Aren't they pretty?!
What should I make? It has to be something good.
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Allergies Are Stupid
The title pretty much sums it up. Yep.
Aaron, Ethan, and I are all getting allergy tested. These poor boys have both been on allergy medication daily since they were one year old and have a multitude of symptoms. Ethan also has asthma. I don't have too many of the typical allergy symptoms, but because I have struggled for ten years now with unexplained fatigue, digestive problem, joint pain, and other frustrating symptoms, the allergist is testing me for a multitude of problems - plain old allergies being one of them.
We have some interesting results already. So far, Aaron tests allergic to baker's yeast, banana, brewer's yeast, corn, milk, orange, potato, soy, tomato, and wheat. We are done testing him for foods now and have moved on to inhalants. Of those, only brewer's yeast and tomato are strong enough of a reaction to really look at eliminating the food. The others he reacts to, but could have more of a rotational diet plan or other treatment.
Ethan has much more food allergy. His is not complete yet, but he is reacting to potato, apple, milk, egg, chicken, tomato, wheat, peanut, soy, brewer's yeast, corn, and baker's yeast. What is this boy going to eat?? Of these, we already know that brewer's yeast, baker's yeast, corn, and peanut are pretty strong allergies, and soy, wheat and tomato are borderline strong. The others we haven't found his end-point (the level of allergen he can have with no reaction) yet, so I don't know where he'll be on it. He still has some foods to test, too. Our doctor uses a treatment called LDA, which I haven't found much good information on yet so I don't really want to link it with anything. Basically it is a shot that gives very small amounts of the things you are allergic to in order to build your bodies immunity to them. It is very effective. Seventy to eighty percent of people who take it can eat all their allergic foods again after two years of treatment. I'll see the doctor in a few weeks when they are completely done with the testing to get an actual plan of treatment. As of now, the only change we have made is to get him off peanuts because it was his strongest reaction. Baker's yeast is close though, so I should look at that.
Because this is all so depressing, I'll add something fun here. We grow a small patch of blackberries in our backyard. I decided to make something extra yummy with the berries we got this year and made a great blackberry cobbler from a recipe I got off the Pioneer Woman blog. Ree, my mouth loves you, but my hips? Well, I cannot tell you what my hips think of you.
Mmmmm.... You should really try this. Your mouth will thank you.
Aaron, Ethan, and I are all getting allergy tested. These poor boys have both been on allergy medication daily since they were one year old and have a multitude of symptoms. Ethan also has asthma. I don't have too many of the typical allergy symptoms, but because I have struggled for ten years now with unexplained fatigue, digestive problem, joint pain, and other frustrating symptoms, the allergist is testing me for a multitude of problems - plain old allergies being one of them.
We have some interesting results already. So far, Aaron tests allergic to baker's yeast, banana, brewer's yeast, corn, milk, orange, potato, soy, tomato, and wheat. We are done testing him for foods now and have moved on to inhalants. Of those, only brewer's yeast and tomato are strong enough of a reaction to really look at eliminating the food. The others he reacts to, but could have more of a rotational diet plan or other treatment.
Ethan has much more food allergy. His is not complete yet, but he is reacting to potato, apple, milk, egg, chicken, tomato, wheat, peanut, soy, brewer's yeast, corn, and baker's yeast. What is this boy going to eat?? Of these, we already know that brewer's yeast, baker's yeast, corn, and peanut are pretty strong allergies, and soy, wheat and tomato are borderline strong. The others we haven't found his end-point (the level of allergen he can have with no reaction) yet, so I don't know where he'll be on it. He still has some foods to test, too. Our doctor uses a treatment called LDA, which I haven't found much good information on yet so I don't really want to link it with anything. Basically it is a shot that gives very small amounts of the things you are allergic to in order to build your bodies immunity to them. It is very effective. Seventy to eighty percent of people who take it can eat all their allergic foods again after two years of treatment. I'll see the doctor in a few weeks when they are completely done with the testing to get an actual plan of treatment. As of now, the only change we have made is to get him off peanuts because it was his strongest reaction. Baker's yeast is close though, so I should look at that.
Because this is all so depressing, I'll add something fun here. We grow a small patch of blackberries in our backyard. I decided to make something extra yummy with the berries we got this year and made a great blackberry cobbler from a recipe I got off the Pioneer Woman blog. Ree, my mouth loves you, but my hips? Well, I cannot tell you what my hips think of you.
Mmmmm.... You should really try this. Your mouth will thank you.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars
We've got monarch butterfly caterpillars!! We watch a couple of adults laying eggs on our milkweed about a week ago. You can see in this picture an egg, a hatched egg and the tiny caterpillar. I've found three caterpillars so far, but there are many more eggs. How exciting. Whey they get a little bigger we'll put one or two into our butterfly hatching thing-a-ma-doodle-thingie.
And look at this fungus growing in the zinnias. Weird. I wonder how to get rid of it. I might have to just take it out by hand.
And look at this fungus growing in the zinnias. Weird. I wonder how to get rid of it. I might have to just take it out by hand.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Rachel and the Faerie Queens
Sorry Johanna, I didn't mean to totally wipe out your post.
We bought new pepper plants after whatever-it-was ate the others (we think it might be raccoons now). We put them in the ground and immediately they were chowed down. But we managed to rescue this one with one leaf and now it's growing more leaves.
And this one ha already got a pepper growing on it. Wahoo!
We bought new pepper plants after whatever-it-was ate the others (we think it might be raccoons now). We put them in the ground and immediately they were chowed down. But we managed to rescue this one with one leaf and now it's growing more leaves.
And this one ha already got a pepper growing on it. Wahoo!
Do I talk about Rachel a lot? It seems like I talk about her more than the rest of the girls. She's at that age though.
Monday I took her out on an errand to JoAnn's and to make it extra special the plan was to get her a freezy drinkie thingie. Whatever they are called.
I decided to pamper her real good and carried her around, whispered jokes in her ear and tickled her knees. I said, "Rachel you are so heavy. You're getting so big, why do you want to grow up like that?" And Rachel says back to me, "Because I want to wipe my own butt."
She's got lofty goals.
We have been studying the Renaissance in history. This week we read about Good Queen Bess. That's Queen Elizabeth I. Edmund Spencer wrote and epic poem about her called "The Faerie Queene." So as a project for a house full of giggling little girls, we made fairy wands. Lily is now pointing with her wand and saying things like, "I'm hungry" and "Go get it". I might have to take her little wand away. She's getting a wee bit too big for her britches.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Squirrel Saga
See this cute little guy. Isn't he just ssooooooo cute? Sarc off. The girls put some bird seed in one of their toy bowls and our friend Mr. Squirrel was quite appreciative. We've got some Shake Away to scare him off. Hopefull he doesn't like dried fox pee.
I don't like Mr. Squirrel. He eats my plants. Lookie my tomato plant. I can't believe it's still there and he hasn't chowed it down yet.
But lookie my bean plants. I think we've got maybe 1 or 2 dozen grean beans even though Mr. Squirrel has eaten all of the leaves and most of the green beans. Well, gee thanks Mr. Squirrel. You are so kind and generous to leave us some of your loot.
I don't like Mr. Squirrel. He eats my plants. Lookie my tomato plant. I can't believe it's still there and he hasn't chowed it down yet.
But lookie my bean plants. I think we've got maybe 1 or 2 dozen grean beans even though Mr. Squirrel has eaten all of the leaves and most of the green beans. Well, gee thanks Mr. Squirrel. You are so kind and generous to leave us some of your loot.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Garden Woes
Sigh...does anybody know how to stop squirrels from eating your garden? We're in city limits so we can't shoot them (okay, so we don't have a gun either) and it may be difficult to put chicken wire up. Grrr...maybe we can hire a fox or something to patrol our garden.
So far they've left the tomatoes alone except for a few leaves toward the bottom of the plants. I expect them to be next because in all the reading we've done about squirrels in your garden everyone talked about them eating their tomato plants. I'm really upset.
Here's the lovely garden. Looks nice from here, eh? You can see nice tomatoes and rhubarb, cucumbers, corn, sweet potatoes, onions. Lemon grass. Ahhh, isn't it totally fabulous. What's missing? Well, if you recall I mentioned before that we planted some green and red peppers and green beans. The green beans should be climbing up that thar fence y'all see thar.
See our peppers. First stupid squirrels ate the leaves off, then the flowers off and then nibbled down the stems to what you see here.
After they devoured our peppers they started in on the green beans. Most of the green beans looks like this now. There are only a couple with leaves or flowers on them and I am sure they will be consumed with abandon any second now. In fact, with my super-Spidey hearing, I think I can hear them gnawing at them right now. 
The onions and cucumbers are left alone. Maybe the cucumbers make them have gas and the onions give them bad breath.
So far they've left the tomatoes alone except for a few leaves toward the bottom of the plants. I expect them to be next because in all the reading we've done about squirrels in your garden everyone talked about them eating their tomato plants. I'm really upset.
Stupid squirrels
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