Albuquerque Moms Blog :: Introducing Joanna Rushing

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Hello!  My name is Joanna Rushing.  I’m a new mom, a wife, a musician, an actor, a traveler, a lover of all things green chile and Harry Potter, and now a blogger!

Albuquerque

I’m definitely a Burqueña; there’s no doubt about that.  I might be the whitest brown girl here, but that doesn’t change the fact that I love New Mexico, and I’m proud to call Albuquerque home.  Born and raised, I’m an Albuquerque native and a graduate of the University of New Mexico.  I talk like a New Mexican (“I know, huh?!”), I eat like a New Mexican (green chile, anyone? And yes, that’s how you spell it. “Chili” is something different), and I drive like a New Mexican (please don’t cut me off, sir, I WILL honk at you). For a year in college, I studied abroad in England, and I was pleasantly surprised when the year ended that I couldn’t wait to come back to the “Land of Enchantment.”

I think that’s when I knew New Mexico wasn’t just a place a lived, but rather a place I loved.  

I think my two favorite parts of Albuquerque are the weather and the food. What’s not to love about a place that boasts 300(ish) days of sunshine per year and yet four distinct seasons? It’s hot in the summer (but not too hot), cold in the winter (but not too cold), and beautiful in spring and fall.  And the food.  Oh man . . . the FOOD! There’s nothing quite like New Mexican food. Green chile? Only here (Sorry, Denver. Nice try.)  Awesome tacos? Check. Delicious stuffed sopapillas? Check. Breakfast burritos pretty much anywhere including gas stations? Check. Plus, ABQ is big enough that you can get all kinds of other food too? Vietnamese? Yep. French? Sure! African? You got it. 

Moms

I’m a brand new mom to one little girl: Elizabeth Ryann.

  

My little miracle baby was born in February of this year after my husband and I suffered two miscarriages.  I thought labor was the hardest thing I had ever done until I tried to breastfeed (more on that later).  I had no idea how difficult having a baby would be at the beginning.  It turns out it’s a lot of work, a lot of frustration, a lot of patience, a lot of grace, and an enormous amount of LOVE. My little schmunchkin (as I like to call her) is currently smiling, grabbing things & shoving them in her mouth, and trying really hard to explain to her mom just how much she hates tummy time through grunts and cries. My husband is the best thing in the world and takes care of our daughter with an incredible amount of love, tenderness, and affection, which just makes me love him more. I couldn’t do this without him.

Blog

When I had my baby, I thought, “I’ll read the parenting books then!” But it turns out babies take a lot of your time, and when they’re sleeping, I want to be sleeping (didn’t I read that in a parenting book?) or catching up on all the things I can’t do when they’re awake (my house isn’t going to clean itself, despite my best efforts)!  But you know what I do have time for? Reading blogs from other moms who are down in the trenches too and also got 6 hours of interrupted sleep last night. But beyond that, I want to contribute. I want to send encouragement to that mom who’s baby is just 2 weeks old and gently encourage her that yes, they will eventually sleep somewhere besides on you.  I want to tell moms newer than me that there’s some advice that you really should take and a bunch that you should just ignore.

But mostly, I want to join this community of other moms because we are each other’s best support and best resource. We have to band together! We’ll never survive alone!