I don't dare plant outdoors yet, except peas. Here in Z6 we still can have a frost up until the last week of May. My pepper plants now have blossoms on them indoors, and te tomato plants will need staking when planted outside. They do get moved out to the greenhouse in about a week or so, just to harden off the greens. Soon, I can also plant the new asparagus plants grown from seeds, as well as some shallots I also started indoors. Found a broken glass pane on the roof of my greenouse. Thought my dad had a few spare pieces of 2x2 foot 1/8 inch thick glass, but when I opened the old box it was in, they were broken. Why he kept them I haven't a clue.. It will cost be about $17 per piece for some replacement glass. I would have opted to replace with a polycarbonate, but the roof needs more strength and rigitity to hold up to heavy snow loads.

g8trgrad98: It is almost scary how much your situation parallels my own. I had written in this forum a number of years ago when my stepson was about 16/17, and just recently as my stepson is approaching 21 (2 weeks). I was in a very similar situation - my stepson was like my own despite his bio-dad in the picture. I was the parent 320+ days of the year and treated things like that - and things were great until that wonderful 15/16 age hit. Like you, I had the typical "you are not my parent" attitude and also like you I had a kid doing a fair amount of pot (does even more now it seems). However, my stepson did not have a grandparents home to run to, so during this whole time he has been in the house. I've had two children with my wife, and they were born when my stepson was 11 and 13. He started out really great with them, but sadly now my kids (now 9 and 7) ask why their brother is so mean and grumpy. I wonder how involved your wife is in this case with either backing you up and setting up rules, or defending her son. My situation was (and still is) very difficult because my wife enables her son and will often tell me to back off while she continues to do so. Has this been an issue in your case? What does she say when your stepson asks her to choose between him and you? Sorry to say that I've come to the conclusion that for some kids, seemingly mine included, they won't ever get a clue until life deals a viscous dose of reality to them. My suggestion to my own wife is that once we stop the money, the coddling, and the comforting life will end up showing this kid what it can do. To that end, better to do that now while he is this young and stop protecting him. Once he experiences poverty, perhaps tinged with a dose of desperation, I think that can change a perspective. Unfortunately, my wife still insists on keeping her boy protected, and the results have again been much like yours - I'm beginning to resent this child I love and felt had so much potential. My wife wonders why I don't take him golfing and be his buddy, but I'm finding my resentment building and just can't fake it. Not sure what you can do with your stepson with him being 17, but I just can't help but feel that a few body blows from reality might help - just wonder whether your wife would be able to go for it.

Yup your MIL sounds about right… right up there with mine lol. not much help but I hope this story can make you feel better since mine is a bit sadder. I have a 21 year old step daughter and my husband ( her dad) and I have a 4 year old son. Both are bio grandchildren . The only two grand children. My MIL visibly favours the stepdaughter so much that every one in the family notices. Heres a bit of background. Hopefully you can relate and maybe feel better? SD is to put it nicely, a twit. Drug addicted , spoiled brat, always had her way and not homeless only because she is in jail for welfare fraud and credit card fraud. MIL has always praised her and bought her whatever she wanted. still does. BIo son is at 4 years old already in grade 1 ( he skipped kindergarten after being labelled gifted) is well behaved , polite and doesn't really ask for much other than lots of attention like a 4 year old usually does :) My MIL picks on him, calls him a nerd, doesnt buy him anything for xmas or birthdays, doesn't call him, and is just generally very mean to him when she does see him at holidays. It so bad that I had to tell my 4 year old that jail is not a good thing. He thought it was because MIL still praises the SD so much. Hopefully your MIL isn't as wicked. After all of this my advice is to just not take it personally and limit the time she has with her grandkids. Trust me it will be much less stressful in the end :) cheers!

Wow, such wonderful wisdom, not that I'm surprised! Lynn, we are both embarking on quite the life adventure, right?? I hope I've gotten off on the right foot with being a MIL; since they met I have tried hard to stay supportive but not be intrusive. In a fortuitous life circumstance, just after they got engaged my son had to be away for professional training for 8 months, and my DIL ended up living a couple of blocks away in my own MIL's house while he was gone (my MIL is in assisted living). While he was gone I tried to invite her over for dinner at least once a week and I think that helped us bond--it also helped get her leave the office in the evening and go somewhere to consume a healthy meal, both of which she tends to ignore when she's too overworked :). Meanwhile, my son was training close to her family so he would go stay with them on the weekends. We joked it was our version of the Parent Trap. I also read a tip somewhere that I've followed-I always take my DIL's side! I never criticize my son to her, or vice versa. As far as they know I think she is right 100% of the time LOL. I will confess that it sometimes feels as if our side of the family is an afterthought which can be a bit hurtful and this from Tish really resonates: "Another thing I would say is to give your future DIL the benefit of the doubt. Some things she may do will be clueless but not malicious and sometimes there may be underlying reasons why they choose a particular course of action." I think it bothers my husband more than me, he has quite often commented that DIL doesn't confide in me, include me etc. I'm selfishly very glad I have a daughter of my own. We're super close, as DIL is with her own mom, and it reminds me that mothers and daughters share a relationship that is from the heart and can't be replaced. My own MIL was a sweetheart in most ways. Very different from me but devoted to family and I can honestly say she never once said anything nasty or unkind until her dementia caused most of her social filters to slip. She has thrown some zingers my way in the past few years ('I really hate career women") but that's not her fault. Overall though she was loving and very accepting which meant a lot especially since I lost my mother when I was 19.