This is so awful.... I was working at that time, I do homecare nursing, 10P-6A last night, and this case has two siblings with a genetic syndrome, so there are two nurses. My co-worker weighs nearly 400 lbs, and we work in conjoined rooms in a 100+ year old farmhouse, even an average-sized adult produces a fair amount of vibration/shaking when they're moving about... Lots of people up here felt the shaking, more than one person i talked to was sitting in a parked car, and thought someone was messing with them , bouncing the car...but me, i'm so used to being bounced around when i work with this gal, it didn't even register. I had the morning news on, so i heard about it immediately, said, 'Hey, Charlene, did you know we just had a earthquake?' She's pretty used to being an environmental mover and shaker, too...she didn't notice either!

Well we got pounded up to 24 inches and then it drifted to 3 feet in areas. Hubby shovled the driveway on sat and I did 2 360's on the way to the barn. Spent sat making sure every one had food and water cause was not sure when could get back to them. Hubby thought what a great day to do xmas shopping, he did his lol all by him self and honest did a great job, no one else was out with 4 wheel drive it seems and those like me did a slide decided not to venture out again. Funny on 12/15 did my last sowing of the pasture grass here in south NJ 5 lbs of perennial rye. I bought alot of seeds at the seed store( think where the farmers go to get seeds). Been saveing up kitty litter jugs for my tomato seeds this year and a few lettuce for the peeps and my self. On thursday it was like 30 degrees here at 4 pm and heard a sound would not like to hear a week before xmas. PEEPS, my little bany hen hatched out 9 chicks. So nabbed up the mom and put them in the kitchen at the farm house to stay warm. She loves her little ones and since her first hatch was 4 ducklings this summer figured she needed her little ones. Going to be a long winter and need to grow them some lettuce. Thank goodness for this forum and winter sowing. ML

I keep mine at 68 all the time unless it's really cold and windy out of the west. Usually I can stand it but occasionally I will put it up a couple more degrees temporarily. I will put the clamp light under the desk pretty soon. That keeps it warm enough my feet don't get cold. I refuse to be cold. I use a mattress warmer at night. I thought the new flannel sheets would be enough but they aren't. I can't sleep if I'm not warm. I don't care what it costs, I won't be cold. This will definitely be the last outside animals I have. When these are gone, that's it. If there are barn cats coming and going I will leave a bag of cat food and a heated water dish. I'll check it but not twice a day. I'll leave the cat beds and probably make some other arrangements, too. I have piglet heating mats. Those, I'm told, cost the same as a 60 watt light bulb. African violets and Christmas cactus are blooming. Peace lilly will be soon. The poor old geranium that was one of those seedling things how many years ago... is blooming on the kitchen windowsill. I thought it was a goner last spring when I put it out but summer was good to it.

Again, thanks everyone for your insights and advice. Invaluable to have a panel of experts at my fingertips. : ) A few comments/replies. First,the easy one. It is seems that "return the necklace" won in the popular vote and the electoral college. I didn't want to muddy the waters but I was also a little hesitant because the piece was pricey and though it is lovely, the chain it is on is way way way too delicate (read: cheap) and that kind of annoyed me. So, off it goes. Next, the alarm issue. A few things to clarify. My inquiry is not "my darn kid won't get up for school in the morning!" When called, she gets up promptly and gets ready on time and there are no issues (for this I am so thankful, having friends who struggle regularly). But she literally sleeps through the alarm clocks we have tried and through Alexa. It's bizarre to me. It can blare indefinitely. This is not about turning off alarms and going back to bed. And the situation does not matter .... ie whether she is getting up for something really fun ,or something ordinary, or something she does not want to do. It doesn't really have to do with "having a reason to get up." Is she getting enough sleep? Eh, IMHO teens are all sleep deprived. She has a fairly busy schedule and demanding classes. We try to impose an 11pm bedtime and she is up about 7am. That is not "enough" for teens (who could easily sleep like newborns) they say but it is more that most get and it'd be hard to find a way to get more, So we get her up currently. She was the one who asked me about an alarm because now she wants to get up earlier to blow dry her hair sometimes, and we are not always up. Plus we would like it to; it would be nice if DH and I could just sleep until she needs her ride to school. Based on the advice here, I think multiple different alarms including a vibrating one might work. April - I can do that, too. Which has always puzzled me. Why would we have innate clocks that are so accurate? It is one thing to get up the same time every day. It is quite another to tell yourself a time, and automatically get up at that time. Tartan, She is a moody teen (is that not redundant) but I see no signs of depression. Has been an unusually sound sleeper her entire life, and also is the "can fall asleep on a picket fence" type. Good idea to mention it to her Dr. though. Gscience, 3 of 5 of us are allergic to cats. Maybe I can train the dog? LOL. I am a night owl, but this kid is not. Oddly, she is the only "morning person" in the house. When none of us are on a schedule, she is the first one up. Nosoccer, They have been friends for several months but the getting together is still new-ish so there is not a clear pattern. They have both been very appreciative and don't ask much IMHO. Sometimes one or the other family has something to do in the area. The first few times, the Dad literally drove the kid the whole way, kept himself busy for 3-4 hours, then drove the kid back. Nice Dad. Once, we drove her, then we saw a movie and had dinner. These are weekends only; between sports, volunteering and h/w, it is hard to fit it in at all. Yes, that is the thing about private school. Most parents don't drive more than say 45 min to a school, but that still means friends can be 1.5hr apart! Bonnie, First, thank you! That was a nice compliment. I've heard good things about the light alarms, but I don't think it would work. What about when you are getting up and it *is* light. Honestly I think it is most of the school year. Moreover, none of my kids have WT in their bedrooms, and her bed is parallel to a very large bank of windows. She gets a lot of sunlight . We would not contort our schedules for the meet-ups. Fact is we have a lot of free time anyway and the ride doesn't bother us and there is plenty to do. I am torn between letting her enjoy this time and a general feeling that serious BFs are a very bad idea in HS. Oh, and college. Probably grad school, too. ; ) Cyn, I go back to bed after I wake her up. So nothing that would wake *ME* up, please. : ) I like your approach re the beau. Play it by ear. Lukk, I am very fortunate that she is not difficult or unpleasant for humans to wake up. I am! Multiple and varied alarms might be good. I also should enable the "drop in" on Alexa as a back up. I like your take on needing us as an "opportunity." It is a good point. TBH she really has not asked much yet but I am just trying to decide on groundrules before we establish a precedent. It is a generational issue too because my parents (who were great) would never have done a thing in such a situation. OTOH my brother took boyfriends and girlfriends on vacation with his family when they were all in HS. Of course he met his wife in HS so may have more respect for "young love." JMCK, hilarious about DH's coworker. Good point about car rides and talking. I have found one other benefit. It is something else one can use for a reward/punishment. LOL. Running, LOL. You are right. She wants to control when she gets up, and a traditional alarm isn't working. Maybe I should experiment w letting her have the phone to wake her on vibrate plus those annoying nuclear-warning-ish alarms. I hesitate because at bedtime I always had my kids bring their phones to me. I am shocked at how late kids text each other, snapchat, etc. If I don't have their phones on DND, I hear them buzz into the wee hours. This was true even in middle school! And with very good students. Crazy. Oakley, I think I can return it, if not I will save it. I would hate for her to do all that driving too. In fact, I am totally dragging my feet on the whole driving thing. Only if and when she pushes it. My son, the eldest, is an excellent driver and I never worry/ied. My middle DD has made no progress in a year because she is never home. I am dreading the "baby" driving because she is more impulsive. And come to think of it, I would not be thrilled if he had a car and could drive her either. I haven't forgotten being a teen in a car on a date. Sheesh. Sueb, I have seen enough to know that kids do really learn how to solve their own problems! OMG, Tiffany has some really cute pieces. I love the single "love" earring. That is so funny you both picked the same thing. I am always very pleased that I can still pick out things they like! I gave my other DD a bracelet and I had no idea it was the super-hot "it" thing to wear on her campus now. Go figure. He is the friend of a friend, I think they played on the same team. Thankfully yes, we can easily entertain ourselves. I think we will just have to see how it evolves, but I am heartened to see that most people think it makes sense to be at least marginally helpful. Tuesday, thank you for your thoughtful and kind post. Robo, That is a fair point. There is nothing to walk to where we live. Several neighbors are on 10-30 acre lots, and several are vacation/weekend homes. Of all 3 kids only one ever had a friend whose home they could walk to. We usually drive them to friend's homes, or into a cute/active downtown that is 5 min away. How nice that your parents provided such a warm environment (and why does it not surprise me, knowing you? : ) ) Dedtired - Yes, young love is wonderful. I am happy for her, even though as an adult and parent there are a lot of reasons to be a wet blanket, LOL. I can't remember the last time any of my kids was late for school, thank goodness. I credit my DH as the driver, if it were me their track record would be less pristine. When I was in college, I took my my classes in the evening! Oakley, I think she would like more sleep. But IME teen sleep appetite is nearly insatiable. She does report having trouble falling asleep sometimes, and in that case she uses Alexa for guided meditation. DH and I like that too. Jterri, I think 2x a month is very doable. His parents are very nice and very accommodating. I actually like his Mom a lot and could totally see spending time w her. Maire - that is so funny about the dog mat! Yes, i struggle with what is an old-fashioned response to this! Like so many parenting decisions, you want to evolve with the world, yet be true to your own standards. Tishtosh- I like this point : telling the child that this is a problem that you would like them to work on and begin researching ways of dealing with it. She asked me, but I will give her some ideas and then put the ball in her court. Everything works better when people think it is their idea. I also agree that these relationships are important learning opportunities. Especially at an age where so many kids let external influences define who they are, a true friendship or caring relationship helps kids define themselves. Maddie, other than perhaps at a party of a mutual friend, their paths would likely not cross. The only thing worse than driving my 16yo an hour would be her driving an hour, LOL. My son drove himself to school (12min or so) for 1.5 years before he did any substantive driving. I'd love to keep that paradigm. We will see. Oly, thanks for the link. Times like this I am glad she is on a different floor and "wing". LOL Yeo, I do think less is better. But no matter what I can't see how it would be more than 2-3x a month, given schedules. Come to think of it, the incessant contact over the phone is in a way, "worse." People can become very close that way, they are part of each other's day all day. Lascatx, if none of the things mentioned here help here, I think we should discuss it with a Dr. Good idea. A family member supported such a relationship -- and I think it made for a weird and confusing situation. I think the parents were too involved and too invested in the relationship -- and the kids too. As mentioned above, my DB did this, and I felt it was odd. It gave the relationship too much weight and sort of tied the kids together too soon? I'd like all of my kids to meet many different people and in a perfect world not settle down until well into a career and having lived on their own. That'd be my ideal for them. Arcy, we do wake her, but that is not ideal. It is never safe to make him forbidden fruit but I wouldn't slice him up and serve him on a platter to her either. LOL that is perfect. Yeah, I am not looking to play "on the porch with the shotgun" but as someone else said, his location is out of her control and I would/have facilitate other social relationships Whew, last time I procrastinate on GW! That took a long time! Recap: 1. I will tell her some of the suggestions and have her choose what she wants to try 2. The necklace is going back 3. If asked, we will help, along with his parents, facilitate their getting together ~2x a month