A jug of Febreeze. I'm quite sure the guys in my son's dorm never did laundry the way you and I think of laundry...they Febreezed--EVERYTHING--shirts, jeans, sheets, towels, probably their armpits...lol I second the OTC med/first aid kit. Send the minimum until you know the kiddoes your son will be rooming with. Things like Sudafed can be abused. Still...I wish we'd done this. There was one very miserable night when my son (no longer in the dorm) called to tell me he was sick. Based on past experience, I knew immediately he had strep...probably 103 fever, raging sore throat, chills, in short he was alone, several miles from a store and miserable. I can guarantee you I spent a miserable night as well. While he was at the pharmacy the next day, I made him stock up on Tylenol and such. Extention cords and power strips. My son's dorm room had two outlets. Boys seem to need their electronics...Xbox, DVD players, Speakers system. Hopefully you can coordinate with the roomie so they don't overlap too much. Personally, I'd love to see game systems banned for dorms, but I'm sure schools fear no young men would come to school. lol Remember, you can't prepare for every instance. What you hope to see when your son or daughter goes away to school is some of the resourcefulness you've taught over the years. Do they know how to find information? Do they seek out the best way to do things? Can they face a challenge and deal with it? (Like getting a ride to the store when they don't drive. It's perfectly do-able.) Have fun and remember to enjoy these next few months.

I went to a one room school house. We had to make our own valentine boxes. We had to give everyone a valentine and I remember we didnt want to give too mushy of one to some of the boys but we were all friends. We had a party for that and all of the other holidays and I remember our mothers would come and bring all of our younger siblings along so it got quite crowded. We had about 25 kids in school. Im sure with all of the others there was probably 50 people there. What I remember the most was a chicken that we made out of hearts. The body was a large heart and smaller hearts were glued on to make the neck, head, wing, tail and legs. I sure wish I had the pattern for it. Does anyone else remember this?

I think it is an age thing. I was with some friends, at that age, who stole a watch. I was SO SHOCKED.. and even more, I was annoyed because I was with them and could have been implicated as well. Fortunately, for me, they didnt get caught but gave me a huge fright and it really taught me a lesson about who I hang out with. What lessons do you think your daughter has learnt ? You said she was remorseful, and took her punishments, I think she has acted like a real lady. I am sure it was impulsive, as someone else said. There has been a lot of talk in the press about how young people's brains dont fully mature until they are about 25. Which means their emotional section of the brain is often very separate from their logic section. How long are these punishments to last for ? I think you should keep in mind that its the behaviour of your daughter (shoplifting) that you are upset with, and that you still love your daughter, and she is treasured. If she is anything like my children, I am sure she is just heartbroken and feels aweful. Give her a hug and tell her you love her. I am sure she has learnt a valuable lesson over this. It is quite common, I think. My neices did the same thing, and they where actually taken to the local police station, and they police phoned my brother ! They only did it once ! Popi

Don't let that sour your new life that's coming in the next couple of months. Not worth it. Take it as an opportunity to teach your children flexibility. Handle it with grace and they will learn a ton. Bestow the experience with negativity then they will internalize that. words I often need to tell myself, to remind me that they are watching and learning about life and how to handle it, from me. I realize you may just be venting here in a safe space, but a a new home, a new school, and a new life deserves all the excitement and positive energy you've been putting into it. Bureaucracy, it is what it is, and it has its rules.