hmm...sounds like I might pass on them. I don't do well with things that require maintenance that often lol. My dh got me a spa gift card for Valentines Day and i'm just getting around to using it. That was one of the things they offered that sounded intriguing. Thanks for the feedback.

My mom and I both have had pairs do that. I was wearing a pair of clog types (a favorite, but this was the first wear of the warmer season) and the sole just started coming apart. Thankfully I was still around the house! Mom had several pairs do that. So weird!

Any experience with these? I read that they are supposed to last about 4 weeks, but one site said a few days at most.

I picked "under the right circumstances" for all three. That would include, for me, the individual child. DS2 is looking at graduate school. He doesn't want to take out loans, but he has yet to find a professor he is interested in working with who has research money to pay a grad student. He has been accepted to an excellent school (Georgia Tech) and, after a visit there with him to find possible housing, I'm of the opinion that it would be a fantastic fit and opportunity for him. I can see him growing there. *In this case* we would not hesitate to *help* him with some expenses. We have the resources and, for me, putting those resources into one of my deserving kids to make their life easier for the short term is a no-brainer. For me, my kids are my best investment (I've got kids who are appreciative). This son is living at home this semester, is working at a start-up (meaning that he is making money but not what he would if he were in the industry), and he purchases his own clothing, gas, etc. He also will cook, clean, and run errands without any complaint. Yes, these would be the right circumstances :)

I think he needs an evaluation. Becoming weak and thin lately is concerning. We do have some medications to help with appetite and weight gain. Any change from baseline is cause for concern - even at 91.

It sounds like you're doing a great job. Honestly, texting and an occasional call are really our mainstays. I try to do something special for birthdays that fall during the semester, Easter (if they can't come home), Valentine's Day (favorite candy from favorite local pharmacy - same for Halloween). My boys are both nearby so it's easy to see them. However when ds was away at Bible College in England, I got an Amazon.uk Prime Subscription and sent goodie boxes periodically - things that were difficult to get in the local village. He and his dorm mates enjoyed those. We text daily...sometimes more than once daily. I'll often snap a picture of their pets (or nephew) doing something and text them those. I think pictures help connect them to home - and they miss their pets. If I see a news story that is relevant to something we've discussed recently, I'll send them links. Basically I use texting as a substitute for conversation lol. If they don't answer back, I assume it's because they are busy and I'm oK with that. Sometimes I just feel the need to tell them I love them...and I act on that. I think it's hard for everyone when they go off to school...they are used to having so much interaction with us (and siblings and pets) and that is suddenly cut off. Communication is the best thing you can offer, IMO.

We would have used it about 3 years ago. I'm glad to hear that they have expanded it. I thought it was a useful program.

All my boys had phones once they started driving. They had iPods before that. We felt that if they were inclined to view things we didn't approve of online, the lack of a phone or ipod would not stop that. There are plenty of other avenues in which that can happen. But we have always had candid discussions about the dangers of and the violation of ones conscience which can cause problems down the road. However, I did add the Smart Limits option to my youngest's phone when he went off to college. He has(d) a hard time saying "no" to people and he was getting texts at all hours of the day and night from a certain young lady. It affected his sleep, his personality, and his grades. So I told him what I was doing and he was fine with it. I think he was even a little relieved. I limited the time he could receive texts and calls and added us, his family, as exceptions. That is a great tool, IMO. Did they engage in activity through their devices that I wouldn't have approved? I have no idea. They are fantastic boys and we have a great relationship, they know my values, and they are old enough to make their own decisions now.

We used it as a special Friday grammar thingy. I thought it was helpful...the boys liked the change from the usual program. I don't know that I would use it as a stand alone grammar program. Editing seems to have been the boys' hardest activity. For some reason they were resentful about correcting their own work, but the Fix It seemed to remove their egos from the equation lol.

He's four. Fours are funny. My guess is that another child will show interest in the toy which will spark interest in your son. I wouldn't stress over it. I doubt he is harboring hard feelings toward you. He's disappointed...maybe it's scary to him? Cake and Ice Cream will probably make it better. Pick up some extra balloons, party hats, etc. if necessary. There were times that my kids' reactions to gifts weren't what I had anticipated, but that's OK. FWIW, they could never really tell me what it was they didn't like or what they would have preferred. Sometimes it's just the build up to the event that is exciting and once the package is opened, well, the excitement is over. My youngest still hates to open his last Christmas present. I think he would leave it there all year long.

I don't think my boys had a difficult time transitioning. I think their eyes were opened to the fact that there are some really smart kids out there and my boys were no longer the big fish in the little pond. They also realized that they were quite ahead of many of their peers in basic life skills. All my boys have taught their college buddies how to cook, grocery shop, and do laundry. One mentioned a few weeks ago that none of his friends knew how to use tools or which tools were used for what purpose. Probably the most difficult thing...they've all mentioned this...is that they hate group projects. For some reason, the work always falls to them. They feel like they carry the whole group because they are concerned about getting good grades and the others don't seem so concerned. I'm not sure how to fix that esp. since it seems that the groups are assigned. Maybe the skill of managing and motivating others would have been helpful. They have had a hard time not having their pets. Son #3 decided to have fish in his dorm room...they are now on my kitchen bar :( My boys all attended our local university as concurrent students. They each had 24 or more hours prior to beginning college. Perhaps that helped them. They knew how to take notes, read the syllabus, office hours (although they were reticent to go to those office hours), budgets, etc. They missed home and they missed their brothers. Sons #1 and #2 have graduated and still keep in contact with friends they made in college - so I think their social ability is fine. I'm hoping 3 and 4 do the same. I think each kid will have different challenges. I'm not sure there is a lot a home school parent can do to take away those challenges. Perhaps the best advice is to make sure your student has an open line of communication with you so that you can make suggestions when you see a gap. Sometimes they don't know where to turn for help (as evidenced by my son being threatened by his roommate and he didn't know what to do)...and that's where I found myself most helpful. I think we can give a huge amount of information to our kids (student health, the bookstore, office hours, advisers, etc.) but when it comes time to use that information, they often seem to have lost that bit of information. So, as long as they will tell you the issues, you can remind them.

Oh, we noticed the "adults only", but that has so many meanings. For example, I often have a Christmas party for adults only. Many "bed and breakfast" type lodgings are for adults only. Some church functions we attend are for adults only, and the children we will be taking with us are adults, too. It was the "erotic" part that made me wonder ...nude art? mirrored ceilings? Box of "goodies" tucked away somewhere? Just what did that mean? FWIW, we stayed at a chocolate/bamboo farm in Kauai when the boys were young. It was an interesting place...nude sculptures and other nude/erotic art dominated the decor. The library was full of homo/hetero erotic books. It would have been nice to know, in advance, what to expect lol.

I truly hope that Turkey settles down sometime within my travel-lifetime. It's a place I've always wanted to see. We were aware of the extremist Muslim problem, but it seemed to also have some civil unrest (due to the newspaper issue) with the potential to be explosive. Knowing that other countries recommended that their citizens not travel there left me feeling we ought not as well. I'm pretty comfortable putting together international trips for the family. I've organized 5 or 6 in the past 10 years. My "go to" site is TripAdvisor's forums. They are very helpful - from hotel advice to suggestions for full itineraries. We travel light - usually just carry-ons and/or backpacks. Right now I'm waiting to see if dh's brother and sil will be going with us. That will make a bit of a difference in our mode of transportation within the country. And, I think, Tokyo has Uber :) My sons have become quite the Uber experts. I think we will be doing a lot of train travel and, for one area, some on a bus. Thanks, everyone, for the advice.

It has to do with licensing. Retail pharmacies have different licenses than hospitals have. Therefore hospitals cannot operate as retail pharmacies. They can administer medication while you are there. Did you have a driver or someone with you? If you didn't they would have been hesitant to send you out the door with percocet on board. I hope the ibuprofen was helpful. It often works as well on pain...depending on the type of pain.

A pharmacist can change the tablets to the same dosage of liquid preparation without calling your physician. It's the same med...just different form. It is readily available in most retail pharmacies.

LOL! I'm so glad I asked here rather than Googling. I'm using a company we have used in the past for other trips. It's more of an online (you can speak with real people if desired) company (tripmasters.com/european destinations.com). They put together the package with suggested hotels, but they also give you a list of hotels you can change to - usually for an upcharge. This particular one in Kyoto was the lowest priced. We realized that we were scheduled in Kyoto over the weekend. When we changed that, a whole lot of other hotels opened up for the same price. I guess Kyoto is a hopping place on the weekends. :lol: Thankfully, we will be getting two rooms - one for the boys and one for dh and myself. Just an aside: The 23 year old graduated last May, did an internship with SpaceX, is working in a lab this semester with a friend's start-up, and he has a nice savings account. The trip was his idea and he is paying his own way! He said he had promised himself a big trip after graduation and that's what kept him going through undergrad. It's so nice when they become financially independent. He heads to Georgia Tech in August for grad school so I imagine he'll end up using a bit of that savings in the next couple of years. We had originally planned to go to Turkey, but nixed that when the government took over the newspaper (felt it was unsafe). Then we considered going to Spain/Portugal so he could attend the Barcelona Formula 1 race (he was on the race team at OU during undergrad), but when I found an article in a British newspaper advising against travel to France, Spain, and Turkey...well, we decided to go the other direction. We are looking forward to this trip. It will be very different from our other jaunts. Thank you all for the information. Glad I wasn't the only one who didn't know what that meant :laugh:

I have traveled quite a lot and have never encountered this: This is a hotel in Kyoto, Japan Modern décor and warm lighting feature throughout the guest rooms at Hotel Grand Fine. All air-conditioned units are well equipped with a fridge, complimentary mineral water and an electric kettle with instant coffee. A spacious bathtub, a flat-screen TV, a sauna room and toiletries are in the attached bathrooms. Rooms have erotic items and TV channels. Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/kansai/kyoto/hotels/hotel-grand-fine-kyoto-minami#ixzz43w1hOOaH What does that mean? Nude pictures on the wall? Or more "useful" devices? This is the hotel recommended by our travel company :huh: We will be traveling with my sons (ages 20, 23)

If you were planning a family vacation (May) to Turkey (Istanbul, western coast, Cappadocia, etc.) would you reconsider in light of the most recent government take over of the newspaper in Istanbul and the resulting protests?

My soon-to-be-grad student has plans for a European vacation (part guided/part self guided). He will be gone about 3 weeks. The first half is an organized tour, the 2nd part he will travel on his own. I'm looking for ideas for a birthday gift for him that will help make his trip easier/more fun/safer, etc. He has an old European blackberry phone (from his brother's year in England) and is considering taking a tablet or his laptop. Please share your ideas for making this a wonderful trip for him. (I posted this on the high school board, too)

I'm posting here because this board has been my most frequent hang-out place and you folks have awesome advice :) My soon-to-be-grad student has plans for a European vacation (part guided/part self guided). He will be gone about 3 weeks. The first half is an organized tour, the 2nd part he will travel on his own. I'm looking for ideas for a birthday gift for him that will help make his trip easier/more fun/safer, etc. He has an old European blackberry phone (from his brother's year in England) and is considering taking a tablet or his laptop. Please share your ideas for making this a wonderful trip for him.

Looks like we've got a lot of digging to do. The grad student housing is about $9000 for the school year. That just seems like a lot of money to spend just to have nothing to show for it in the end. I guess that's why my mind goes to the idea of purchasing a property. But, YIKES!, those places are expensive. But if one could keep them rented...well, it might be a good investment.

I'm more comfortable with him being on campus, but he thinks (based on the GT interview) that the midtown area is pretty safe - the area just east of the campus. There are a lot of high end apartments there. But I'm pretty sure he knows nothing about the area lol. I've been on Hotpads.com, Zillow, and other sites. I'm even thinking about purchasing a unit and then renting out a room...it looks like the market there is pretty good for rentals. I'm looking at one in the MidCity Lofts - would this be too far to be safe? http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/82627788_zpid/2-_beds/2-_baths/any_days/globalrelevanceex_sort/33.802651,-84.364315,33.769979,-84.421134_rect/13_zm/0_mmm/ or would something in this area be better? http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/65470113_zpid/2-_beds/2-_baths/any_days/globalrelevanceex_sort/33.784337,-84.376481,33.768,-84.404891_rect/14_zm/0_mmm/

He's looking for at least one roommate. He found a fella on craigslist who is in the same situation - going to GT for grad school, from Boston, age 27 - sounded positive - but, hey, it's Craigslist - who knows lol. He thinks he can afford about $800-900 per month (probably dipping into his savings from his SpaceX internship) and the other fella says he can go up to $900 per month as well. We have found several 2 bedroom places for $1600 and up. Not sure if they have figured in utilities or not. He really wants to be in the Midtown area because it's close enough to campus to walk or catch a bus (or bike), but far enough to avoid the 'student housing' areas.

Thanks - I mentioned your suggestions to him. While discussing the benefits of on campus/close to campus he made the comment: "I want something that caters to 30-something professional; anything that caters to students will have borderline illegal activities." I think he hated his campus housing during undergrad :)

My son is looking for apartments off campus, in the midtown area, for his time there as a graduate student. If you live around there or have lived there in the past, do you have any opinions? He's definitely open to suggestions. He is also hoping to room with at least one other person. I think some of the apartments have roommate-matching programs. Any suggestions will be helpful. His semester in LA at SpaceX was enjoyable. He learned a lot about management and life. His biggest complaint is that SpaceX has a very lax attitude about dress. He said that those who dressed down (sometimes showing up in jammies) were the least productive. He felt that there was a direct correlation to the amount of work that got done and how casual/business dressed a person was. I was surprised that this bothered him, but I've also noted that he is dressing less like a college student and more like a businessman now. It really bothered him. On the other hand, the cafeteria was fantastic. He could eat supper for $5-7 which often included steak/prime rib/salmon/shrimp. He ate most of his meals there. The "life" learning was good as well. He discovered bad neighborhoods, crazy people, and the trash that washes up on Venice beach each night. He learned that the online pictures of apartments are not representative of the apartment one will get lol. But the biggest shock was seeing a dead body on the ground outside his balcony window. It was an eye-opening experience for this kid from small town Oklahoma. I'm thinking that this LA experience should have prepared him for Atlanta :)