August 5th: My first day on the job.

Today is the day that I officially became Kate and Grace's nanny. It. Was. Awesome. I love hanging out with the girls and it was a total plus that they napped for about five hours total during my time with them. They were so great. I know that most days won't be this easy, but I loved it while it lasted.

We went to the park today which was a blast. I met some people, including a retired professor from Mizzou, which was pretty cool. A bird almost attacked me, though, so that was terrifying.

I hate birds.

But then we went home, read books, and made a fort...which, naturally, I had the most fun with. The girls tore it down, laid down on the blanket, and said "night night" which prompted their last nap of the day. (fine by me!)

I am just loving the fact that I get to go back tomorrow..and the next day..and the next day.. (:
This city is where I am supposed to be.

So once I was done with the girls today (which was a sad goodbye from Grace) I went to my "house" and made dinner. No recipes. Just going with it. And let me tell ya. DELISH.

I took pictures. Here they are.

I cut up a zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato, and normal potato. 

So many fun flavors!

Gotta get a little protein. :)

Don't mind how gross I look. 

Remember, it was my first day as a nanny!

Added some frozen red and green pepper and onion for extra flavor!

just a liiiiiitle bit of chicken. or turkey. or whatever it was.

Gluten-free, of course.

pop that in the oven!

I was super hungry, so I thew together this strawberry banana smoothie to have while I was cooking.

I checked. It's chicken.

The final product! The pasta turned out gross because I was feeling a little too adventurous with it. Dairy-free cheese totally helped. I LOVED this meal. So easy and so good. (And healthy, too!)

-Kristen

Listening to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_2qG22SPwU&list=RD02mMVvqI1-tM4

Check it out. it's good stuff.

August 4th

Today was a really good day. I slept in, made some hummus stuff, and just relaxed a little. My Ikea shipment came (!!!) and I put together the small table that I had ordered and waited for Austin for the big room divider that I'd purchased. It's six foot by six foot and eighteen inches deep. And it weighs A LITERAL TON.

Sara, Austin, the girls, and I all somehow managed to squeeze ourselves into my apartment and Austin and I got to work. This stupid divider took forever and was a pain in the butt.. but we finally got it all put together. And it looks great now! Tomorrow night I'll be able to clean and get everything all organized and finally put together (as far as where things go).

I absolutely love it here. I love this city and the people and the overall atmosphere.
Oh, and being so close to family is good too. :)

Here are some photos from today!

P.S. I start nannying tomorrow! Get to spend all day with the girls :)

put this table together by myself! note the adorable yellow chairs!

went grocery shopping.

foooood

today's lunch! deeeelish

at aunt k's house! they got to watch arthur!

we had about a foot of extra space 

happy girls

my bed"room"

my "kitchen area"

my kitchen for real

-Kristen

August 2nd & 3rd: Getting comfortable.

Days in Chicago fly by. I probably couldn't even tell you what I did today. 

But I owe you a story. Here's a tale about a girl who lost her keys right after she moved in.

So, when we got here (me and my mumsy) I sat down with my building manager, Ashley (who is the best!) and went through some leftover paperwork. She handed me my keys and we were good to move in. We went up and came back down to meet Sara, Austin, and the girls. They all came back up and when we went to leave, I wanted to make sure I had my keys. I looked in my pocket. Nothing. I looked in my other pocket. Nothing. I looked in my purse. Nothing. I asked Austin if he had it. You get the point. I couldn't find it anywhere. I looked at my mom, trying not to freak out. We looked for a good ten minutes with no avail. I swallowed my pride and walked down to the business office. "So, I had my keys in the door and now they're gone. I don't remember taking them out and we can't find them anywhere." She was great. She said to not worry about it and that they could get someone to change out the whole lock mechanism soon. I went back upstairs to look one more time. I asked God to show me where it is and then I felt my pockets one more time. And there it was - in that tiny pocket that no one ever uses for anything. Oh, jeans company. You got me.

So that's that story! 

This morning (okay, I lied earlier.), my mum and I met Sara and the girls at the park and had a wonderful time! (Except for one boy who kept insisting that the park isn't for babies and that the girls needed to get off his playground...Well, I TOLD HIM!) Anyways, here are some cute pictures from the playground.

blowing kisses, of course.

Today was fun and I can't wait for tomorrow! 

-Kristen

August 1st: The day I've been waiting for!

Today has been long awaited. As I was unpacking "those gray things" (tubs..but my mom and I decided to never say that word again because we're so sick of having to deal with them) today, I came to realize that it felt like it had been forever since I had started packing, planning, searching for an apartment, and really praying about this big move. This all started when I was in the DR this summer, (of course I had always wanted to be in Chicago ever since my sister moved here) and I really started to feel like God had a fresh start or a "Chapter Two" ready for me.

One thing after another, everything started falling into place. I prayed daily asking God to make it happen if it was the right thing. I talked to my parents about it and they were extremely supportive. I made a plan for my education, met with my advisor and even he was extremely supportive. A connection was made between my KC voice teacher and a voice teacher at the school I want to end up at, DePaul University, and I got a sample lesson (audition, more or less) with him. He invited me to join his studio (he said yes) and I can't wait to work with him more. (His student, Branden James is on America's Got Talent! Vote for him!) I quit my job at Walmart (probably the easiest thing I have ever done) and started saying my goodbyes to all of my Kansas City friends. 

I shed a lot of tears on the way here, but now that I'm finally in Chicago, I know that this is where I am supposed to be. I love this city and I can't wait to see what will happen next. 

So today, I moved into my (TINY) studio apartment and my oh-so-wonderful brother-in-law, Austin Hey, helped me (did it for me) put together my bed and desk! He's the best! My mumsy and seester unpacked my stuff for me and my cranky maintenance man made his appearance as well. "Anymore problems wait until tomorrow." WELL. 

Here are some photos!

On the way to my apartment from the airport! SO EXCITED!

basically how we found it, plus my bed in the box.

i had forgotten how tiny it is!

The closet and bathroom are on the left (right when you walk in).

the lovely baño which has since gotten a makeover!

closet! now filled with clothes and whatnot

kitchen! WITH A DISHWASHER THANK YOU LORD

my super great family! 

thanks Mama and Sara for helping me unpack!

my bed. haven't gotten the mattress yet.

this shows the size pretty well. it's tiny.

final arrangement (pre room divider and kitchen table)

note Annalise's artwork!

yay apartment yay yay apartmentttt

here you can see where the closet/bathroom are.

so much storage!

I will keep you all updated! Thanks for your support.

Kristen

In tomorrow's post, read about how I somehow avoided a panic attack after losing my key in the first five minutes I was there.