Remember the expensive calculator ???

Avatar for onehappymama
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Registered: 09-26-2005
Remember the expensive calculator ???
11
Tue, 10-03-2006 - 10:40pm

I don't know if you ladies remember the conversation that I started around the 1st week or so in Aug. about an expensive school supply that was on Quinn's 7th grade supply list. The school highly recommended a TI-83+ calculator (used for graphing) that cost $90 at Walmart. We opted to hold off on getting it because they have some in the class that he can use. Next year he will have homework requiring one & have to have it then (I'm hoping that I will luck up on Ebay or in a pawn shop or something).

Quinn found one on his bus today. He tried to give it to the bus driver. She told him "Oh. Just keep it." He told her that it cost almost $100 & she told him to turn it into the office tomorrow morning. There is no name on the calculator at all. I bet that there is some kid that is in hot water for losing it. I tried to call the school, but the line was busy. (I think they were having phone problems) When I get Quinn one, you better believe that his name is going to be in it along with our telephone number! Also, I'll probably figure out a way to etch his name too. LOL!

I started thinking about what the most expensive things that Quinn has lost. Back in early Aug., he lost his IPod that my brother gave him for his b-day last Oct. (I think he spent around $120 for it, maybe more!)...but technically it was my fault. We went 'back to school' shopping at Target. He put it in a bag with some clothes we bought for him. When we got home, I took the bag into the laundry room & pulled the 2 or 3 shirts out put them in the washer. I then threw the bag away, not knowing the IPod was in there. A couple of days later, he & I were going on a trip to White Lake for the week & he wanted to take it. He could not find it! We looked all over the house. Then sometime around midnight, we went through 3 or 4 bags of garbage that was in the outside cans. It was hot & they were super stinky. I was gagging. Then we sat on the deck & calmed down. We retraced our steps in our minds & he remembered putting it in the Target bag. We looked in the laundry room trash & there it was! Whew!!!

When he was in the 2nd grade, he lost 4 coats/jackets within 24 hours! (It's a long, detailed story). The terrible thing was he didn't have a warm jacket to wear to school the next day. I ended up going to Walmart after midnight to buy him a sweatshirt. We did get all of them back, but it took a month to get the good coat back & I never did figure out who had it.

Share your stories!




Edited 10/3/2006 10:49 pm ET by onehappymama

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Avatar for cathiann
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 7:46am
I don't think I can beat any of those stories!
Surviving Middle & High School
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2003
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 8:04am

Sore subject!


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Avatar for onehappymama
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2005
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 9:23am
I probably wouldn't go buy a sweatshirt for him now. But when he was 7 (2nd grade) & did not have anything warm to wear, I did without hesitation. The coat that was lost was actually taken by someone in his scout den.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-28-2004
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 9:32am
My tween had a gameboy "walk out" of our house. I am still pissed about that one. He hadn't had it a month. He said he took it to Joey's house and brought it back. I think he either a. left it at Joey's and his mom didn't make him return it or b. Joey took it from our house. Either way, I held Isaiah responsible. He loses a jacket EVERY year at school. Most recently, he lost his GAP pull over and didn't tell me about it until I asked for it. He needed it for the Giants game and he didn't have it! Pissed me off.......so we had to stop off on our way and get him a new pull over. Urrgghh!






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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 10:27am

Well, just last week my son was in gym class (10th grade) and they were all told to leave their backpacks on the bleachers, assured they'd be safe. They left the gym and upon thier return my son realized BOTH his cell phone AND his MP3 player were missing from his bag! We were all so mad! Apparently now they've sent a note home telling that there are a lot of electronics being stolen right now...but since it says in the handbook that its' recommended NOT to bring these items to school, then they can't be held responsible for their loss...grrr....

Oh, and to make matters worse...we texted his phone asking that it be turned in for a reward...the kid texted back OKAY...SEVERAL TIMES. Everytime we asked. But he never turned it in. I finally went to Cingular on friday to have it turned off and to get a new sim card for an old phone we had. This kid had downloaded almost $20 of stuff online but luckily we got a credit on our bill for it.

As for coats and jackets, I've NEVER bought expensive ones for the kids. Even their ski jackets come from Walmart/Target! I'm just cheap because I KNOW they'll lose them! I didn't even buy either kid 'quality' shoes until 7th grade because they tore them up or outgrew them so fast. For both kids 7th grade seems to be the year they suddenly WANT to look nice, which means they actually start taking care of their stuff and having some pride. Now I don't mind shopping dept. stores and buying nice clothes for them!

Denise

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-15-2005
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 10:46am

I hate losing things - last year in a 9 week PE class - DS went through 3 pairs of sweats and had to buy the last 2 pairs on his own - I told him I was done -


This year, the day before we left GA, DS had his wallet and phone stolen out of his LOCKED PE locker - the coach tells us later that the kind of lock we used (combination lock) is easy to pop open.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-23-2006
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 11:09am

A couple weeks ago, I had to take SS (10) for his dentist appointment. On our way out the door, he tells me he's forgotten his game boy (it was the new one, maybe a month old) in the office and of course I didn't even know he had it with him, never saw it. We go back in, it's not there, we check the car, the parking lot then he thinks it might be at home. Not at home anywhere, he doesn't remember where he had it - it's now among the missing and I just need to say it's a good thing his head is attached otherwise he'd "forget" that too!

Btw, that calculator you mentioned, my ODD (10th gr) got by without one for years since she had access in class to it. It was only this year she was finally informed it was NOT an option. I got hers at Office Max for $60 on sale and it included the case. The biggest concern for parents here is that these expensive things (as they get into HS) get stolen, not lost.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 12:14pm

Guess I'm lucky. She's never really lost anything of value.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2006
Sat, 10-07-2006 - 12:38pm
DH threw away an envelope with 400 dollars in it once. Oh, and we were at Starbucks one day and he had to send some bills. We stopped by the post thingy. What's that called? anyway, where you drop the mail and he put an envelope that had money in that too. The post office later sent him a check. Saying, hey stupid you dropped this in the mail. No, they didn't say that. The manager sent a nice note with a check less the postage.
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Avatar for onehappymama
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2005
Sat, 10-07-2006 - 9:45pm

Oh my goodness!!! I had a friend that use to throw money away on a regular basis. She & her hubby had to go through the garbage a lot looking for it. It got to the point where he wouldn't let her throw out garbage from the wastebasket that was beside the desk. He would look through it before tossing. He was so funny talking about it. He would say "Ai ya yi! Tommi, she throwing away my money I work so hard for." (He was Serbian.)

The worst thing I ever lost was a hearing aid. (I wear 2) I did find it, but it was chewed on by the dog! The battery went dead. Instead of getting a new one right there & then, I took it out & laid it on the coffee table. We were watching an exciting Duke basketball game on tv & I didn't want to get up until a commercial. Then when the commercial came on, I went to get it & it was gone!!! I remembered my (stupid, but sweet) beagle was sniffing around. I looked all over the house for it. I could not find it. Then a couple of days later, Quinn came up to me with what was left in his hand. It was in the floor of his closet. (She had hid chew bones in there before) The total value was over $1000! I went without it for another 2 years, until my other started 'acting up' & was able to get new ones. It was a lesson hard learned. I will never ever be so careless again! The thing was, I had never done that before, but the game was so exciting & I just did not think.

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