Hi Jitterbug and tamelask I did exactly what my instinct told me to do and that was spray 'em down good with some dish detergent and water from a spray bottle. I did that last night and most of those buggers got killed right away. I did also notice they are on the undersides of most of the large plants as well, literally EVERYWHERE. I sprayed as much as I could but I am sure there are some remaining. Hopefully the regal ladies will be out soon and eat the rest. I guess I was more worried about the aphids getting into all the other plants and flowers coming up too. I have only seen them on the iris so far, and yeah they were probably already in the soil that came with the plants. There were thousands of them, I swear. bundled up into piles, some were loners, etc etc. I think I got rid of maybe 80% of them right off the bat. That being said, the iris I do have appear to be purple and peach in color so far, they are a day or two away from blooming! YAY! Now if I could just get rid of the VOLES that are eating me alive, I would be all set. SO many new trails in my freshly rototilled front yards, it drives me CRAZY. AHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Lyle

Linda, dropping dirt is exactly what I do ha. I work for a propogating nursery and we have huge compost piles outside which we are generously allowed to use. I take two big plastic boxes left over from when we moved here and fill them every day with the compost (mostly dirt but lots of interesting stuff comes up in it). I take it home and drop it on the sand until I have the size or shape garden I want. I plant it and eventually I border it with dropped cement. I've made about seven gardens of different sizes doing this. Seriously I could drop the dirt and water it and all kinds of goodies would pop up (along with weeds). I've had datura, viola, spiderwort, hyssop and of course petunias come up in it. Adele

32W or 40W of fluorescents? Not enough power to grow 4' of plants. Well, I suppose since they're herbs, they'll deal with lower than ideal light conditions okay (most herbs are at least somewhat shade tolerant), but they won't grow as quickly as they would in proper lighting. Just don't try to grow brassicas or lettuce with that! ;)

There is nothing you can do about how his ex is raising her kids & if they are rude, manipulative, inappropriate... and dad won't correct them on his time, then you'll have to get used to that. Some of that will rub off on your kids when the older kids visit. I'm not sure kids will resent that the parent disciplines them... kids WANT structure, routines, & discipline. They need limitations. His kids are more likely to resent him for NOT giving them that. But, the bottom line is you have a preview of what kind of father he is. He may be wonderful with your kids now, but they are not his kids. Watch how he deals with his own kids because that says more about him. Well, in fact it says a lot that he is more of a parent to someone else's kids than his own. I know my custodial SD sees her mom being more of a mom to her boyfriends kids & that hurts her a lot. For a long time, SD was protective of her BM but now she seems to be retaliating. She is rude, disrespectful at her mom's house. At our house, she is more self destructive... failing school, getting in trouble for bad behavior, etc. It doesn't surprise me if your BF's kids act up at his house, he isn't being the parent they want. His kids will always be his kids & they will be around for a long time... teen years are coming. Then there are young adult years.. paying for college, needing money for cars or housing... emergencies. They will visit, maybe bring kids with them. There will be holidays, graduations, weddings, grandkids being born. You may not like the way his kids are but he is their father & will be involved in all those things. I'm 41 & my parents have been divorced for 27 years and still dealing with each other because they have kids, grandkids & now great grandkids. Before you marry him, imagine what it will be like when you're in your 30's and his kids are teens that decide they want to live with dad. What about when they are young adults asking for help to get out on their own. Imagine what it will be like when you're in your 40's or 50's and they want to move in with their own kids following a divorce. Marriage is a commitment for life... til death do you part. My husband admits he never thought of what it would/could be like when we married 4 years ago. We are now raising my 23 yr old son's child because my son married a woman that isn't interested in being a mom & he joined the Army to support his new 'family'. I'm having to deal with his 11 yr old daughter that is flunking out of school, lies, is manipulative & she steals things from everyone. She has emotional problems due to stuff her mom does to her & has been boy crazy since she was 5... her mom buys her sexy underwear & padded bra's... thinks it's cute. We get to decide when to put her on birth control. Lots of stuff we didn't plan on happening...