Keeping the faith......

Almost every Thursday I write about how my garden is progressing for Kindergardens. It is doing well although I have not been out there really at all this week, this week I need a break. 

I have not been blogging regularly and there is a reason for it.....

My husband and I have been trying to have another child for about 8 months now with no luck.  I have a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), which basically does not allow me to ovulate each month.  Here is a link if you are interested in finding out more about this condition from the Mayo Clinic.  There is no cure for PCOS and it is not known why women get it.  I have struggled with infertility since trying to conceive Little Bird. 

We have spend the past month running around like maniacs.  I found out that this cycle, which was our first, did not work.  I have been trying to keep it together but as you can imagine it has been hard to do.  I have been through so many let downs, tests, ultrasounds, shots, medications that we still don't quite get how this did not happen. I feel so inadequate. I am very angry and upset right now and still trying to wrap my head around it all.  I have been trying to come to grips with the fact that it is God's will and not for me to understand at this point.  I know that it will come in time and blah, blah, blah, I am tired of hearing that. Normally I am not like this, I am more of a put on your big girl panties, get the hell over it and do what you have to do but I just feel so differently about this.  Pity party anyone? It's at my house tonight around 5.....BYOB

Really I have everything in the world to be thankful for.  I have a husband who loves me, three beautiful little girls and wonderful group of friends.  I cherish everyday with them.  God has certainly given me some blessing, I know!

So onward.....I am waiting to find out when we start round 2.  I am trying to mentally prepare myself for either scenario.  I know that God will guide us but right now it is hard to keep my faith up. 

And since no blog is interesting without some pictures.........Here are some people I am thankful for!

Little Bug



Peanut



Little Bird



The Hubs



Two for the price of one veggies

No there isn't a sale at the local farmers market!  But maybe someone should tell them they are just giving away some of the best parts of the plants! In my last post someone commented on not knowing that radish leaves were edible.  That got me thinking about what other types of vegetables have a "two for the price of one" deal.  


I love beet tops and radish leaves with a little olive oil and garlic.  Very tasty!  If you have never tried you most definitely should.  For the radishes use the smaller leaves, the larger ones have this prickly coating and it feels like you are eating fiber glass.  Yuck! 


Here is the table I found in the April 2002 issue of Vegetable Production & Marketing News.  I don't know that I will try everything on the list but it is always good to know!

Vegetable	Common Edible Parts	Other Edible Parts
Beans, snap	pod with seeds	leaves
Beans, lima	seeds	pods, leaves
Beets	root	leaves
Broccoli	flower	leaves, flower stem
Carrot	root	leaves
Cauliflower	immature flower	flower stem, leaves
Celery	leaf stems	leaves, seeds
Corn, sweet	seeds	young ears, unfurled tassel, young leaves
Cucumber	fruit with seeds	stem tips and young leaves
Eggplant	fruit with seeds	leaves edible but not flavorful
Kohlrabi	swollen stem	leaves
Okra	pods with seeds	leaves
Onions	root	young leaves
Parsley	tops	roots
Peas, English	seeds	pods, leaves
Peas, Southern	seeds, pods	young leaves
Pepper	pods	leaves after cooking, immature seeds
Potatoes, Sweet	roots	leaves and stem shoots
Radish	roots	leaves
Squash	fruit with seeds	seeds, flowers, young leaves
Tomato	fruits with seeds	leaves contain alkaloids
Watermelon	fruit -- interior pulp and seeds	rind of fruit

Do you have a favorite "two for" vegetable?  If so please share, along with a recipe!

Kindergarden Weeks 10 & 11

First I apologize, I am so busy right now I forgot about last week, and I am finishing this post up at work.....Yes I am on my lunch!  That's my excuse and I am sticking to it! I promise next week I will be back to my regular irregular schedule.  I think it is pretty obvious time management is not my thing!
Oops! Sorry no pictures.  I did not bring my memory stick to work. I would forget my head if it wasn't attached somedays!

It has been hot and sticky July weather here but TONS of growing and flowering has been going on in the garden!  I seriously have not been this excited in a LONG time!

My zucchini and yellow squash have these beautiful orange flowers on them!  You can pick the male flowers off and deep fry them or cook them in a butter sauce or just add them to a salad, they are delicious!  If you don't know the difference the male flowers have a long straight stamens (they kind of remind me of the male anatomy).  The female look like a few curled up little zucchinis (and yes they do remind me of female anatomy) there is an ovary behind it and will produce fruit if pollinated.  Do not pick the female flowers, they produce the fruit!  If you want to try some zucchini flowers use the male flowers!

I have a bunch of tomatoes and a ton of little yellow flowers!  Those plants are almost 5 feet tall!  I have three different varieties, Amish Paste, Black Krim and a type of cherry tomato!  I remember growing up my grandfather teaching me how to grow tomatoes.  I was responsible for watering them every morning!  It's such a great memory and I hope someday when my girls grow up they remember this valuable lesson we have taught them!  

I take back what I said two weeks ago because my corn seemed to shoot right up! "Knee high by July" is the old adage!  We are right on course, hopefully we will start seeing some tassels soon! 

We finally got the herb bed filled with dark loamy soil and I am trying to figure out what I want to put in there. 
I keep checking the radishes but I think they have been overcrowded and are not going to grow anymore. So I started looking online to see how to prepare the leaves.  I did not know you could eat the leaves.  And did you know that if you leave radishes in the ground they sprout these little flowers?  Neither did I. I got these beautiful little flowers on top.

And no my chickens have not started laying yet.  On August 12th they will be 22 weeks old, I am keeping my fingers crossed!! 

Ok so I promise to make the time to blog. Have a great week!  I can't wait to see what everyone is growing!  To check out the Kindergardens series head over to The Inadvertant Farmer! 

A birthday note to my Little Bird......

Little Bird,

You are turning 5.  I just know this will be a great year for you!  You begin Kindergarten in September and will make a bunch of new little friends.  You will have homework and learn lots of really wonderful things like the weather, the alphabet, numbers and how to read......I know school will be no trouble for you because you are a very bright little girl!

You are also charming, sweet, beautiful and caring!  I love that you have spunk (yes, spunk), you are not afraid to try new things and give your Mama a heart attack every chance you get!  I absolutely love this about you and encourage you to keep trying new things even if it means giving your Mama a heart attack!  If you want to be a skydiving-race car driving-dare devil-princess then by all means, I am sure by the time you are old enough to do this I will have gotten over it......Probably not.

Our lives forever changed when you arrived!  You are an amazing, precious little gift and we could not imagine our life without you.  Always remember that.....

I hope you enjoy your birthday my dear sweet princess.  We love you no matter what!  You are an important member of this family!  Your family is the most precious thing in the world, without them you are nothing.  I hope you enjoy your very special day!

Love,
Mama