We're halfway there!!!!

We are officially halfway there! 20 weeks down and 20 more to go!

We are so thrilled to announce that Baby Rusch is a healthy baby......

BOY!!!!!!

We are both thrilled and blessed to be having another healthy baby!!!

We would like to request your prayers regarding one issue. My amniotic fluid is low. I had this same issue with A, but it didn't surface until around 32 weeks of pregnancy. Since I am only 20 weeks now and still have quite a way to go, it is a bit of concern. My doctor has reduced my work hours and put me on bed rest when at home. Again, the baby looks great and is in perfect health, we just need to try to increase my fluid levels.

I am going to a specialist on February 4th for more extensive testing to ensure there isn't a problem that the standard pre-natal tests are not detecting. All of my tests have come back normal, thus far.

Please pray for the following:

Reduced stress at work - most of you know my work situation has been horrible lately so its somewhat of a blessing not to have to be there as much! Hopefully they will respect the doctor's orders and things won't get nasty.

Coordinating more time to rest for me so my fluid levels can increase- Ted's job is very demanding right now and often requires him to work late nights. Just pray that the Lord works out all of these little details so that he can meet expectations at work and I can get the rest I need at home.

Pray for A - that the Lord would quickly heal his little leg and help him with the transition at home with mommy not being able to do as much.

We are so thankful for all of you and can't wait to introduce you to our second son in June!

Is it a boy or is it a girl???

Right now only God knows, but not for much longer.... we'll share in on the good news tomorrow!

Our appointment is at 9:15am.... can't wait to share!!!

A broken bone

A has a broken leg! And I have a broken heart.

I seriously deserve the worst mother in the world award! What I thought was a sprained/twisted ankle that the doctors wouldn't be able to do anything for, turned out to be a broken leg. Yep, he broke his leg right above his ankle. He has a little red cast that he will be in for at least 2 weeks until we go back to the orthopedic doctor for more x-rays. Its pitiful and cute all at the same time!

We have already seen a huge improvement in his demeanor now that he has a cast and the "boo-boo" is stabilized. He was crawling around like a mad man last night. He put weight on it a couple of times, but he hasn't attempted to walk on it yet. He is back at daycare today and I'm hoping that in an attempt to keep up with his buddies, he will start walking again.

As a side note, am I the only mother that feels like I always make the wrong decisions when it comes to my child? If I break down and call the pediatrician, I either feel like "that mom" who over-reacts to every little thing or like a horrible mother for not having had rushed my child in immediately. UGH..

A little progress

Last night was a good night. A got up once around 11:00 and went straight back to bed without a fight. We were able to get a much need night's sleep!

He got his first "official" injury today. He sprained his ankle on the playground at daycare. It is so sad. He keeps saying, "Mommy, boo-boo hurts." Oh, how I wish I could take it away!

Hopefully tomorrow he will put weight on it again to walk. He sat on my lap all night tonight and watched Elmo. I loved the snuggles, although I wish they came under different circumstances.

Downhill

Nights two and three in the big boy bed were successful! Both nights he got up once about 3 hours after going to bed. I can live with that.

Last night was another story... I laid in bed heartbroken listening to my child scream from his room. He came into our room around 11:00 and I took him back to his bed and it went downhill from there. He ran out of his new room (formerly the guest room/play room) into the nursery and reached for his crib saying "bed, bed, bed..." He wanted back in his crib. That broke my heart! I told Hub Luv that we were just going to buy a new crib for the baby and let A sleep in a crib until he's 5. Fortunately, he disagreed and we stuck to our guns and made A sleep in his twin bed. It was so pitiful though. I feel now like I did when he was a newborn and we started letting him cry it out when he went to sleep.

I'm praying tonight goes better! Does anyone have any suggestions to offer about transitiong from a crib to a twin bed?

Night One: Successful

Night one in the big boy bed went amazingly well.

We went through our normal bedtime routine and when we put him down, he stayed in bed. He cried out around 1:30 and I think he had woken up and was a little disoriented. I told him he was in his big boy bed. He fell back asleep until 8:30. That time he woke me up screaming. I could tell by the way he was lying in the floor that he had tried to climb down and had fallen. I put him back to bed and he slept until 10:00!

Naptime today was successful too. I"m praying night #two goes well because I'm exhausted from all of the projects around here. I feel like I have a lot to do in the next 5 months!

Side note.... who knew it was so hard to find a bed rail for a twin bed? I never dreamed it would be an ordeal, but it took us 2 hours of driving to different Targets and Wal-Marts last night to finally find one.

Putting the final touches on the room now... pics to come!

Holy Cow, its 2009!!!

Man, did the new year sneak up on me!!!

I have been in a fog of pregnancy sickness for the last 3 months, aggravated by 2 sinus infections. One of which I am getting over now. If you are one of the lucky ones who do not get sick during pregnancy, count yourself blessed that you do not know what you are missing. I want to know who named it "morning" sickness because I would have given my right arm to have only been sick in the mornings. It was 24/7 for 16 weeks. With A it was 15 weeks. But I have a healthy 2 year old and another healthy one on the way, so I'll count it all worthwhile. It has been 2 weeks since I have had any pregnancy sickness, so I think I am in the safe zone. Praise Jesus!

Unfortunately, it didn't come in time to enjoy the holidays the way I like to :( I didn't bake the first item, didn't attend all of the holiday festivities hosted by friends and family, didn't have a birthday party for Jesus, didn't make ornaments and didn't put my tree up until one week before Christmas. Now its 2009 and I'm almost halfway through my pregnancy!

We have been busy painting A's big boy room! Tonight will be the first night he sleeps in there. I"m curious to see how it goes. His room is so, so cute. I'm still hanging everything on the walls, but will post some pics when its complete.

I hope your New Year is off to a great start. I'll try to update more regularly in 2009!

Blessings!

Rusch Family Update!

Hi Dear Friends! Its been a long time!

As most of you have heard by now, we are expecting a new addition to our family on June 17th, 2009! We had our first appointment and ultrasound last week. We got to see our little lima bean on screen. True to Rusch family fashion, we have given this baby its "in utero" name. A's name was "Ace." T has named this baby "Seabass" which I am not a fan of at all, but is quickly catching on in our home.

Right before we joyfully announced our new addition, I was plagued with pregnancy sickness. I was sick with A until 15 weeks so I expected that I might be sick with this baby, but nonetheless, I was hoping to avoid it.

Last weekend was the worst. After trick-or-treating on Friday I didn't go out of the house again until Monday morning when I left for work. Yesterday was a good day and today has started off well also so I"m hoping I might catch a break with this pregnancy. I'm trying to stay focused on the sweet reward that is to come at the end of it all! To all of you women who never had a day of sickness - you are so blessed in that regard!!!

Despite me not feeling well we have managed to fit in some fun things. We went to the Pumpkin Patch a couple of weeks ago and took our little giraffe trick or treating. I'll try to upload some pictures later!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Where have all the manners gone?

As A gets older and we are out and about more and interacting with other kids (and their parents), I am noticing that there is something missing in the world today..... a little thing called MANNERS!!!

We had an almost-incident at the park yesterday. I say "almost" because I didn't actually confront the dad of the 5 year old boy that was bullying my almost 2 year old son. Before you commend me for taking the high road - don't. This has nothing to do with my self control, decision to show this man the love of Christ, or desire to bridle my tongue. This is purely a result of this daddy getting out of my line of fire before I could unleash the wrath of a "mother whose child has been wronged" on him.

Now, am I proud of that fact? NO. I'll come back to the spiritual implications in a minute.

In public settings, such as parks, where there are lots of kids around, my general rule of thumb is to allow one grace "offense" before confronting a parent. Now, I'm not talking about kids not paying attetion and running into my child and knocking him down or stealing a toy, etc. I'm talking about the willful, intentional pushing or other form of bullying my child that can cause physical harm. I do know that kids will be kids and you have to deal with those things. I also know that I wear my heart on my sleeve and, therefore, am prone to over-react in any given situation. When you add my child to the mix, multiply that by 1000 times. I lose all logic and reasoning and only see that my child has been wronged. So, to make sure I am not over-reacting, I allow 1 grace offense. How charitable of me, I know (sarcasm). If the behavior continues, then I will confront the parent.

Yesterday when we were at the park, this 5 year old little boy ran up to A and shoved him. This was not an accident of any sort. The kid ran up and pushed him. A stumbled around, but I was able to grab him before he fell. I am one of those parents that actually watch their kids at the park so I was nearby. The dad of the bully, who was standing right there when the whole thing went down, just said, "Now, Now... we don't push little kids." Luckily A has thicker skin than his mama and ran along unscathed.

I, however, thought to myself, "Strike One," and this kid immediately went under my mama microscope.

Now, call me crazy, but I think the dad should have made the boy apologize to A. That's what my mom would have done when I was little and what I would do if A did that to another child. I don't think I would have been nearly as upset if the dad acted remotely remorseful. I do understand that kids unexpiclably hit, push, pull hair etc. A has done it to other children. Kids will be kids and its not the children that I am upset with. Its the parents and their response in these situations that kill me!

Anyway, this child continued to push A (and other kids) out of his way on the stairs to slide, would run up the slide as these little ones were coming down the slide, etc. So I guess I actually gave him more than 1 grace offense :) I think the dad realized I was about to blow because he grabbed his son and took him to the other end of the park to let him run around.

Now, there is nothing wrong with a mamma being angered by her child done wrong. Its how we deal with that anger. Mommies from the beginning of time have experienced these emotions. In Genesis 21:8-10, Sarah was so angered by Ishmael scoffing at Isaac that she cast him out of the land!!!!

My conflict is "How do I respond to these situations while living out the word in front of my child?" Clearly, my inward fury did not come out yesterday, but it could have and probably would have if that dad did not make his exit when he did. The bible says, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man" Matthew 15:18.

I'm reading a book, "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. He talks about disciplining your children according to scripture and scripture alone. He also talks about dealing with bullies and how the bible says to bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, to him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer him the other (Luke 6:27-36). Now obviously Jesus does not want me to stand back and watch someone physically harm my child and do nothing about it, but where is balance? I"m struggling to find the balance people!!!!

I want nothing more than to live out the word in every aspect of my life. Afterall, Jesus is the word.

Please tell me how you deal with these situations!

I am like a mamma bear. I ROAR. Jesus.... there is still a lot of work to be done in me... but I guess you knew that already :)

My Version of Chicken Pot Pie

I've been under the weather today with a sinus headache, so I made one of my dishes that I like to label "No Prep Time" for dinner.

I like to consider this a healthy version of Chicken Pot Pie. Its not Paula Dean by any means, but then again, I don't think you can use healthy in the same sentence as Paula Dean. This is so simple and fairly healthy and its a good little dish to have tucked in your back pocket for when you don't feel like cooking!

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken cut into 1 in. chunks (I use boneless/skinless tenders but you could use breasts)
1 can of cream of chicken soup (I use the reduced sodium)
1 8 0z package of cream cheese (I do use the regular)
1 1/4 cup of whole wheat pasta*
1 1/4 cup of frozen peas and carrots*
3/4 soup can of water, divided

Line an 8x11 baking dish with the pasta, peas and carrots, and chicken
Pour 1/4 of the water over
Mix the cream cheese, soup and remaining water and pour on top and spread evenly
Bake on 375 for 35 minutes
(About 20 minutes into baking, I take the casserole out and stir to mix everything together to bake for the remaining 15 minutes)

Enjoy!

*These are approximate measurements - I usually just eyeball it!