First Day Of School 2015

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but as of today, I have a second grader and a fourth grader.  The Dad and I walked them to school this morning and discovered that The Kid is now upstairs.  With the big kids. Oh.  My.  Gosh.

The Girl got the teacher that The Kid had as a kindergartner.

We love her, so that's exciting.

The Kid got a teacher that I know from the halls, but not much else.

A male for the first time.

He gives me a good vibe, so I'm hoping for a good year.

When I picked them up and asked how their first day was, The Girl's response was, "Really good."

The Kid said, "Awful."

He said they didn't do any fun activities and had to do worksheets all day.

Welcome to the fourth grade.

Poor guy.

He didn't want to stay and play after school, and instead was asking to go home.

So we did.

He's on the couch with a migraine as I type.

His first one since school let out.

He did not have a SINGLE headache all summer long.

I find that very interesting.

I just called and made him an eye doctor appointment.

It's hard for me to believe that a nine-year old would have stress-induced migraines, but I could be wrong.

He gets along with everyone, and doesn't have any social issues at school, so I'm not sure what he might be internalizing.

I just wonder, after a full day of reading and writing, if it isn't eye stress that's been the culprit all along.

We shall see.

Anyway, he looked cute this morning.  :)

The helpful little sister, making faces at him.

Baby wanted in on the, first day, photo action.

Then I got all three of them together.

The kids each took flowers, and pictures they drew, to their new teachers.

Funny face time.

Ya think they're related?

So here we go.

Another school year has begun.

Another year of Baby being stuck at home alone with The Mom during the day.

Off to check on my kiddo.....

The Front Yard: 8/20/15

This is the time of year when I go on editing frenzies.  Purging all. the. things.  I ripped two bags worth of clothes out of my closet and drawers yesterday.  On a whim.  No mercy.  No hmming and huhing over any item.  Yank.  Into the bag.

Every August, I want to tear every plant out of the yard and start over from scratch.  Only keep the ones I love.  Make room for new ones that are on my wish list.

It's the time of year when annuals are scraggly and showing their age, perennials have done so well that they're pushing all their neighbors out of the bed.

The dirt is dry, and cracked, and needing a load of compost.
I'm just kinda over all of it.

I'm ready for the editing frenzy.

Until then, here's what's going on out front, as of last week.

After being mowed down in early spring by the slug army, almost all of the Coleus survived and thrived this year.

Some years they do well for me, others, they suck.

The Persicarias are new to the yard this year and this one is, hands down, my favorite.

Shape, habit, and color.

This sunflower-ish plant has a tap root that would rival the toughest of the dandelions.

Dozens of plants comes up in this same spot every year and some years I let them grow, some I don't.

This year it got lucky.

The dang things are at least twelve feet tall.

"Tina" is still doin' her thang.

I love this rose.  I wish I knew the real name of it.

These are the 'Vanilla' Marigolds I was talking about yesterday.

The ones that will keep me out of the Cool Kid's Club.

I don't care, I love them.

My pictures make them look more yellow than they actually are.

The plant itself is so nice and tidy and I love the puffy, butter colored flowers.

The 'Blue Bell' Dahlia is really starting to bloom good now.

I still have two Dahlias that haven't done anything yet, but I spotted buds on both plants today.

And last, a pink Zinnia.

I wish I had room to grow a whole giant bed of them.

That's it for out front today.

The kids start school in the morning, so we're rounding up first day stuff and getting outfits ready.

Here we go with another year!