Today’s Blog is Brought to you by the Letter G

The first “G” is for capital cursive G. Isaac had a 5 alarm freak out about writing “capital G” in cursive. Frustration, yelling, retreating to his bed, etc… So, I pulled out a play in the teacher’s handbook that I picked up somewhere years and years ago. If your kid is struggling with a fine motor skill, practice it with their gross motor skills first. Make it tactile. Rice in a cookie sheet did the trick for turning his blood pressure, attitude, and abilities around.

The second “G” stands for Mrs. Gross, Nathan’s teacher. Mrs. Gross read the book Flat Stanley to the kids over the computer this week and the assignment was to print a “Flat Mrs. Gross” and take her around with them on their adventures. Papa Jim needed some help with yardwork this week. Nathan helped him out and brought Mrs. Gross along to help too.

And the third “G” is for gardening. I love working in my yard. I love digging in the dirt and getting dirty. I love trying new plants. I love rearranging things. And I love how fresh everything looks in the spring.

One area of my yard that has been a problem for me pretty much the entire time I’ve lived here (16 years) is in front of the bay window. We have mature trees in our front yard which provide lots and lots of shade as well as choke things out with their spidery shallow roots. (They also have deep roots too, don’t worry!)

A few years ago, I gave up trying to plant shrubs in that spot, covered the dirt with pea stone, and plopped down a bench. People tend to congregate in my front yard, so the bench is well used. But, it looked drab. It needed life. So, this is what Nathan and I did on Tuesday and Wednesday:

Picture Key: Top Left: The improved area. I have high hopes and low expectations.

Top Right: Close-up of the large container: Hydrangea with white flowers, Hosta, Coral Bells. I will probably add some Creeping Jenny from my backyard too.

Bottom Left: Astilbe in the smallest pot.

Bottom Middle: Hosta, Japanese Fern, Deadnettle in the medium sized pot.

Bottom Right: A close-up of the Japanese Fern. It’s supposed to grow to be 18″.