Just What I Needed

So I'm not talking about a day out with the girls, or a nice pedicure, or even going out to dinner with Rusty. I'm saying I finally had a good day with Bridger, after several bad, Bad, BAD days with my little man. This week has been one of those weeks that makes me ask myself several questions...whether or not I am a good mom...if I can ever handle more than one child...will I make it through this day...what am I doing wrong...should I go back to work...on and on and on. This morning I can report that Bridger has had no melt downs, there have been no spankings, and no tears shed (by either of us). We did laundry together, made the world's best chocolate chip cookies, read books, changed out toys, read more books, had snack, and went down for nap with little troubles. This is a complete change from earlier this week, let me explain.

Yesterday Bridger wakes up at 5:50am. He is ready to play and wants me out of bed. I lay around until 6:20am when I can longer stand him jumping on me, hitting me, and asking for pancakes. We have breakfast and by 7:10 Bridger is asking to watch a movie. I quickly remind him that it's too early to watch a movie, he can watch one when I get in the shower.

Bridger: NOOOOOOOOO! WATCH A MOVIE!!!!

Me: Bridger, please don't yell, you can watch a movie when I get in the shower, let's read some books.

Bridger: AHHHHHHH!!! (Throwing toys at the wall, hitting himself, screaming/running through the house, hitting the blinds, kicking, etc.)

Me: Bridger, STOP IT!!

Bridger: AHHHHHHH!!! (More running and screaming)

Me: I grab Bridger spank his bum, put him in his bed, and close the door. I go into my room and cry.

Now this isn't my proudest post, but it gives you a glimpse into my 2-year old world. I know we've all been through it, but by Thursday I was wondering if it was ever going to end. I guess there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and maybe one good day out of 5 is going to have to be good enough. So yes, I am a good mother (maybe not compared to some of you super moms), yes, I can handle more than 1 child, yes, I will make it through this day, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I'll keep trying, and no, I don't want to go back to work. So there you have it, today was just what I needed so I can make it through this roller coaster ride we call MOTHERHOOD.

Thought

A few weeks ago while I was going through old papers I found a card with this quote:

CHERISH TODAY

Yesterday is but a dream. Tomorrow, a vision of hope. Look to this day for it is life.

I've thought a lot about this quote. It has been meaningful for me as I have been struggling with several different issues lately. As I've read this quote each day I'm trying to find joy in the things I have right now. So here are a few glimpses into the things I "Cherish Today."

New Addition...

I'd like to announce that our little Snow College family has a new addition! Rusty's roommate and one of our greatest friends ever, Yuji Nakayama, had a baby boy named Togo. Yuji also shared news that this sweet little baby was born with Down Syndrome. This seem like such a challenge to me, but as I've struggled with this news I know that no better person could be given this little child. Yuji is the BEST person we have ever known. He was attending college here in the United States and found the gospel. He pursued the discussions and chose to be baptized. This decision was probably one of his happiest moments ever, but also most difficult knowing his family in Japan would not approve. He has been a wonderful example to us of what a true missionary is. He returned to Japan and became completely involved in his branch there. He found a beautiful Japanese girl and was married in the temple. He has had several callings and served through many difficult trials in his life. There is no one better than this guy!! In fact when Bridger was born, I joked that one day Bridger would serve his mission in Japan, under the direction of Mission President Nakayama. We love Yuji and feel blessed that he has been a part of our life. Congrats to one of our favorite people in the world...we love you and hope one day to visit, laugh, and share old memories with you again!!

Once Upon A Time...

there was a beautiful baby girl. The beautiful baby girl grew up to be a funny, spunky little girl. She got into lots of mischief when she was growing up; locking herself in her daddy's idling truck, touching a HOT wood burning stove, and many other adventures not to name. She grew into a beautiful talented young lady; singing, dancing, volleyball, basketball took up most of her time. Then, she met a nice handsome young man, from a rival school, and they fell in love. As they finished high school they were inseparable. One day, after the rodeo under the fireworks, the young man got down on one knee and asked the beautiful girl to marry him...she was so excited and said YES!! Finally, the magical day came...they were getting married. Family, friends and everyone from Coalville came to witness the event. The nice young man was so excited/nervous to marry his beautiful sweetheart that he said "I do" twice, and everyone laughed!! The beautiful girl and the handsome young man exchanged rings, kissed, and will live happily ever after.

P.S. I love you Whitt and Riley, Congrats!!!

Magical Moment

I think I may have just experienced one of the most special moments with Bridger since he was a little babe. I don't know how to explain it, but it was magical for me. Bridger hadn't taken a nap today (expect for the 7 minutes in the truck on our ride home from town). I really needed him to take a nap so I could work on my talk for church Sunday. He was refusing to take a nap and didn't want to be in his bed. I finally decided that he was just going to have to cry for a little bit while I worked on my talk. He eventually cried himself to sleep. I found a talk online and got it printed just before he started screaming again. I went to check on him and found him very upset, but I'm not sure why. I picked him up and held him while he laid his head on my shoulder and cuddled me. He CUDDLED me!! This may sound insignificant for those of you with cuddly little kiddos, but Bridger isn't the cuddling type, I can rarely get him to even sit on my lap. I sat down in the chair and just let him cuddle me. It lasted for at least 15 minutes. I just sat there thinking, "This is one of Heavenly Father's tender mercies. Through all the screaming, hitting, throwing, and frustration this little boy still loves me, and I love him" It was a miracle. I have been struggling with a TWO year old boy lately, and don't know if I'm making good choices in discipline and everything else that it takes to raise a child. This was my answer, that I'm doing OK and I will make it through. Thank you B for sharing this with me today, I love you so much, you are my little man!!

Terrible Two's

So, we've hit it...the terrible two's. Bridger had his birthday last Friday and starting acting like a 2 year old just in time. I've heard "NO!" more in the past week and a half, than I've ever heard in my life. It seems like nothing can make this kid happy!

life

isn't life just a funny thing. it seems that my life has been ups and downs for the past few weeks; and most of those ups and downs have been out of my control. it's hard to find the nice peaceful middle ground when the roller coaster you are riding just won't stop. but it's good to know that someone else is really in charge of our ride, and that all the craziness is for my good. there is a plan for me, and although it definitely isn't MY plan it is His plan and it is better than i could ever imagine, IF i can just endure. here are just a couple of things that have gotten me through the past few weeks, and have reminded me that the blessings are always there, you just have to be aware of them.

spending time with my boys

the sunrise that i see each morning from my kitchen table

Wrapping It Up

So, I'm finally back and ready to blog again. I have been home from our little holiday travel for over a week, but I am just barely getting back into my routine, which includes blogging. :) Here's a quick update on the holidays for the Kaiser clan.

We spent a few days before Christmas, Christmas Eve, and Christmas morning in Utah with the Prescott family. It was so much fun to spend time with my mom and the rest of my family...it made me realize how much I really miss them. Thanks to Dean, Maddy, and the kids for traveling to Salt Lake so much just to hangout with us...it really meant a lot to me.




Christmas morning was good with Bridger, except that he wasn't interested in anything that Santa had brought him. All he wanted was the 30 year old Disney dominoes that my mom has in her toys drawers.




We then headed to Kemmerer for the Kaiser family celebration. This always includes lots of wrapping paper, tons of food, and games of all sorts. Bridger was thrilled with the gifts Grandma and Grandpa got him, especially his Elmo Pillow Book. I was so excited to open one of my presents and find a crepe maker, thanks Laurie!! We even tricked Rusty with one of his gifts. Now let me explain this...Rusty has this intuition, or gift some may call it, that he can always guess what gifts he is getting for Christmas. Well, me and Laurie went in on this together and tricked him this year...it was really fun to see his face!!

We spent from Christmas through New Year's Day with the Kaiser's. Rusty had a great time hanging out with his brothers, fishing their hearts out...and I had a great time AFTER I had a complete emotional melt down. I guess I had been away from home far too long, was tired, and emotional. Thanks to Amy for helping me out of the rut and having fun with me...and by the way, I am going to win Phase 10 one of these days!!

So, there's my holidays in a quick minute (or two)!! I hope you all had a memorable holiday. Happy New Year to you all, may 2008 be better than 2007 (even if 2007 was great)!!

Today is...

a GREAT day!! Although it is only 16 degrees outside right now, Bridger threw up twice last night, and I didn't sleep all that well, I am having a GREAT day!! It's one o'clock in the afternoon and I've done 2 loads of laundry, exercised, showered, and most importantly spent some great mommy time with Bridger boy reading books and playing in shaving cream!! Now this may not sound like quite the accomplishment to you supermoms, but for me this is something. Yeah...I love days like this! I hope you all have a great day too!

Just One of the Guys

Last week while hunting I came to a happy, yet sad, conclusion...my Bridger Boy is no longer my baby. Bridger wouldn't leave his dad's side, and if he did it was to hang out with Grandpa or Uncle Roo. He wanted to sit on their lap, follow them around camp, go look at deer with them, just be one of the guys.





I've always told Rusty that once Bridger turned 2 he could do as he wanted, until then I just wanted Bridger to be MY baby. Well, I guess Bridger is on dad's side and decided he needed to be one of the guys a little bit earlier than mom had planned!

Just a minute

Well, I'm visiting the Kaiser's this week and have found just a minute to make a post. I'm going to give a quick Kaiser summer report. It has been crazy, fun, stressful, and everything else, but as I am looking back I'm happy to survived it!!

July ended with a bang! I was able to spend the last 10 days of the month with my mom in Salt Lake. July 24th is our "Annual Turk and Utahna Frantz Reunion" so I was able to visit with my brothers and sisters and their families. It was great to see them all, as well as my cousins and their families. I will admit that it gets a little crazy with all of them, but it is definitely worth it. Thanks to Rex who provided the cotton candy for the event...I think this will definitely have to become a regular treat at the event!!!







Early August was filled with days in Pinedale. Most of my days were spent at the trailer and at the beautiful Pinedale Library. Life in the camper trailer has not been as bad as expected. I think the only thing that I would really wish for out of trailer life is more than 3 minutes of hot water for a shower. Bridger, on the other hand, couldn't ask for anything more. He gets to run around outside as much as he wants and when he is inside he plays with toys or watches "Shrek 2" and "The Backyardigans". We have meet some really nice people, some really weird people, and a couple scary people while being camp host at the Warren Bridger Campsite. All in all it has been a great experience and a little bit inside of me is sad to leave that place. :)

Towards the end of August Rusty was called up for a 10-day wildfire duty with the Elko, Nevada Hot Shots crew. He and the Elko crew were called to the Castle Rock fire just north of Sun Valley Idaho. Rusty had a good time and learned a lot as he was "thrown to the wolves" on his very first wildfire. Rusty was helicoptered up the mountain where he stayed for a few days looking for hot spots and doing other crazy fire stuff. He said it was amazing to see those Hot Shots at work...they were animals packing chainsaws, gas, and other equipment up the mountain on their backs!!! After it was all said and done, Rusty came home with some fierce blisters and great connections for another fire duty next year.

September came and so has the cool weather. The temperature swings in Pinedale are just unreal...we go from high 20's at night to mid 70's in the day. It really has been beautiful and I have actually liked the cool off. Bridger and I are meeting some nice people at Storytime and playgroup, so that is helping with the loneliness. With the cold weather we have been getting really serious with house stuff. Our home arrived September 4th in Pinedale and things have been moving along since then. The house is now on it's foundation and electricity is ran to the house. Our septic system should be done soon as well as our garage/outbuilding. This means that we may be able to close on the house and MOVE IN some time the second week of October!!! All this is tentative, but I am very hopeful.


Thanks to the Kaiser's and my mom for being wonderful and patient with me and Bridger as we have been wanderers since July. Although our families have been great and taken care of us since July, I still can't wait for our own place. Hopefully soon I will be blogging from home, until then enjoy!!

Ups and Downs

Today has been one crazy day!! I've probably felt just about every emotion you can...both good and bad.


Rusty left at 7:30 this morning to start his new job in Pinedale. I was very sad to see him go but excited for him to start his dream job. I also felt anxiety as I realized that this move is coming, and it's coming quick!!


About an hour later I got a phone call from Rusty saying, "I think the car is breaking down." AHHHH! Rusty ended up calling about 15 minutes later stranded on the side of the Interstate about 1 mile from Rock Springs. Of course, I panicked and didn't know what to do. I ended up spending the next half hour frantically trying to find someone to tow Rusty into town and a repair shop to get the car fixed.


During all this I took one of the Young Women from church to the Camp Director's house so she could head to camp today. I felt sad saying goodbye to the girls because I wanted to go to camp so badly but couldn't with Rusty's new job and the move.


Whittney, my niece, called this morning to share some exciting news...she's getting married!! I was so excited for her!! She is marrying a great guy, Riley, and they will be so happy together!! I can't wait until April 19th to see her so beautiful and walking down the aisle!! Congratulations you guys, I love you!



During lunch Bridger threw an enormous fit...over who knows what!! Today he has turned into a little monster; screaming to get his way and head butting whatever is in front of him!! My frustration level hit the roof when all he was doing was screaming because he wanted a cup (without a lid) full of water, not to drink but to carry around the house!!


After lunch Rusty called to let me know he got the car fixed and told me how much they charged us...oh no!! Stress hit as I tried to figure out where to get the $$.


After running around town and finishing up errands I decided to have some fun with little Bridger boy!! This weekend we got a swimming pool from Rusty's brother and his wife so I decided to fill it up and let Bridger enjoy the sun. I was so happy to see Bridger enjoying himself in the water. At first he didn't even want to stand in the pool but after about five minutes he was acting wild and crazy as usual, splashing, laughing, and loving everything about his little life.




Dinner is now over and I have to spend the evening by myself. Rusty is in Pinedale and I am here in Rawlins. There are some nights when Rusty is home and we don't even do anything, but I guess it's the thought that he is home. I can't wait until Friday when he'll be home again so we can be together as a family again.