Grow Your Own Green Onions in Less Than a Week!

Sometimes you discover something amazing and you just have to share it with the world. My pal shared this little secret with me and I think you should know about it, too. I haven't seen this on Pinterest yet, although I'm sure it's there somewhere. It works, people!

How To Grow Your Own Green Onions in Less Than a Week:

* After using your onions, place the white part in some water by a window....
* and voila! Your onions will start to grow immediately.

It's that easy.



Tips?
*Change out the water every so often. Once or twice a week perhaps?

Other yummy pinterest wins for the week include:

Source: sarcasticcooking.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Ours looked like this but I bet it tasted just as delish!

Linking up here:

Gender Reveal:

In case you haven't heard, my boys have an announcement:

We're thrilled to be welcoming another little boy into our growing family around December. Baby K will have a brother and pal in no time at all. Thank you all so much for your congrats!

Bumpdate: 21 Weeks

I haven't done a bumpdate in awhile because I don't like to see pregnant photos of myself. Ugh. It's hard on my body and psyche having two babies close together like this. As you know, I started to show immediately. I'm now at 21 Weeks but I look like I'm at least 31 Weeks. Don't you dare ask me if I'm having twins.

Anyway, for the sake of my unborn, I'd better document like I did with Baby K...

Baby is the size of a banana

Symptoms: achy, tired, rapid heartbeat, heartburn, uncomfortable, occasional Braxton Hicks- basically you name it, I've got it.

Cravings: Oh, it doesn't really matter what I crave. We don't have whatever it is in this tee tiny little town.

Weight: Off to weigh myself (Help me be brave!).... Ok, it's not as bad as I expected, but still not ideal. I'm at 134.

Sleep: I like it...sometimes I don't get it....and that has more to do with Baby #1 than it does Baby #2 in my belly!

Movement: I feel him or her occasionally, but not as often as I would like.

Stretch Marks: None yet

Looking Forward To: Finally finding out the sex on Monday. After that? I want my body back. I want to be able to run. I want to drink wine. I want sushi, too dang it.

I suppose I'm supposed to say things like, "I can't wait to hold the sweet child in my arms", aren't I? Well, of course I want to meet the little one, but honestly I'm still quite terrified to have two little ones around. I'll figure it out, right?

Love,

Erin Condren Love

Erin Condren

I've been admiring these planners for over a year now. The personalization! The organization! Oh, the possibilities. But when I looked at the price tag, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I kept thinking, "Do I really need this? What does this house elf have to write down in such a planner?"

It turns out the answers to those were "Yes" and "A lot" !

I love, love, love this planner. I'm so happy that I bought it. I decided to wait until my blog revenue built up enough money in my PayPal account to purchase what I wanted. Captain J encouraged me to use what I had made on this because he knew it was something I had been wanting for awhile and he likely knew that I wanted to pay for it with money that felt like it was mine. Maybe that's silly, but I waited and by the time the money was there, Erin Condren was coming out with their new life planners. Perfect timing!

Still uneasy about the purchase, I clicked "buy" and was on my way to organizational bliss- little did I know.

I try to write down at least 3 things in each time window (morning, afternoon, evening) that I'd like to accomplish. You wouldn't believe how much more effective this has been for me. I used to write down my to do list on a dry erase board in the kitchen, but hello? Those are so easy to simply erase. I like the finality of a list especially a list that is checked off when accomplished in brightly colored ink.

The pages are beautiful, the quotes inside are inspiring, and my experience with this company was flawless. And just like that, I am hooked!

(Note: I was not compensated for this review. I simply wanted to share the awesomeness of this company!)

Mississippi on my Mind

We're baaaack. I know...quick trip! The babe and I spent about two days in Bilouxi, MS with my dad and family. The five hour drive there was pretty interesting. It's hard to travel with a nearly one year old by your lonesome. I mean, who's going to hold the baby while you pee? Oh, wait...that's me. That wasn't fun. And then when he started fa-reaking out when someone used the hand dryer it was game over. It took him hours to calm down after that.

It wasn't too bad, though. At least I didn't make a wrong turn! If you know me, you know this is quite a feat.

We arrived in the afternoon and spent it just hanging out at the condo, having dinner, and catching up. Afterward, we took a stroll down the beach-

Dad and Stepmom with grandchild number 4!

My sister did a little tumbling...

and my brother showed Baby K the ocean (which was quite a success this time).

Baby K was exhausted when we got back so he went down for the night and surprised us all when he slept until 0730! For the past week or so, he had been waking up a lot at night and calling 0500 his new wake up call. This particular morning was quite the refreshment (although it didn't last). My whole clan got up on their first day of vacation and went to run or workout (or both). Everyone that is except for me. Have I mentioned that at 20+ weeks pregnant I feel like a big fat cow?

Anyway, we went down to the pool for as long as K would stand it...

and then it was back up for a nap for him. He slept the day away which he never does so that kinda sucked but we made the most of it. As soon as he woke up from his marathon nap, we headed back down to the pool for an hour or so. Then we all went upstairs to get ready for dinner.

After eating, we came back to the condo and snapped photos of all of us since we just are never together all at the same time.

Remember when I said the later wake up call didn't last? Well, the next morning Baby K decides to return to his new schedule and grace me with his presence at 0500. Yuck! In an effort to not wake up the entire house, I strapped him in his stroller and we went down to the beach. It was peaceful and happy despite the ungodly hour we were awake.

He crawled around, exploring sand, and eating everything in sight.

He got so messy, but we didn't care. It was just us and God's beautiful creation.

I hope I remember it forever. The only thing missing was having Captain J by our side.

We left later that day, happy to have seen "Pap", "JuJu" and the rest of the fam. The ride home was uneventful- easy really. Baby K was an angel.

"We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count." - Neil A. Maxwell

Adios (and a winner announced!)

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson

Remember this little beach bum?

The little one, not the big one...

Well, he's at it again. Baby K and I are off to Mississippi today sans daddy. We're awfully sad to leave him behind, but the trip is very brief so we'll surely make it without him for a day or two. 

We're driving to the coast to see "Pap" and "JuJu", K's grandparents. Here's to hoping there's a lovely, sunshiny beach or pool day in our near future.

I miss the Cap'n already...

Love,

P.S.- Two winners have been chosen! Congrats to Kris at The New Normal for being the lucky recipient of the Target GC. Also, Rhe Christine at Cammo Style Love will be receiving the PayPal gift. Thanks to all who entered!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just Because It's Friday

Unfortunately, I just got back from Walmart with yet another box of Gobstoppers. I hate those blasted bins that beckon candy lovers like me. But, oh well, it helps paint the picture of how pathetic I am today. I'm not wearing makeup. I've somehow stuffed my enormous 20 Week belly bump into a size 6 pair of shorts. I haven't showered. I've barely eaten. 

And I miss my husband like crazy. As much as I like to think the Army has helped me to become more independent, I'm not sure that it's true. This mom is counting down the days until January when we can part ways with the military and (hopefully) likewise unpredictable work schedules. It might be nice to know exactly when my husband has to work, but right now that concept is completely foreign to us. His work schedule changes every day. This rotation has been okay, but I'm more than ready for it to be over. For those of you who are new 'round these parts, Captain J is in the field every two weeks. Crap gets old. Quick. Sometimes he gets to come home late at night, sometimes he spends the night out in the field. No matter- he works long hours and rarely gets to see little K- which is why I'm sad J won't be able to join us at the beach this weekend.

K Baby and I are leaving in the morning to go to the Mississippi coast to meet my dad, step-mom, and 3 of my brothers/sisters. I'm excited to go even if it is just for a short period of time. They haven't seen Baby K since he was 4 months old! Our last visit with them was at Christmas. Seeing loved ones once a year is really, really lame y'all. I'm glad we can at least squeeze in two visits.

Let's see...there's more going on in my little world, too:

*Yesterday, I saw the end of the laundry pile. It was a miracle from on high. Photo for the blog, of course-

The lovely Mrs. Nix from Local at Last gave me an award! I'd really, really like to thank the academy....oh, wait. Wrong dream. Anyway, she offered up 11 Questions that I'm supposed to answer. Ready made blog material? I'll take it!

1. What is your biggest fear and where does it come from?

I'm deathly afraid of birds. My fear is getting more manageable as time passes but it comes from a deep rooted memory that I think I'll never shake. I had many run-ins with the evil creatures as a young tyke. One day, I was actually pooped on by a bird twice in a 24 hour span. That's neither here nor there, though. The real problem I have with birds evolved due to a certain chicken. I was staying with a friend and her family had free roam chickens on their property. Most would scatter when I got close so I developed a sort of confidence (I use this term very lightly) around them. Well, big mistake. A chicken had gotten stuck in the barn/shed thingy and when we leisurely opened the doors the creature flew out. It passed two of my friends and turned in a 90 degree angle towards me where it continued flapping its wings (on my head!) and scarring me for life.

2. If you had to live in another country or state for the rest of your life, where would it be?

Tennesse- home sweet home to me

3. When you were young, how did you picture the way your life would turn out? Is it accurate?

I didn't picture this, but you know what? This is so much better.

4.When was the last time you told someone you loved them and meant it from the bottom of your heart?

About 30 minutes ago. I tell Baby K all the time. I'm sure he's going to become really annoyed with my habit when I call him every five minutes when he's 33.

5. This question was about souvenirs. I don't really collect any.

6. All time favorite photo of yourself? I don't really have one. Sorry. Please substitute the below photos as close calls.

7. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Dressing up for Halloween! And don't tell me Halloween isn't a holiday...that makes Mrs. K very angry.

Where's Waldo and Curious George Halloween 2011

Cindy Lou Who

KISS

I take it pretty seriously.

8. Your plane crashes into the ocean and you're now stranded on a desert island- what do you do?

Pray. Work on my tan. Frantically try to remember all those nifty tricks I learned on survival shows.

9. Who's your celebrity man-crush?

I'm partial to Tay Diggs or Grey's Anatomy Guy #1 or Grey's Anatomy Guy #2. Oh, I don't know...

10. Who's your celebrity girl-crush?

Meg Ryan is still my fav.

11. Why do you blog?

I blog to keep me sane. I blog because of my need to share. But most of all, I enjoy being connected to people from all over. I've made many real life friends and online bloggy pals through blogging and it has been awesome.

Thanks, again for the award, Mrs. Nix! 

Do you want this award, too? I tag you! The only catch is you have to have under 200 followers. 

I'm linking up here today:

Selfishness

Sometimes I wonder if you, too, leave your kid to scream while you're eating. It's almost a dirty word in the parenting world- crying it out. If I didn't, I would never eat. I wouldn't shower, either because sometimes naps just don't happen. Maybe you're a supermom and if you are I don't want to hear about it today. Perhaps your child is an "easy baby", if those even exist. My little one is teething today and in this moment, it feels as if it's hurting me worse than it is him.

*Whew- he stopped crying in the time it took me to make a salad and type the above paragraph.

He's sleeping peacefully and my heart is beating a million miles a minute. Anxiety? Pregnancy symptom? Both? I don't know. But as I tweeted earlier, sometimes I feel like I'm too selfish to be entrusted with one (and a half) beautiful, innocent babies. If there's any one person in the world that I'll do anything for it's my Baby K. I think he feels it- I think he knows I'll always be there and that I love him more than anything. Still, there are times throughout the day that I miss sleep. I miss hopping in the car to go to the post office and not have to pack a zillion items just in case or buckle another little body into the car, then into the baby carrier, and then into the car again. Then I feel guilty for thinking how easy it used to be.

I wouldn't trade my role as a mother for anything, but having another one and so soon is really scaring me. I feel drastically unprepared physically and emotionally. How can I expand my bubble of efficiently and lovingly caring for two children instead of just one? I can't believe God has deemed me capable of such blessings in my life. I'm grateful every day.

While I don't let Baby K cry longer than ten minutes at a time, it still makes me feel terribly hopeless because in that moment there's nothing else I can do for him. He doesn't want to be held. He doesn't want to play. All he wants is to fall off into a blissful sleep and I can't say that I blame him. That's all I want today, too.

No Photos Please

This kid of mine- he's got this stare. We swear he gets it from his dad. It couldn't possibly be me. Sometimes he just wants to be left alone. And when you read "sometimes" you should just know that 95% of those times involve food or milk. He needs them and you need to get out of his way if they're in sight.

"No photos please."

"Hey, Lady! Leave me alone", he says.

"I'm gettin' my drink on."

Currently (#2)

Want to know what's currently going on in the life of Mrs. K? Well, I'll tell ya...

I'm currently excited to announce that I'm now selling Scentsy! If you're living under a rock, I'll let you know that I've been diggin' their products for a long time now and you should try some out, too. Scentsy is a yummy smelling alternative to candles. Their wickless warmers are absolutely delicious (or at least they'll leave your home smelling that way!). That's not all that is offered, though. I'm excited to get this business rolling and I'd love if you were a part of it! Please go check out my page and order if you'd like or contact me with any questions.

Currently Reading:
I am now reading A Scattered Life. I'll be honest, I only purchased it on my kindle because it was under $2 and I was in that sad phase when you finish a book you haven't been able to put down. I'm only a few chapters in, but I will let you know how it is. The book I just finished is Bloom by blogger Kelle Hampton.

I've been all about bloggers turned published novelists and authors partly because I'd like to support them and partly because I envy them. I've heard a lot of good reviews on this book. I thought it was good- interesting. I enjoyed reading her raw emotions from the birth of her 2nd born until now. Her journey makes me wonder what I'm capable of in other areas of my life. I don't think I enjoyed the book as much as most, though. There were just a few small things that irked me about it that I can't quite put my finger on. I don't know if that's because I just can't understand what she was thinking/feeling or if I'm simply envious of her rare ability to not hold back- to tell all.

Currently Mad About:

This DirectTV business! Viacom, DirectTV- whoever is responsible for ridding me of my weekly reality show fixes. Unacceptable. I mean, why am I paying the same price I was paying, but now I'm short several popular channels? And they're channels I actually watch! I don't like it one bit. I look forward to moving and handing them our military orders and washing our hands of tv all together. It's garbage anyway, am I right? But man...that garbage is entertaining.

Currently Counting Down To:

* Captain J's ETS date (get out of the Army date) is now set in stone established. It just so happens to fall on our anniversary, too. Oh, happy day! I'm excited to start this next chapter despite all the uncertainty that it brings with it.

* Also? I have potential trips in my future. Nothing big or anything, but we'll see if it pans out. 

* Baby K's first birthday is coming up! I can't believe it.

Currently Pinning:

Source: someecards.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Note: I'm fully aware that people probably think that about K Baby from time to time!

Currently Thankful:
Well, I'm thankful for a lot but I'm really really thankful to Pinterest in this moment. I practically burnt the fingerprint off my right thumb while making a pizza. I quickly ran to the computer and typed in "burn remedy"- Voila! It said to rub egg whites on the burn, an old wives tale. Not one to question old wives, I did so and I'm here to tell ya- an hour later, the pain was gone. I'm typing with the thumb now (obviously). I can still see it, but it doesn't hurt. Thank you, thank you Pinterest!

One more thing- Have you entered my Current Giveaway?
You've got a few days left to do so. It's for Target and PayPal! Enter here.

What's going on in your world?