Work hard...play hard...

Look what I have to deal with everyday...

aren't ya jealous?!

(Yeah they got a little crazy after taking pictures for a long time!)

Me and Christina!

Don't you love that cute little smile?

Cute Kids!

Tonight I pulled out my camera and I got a very good response! I love that kids can see what the pictures look like on digital cameras because it makes it very easy to take lots and lots of pictures!

See here's proof!

Here's proof that I have friends...or I paid them each five bucks to be in the picture, that's only $20... totally kidding about the paying thing (they wish!). This is from left to right Kelly Hyde, Steph Hyde, Me!, Debi Grant, and Stephanie Salas. We took this after FHE last night, fun girls! I have even more friends in the ward but these are the ones I've done stuff with (I've only actually gotten lost with Stephanie Salas, because she's as new as I am...).

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

So the family I work for just recently changed their carpet to wood floor through out the house and the only thing left to finish is the stairs. For some reason the wood floor people just haven't come and finished that. Well the stairs are all ready for them, the carpet is ripped off and everything...which means there are tiny little nails in random spots on the stairs. Now for those of you who are cringing right now in pain, they don't hurt when you step on them, just a little DING and then you're already stepping on to the next step, not too bad. But of course yesterday I was walking down the stairs and my sock kind of got stuck on a nail and I fell! My purse went flying down the stairs and I was able to catch myself but my knee took a beating! I'm hoping in a few days it will have a pretty good bruise so that I can put a picture of that on here...

I'm not a failure!

Oh p.s. I have friends now! Woohoo! Maybe singles wards have failed me in the area of finding a man, but hey they work great for finding friends! One of my friends told me before I came out here to make sure I didn't get lonely out here because being a nanny can be a lonely job, well with these guys I'm sure I'll be perfectly fine! Pictures to come...

Snowy...

Here's the view I have from the front door, they have a long driveway so we're kind of behind some houses, you can't see it in this picture but it's snowing and it has been for a few hours, which means I'm stuck here because the roads are slippery and I don't have anywhere I need to go too badly... Hopefully it doesn't snow too much...

For those of you who like to see actual pictures of me, here I am! This is me today! I went to Lunch with a couple girls today and came home afterwards because it had begun to snow, now I'm watching tv, I've decided that I really like recording things on tv, I'm watching "Saved By the Bell" right now, already watched some of "What Not to Wear"... huge waste of time...dumb snow!

A city so nice they named it twice! NYC!!!

I'm sorry for taking soooo long to put some New York pictures on here! For Christmas my family went to New York City, it was so fun and such a fun experience! This was the first time I had ever been there in the winter and loved looking at the displays, the christmas trees, the decorations, etc. The weather wasn't even too bad either, some days it was horribly cold but most of the days were pretty great if you knew how to dress for the weather! Here are some of the pictures, my mom has a lot more that I'd like to look through but of course I'm in CT and their on her computer in AZ! So here's the ones I've seen plus a couple that I took.

Ok look how great this is! This was the view from my hotel window! I'm laying on my bed and I can perfectly see the Empire State Building! Isn't that awesome?!


Here's the Empire State Building at night (sorry it's blurry)


Here we are at Times Square


On Chrismas Day we went to the top of the "Rock" AKA Rockefeller because we had heard that it was a better view than the Empire State Building and I actually agree, from the top of the Rock you can see Central Park and other places that you can't see from the Empire State Building. It was soooooo cold up there! We wanted to see sunset up there and so we were up there forever and it started to get bitterly cold! I had a hand warmer, my scarf wrapped around my face, gloves, ear muffs, jacket...still cold! So in this picture you can tell that it's windy because it looks like I have bangs, whatever...I was so cold I couldn't care!

A picture in front of Radio City Hall, we went and saw the Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes and it was AMAZING! I loved it and would love to be able to go again and again!

This is a picture right next to the Brooklyn Bridge (I think) overlooking Manhattan. It was fun walking across the bridge.

This is my new boyfriend, I like that he's tall enough for me to wear heels...

Here we are in front of the Manhattan Temple

The Fam!

Well here's a picture of the me and the family I'll be working for the year. This is when they came down to NYC to pick me up when I was there with my family.



Here's Christina (4 year old), she is soooo cute! I took this when we were at the Library yesterday.


Caroline (8 year old) with some of those things that you put in water and they grow, well these started out small and this is how they ended up! It was fun to watch them grow over a few days...



Here's Christina (4 year old) and Connor (6 year old) pushing their bity baby twins around in a stroller. They got these dolls for Christmas, it was so cute to see them pushing them around the house together.

Today

Ok for those of you (you know who you are) who complain that I don't have pictures on here from Connecticut, hold your horses!!! I'm working on it! I'm trying to tonight but sometimes the computer doesn't let me and this is that moment. But don't worry, I'll save the pictures on a flash drive and go to the library hopefully tomorrow.
Well today went pretty well, the family I work for left for Boston tonight because their grandparents live there. So I will have a quiet house the whole weekend, that will be weird!
One sad story is today when we were walking home from the bus (they get dropped off like two doors down from their house) Connor (6 year old) totally biffed it and his mouth started bleeding a lot, he had scratched his lips and bitten into his gums I think (he's missing his top teeth), luckily his mom was home to take the crying child and wash out his mouth to see what was wrong, especially because the other two kids kept me busy the whole time she was with him. The poor kid had to hold an ice pack up to his face for a while until I suggested to the mom that a popsicle might just keep it cold too, it's always nice to get a reward when you're in pain! Now he has a good looking fat lip...
Later me, Caroline (8 year old) and Christina (4 year old) went to the library. Caroline seriously reads soooo much! She checks out like 15 books (at least) everytime she goes to the library and then returns them either that next week or the week after. Well since they were going to Boston tonight Caroline needed a few new books so we went. I also got myself a library card, it will be nice to have time to read while I'm here. In order to get a library card I had to have a proof of residency, something that says that I actually live here, so since I haven't gotten a letter I sent one to myself (for those of you who would like to send me a letter comment below and I will get you my address, I LOVE MAIL!), so today I got a letter from my secret admirer (AKA me), it basically said that I was amazing and the best and that I shouldn't change, I love my secret admirer!
Ok well I have to go, I'll work on getting some pictures on here! I have some from my Christmas New York trip that I need to put on and some of the kids I'm nannying for!

Oh the weather outside is...AWFUL!

Well today school was delayed 2 hours because it had rained all through the night and everything was covered in ice! So instead of starting at 9:20am it started at 11:20am. It was kind of nice to do everything we usually do but at a much slower pace, we actually had time to taste our breakfast this morning! Actually I got up at the same time and so did Caroline (8 year old) so we played a little Skip-bo (a card game) before everyone started gettting up, she really likes that game and beats me quite a bit. Outside my car was all covered with ice and there were huge puddles in the driveway. But since I started my car well in advance to getting in, it wasn't too bad, you just had to slowly walk through the rain so that you didn't slip on the ice... I was afraid to drive at first, but it actually wasn't bad, well at least I didn't feel any ice on the road. Then we got to the school a little early and it wasn't open yet so they were telling you to keep the kids in the car and wait so there was a huge line, luckily we were second in line. I was happy that I had been early as I drove down the street and saw that there were at least 30-40 cars going all the way down the street waiting to drop their kids off...early bird gets the worm! Well hopefully the weather gets better because it's cold and wet! BLAH!!!

0+1=1!

Friends=1
but I'm having some girls over on Friday so I'm hoping the number goes up!

The Singles Ward...

So with a new life there of course comes a new Singles Ward... want to know how it went?! Well I google mapped the address for church and was a little worried, but it was actually quite simple to find. It's in New Cannan and I'm in Norwalk, it was only like 15 minutes away. Well I got there and I kind of just sat in a pew towards the back in the middle section and sort of got out my scriptures because well I didn't know anyone and I wasn't about to just meet random people... So I sat there and people started coming up to me because I was a new face and it's a small enough ward that you know everyone. So I met a few people and really liked some of the girls, there were only like 10 total guys so that's not so exciting...but I'll live! But one girl invited me to sit with her and introduced me to all of her friends, then I sat by one of her friends in Sunday School and Relief Society. They were all very nice and very inviting. I'm going to go to FHE tonight and see if I can get some actual friends to hang out with... I'll have to keep everyone informed on the friend status here in CT, so far it's Friends=0, sad day!

The Tale of Despereaux

Last night I went with the family I nanny for to the movie "The Tale of Despereaux." I really didn't know anything about the movie before we went, only that it was about a mouse and that Emma Watson (from Harry Potter) was one of the voices. Well it was soooo good! Really good to take your kids to, it's only G and at the end it teaches you about forgiveness and how sometimes people make mistakes. I liked it a lot!

Tiny and graced with oversized ears, Despereaux was born too big for his little world. Refusing to live his life cowering, he befriends a Princess named Pea and learns to read (rather than eat) books -- reveling in stories of knights, dragons and fair maidens. Banished from Mouseworld for being more man than mouse, Despereaux is rescued by another outcast, Roscuro, who also wants to hear the tales. But when the Princess dismisses Roscuro's friendship, he becomes the ultimate rat and plots revenge with fellow outsider Mig. After Pea is kidnapped, Despereaux discovers he is the only one who can rescue her...and that even the tiniest mouse can find the courage of a knight in shining armor.

I love reading!

Well it looks like I picked a really good family to nanny for, right now I will talk about only one of the reasons I have come to that conclusion! They love to read! They go to the library almost every other week. So as soon I as I send myself a letter and have a proof of address I'm going to go and get a library card. We went yesterday and I got two books on the mom's library card, Harry Potter #7 and a book called Peeps which is by Scott Westerfeld the Author of the "Uglies","Pretties", "Specials", and "Extras" if those books ring a bell at all (They're very good if you're at all interested!). I've already read the Harry Potter book, but the Peeps one is new, so I'll tell you guys if it's any good!

Happy New Year!

So I just had probably the funnest New Years Eve/Day I've ever had! I'm here in Connecticut living with the family I'm going to be nannying for for the next year and I've only been here since Monday so of course I have no plans for New Years because well I have no friends! So the mom I work for invited me to go with her family to go to a friends house for all the festivities, I was happy to be included! Well we probably got to their house around 5pm on New Years Eve and it was fun because I was immediately welcomed into the group, they were soooo nice! One of the women was I guess Rosalind's (the mom I work for) roommate in college and that's how she knows her, but it was her husbands family that we were with, I think there were 3 brothers and their wives and kids and then their parents and aunt and uncle. It was so fun because we played games, watched movies, and ate food, while the kids just ran around playing with the other kids. Now for any of you who know me at all, you know I LOVE playing games, well let's just say that I was always playing some sort of game, gotta love it! Well we stayed up to midnight toasted our champagne/sparkling cider (guess which I had...) and it was so weird to think that I was watching the ball drop at Times Square live, I mean I usually watch it two hours later, not used to being so close to NYC... Well after midnight we were really tired so we all went to our assigned rooms and spent the night there. Thanks to some friends who sent me text messages after AZ new year time...ugh...I was sleeping!!! Some of those kids were up soooo early! But we got up had breakfast and started playing games again! They were so surprised that I knew a lot of the games they did, they said they didn't know anyone else who knew how to play "Settler's Of Catan" and they were surprised that I knew almost every single one of their games, they play Mexican train a little different though then I'm used to, I told them that my rules must be the right ones because I live closer to Mexico, somehow they didn't care...and then I taught them quite a few like Skip-bo, Mille Bournes, etc... We stayed there until probably around 5pm and then we left, I really could have stayed there another day I had soooo much fun! I loved all of the people there and was so comfortable with them by the time I left that I could kiss them on the cheek and say Happy New Year (they're Italian, therefore the kissing on the cheek), I sure hope I see them all again, they're my only "friends"... now I need to make some single friends so that there aren't any kids running around...jk!

Nanny McAlston

Ok so I've been horrible on here lately, but I've been really busy I swear! I figured I better tell you all what I'm up to so that I can answer all of your questions at once! I have just accepted a position as a nanny in Connecticut. Ok what to say about it... I'm going to nanny for a family in Norwalk, CT. It's a single mother, the father died last year of cancer. 3 kids, 8 year old Female, 6 year old Male, 4 year old Female. The mom works T/W/Th, I work Monday through Saturday Morning, I have evenings, most of Saturday, and all of Sunday off. I'll be a live-in so I'll have my own room and share a bathroom with the kids. I met the family at the beginning of December, I flew to CT on a Friday morning and came back on a Sunday night. It was scary at first but it went really well and I really liked them, cute kids, not spoiled at all... Umm.... What else do you want to know?! One cool thing is that they're an hour away from New York City so I can go there whenever I want, plus they're pretty close to the Ocean so I just need to get friends who have toys (aka boats, jet skis, etc). It should be a really good experience, I feel good about it and so does my family. I'm definitely in for an adventure!Oh yeah, I'll be starting at the end of the month, my family is going to New York City for Christmas so I just decided that I wouldn't fly home with them I would just go up there since it was an hour away and I would be going a few days later anyways...so that's when I start...

Amen to this...

NEW PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION The following has been attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from GA.

"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights."

ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes .

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful. (AMEN!)

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the 20 Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from! (Lastly....)

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at al l; with no fear of persecution The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!

Weight Loss...

Well this last week I lost 9.5 lbs! Crazy huh?! That's more than I lost the first week! Well that makes the total 24 lbs so far, in 4 weeks! I've already gone down a pant size and am almost to the next...can't wait...

Happy Birthday Bud!

Today is John Garrett Alston's 4th Birthday! I hope he has a wonderful day today! Don't eat too much cake and ice cream! Love ya!



The day he was born
November 13, 2004





age 1




age 2




Age 3

Obsession...

Ok so I am totally obsessed with the game "Ticket To Ride" lately! I want to play it all the time! I don't know what's wrong with me! Right now I'm playing with my sister-in-law and I've already played it twice today! We're taking a little break because her baby is crying...but then I'm going to beat her, because she already beat me today and so did my mom... goodness gracious...So if anyone wants to play, call me! haha jk!

Health Warning

Christmas music!?!?

So at work we listen to 99.9 everyday just because it's a good mix of what all the patients like, well today I got to work and it's already Christmas music! I don't know how I feel about that! Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas music and I love everything about Christmas...but sometimes it plays for soooo long that by the time it's close to Christmas you're sooooo sick of the songs playing over and over again! But today I am happy about it, it makes me excited for the holidays and ready for a time that is so centered on families! Christmas makes me happy!

Two Hot Chicas!

So as you can see by this picture, Katie and I are two very serious people...

JUST KIDDING!!!

Anyone want a kiss?

Katie says this is an emo picture...so I guess we're emo...

Actually we're two very normal (well fairly normal) girls!

The Joys...

The Joys of not being able to eat normal things! Last night my mom made chicken noodle soup for the whole family...then she made a seperate soup for me! Basically mine had chicken broth, chicken, celery, and onions... and most of it was only broth...this is because I can't have the noodles because I'm staying off of wheat right now...only for 3 more weeks! Here's me drinking my leftovers today because it was sooo much broth...

Rebecca's Update!

Here's an update of some of my cute neices and nephews for my sister Rebecca who lives in Idaho! Tonight they're all over here at my parents house and somehow a lot of the responsibility falls on Aunt Jaimie...hmmm...thanks...

Here's Grace, she's 10 1/2 months old and she crawls all over the house! Nothing is safe with her around, she finds everything on our ground! We no longer need to sweep or vacumm!

Here's Grace picking up Rachael's flip-flop...and then she stuck it in her mouth...gross...

Here's Rachael with her cute smile! She is getting sooo big!

Grandpa asked Emma to take some scrap food out to our duck and she was glad to do it! Emma is such a good help!

There's the lucky ducky!

Here's John-John, he'll be 4 on Thursday! This was him coming up to ask me where I had gotten a stamp I had on my hand, he wanted one too...

Here's Grace, she tried to escape a diaper change!

She got away...

But not for long! Daddy got her!


"Hey Look! A toy! I'm going to put this in my mouth!"

Here's Jonathan doing what he does best!

Here's Rachael doing what she does best...jk!

Haha, this was funny because Christopher kept ramming Emma with the little thing he was on because he wanted to get on the bike! Someday they'll master the concept of sharing...hard I know!