just kidding

right when you think things couldn't be going any better...
reality hits.
At 4 am this morning Brooklynn woke up.
I thought maybe she would go back to sleep so I let her fuss for a minute.
After I realized it was a cry that was not going to just fade away,
I went and got her.
I rocked her in the family room for a bit
and she fell right back to sleep.
BUT when I stood up to put her back in her crib she woke up crying again.
OH NO...
you know what this means...
sleep in the bed with mommy and daddy!
The poor thing could not get comfortable, as usual,
and was a complete wild woman sleeper, again, as usual.
Anyways, come morning time I KNEW...
we went to the Dr. first thing to have her ears checked
(the symptoms had returned over night...
coughing, runny nose, itchy and watery eyes, and no sleep).

And what a SURPRISE...
her ear infection is back...AGAIN!
This is her 3rd one in 60 days.
My poor, poor baby girl.
Since she has already had all 3 antibiotics to treat ear infections
(and had they REALLY worked, she would not be getting them again so quickly),
the Dr. decided to take more extreme measures and give her a shot every 2 days.
So Miss B got one in the leg this morning, and we will have to go back on Thursday for another.
If her ear has not cleared up by then, we will have to go in on Saturday as well!
But come Thursday, Paul and I will be talking with our
amazing Dr. about tubes...and if he recommends them,
we would prefer to put them in before we leave for the summer...

So my sweet baby girl is sleeping right now
and I am praying for her that she recovers quickly.
I caught this one early so hopefully it does not get as bad as previous ones.

this past week

was beyond crazy! So much so I am having a hard time today pulling myself
together to get some things done.
I'll admit it's 2:30 in the afternoon and I am still in my PJ's.
pathetic? sure. needed? 100%.
I just put B down for a nap and I think I might take one myself here in a minute!

so the beginning of the week Paul took off to California
and left me here alone with that Brooklynn.
So school became an even greater challenge than it normally is...
I had two intense exams this week (got a "B" on both! Hooray!)
and....exciting news....

we bought our first house!
It was quick notice for us too, but there are some amazing incentives right now
so we HAD to jump on it!
So between regular school assignments,
trying to sell Paul's tacoma,
housing paperwork of several offers and counteroffers,
dealing with Paul being out of town and needing his signature on all that paperwork,
along with frequent visits to Northstar to use their printer and fax machine (thank you!)...
it was a crazy of a roller coaster week to say the least!

but we are really excited!
If any of you are looking into buying a home right now click here
It truly is a buyers market and right now there are some amazing opportunities.
We are hoping to close before we head out for the summer,
fingers crossed!

Thankfully Paul is home once again...
I only have 3 weeks left of school...
We get to go visit fam in a few weeks for Violet's blessing,
and Hallelujah, my mom is coming to help me move soon!

on a side note... I do not want to post pictures of the house on here,
however I did make a private blog to show family and close friends,
so if you are interesting in looking at it, leave me your email
and I'll send you an invite!

now it would not be a complete post without
some great pictures of our little girl...
her hair is getting so long, I can actually do real pigtails.

two idol pet peeves

1. Matt in the bottom two...are you kidding me? UNACCEPTABLE people...vote for Matt!

2. The contestants lip syncing during their group performances on elimination night... UNACCEPTABLE!


*On a side note...for all you Adam haters out there, you HAVE to admit that his performance this week was AMAZING!

what happened

to my baby?
I just blinked and now she is a toddler!
Makes me so sad....

Her ear infections have cleared...
as long as she does not get another bacterial infection.
It's so nice to have my happy little girl back who sleeps like a champ...
makes for a very happy mommy!

keeping our fingers crossed today and tomorrow....

completely obsessed

with this years AMERICAN IDOL.
I am so anxious for tonight...time is not going fast enough.
Only one more hour!
.....

My Top 5 favorites and why:

MATT: Love, love, love his voice...and the way he plays the piano is to die for! There is just something sexy about this guy...not sure what it is...but I am a HUGE fan...have been since day one! So glad they brought him back as a wild card! Hope in the weeks to come the judges start shinning the spotlight on him as a stand out, cause I think he is. Last nights performance of Carrie Underwood's So Small has to be my favorite yet! Have to admit I have a little crush!

KRIS: Thought maybe at first he and is wife were LDS, but now I'm not so sure. He is forgettable at times which is a bummer, but has a great voice! Loved his performances the last two weeks! He kind of reminds me of Paul with his guitar and clean-cut look...although Paul is WAAAAAAAAAAAY better looking!

DANNY: He obviously has the best voice, and the most control. Love that he just goes for it and does not hold back! Think it is so sweet that he still wears his wedding ring. His last two performances have been absolutely incredible!

ALLISON: She is the only girl I like. She is so cute and raw...reminds me of Pink. Just a huge fan...hope she stays around for a long time.

ADAM: He is Paul's favorite. I CANNOT decide if he is gay or straight (what do ya'll think?). Loved, loved, loved his take on Michael Jackson's Black or White (Have probably watched that performance at least a dozen times)- obviously last night was terrible, to say the least...it felt a little satanic. BUT...there is something about his stage presence and dancing that is sexy. He is so comfortable, you can tell he is in his element.

The others: Lil Rounds is good but just not super impressed, the blind guy, Scott, needs to go...he keeps getting the sympathy vote but lets be real people he cannot sing..and please put some sunglasses on him, I do like Michael Sarver...he reminds me of Josh Gracin, but I don't think he'll last, Anoop did resurrect himself last night, but he is not a performer and should go, Alexis Grace I do like too but she is a little too naughty for me...cannot stand the pink highlights either... but she does have really great voice, AND Megan Joy drives me crazy...her dance moves, and goofy personality and that TATTOO...ugh.

yesterday

was finally a beautiful day
and both Paul and I were home
long enough to take our pretty girl to the park.

she mainly just walked around the playground
but it was just nice to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!
I am looking forward to many more days like that one...
Just Paul, Brooklynn, and me!
It was really sweet.

lesson learned

last night I went visiting teaching and left Brooklynn home with Paul.
As I was walking out the door, I blew a kiss and said bye to B.
I did not take my phone!
.....
I returned about an hour later to
a crying Brooklynn and a
VERY frazzled Paul William.
He was so frustrated that I let B see me leave.
Apparently she cried the whole time I was gone
and because I did not take my phone,
I did not get Paul's text about it.
He said he tried everything to soothe her but NOTHING worked
.....
Needless to say, Paul was a little grumpy.
The second I returned, B stopped crying
and was as happy as could be.
Can we say mama's girl!
Paul informed me I must never let her see me leave again!
Alright...lesson learned.
.....
Then in an effort to make daddy feel more special
we put the I love daddy jammies on!
Oh so cute...check out that hair..

this week

to do:

X- shop for Jess and Holly's baby gifts
- plan a temple date night with Paul for the month
- get car cleared at BYU parking
- go to lunch with grandma
- call my grammy
X- study for 210 exam
X- write 2 response papers for history 202
X- write integrative paper
X- prepare and give 30-day notice to management company
X- house shop with realtor
X- schedule garage sale
X- clean out clothes and take to Plato's
X- grocery shop
X- finalize TX housing with Paul and Skyla
X- visit teach my sisters

sick baby update

Brooklynn is going on 10 days now
with this ear infection...
which also means I am going on 10 nights
of restless, interrupted sleep!
Her symptoms are slowly but surely dissolving, but in all honesty still around!
She is at least back to her normal self,
other than the NOT sleeping through the night thing...

Since I am too tired in the middle of the night
to try to get her back to sleep in her crib,
I break my rules and put her in bed with us!
Not such a great idea...
some things I've learned while B has been sleeping with me...

She grinds her teeth at night!
She thinks I am a jungle gym and lays all over me...whatever makes her comfortable.
She doesn't understand pulling my hair, tangled in the night, HURTS!
She most definitely prefers to snuggle with mommy over daddy!
She likes to sit up in the middle of the night, look around, and then lay back down and go to sleep.

I do NOT sleep well with B in the same bed as me.
I loose my patience easily when I am tired (wait...I already knew that)
Even if Paul wanted to help in the night (which, lets be honest he isn't jumping at the chance), B won't let him...she only wants ME!

For B's sake and mine, I hope this ear infection goes away soon
and NEVER comes back!

generations

Grandma Poulton is in town!
We were so happy to go visit her on Sunday
and spend some time with her over the next 2 weeks!
B was a little shy with everyone...weird

But oh do I LOVE my grandma!

Is it obvious what I spend most of my time doing??
Papers, papers, and more papers!
Poor B...she wants to be doing whatever mommy does.
This could be a good thing....someday Brooklynn will
hopefully be a college graduate like her mommy!

j.a.s.p.

stands for: josh, adam, spencer, and paul.... best of friends....

all 4 are married now and all 4 have kids! spencer and brittney had twins so they have 2, but we all have kids!

on sunday we were able to go up to logan for the blessing of adam and abril's beautiful little girl, sienna. it was so nice to be there and apart of their special day. thanks for including us!

adam sold with paul in memphis, the summer paul and i met. we all have a lot of great memories of that summer and i just adore adam! paul gives so much credit to these guys for the person he is today, the man i fell in love with and will spend eternity with, so i am beyond grateful to each of them for their friendship to paul and impact on his life!

we truly wish we could all hang out more often... joshie wasn't there with violet but we got this cute picture (well the best that could be expected) of three of them with their kids...figured we could photoshop josh and violet in...

don't mind brooklynn's red, watery eyes and obvious anger in the group pic...i woke her up for it and this is the day before we discovered she had the ear infection (which i feel horrible that we brought sick b around everyone's kids...not to worry my dr. said ear infections are NOT contagious! i really hope they are not)

my heart is breaking

for my little girl. after getting over a double ear infection
just 2 short weeks ago...
SHE HAS ANOTHER ONE!
poor thing...she is completely miserable.
as a mom, I want to make everything better,
make her pain go away and I can't!
I wish she could talk to me
and tell me what would make her feel better.
It has been a rough 24 hours...

the Dr. mentioned today that when children have 4 ear infections
in a 6-month period then they recommend tubes!
this is B's second in a month.

her nose started running on saturday
and then yesterday everything got worse as each minute passed...
her eyes were itchy and watery,
she was pulling at her ears,
and then last night the cough and mucus came...
I knew it would be a rough night...
and rough it was.
I think we got maybe 2 good hours of sleep
(and that was after taking daddy to the airport at 4 am).
today she has been sleeping off and on all day
and just wanting to snuggle with her mommy!

she did however sleep just long enough in her crib
so that I could take a shower and clean off
the mucus she coughed up on mommy
(sorry to be graphic...but this has been my day)

Is it obvious we NEED and totally miss our daddy!?
COME HOME PLEASE...
and hold us both!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

out with mommy

Poor Brooklynn has been couped up in our house all winter with it being so cold and mommy being so busy with school (either in classes or at home on the computer writing papers).

So I decided we needed a nice afternoon out together, just mommy and me!

Unfortunately it was windy and dusty outside yesterday

so we went to the playground inside the mall!

Brooklynn had a ball!

Mostly just walking around and watching all the other kids!

It was her first time going down a slide...but

she didn't have a reaction one way or the other.

She was scared to walk into the tree house on her own

and really wanted to climb up the stairs on her own,

like all the other BIG KIDS!

But mean ol' mommy wouldn't let her...

It was such a nice afternoon. B was soooooo happy!

She made new friends and caught the attention of so many!

She really is a sweetheart (unless its bedtime...a woman after my own heart...does that surprise any of you?).

Doesn't she look so big here?

Here's that lovely tongue again!

Just watching all the other kids...

Oh no...what is that in her mouth!?

my love

An oldie but goodie picture...back when we were newlyweds!

Lately I have been so grateful for my Paul William and very much in love with him! He has so many amazing qualities and I truly feel grateful to be his wife! I'm so glad he chose me!

(SIDE NOTE: While watching the bachelor he LOVED to tell me if he was on that show with me and EVERY other girl he ever dated he would have picked me! Ha...such a sweet thing to say...but we will never really know. Hands down though if it were the other way around and I was on there with Paul and EVERY other guy I ever dated..PAUL would FOR SURE be the last one standing!)

Some of the reasons why I love this man:

- He NEVER raises his voice at me (wish he could say the same thing about me).
- He is the most amazing dad! Really hands on and helpful and has been since day 1.
- His love for the savior and knowledge of the gospel.
- He is such a hard worker.
- He is honest and ALWAYS keeps his commitments.
- He is such a straight arrow and always has been...there is no grey area with Paul..it's only black and white.
- He is not easily offended...can let ALMOST anything and everything roll right off his back.
- He adores my family and can genuinely call my parents mom and dad.
- He adores his own family and ALWAYS makes them a priority and apart of our life.
- He seriously is the HOTTEST guy I have ever seen! His body is to die for..so glad its all mine!!
- He is very humble.
- He is always helping others...doesn't even think twice when a friend is in need.
- He is really funny...always trying to lighten the mood. (while I do love this about him, I have to admit I struggle with it sometimes too..like when I want to have a serious conversation and I literally have to pull his teeth to be serious.)
- He ALWAYS makes time for me.
- I love him for putting up with me!

Some of the reasons why I am so grateful for him:

- He is going to fight my lame BYU parking tickets for me.
- He always makes sure my car is clean, tuned-up, gased-up, and safe for me to drive.
- He gives the best massages!
- He cleans out the vacuum without me even having to ask.
- He goes above and beyond with Brooklynn lately so I can finish school.
- Recently I have come home from school to a made bed, clean dishes, clean laundry, a clean Brooklynn and a clean house! Such a great way to show me he loves me.
- He often will get up with Brooklynn in the morning and feed her breakfast so I can sleep in just a little bit longer!
- He'll run any errand I ask him to.
- He prints my papers for me.
- Family is his #1 priority

speechless

I'm actually surprised that some people have wanted to know and asked for my opinion on the events which have transpired over the last two nights on the bachelor...
So, for what its worth...a bunch of random thoughts...

First let me preface my thoughts with NO MATTER WHO HE PICKED,
I don't think it will actually work...
that happily ever after blissful marriage, that for some strange reason we all idealize.
(Don't get me wrong, marriage can be blissful but we all know by now that it takes work and the ups come with the downs.)

That said, no matter what the circumstances are, IT IS NEVER EASY
to brake off an engagement, trust me on this one.
So I have to give Jason props for that,
knowing that the entire country would harshly judge him for his decision
(me being one of them at first...now I could really care less).

However, with how upset he was after sending Molly home,

he should have NEVER proposed to Melissa.

He could have chosen Melissa,

but he didn't HAVE TO propose!

The grass is always greener on the other side.
I honestly think that no matter who he originally chose,
he would be in the exact same predicament...
meaning...
He was left to always wonder about the other.

Lastly, I think Deanna influenced his decision to pick Melissa
because she was the "safe" choice.
He took Deanna's advice to heart by not choosing the "fun" one.
But then he got caught in the ugly trap of the show...
NO CLOSURE!

Its sad..I feel really bad for Melissa.
Nobody likes to get their heart broken!

But I think she handled it really well.

On a positive note...
I'm still loving Jillian
and I'm so happy she is the next Bachelorette...
You can bet your buck
I'll be watching...

Here's to some great TV!
Gotta love the drama...
You know you do!

Wish List

I often find myself daydreaming about the future,

and if I can get Paul to have a serious conversation,

I love to talk with him about our goals...

things we want to do, accomplish, etc...

Basically our PLAN (I am such a planner)!

As of right now, this is MY wish list:

These are the things that most frequently occupy my mind.

...................................

1. BYU undergraduate diploma

2. Baby #2

3. "My Baby Can Read" religiously with Brooklynn

4. Buy a House

5. Lasik surgery for Paul

6. A toned and tan body

7. A getaway with Paul to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas

8. A New York Christmas

9. A master bedroom: bedding and furniture

10. "You need a budget" religiously every month

11. Build up our residual income at Northstar enough to completely live off every month and then some

12. Be a positive influence in the lives of others

TO DO:

I was thinking earlier that since I use our blog as a journal,

I might enjoy looking back and seeing what my weeks looked like.

Since I am an avid to-do list maker,

(It is the best feeling to cross something off the list)

I figured I could just post my list on here each week.

These are the big to-do list items; laundry, vacumming, dishes, Brooklynn's needs, general cleaning and picking up are no-brainers.

X1. Attend Jenna's Bachelor finale party (of course this is number one on my list...can hardly wait)!

X2. Call my new visiting teaching partner and set up appointments with our sisters.

X3. Write 3 response papers for History 202.

X4. Write my integrative paper for moral foundations class.

X5. Write Reading summaries for History 201.

X6. Begin rough draft for social competence paper for child development class...attend meeting to discuss paper.

X7. Send Skyler's package and pick up stamps while at the post office.

X8. Attend Sienna Bell's baby blessing.

X9. Complete Stat HW #8

X10. Finalize trip to California.

11. Get back on regular gym routine.

X12. Make dinner menu- go grocery shopping.

X13. Call Aarean...yes my dear, expect a call from me!

doesn't get much better

THAN THIS!

Sorry the pictures on here are always of Brooklynn, for some strange reason the camera only works for her!

After an emotional February, March has started off with a bang! Paul and I were able to go to the temple this weekend, which we thoroughly enjoyed. It's amazing the peace and clarity that comes and the love you feel.

We heard some exciting news today...but can't share for awhile (no I'm not pregnant)!

We get to go to California soon for baby Violet's blessing and a visit with my fam...Let's just say I am so excited, my bags are already packed (well, not literally).

Two of my girlfriend's had beautiful baby girls this week!

I'm more than half way through my last semester!

I got a "B" on my stat midterm! (believe me, with a 13-month old, and everything else going on that is quite the accomplishment!)

I took the best hour and a half nap today...can't remember the last time I did that!

I had several girl nights/days this weekend (thanks Steph, Meradith, and Jenna)...it's been awhile.

And of course, the bachelor finale is tomorrow!

brooklynn's new bff

Lucy Christensen!

Mmmm...

The bigger the mess...
The Yummier it is!!!

Or so I've heard...

this tongue

is a Ridley curse and could end up costing us some $$$, and I don't just mean a pretty penny! Everybody in my family, and I mean EVERYBODY (mom, dad, ryan, me, skyler, cody, and shayna paige) has had braces...and our infamous tongues cause quite the mess...looks like Brooklynn Merie might be heading down the same route. Fingers crossed in a few years maybe it will make a sharp turn in the other direction!