Healthy Kick

Well my friends, it is time to get in shape and get healthy for the Stone clan. Not that we have ever been non-healthy, fast food people by any means, but now I am really trying to think about the fat, sodium, calories...ya know..the stuff that leaves that layer of fat on your belly. haha. Anyways, there are many new recipes I am trying out lately and I plan to post the yummy ones. They may not all be low fat and what not, but they are pretty good. Good thing I like to cook now, huh? And I am working out 3 times a week, too. Ha! Should be more but you do what you can do, right?

Well, here is a recipe we did for today's lunch. SO yummy! Even my "burgers are made of beef" hubby enjoyed them. So, here is a good recipe for some turkey burgers! By the way, this recipe was for an army and yields 12 burgers...so if you just want 4 or something, you're gonna use one pound of the turkey, and so on. If you wanna let the computer calculate for you, go to: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Actually-Delicious-Turkey-Burgers/Detail.aspx?src=etaf
and it should take you to this site. I use www.allrecipes.com for everything. It is great! You can type in ingredients you want, and don't want...and it will show you the results. You can read reviews which are very helpful...etc. I love it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 pounds ground turkey
• 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix ground turkey, seasoned bread crumbs, onion, egg whites, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form into 12 patties.
2. Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).

The latest...

Hey folks. The latest news is that we have a house under contract. It is super cute (and old). We are suckers for old homes, what can we say? Anyways, the inspection happened Friday and we are currently looking over the repair list. So, we will see what the Lord has in store. We always pray for black & white answers...open and closed doors...so we keep praying the same thing for this house. We just want to be obedient...and happy!

Anyways, Alina has had some ups and downs lately. She has been getting constipated a bunch over the last several months, but seems to be getting more regular thanks to some Miralax. Haha. She started standing up today! That was kind of a surprise. She has tried pulling up on furniture in the past but now if we are sitting on the floor with her, she will steady herself on our legs, and stand on up! We praise her a bunch and she is very excited about it. She is SUCH a happy, happy girl! We are enjoying her so very much!!!

Joshua has a 4.0 GPA...oh yah...my brilliant hubby is doing very well in school and still loving it! I am very proud of him, in case you can't tell. I hope he doesn't mind that I am telling the world his GPA, but I can't help it. I can brag. As for myself...I am still home with Alinabug, but am thinking about getting a part-time job, and looking into getting a masters degree for myself. So, a lot to think about...and pray about here. It is difficult when you have been home with your baby for a year, to think about getting back out to work or school even, but we will see where the Lord takes me in these next few months, or years.

Well, that was short but we are going to watch Julie&Julia and I am excited. Never seen it. We don't ever have date nights, so when the kiddo is in bed, it is nice to plop in a movie and pretend we are on a date. Hehe. Can't believe we will have been married 5 whole years in May. What a blessing! Okay, enough rambling for now...talk to you again in a few months...haha..just kidding.

Greenville

So, in case you are WAY behind, we moved to Greenville. Josh is going to be Dr. Stone in 4-5 years, and we are excited about this new journey! Our baby girl is growing up...and becoming more and more like Daddy. She points to EVERYTHING and asks "Dat? dat?" So, we are in the stage of telling her what everything is....and you should hear her try to say "button" and "zipper"...sooo cute. (Note..I said 'try'.) Well, we are renting a little patio home, surrounded by neighbors who leave their dogs outside all day to bark at everyone...kind of annoying when you have a child that takes 2 naps per day. Anyways, we have been here for several months now and so to sum up our entire time here would take pages. But, I can tell you that the Lord is blessing us...even when I become extremely lonely staying at home and knowing hardly anyone...He is giving us friends..and I am SO grateful.

(Our church had a fall festival, and my baby was a duck!! My favorite picture of her in her costume is up top...my cutie pie!!! We LOVE her!!!)

McLellanStyle

I just got the photos my friend, Melanie (Yes, McLellan...the McLellan Style Photogs I happen to be very close friends with). Anyways, they came to Asheville and stayed in our home for 10 days, and in exchange, took some photos of our family. They are INCREDIBLE!!!! They took 52 amazing photos...which I posted on my Facebook if you want to see them ALL. haha. Here are a few of my faves...

If you want to see more of their amazing work, check out www.Mclellanstyle.com.

The latest on our little Bug

Okay, so seriously....I MUST start doing better at the blogging. I guess now that we will be moving away, I will have to get better at it and keep you updated on our little munchkin. It may be hard to believe but Alina will be 7 months old next week. I cannot believe how time has FLOWN! Her newest thing is bouncing. I realized last week that when I say "Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy" she starts bouncing and smiling. It is amazing what babies can learn at such a young age!!! She smiles at everyone too, by tilting her head over and grinning. She has realized I guess that when we look at her, we tilt our head..now she does it to get a laugh.

One last thing...too cute not to share...

We were eating with my parents the other night, and since it was my mom's b-day coming up, I wanted to ask my dad if my gift idea was good or not. So, my dad came and sat beside me and we both leaned in to whisper. My dad suddenly noticed that someone else was also leaning in, head tilted...smiling. Haha. Alina wanted to know the secret too, I guess. We are so thankful for her!

The picture above was her first EVER enjoyable bath experience. The screaming has stopped. The trick is...bathe her in the sink. She loves baths now!!

My Alina Bug

I can hardly believe that Alina Grace will be 4 months old TOMORROW! Time flies when you're having fun! She has had a cold for about a week and a half now, but is still a happy little girl! I am trying to figure out a good schedule for her. I started her on one about a week ago, and she was doing great on it (she LOVES it) but can stay awake a little longer now in between naps so we are configuring a new one. She is so happy now when she is awake, and usually only whines when she wakes up, or wants to go back to bed...or when I suction the snot out of her nose..shoo!

The latest Alina Bug activities include...

>rolling over from back to stomach, and pushing up on her elbows

>still "chatting" (she is currently making up for the week she missed while she was hoarse and lost her voice because of her yucky cold)

>sleeping on her tummy

>getting very excited and kicking like crazy, while cooing

>giving slimy kisses

>giving the biggest frown EVER (SO cute though) and crying if someone other than mommy, daddy or grandparents try to hold her

>grabbing toys

>holding things in her hands (which she then puts in her mouth most of the time)

>drooling like crazy

>laughing..to the point of cackling at times (which has currently lead to snorting at times...I believe due to her cold..but it is soo funny!)

>sitting up pretty well (still a teenie bit wobbly..considering she is almost 15 pounds, this is a rather difficult task..)

I'm sure there is more but I can't think of it right now...but I do know that we can't get enough of her!! <3

The latest on our little "bug"..and me

Well, we call Alina.."Alina Bug"..so when I say "bug", I am talking about her. I don't know how the nickname started..I just started calling her that one day and now Joshua and I and grandparents even are calling her that now. haha. Anyways...the latest on Alina Bug...

>She is WIGGLY!
>She is chatting MORE. Her favorite phrase is "Ahhh GEEE." Although if you have watched my facebook video, you also know that she says "hi"..but it is rare..I can't believe I got it on tape!
>She is chewing on EVERYTHING! She is also quite drooly. Haha. We thought she was teething but the pediatrician doesn't think she is...we'll see...
>She did a real person LAUGH about 2 weeks ago. Grandaddy Stone apparently has the magic in this department because I can get her close...she will be smiling huge, and even chuckle..but nothing compared to the major laughing taking place with her Grandaddy. Joshua says it was bc of his facial hair and funny hat...
>She gave me my first kiss last week. Shoo-eee was it wet! Haha. She planted an open mouth on my cheek and started licking me. It was too cute! She smiled and thought it was funny.
>I called the on-call nurse bc she had a screaming fit yesterday and I was worried. (When I say screaming fit, I mean screaming ALL DAY LONG!) The nurse told me to take her to the ER. This of course, made me extremely nervous! Thankfully she finally calmed down and went to sleep. So, I took her to the walk-in clinic at my pediatrician's office this morning and he thinks she has a little tummy bug that will "run it's course"..he said "no pun intended." hehe. I was relieved it was nothing serious..poor baby! (Also glad we didn't go to the ER..that would have been a fun expense for them to tell me she had a tummy bug.)
>She still has acid reflux but it is being managed by the wonderful medicine she takes. Thank the Lord for medicine! Now she can be her happy self!!

New stuff about me...
>I just signed up to sell Usborne Books! (Thanks, Leah!) I am excited about doing this. I love books and I can't wait to share them with other people.
>I get to see some college girlfriends this coming weekend for a baby shower...can't wait!
>I still have weight to lose and have put off doing crunches and sit-ups but the time has come...
>I am loving being a mom...it is the most rewarding..and most challenging job I have ever had.

That's it in a nutshell.

Chatting it up

Well, I have been trying to get my little girl to be chatty while also being filmed.

This is not an easy task. So, here is a teenie tiny taste of her chatting...this doesn't do any justice to her wonderful conversation skills (tee hee) and she does get a little fussy at the end...but I thought it was cute anyway.

I have a different video of her posted on Facebook...showing her shy side. So, check that one out too if you want!

Some of my faves...

Alina Grace


Mommy and Baby



Soooo happy!!

Wow, it's been a while...

Well, I have been debating keeping a blog vs. not keeping a blog. I think only about 3 people read it and I am always worried about online safety. (I know, freaked out mom.) Anyways, until I decide I guess I will post a catch you up on my life post. Haha.

As most of you know, we had our beautiful baby girl, Alina. She was 7lbs, 8 oz and 19.5 inches long. The last time she went to the pediatrician's office she was already 11.5 lbs soooo needless to say, she is growing like a weed!!! She has the best pinchable cheeks ever.

The latest things Alina is doing...or has been doing for a few weeks...

-rolling from her back to her side (although she is rolling more in her sleep - we put her on her right side and Joshua found her almost on her left side...Joshua put her in on her left side and I found her allllmost on her tummy!)

-cooing, "talking" like crazy! I ask her questions and she responds with coos and grunts.

-BIG smiles! Now, she has smiled since she was a newborn but this is reactive smiling. When Joshua or I walks into the room to see her, she smiles...she smiles when we talk to her and tickle her now. It is fabulous!

-Bubble making. I do not know why she likes to do this...but she loves making bubbles with her mouth. She also sticks her tongue out a lot. We think she is discovering her mouth. Haha.

-She has had great head control for a while but now she can sit up (holding my fingers of course).

-She has gone to restaraunts and done well!! She even sat in my lap, happy the entire time I ate at Cracker Barrel with my folks last week. Amazing!

Needless to say, she is growing way too fast...not only physically, but personality wise. We love her to death and can't wait to see the next thing she tries!