Weekend in Wilmington

Well friends, I am posting AGAIN. I know...two posts in ONE day! Can you believe it? So, my iphoto uploader on the good 'ol Apple Computer won't work so updating all my pictures to Facebook was no easy task. I did upload over 30 (5 at a time...took me forever). But, I didn't get to these. So, I thought I would post some on the blog first! I know, you're excited. So, here are some of my favorites from our long weekend to Wilmington a few weeks ago. The first few are from when we visited the aquarium. The rest are from the beach. Enjoy!

Alina is not so sure about that alligator.

but she thinks the Albino one is pretty silly looking.

Here are some turtles chilling on a log outside the aquarium.

Alina and Daddy.

Alina and Mommy...and Giant Frog.

I loved how inquisitive she was about everything!

Alina and Da-Da on the beach.

Her Auntie Karen made her this one-of-a-kind sand chair.

She went from "sand is scary" to "let's throw sand on Da-Da."

This may have been about the point where we were ready to go. Sand in eyes, naptime...

Thanks for letting us stay with you, Auntie Karen!!! We love you!

Hitting is so not cool.

Hello dear friends and family....

Well, as some of you know my little sweetie pie has had another ear infection this week. This is only her third one, but if you have had a child with an ear infection, you know how miserable an experience it is...for the baby and for YOU! My usually super happy child was a super grump on Sunday evening through Tuesday. Thankfully, she is starting to feel a lot better. She has some strange red spots on her face that we are going to inquire about tomorrow from a dermatologist. (It is nice living in a medical community where the leader of your small group is a resident dermatologist that can get you an appointment in a day's notice.)

Anyways, my child has started hitting lately. And, I know this is very common with children her age...testing the limits, seeing what kind of reaction they can get, and that sort of thing. But, I am having difficulty knowing what to do about it. I believe in spanking...don't get me wrong...but does it make sense to spank, or "hit" in a sense, when the crime itself is hitting? I don't know if that is confusing to a child her age. Is time-out at this age effective? So, if you are a Mom, and are experiencing this problem, or have experienced this problem before...let me know what you do/did about it. I would love some ideas, opinions...advice! Thanks!

Rachael Ray is my hero!

Well, as many people know I was NEVER a good cook, nor did I ever even ENJOY the thought of cooking. Cooking to me was always a chore that got devoured in 5 minutes, leaving you with a heap of dishes to clean and the rest of a meal to save and eat over and over again until it was gone. Okay, so some of that is still true but I have found myself enjoying it for the first time in our marriage. You really can't blame me...if you know Joshua, you know he is a fabulous cook (especially with anything Italian), and he enjoys the whole cooking thing! So, I always let him do his thing in the kitchen. Well, with grad school and mounds of studying going on now, he has NO time. So, me being the stay-at-home Mom had to step up to the plate, and learn how to make some food!

My mom gave me some Rachael Ray magazines (which some day I will subscribe to and receive regularly), which inspired me to cook. A lot of her recipes are using things you may already have around the house, or that you can go out and buy fairly inexpensively. Now, some of her recipes are NOT, so you have to be smart, and look for things. But anyways, a lot of her recipes you can make in 30 minutes or less...and she makes it look so easy. Here is one of her recipes, that is cheap, healthy, and easy to change around if you want to make it healthier, or simpler, or even more extravagant...AND the whole meal can be made and ready to eat in 30 minutes. FABULOUS. My husband talks about this meal all the time since it is so easy to make, and yummy! Try it out!

Chicken Pasta
4 servings
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 15 min

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken (or whatever kind of chicken you have, to shred. If you have to cook it, it will add a few extra steps and time to the preparation.)
1 cup frozen baby peas (You can use regular peas!)
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional - I don't use it)
12 ounces of wagon wheels or other short pasta (like penne pasta)
1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1 tbsp. of butter
Salt

1. In large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and heat through. Stir in the peas, broth, garlic and cayenne and simmer until the broth has reduced slightly, about two minutes. Keep warm over low heat.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta for 5 minutes. Drain and add to the chicken. Stir in the 1/2 cup of cheese and butter and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente, about 3 minutes. Season with salt, if necessary, and serve with additional parmesan.

You can probably make this even more healthy by using whole wheat pasta or low-fat cheese. I haven't tried that yet, but you never know! Hope you enjoy this easy, yummy meal! Thanks, Rachael!

Oh and remind me to post a yummy BBQ chicken pizza recipe I made for a weight watchers friend...that was SO yummy! That's right...pizza on a diet...and it was fabulous.

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.