, the bite mark was at his diaper line, the scar is still the size of a silver dollar and is between his shoulder blades. It still gives me the willies when I think of it.

Sounds like the charter school is very promising. I like the small class sizes and the separate art and science classrooms. That gives the kids lots of great opportunities. So when does your DD start back to school?

We are very excited about her new school. I was reading a comment section under school reviews yesterday and the only complaint I read was from disgruntled parents whose kids were asked to leave because they would not adhere to the behavior policy. I have no issue with a strict behavior policy, we are thrilled at the idea.

Both kids start school on 8/25

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. We're not big on gifts, so none given and none anticipated, but I think we are going out for dinner tonight. Our trip is our gift.

Congratulations! That is quite the milestone

Well ladies, I'd better get back to work. Have a great day!!!!

You too, enjoy your dinner!

 

[horseshowmom]

Gheesh as if I don't have enough to worry about - thanks ladies!

You're welcome!

I do not have an issue with kids assuming some of the costs of their higher educations. I don't mean like we are tossing him out the door and saying you are on your own, but I do mean he can take out a small loan and work P.T. to help with some of his expenses. Honestly, I can't write a $20K check at the moment, so he doesn't have much choice

I agree. While DD has been very fortunate to have had almost all of her expenses covered by scholarships, she also has a part-time job to help with other expenses. We do help out as needed (for example, her car just had a new set of tires last month and she had to have her A/C repaired this month - that used up a large portion of $1000), but I don't think people are doing their kids a favor by covering every expense they have and providing them with an unending stream of financing. I really think that's why some kids have such a hard time when they get out on their own. They're used to their parents standard of living and think it's their due. Fortunately, DD has more sense than that, and so does her DFi (of course, her salary will be a considerable sum when she starts out! ).

Hopefully we got her before she had a chance to breed and I am also hoping that any other black beauties that might be hanging out in my garage packed their bags and hit the road last night. I can't even begin to describe how much I hate and fear spiders.

I'll never forget stepping on a great big spider and having what looked like hundreds of little spiders escape from the body.

Another update:
We went to DD's new Charter school on Saturday and I must say we were very impressed.

The school sounds wonderful, and I'll bet she's going to really enjoy it. It may very well turn out to be an experience that she wouldn't trade for anything!

 

[horseshowmom]

Kids can be so naive about all of this. My MIL was telling me that our niece thought that when you rented a reception hall, the wedding cake was included in the price!!! Umm, no dear!!

This girl has been too sheltered, methinks!

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. We're not big on gifts, so none given and none anticipated, but I think we are going out for dinner tonight. Our trip is our gift.

Happy Anniversary! We don't really do gifts much either. We try to do something we enjoy that day (this year we explored some museums and then went out to dinner).

 

[horseshowmom]

Geez, thanks

Our wedding was also very small, I think there were 25 people there. We got married outdoors in the snow up at Lake Tahoe and then had a small appetizer reception at my GrandMothers house. Only our closest friends made the drive to Tahoe along with My Bro, Dad and DH's parents who flew in.

Very neat!

I hate spiders shudderrrrrrrr........DS was bit on his low back by a Brown Recluse when he was a toddler, the bite mark was at his diaper line, the scar is still the size of a silver dollar and is between his shoulder blades. It still gives me the willies when I think of it.

I would never have dreamed that the scar would have moved so far. I guess I kind of thought the skin stayed in the same place but just got bigger. As the guy on Laugh-In used to say, "Veerrryyyy interesting."

We are very excited about her new school. I was reading a comment section under school reviews yesterday and the only complaint I read was from disgruntled parents whose kids were asked to leave because they would not adhere to the behavior policy. I have no issue with a strict behavior policy, we are thrilled at the idea.

That would definitely work for me (and I think the school can consider it a major selling point). I'm so tired of seeing schools have to jump through so many hoops to put up with kids who won't behave themselves (to everybody else's detriment ).

 

[mamacatnv]

This girl has been too sheltered, methinks!




Happy Anniversary! We don't really do gifts much either. We try to do something we enjoy that day (this year we explored some museums and then went out to dinner).

Last year was our 20th - DH had the stomach virus from heck, I spent the evening at Longs Drug store buying Immodium, baby wipes and Desitin, it was an experience I will never forget!

 

[Sandy V.]

Our wedding was also very small, I think there were 25 people there. We got married outdoors in the snow up at Lake Tahoe and then had a small appetizer reception at my GrandMothers house. Only our closest friends made the drive to Tahoe along with My Bro, Dad and DH's parents who flew in.

we live in the age of "PLatinum Weddings" DH gets concerned when DD watches that show

I remember when my BFF got married a few years ago and I was floored at the cost of her cake - it was close to $1000 which I thought was the stupidest thing I had ever seen. For a cake!

Your wedding sounds lovely.

Fortunately, DD does not watch Platinum Weddings!!!!!

I like cake as much as the next person, but $1000 is way more than I can fathom spending on one.

 

[horseshowmom]

I like cake as much as the next person, but $1000 is way more than I can fathom spending on one.

What??? You think the $1000 I'm spending on wedding cake isn't reasonable?

 

[Sandy V.]

I hate spiders shudderrrrrrrr........DS was bit on his low back by a Brown Recluse when he was a toddler, the bite mark was at his diaper line, the scar is still the size of a silver dollar and is between his shoulder blades. It still gives me the willies when I think of it.

How horrible!!! Heck, no wonder you hate spiders!!! I feel the same way about mice - I think living in old country farmhouses close to grain bins made them so prevalent in my childhood that they still give me the creeps.

We are very excited about her new school. I was reading a comment section under school reviews yesterday and the only complaint I read was from disgruntled parents whose kids were asked to leave because they would not adhere to the behavior policy. I have no issue with a strict behavior policy, we are thrilled at the idea.

Sounds like some of those enabling parents who think "Not MY child." I appreciate a strict behavior policy myself!!!

Congratulations! That is quite the milestone

Thank you!!!

 

[Sandy V.]

I agree. While DD has been very fortunate to have had almost all of her expenses covered by scholarships, she also has a part-time job to help with other expenses. We do help out as needed (for example, her car just had a new set of tires last month and she had to have her A/C repaired this month - that used up a large portion of $1000), but I don't think people are doing their kids a favor by covering every expense they have and providing them with an unending stream of financing. I really think that's why some kids have such a hard time when they get out on their own. They're used to their parents standard of living and think it's their due. Fortunately, DD has more sense than that, and so does her DFi (of course, her salary will be a considerable sum when she starts out! ).

I agree. Kids have to "hurt" a bit financially and realize that money does not grow on trees. By that, I don't mean that I would ever deny my children food, shelter or necessary things. But "necessary" does not include I-Phones or Ugg boots!!!!

I'll never forget stepping on a great big spider and having what looked like hundreds of little spiders escape from the body.

All right; I'm getting a little creeped out here!!! Yuk!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mamacatnv]

Very neat!

we loved it and the pictures are beautiful with the snow covered mountains in the back ground. We lived in Los Angeles at the time and planned the whole thing by phone.

I would never have dreamed that the scar would have moved so far. I guess I kind of thought the skin stayed in the same place but just got bigger. As the guy on Laugh-In used to say, "Veerrryyyy interesting."

it is wierd to see how the skin obviously grew and relocated itself - it is wierd, the spot doesn't tan as well as the rest of him and during the summer months when he is life guarding it is easy to find.

That would definitely work for me (and I think the school can consider it a major selling point). I'm so tired of seeing schools have to jump through so many hoops to put up with kids who won't behave themselves (to everybody else's detriment ).

They do use it as a selling point, it was one of the main reasons we looked into the school - they advertise that they will not accomodate kids who can't keep up and kids who can't behave. DD is such a "suck up" and hates the chaos caused by behavior issues that I know this is one area she will enjoy while she is lamanting the lack of fashion her uniform provides!

 

[Sandy V.]

This girl has been too sheltered, methinks!

Actually, she has, although my SIL and BIL are starting to loosen up the reins a bit. This will be interesting to watch as the plans come together. I'm still hoping for a Vegas wedding. Our side of the family is the "fun" ones and we'd all go to Vegas in a heartbeat (remember, I have never been and I'm dying to go!!). My BIL's side are a bunch of stuffed shirts who think that alcohol is a horrible things to imbibe, so we're thinking they may not even come. (By the way, Sheila, I know that you don't drink, but you don't seem like the sort to harshly judge anyone who does, so I hope you don't take offense. ).

:Happy Anniversary! We don't really do gifts much either. We try to do something we enjoy that day (this year we explored some museums and then went out to dinner).

Thank you. We try and do activities rather than buy things, just like you.

 

[Sandy V.]

Last year was our 20th - DH had the stomach virus from heck, I spent the evening at Longs Drug store buying Immodium, baby wipes and Desitin, it was an experience I will never forget!

Now that is NOT the way to celebrate your anniversary. I know that it wasn't your DH's fault that he got sick, but he "owes" you big time for your 25th!!!!

 

[Sandy V.]

What??? You think the $1000 I'm spending on wedding cake isn't reasonable?

So that's the going price of cake in Mississippi?!?!?! My goodness I'm in the wrong business.