Ah, the industrious squirrels! I've had oak seedlings and pecan seedlings -- very tenacious. After trying mechanical means and failing, I resorted to a more devious method that was quite successful. There is a product called Vinex, which I believe is a brand name for triclopyr. Don't be fooled by the name -- Vinex is a systemic herbicide that kills a lot more than vines. It comes with a little built-in applicator. All you have to do is paint a couple of inches of the stem (or is it already a trunk?), the closer to the ground the better. If you apply as directed, the only thing it kills is the offending seedling. It is a powerful herbicide that should only be used in very small doses. One giant caveat -- whatever you do, don't get it on anything else in the garden, including the ground itself. It would be the equivalent of giving a sniper a machine gun for a weapon. My local nursery carries it, but not all do. Good luck -- and wear gloves when you use it.

GOTCHA!! I see the whole picture here! Thank you all for your imput! It is very understandable and I see things a lot clearer now. Choosing non-married couples makes sense for a lot of reasons. I am no longer miffed and will be very supportive. Actually, I am kind of glad it happened this way because it will allow my fiance a better understanding of the relationship I have with my own god daughter. He is such a wonderful partner and father, that any child he is able to have an intimate relationship with would be truly blessed anyway. No - I am not Catholic, but the rest of my family is. To Carla35 - Yes I do know what it means to be a God Parent. I am a God mother to my best friends' daughter. We baptized our son last July so I am very familiar with the Catholic religions practices regarding God parents and the sacrament of baptism. To Colleenoz - My fiance's neices and nephews not calling me aunt doesn't bother me. I used it as an example for you all to better understand my relationship with the children. It is up to their parents and them as to what they call me and if they ever decide to even call me "aunt". Also - we DO have tentative wedding dates set for either November 1st or 8th of 2008. We plan to marry in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Thank you all for your comments!

Sorry guys - we went on a camping trip for the week. It was SOOO nice to be away from cell phones, texting and drama for a while! So lets see . . . SD and I have deep talks about boys, sex, responsibility, pressure, priorities - you name it - ALL the time! It's pretty much a nightly standard - we both look forward to it. It's difficult though - she knows all the 'right' things and can talk and agree with me on all the 'right' things, but when it comes down to it I don't really believe that she will do the 'right' things. The 'wrong' things can be so much more fun and so much more in sync with what everyone else is doing, and at the end of the day I don't know that all my talking and explaining will keep her from going down the path of her mom. I guess this is a standard concern every parent has, but it's so much more in my face because of her mom's example. With regard to SD's sister - yes, we are very worried. We're trying to come up with a way to alert her father as to what is happening without throwing SD under the bus at the same time. More to hopefully come on that. Yes, SD is there for a week at a time for summer break. She is already talking about not wanting to be there for extended weekends once school starts, but mom isn't so thrilled about that. We could attempt to go back to court for it, but I'm hoping once BM gets tired of the driving and SD's complaining things will work out that way naturally. SOOOO - fast forward to today. DH and I met with BM to talk about SD's abundance of time with her (SD's) boyfriend and share our concerns about things we've learned/noticed about him. That part went okay - BM didn't really 'get it' until we started talking, but I think we made our points. Then DH broached BM's dating and pulling SD (and her sister) into it so early on. BM totally doesn't get it. She thought it would be best to let SD decide when she wanted to meet the new men. DH said no - this isn't a choice for her to make. It's not safe, it's not setting a good example. etc. I explained further than SD will look to her mom on dating since I am not, so we want to make sure she has a good picture of appropriate for age 14 dating. BM kind of laughed that she could be the what not to do role model, and I replied maybe SD doesn't need to meet all the 'misses' and just meet the 'hit' when you KNOW that he is - then she wouldn't have an idea that BM was doing something 'not to do.' BM thoughtfully seemed to agree with that. OH - I forgot to mention. Since last Monday - 7 days ago - BM dumped the guy from the weekend, met a new guy online and has seen him three times already - already took her other daughter to the zoo with his kids. Her theory, as she told us, is that her daughters are her world so she wants a potential BF to meet them right away. GOOD FREAKIN' GRIEF - seriously?? How about sheltering them from your need to get your hump on? Though the talk ended on a good note, she was understandably a bit put off. It wasn't easy to bring up her dating life, and we treaded very lightly. What left DH and I shaking our heads is how clueless and self centered she is . . . and the fact that she will NEVER see that. Just to listen to her is mind blowing. Me Me ME! I guess I feel a little better, but I know BM won't change. At least now we can tell a judge we tried if it comes to it. I just worry every day about what SD will pick up from her, and what I don't even know about that I can't counter-attack. Teen age girls are hard enough - teen age girls with a suddenly trampy, self centered mom are hell!! :)

Your weeds are out of control - welcome to the club. This happens to ALL of us at one point, sometimes many points. First, don't move anything you want to keep right now - we are coming to the hottest part of the year, which is not a good time for transplanting. Second, triage what you've got. If the front is most important, spend what time you've got there. Start weeding! Pull out the weed(s) and either compost them, if you have room for a bin, or put them in the garbage. It looks like you mulched the front, so after you weed, put more mulch down - you need at least a couple of inches to make a difference with the weeds. For the hosta bed, weed there, and put in an edge of some kind to keep the grass out; it should go down a couple of inches, as grass roots will spread. That applies to all the beds - metal edging, landscape timbers, something like that - where the beds meet grass. For the former shrub bed, if all that's there is weeds, then just mow it until you have time to deal with it, or think about it. Same goes for the part you plan to expand into next year. If you have the time, pitchfork it over, pull out the worst weeds, and cover it thickly with newspaper, and mulch on top of that - that smothering will work on most annual weeds, and you'll have easier digging when you're ready. I can't see the particular weeds closely enough to identify; if there is something that is giving you fits, post a closer picture of it here and you will get help. You have the bones of a nice garden shaping up there. Maintenance is a pain in the neck, but is part of gardening, I'm afraid. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.