bloom day 1 Comment

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day: September 2016

The daylight hours are shortening, and here in my NW Ohio Zone 6a/6b garden, things are starting to wind down in preparation for autumn.

This chrysanthemum hasn’t been happy or healthy for the past couple of years. Two years ago, she was full of blooms; this year, she put out a scant few while trying to battle whatever disease or insect is skeletonizing her leaves.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: Sept 2016

The Nikko Blue hydrangeas (I found a Nikko Blue tag in the dirt, so I’m guessing most if not all of my mophead hydrangeas are Nikko Blues) are reblooming in the cooler weather.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: Sept 2016

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parenthood Leave a comment

Pokemon

Connor with Pokemon plushies

Last night, Connor asked if we could go to the toy store today and buy Pokémon plushies.

Why not?

Today, we used a long-ago-gifted Toys R Us gift card to buy Connor a pokeball — and we already had a Pikachu at home that we hadn’t given him yet. Connor was SUPER well-behaved at the toy store, didn’t beg for anything we didn’t plan on buying, and asked the cashier if she could please remove the tags.

When we got home, we made up a star chart for bedtimes, so that Connor can get a toy reward for behaving at bedtime. He decided on his own that twelve stars equals a trip to the toy store. He’ll get a silver star each night if he doesn’t yell or throw anything (yes, it’s a bedtime problem lately), and a gold star if he decides not to use his “Golden Button” to call me back upstairs after lights out.

Here’s hoping this works out…

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Dear Connor: Year Five

Dear Connor,

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I usually try to post these missives closer to your birthday… but, to be honest, I really haven’t been feeling like writing lately. My prime writing time (not counting breaks at work) is generally after you go to bed, but bedtimes have been so unpleasant lately that I don’t want to do anything after that but curl up in a ball and watch TV or play on my phone.

Sometimes I wonder if your Dad and I have erred somehow in our discipline strategy. Your defiant and willful attitude has escalated over the past few months, and bedtimes especially have become exercises in patience and punishment.  Continue reading →