Lots of Cute Stuff

This entry is just a hodge-podge of stuff... A has done so many cute things this week that I wanted to share.

First of all... I'm digressing away from the cute part for a minute... he grew just enough this week that he can now turn our door knobs enough to open every door in this house. This is bringing the baby proofing to a whole new level. One night this week T and I were in the kitchen and we heard a door open and walked into the living room to see A walking out the front door! YIKES! That was scary. You will be glad to know that we have since put baby proofing devices on all of the important door knobs.

Back to the cute stuff.....

Most of you know that I am on the hunt for the perfect shade of beige to paint my living room. I keep all of my paint samples in a basket in our room. This morning A was holding the different paint samples up to the wall and looking at them! I think he's seen mommy do that one too many times recently. This reminded me of the time that he got hold of a pair of tweezers and pretended that he was plucking his chin after spending the morning with my mom. Sorry mom for outting you!

We bought him a playhouse a few weeks ago. He loves it! (Pictures to come soon). The only downfall is that he wants me to get in it all the time. That wouldn't be so bad except that he gets out and moves on to play with other toys and expects me to continue to sit in the house! Its quite a sight to see..... me in the playhouse with my knees tucked under my chin while he is off doing his own thing.

His vocabulary is continuing to expand and he is piecing sentences together more and more. He said "Poo-Poo" today. If you don't have kids this will seem like a totally inappropriate topic to blog about, but those with kids know its part of daily conversation. Things for the childless to look forward to :)

He is becoming quite the tattle tale! He tattles on himself whenever he is about to do something that is not allowed. Whenever I hear "No,No,No" I turn around to see his insubordination. Usually its putting his foot on the dinner table. That is the latest thing that he continues to do to test us. Sometimes he even gives himself a spanking!

I think I"m going to make edible play dough tomorrow after naptime. I'll let you know how it goes!

Rough Day

Poor sweet A... he had a rough day yesterday.


First, he bit his friend A at daycare so he got in trouble for that last night when we got home. Then when I was giving him a bath, I noticed that he had been bitten also. There was a little mouth print on his upper back.


While he was splashing around in his bath and having fun, he bent down and hit his eye on the faucet. It was one of those accidents, where as a parent, you immediately feel horrible because you were right there!!!!


Here are some pics below... Ted iced it immediately so it didn't swell too bad overnight.


Thank God we don't have an appointment with the Pediatrician anytime soon!





Immediately after:



Today: (The crying has nothing to do with the injury... this is his normal morning demeanor)

Fun in the Rain

Luckily for us the lake is one place you can go and still have fun when its raining!!!

T and I were invited to his cousin's house on Lake Martin in Dadeville, AL this weekend. We dropped A off at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday morning and headed out for our little getaway. Typical to our luck, the one weekend we decide to go to the lake, its rains the entire time!!!

Despite the crummy weather we had a great time. T's family graciously opened up their home, boat, and jet skis to us. The lake water was so warm and inviting that we decided to venture out despite the pouring rain. There is something so relaxing about being out on the open water and getting bounced around on the back of a jet ski! Because the water was so rough and choppy we got splashed a lot and stayed warm from the wind and rain.

I got plenty of "guy time" this weekend. I've never been a huge fan of being the only gal hanging out with a group of guys, but if I had to do it, this would be the group of guys I would want to be around. Even though we've been married 3 years, I've never really had the opportunity to get to know T's cousins Brian, Bobby, and Andrew. Maybe its because they live such exciting and elaborate lives...

Brian lives in Denver, Colorado and is an operations manager for Home Depot there. He is a real outdoorsman and has lots of neat stories to share. Bobby just completed his MBA, lives in Decatur and has a posh job for a private investment firm and frequently travels the world for work. Andrew went to undergrad at Notre Dame University, is in the Navy, and is currently attending medical school at Emory. It was really neat getting to know them and they are all 3 such gentlemen! I was asked on more than on occasion if I needed a sweater, if I was comfortable, if I needed something to drink, etc. That part was kinda fun :) The matchmaker in me was dying to break free and start making matches, but I contained myself.

A had fun with the grandparents. Grandpa taught him how to do the touchdown symbol. Grandma bought him 2 new toys; a firetruck and an alphabet toy. As usual he got lots of attention and love. We're so fortunate to have them so close by!

I can't believe its time to start another week. This should be a light week for me at work so I'm looking forward to lots of time with A.

Blog ya later! ( I know... cheezy)

I'm still alive!!!

Hello to all of my blog readers... Maybe I'm being a little too confident...does anyone even read my blog? Hmm.... oh well, its fun to write even if its just for me!

Life has been busy lately. I have been working wwaaaayyyy more than I would like. We have been understaffed in our department at work so I have been graciously filling in. We just recently hired 2 peeps, so I'm fighting to reutrn to my part-time schedule before they forget that this full-time schedule was only temporary! I miss my baby and our afternoons at the park. We haven't done anything too exciting outside of our normal routine lately, hence the lack of blog posts, but here is a quick update on everyone....

A is still as busy as ever. He may be the sweetest little boy that ever lived. I just love all the hugs and kisses. The best hugs are the ones where he wraps his arm around my neck and then plays with my hair. He has a new addition to his vocabulary, "MINE!" And he certainly knows the proper context in which to use it. He is just such a little boy! It cracks me up how we don't have to teach him to do boy things. He has two skinned knees and he knocked the scab off one yesterday when he and another little boy at daycare were driving their trucks into each other.

T is working all the time! His job is very challenging and demanding right now, but he is enjoying it. He has started running and mountain biking again. I don't know how he does it in the heat!

In addition to working a lot, I have been getting lots of time out with good friends lately - thanks to my wonderful hubby for pulling A duty! I am in two bible studies right now. One meets bi-weekly and the other monthly. That doesn't sound like much, but it always seems like I'm finishing up my lessons at the last minute. God is so good though! I love the things He continues to show me and the blessings he is giving me through time with wonderful women. I also took on another project - I'm painting A bathroom. I hope to finish it next week. Its going to be cute!

We are starting a new playgroup tomorrow which I am very excited about. I love having interaction with other mom's and I love knowing that A is forming some friendships too. All of these mom's are God Fearing women, whom happen to be married to T's Auburn crew, so that makes it even better!

I have been majorly slacking in the picture taking/uploading/e-mailing department! There just isn't enough time in the day for it all! So I am including some recent pictures of Aiden... just little random shots... some of our trip to WV, some at Monkey Joe's (one of his favorite places) and some just goofing around! Oh, I included a couple of A's baby cousin N. A just loves him until mommy picks him up! I tried to put these at the bottom, but can't figure it out right now. So they're going to be at the top of the page!

Enjoy the pictures!

Kids really do say the darndest things!!!!

One of A's new favorite things to do, is to look at pictures of our friends and family and name everyone in the picture. He has taken a special liking to the older of my two younger sisters, B, aka, Aunt T.T. I"m still trying to figure that one out.... Just kidding T.T. :) Anyway, he naturally gravitates to pictures of her and stands there pointing and saying "T.T., T.T., T.T." until I say, "Yes honey, that's Aunt T.T." We do this several times a day.

Its funny how kids make associations with people. For those of you that haven't met my sister, Brittany is tall, thin and has shoulder length dark brown hair. When we were at church Sunday, he was pointing to everyone, who from behind, had the same profile as my sister and saying "T.T., T.T, T.T."

I had the newest issue of "US Weekly" on the table the other day. On the cover was Halle Berry in a bikini featuring her "post baby body" and Britney Spears in a bikini featuring her "newer more svelte body." A pointed to Halle Berry and said "T.T" I said "Honey that's not T.T." I didn't want to lead the poor child astray, afterall. Then he pointed to Britney Spears and said "MaMa." I said "You're exactly right honey. That's MaMa."

Oh well....

Chicken nuggets with a side of meltdown

For me, one of the wonders of motherhood, is the innate sense our children have of when certain events are occurring or are about to occur, and decide to have a meltdown at that time.

In the Rusch house, that moment is inevitably, dinnertime. When I was pregnant, several moms warned me that A would have a fussy time each day. That there wouldn't be anything wrong with him, but that he would just be fussy. His time was between 6-8pm. Do you want to know what determined exactly what time in that 2 hour interval that he would be fussy? When T and I sat down to eat dinner.

Our evenings usually go something like this..... pick A up at daycare at 4:00. By the time he hugs and kisses everyone 1,000 times and we leave its 4:30. By the time we get home and get in the house and somewhat settled its 5:00. We play for a few minutes and then I begin fixing him dinner because he is eagerly awaiting it and starving at 5:30. T arrives home between 6:00 and 6:30. He plays with A for a few minutes. Then its bathtime, story time, prayer time and bedtime (for A that is). Then T and I make dinner for ourselves and eat around 8:00. SHEW. I'm exhausted writing this.

On the rare occasion that T gets to leave early and is home by 6:00, I try to have dinner ready so we can eat as a family of 3. A doesn't quite understand the concept of a snack yet, hence why we eat at separate times. We're still working on that one. Anyway, Tuesday was one of those days. T agreed to get A from daycare so I could get a jumpstart on dinner and we could all eat together. Perfect plan.

A is generally a very pleasant child. Sure, he has his meltdowns, but they usually last 30 seconds to 1 minute. Overall, he is easygoing like his dad. The two of them arrived home, both in perfectly cheery moods, with only 10 minutes left until dinner was ready. A was in the kitchen playing peek-a-boo around the corner while I was wrapping things up.

The minute and I mean the minute dinner was ready and we sat down, MELTDOWN. I'm not talking a little 30 second meltodown. The child screamed the entire time we ate dinner. It was like someone flipped a switch in him. After about 2 minutes of the screaming I got him out of his seat and put him in my lap. That didn't help. He screamed and climbed all over me for the remainder of our dinner. Have you ever tried to eat brown rice with a 21 month old on your lap flipping around like a fish out of water? No wonder my kitchen floor is never clean. I do wonder though why I am not thinner :)

I still wouldn't trade it for the world.....

To Spank or Not to Spank - That is the Question

Today's post is a very controversial one.... discipline.... specifically... spanking.



I have found that, for the most part, parents are divided on the subject of discipline. You are either a spanker or you aren't. That's it. For most, its black and white. The "non spanking" realm of discipline can encompass many different methods of punishment. But the most divisive element of discipline, that gets even the most mild mannered parents in an uproar, is spanking.



I will go ahead and put it out there.... T and I are spankers. That is how we were raised and we turned out just fine. We turned out better than fine... we both have a godly love and respect for our parents and we respect authority. Now, I'm not talking about the "go pick a switch off the tree" spanking or the "beating your child with a belt" spanking. I'm talking about the good ole' "warm their hinies" when they don't behave spanking. And for all of you extremists out there, let me please clarify, I am not talking about child abuse nor am I promoting abusing your child. I am talking about disciplining your child, in love, through the form of spanking. I am talking about spanking my child's disobedience and not spanking out of my emotions.

Before we go any further, I want to pose a thought.... why do we even need to discipline our children in the first place? Wouldn't it be much easier to give them everything they want and all live happily ever after? Aside from all of the emotional/social issues that would create for your child, we are commanded by our heavenly father to discipline our children.

Pr 13:24 He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.

Pr 19:18 Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.

Pr 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

Pr 22:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.

What makes spanking better than time out or vice versa? For us it was never an issue. We were going to spank our kids. Maybe its because we were spanked as children. Maybe its because the children that we know who are not spanked but are punished through "time-out" have no respect for authority and ultimately rule over their parents. Look at the condition of our schools now vs 15 years ago when we still had paddling in the schools. Again, let me stress, in my experience, non-spanking methods of punishment do not appear to be as effective.

There is not right or wrong answer to this... and maybe one's method of discipline needs to differ with each child depending on that child's personality. We have not crossed that bridge yet as we still only have 1 child. If you are part of the "non-spanking" school of thought I am not trying to convert you. I'm confident with the method that we've chosen and I"m sure you're confident about yours. What I'm more upset about is that it is not socially acceptable to spank our children anymore.

To be part of a society that screams "freedom" and "1st Ammendment rights", parents are not given the social freedom to discipline their children as they choose. The public is so quick to cast an evil stare my direction when A is misbehaving, but I can't spank him because someone will call child services on me. Even more than that, any type of punishment or lac of results in a dirty look. You have the group that gives you a dirty look for scolding a 2 year old who appears to be having a seizure because he is throwing such a tantrum. If you do nothing, you have the group that gives you a dirty look for not scolding your child. I have my way of punishing at home and my way of punishing in public and the two are vastly different. Only because I will not give someone the opportunity to scream that I am abusing my child for spanking him. Its a no win situation. Its just frustrating.

I'm not sure what I hoped to accomplish with this post today.... just food for thought.