Holiday Highlights

our home was christened this year by the first christmas.
some of my favorite moments are:


trivial pursit smack downs

watching christmas movies

not leaving the house for 4 days

making and decorating sugar cookies

eating said sugar cookies

christmas eve dinner

baking apple pie

staring at the tree with my dog neice Bella on my lap

giving presents to my favorite people

the endless ribbing of my sister and brother in law to produce a cousin for our baby
[amy, if you're reading this, know that it won't stop until you call and tell me you're pregnant]

being 8 months preggs kept the fawning at a maximum and the chores to a minimum [SCORE]

giving my husband the best gift ever- a beautiful guitar



it was a sweet sweet christmas indeed!!!

one month and counting...

I am SO excited to share that we have ordered our La Bassine birthing pool. Leigh from Marvelous Kiddo used the same one, and I consider her an inspirational mama and birthing guru, so naturally it was the first pool I looked at.

I'm busy collecting the remaining items we need for our home birth, and I feel like I need more time. Yet...it seems like it can't come soon enough. I can't wait to meet you Baby Brink.

le sigh!

Confessions

The 'Confessions of a Pregnant Woman' series has been really fun for me. I've enjoyed sharing the ins and outs of my pregnancy with you all. But you know what's crazy? There's only time for one or two more of them! So without further ado....

1. Every day (and sometimes hourly) I voice the same phrase as though I have never said it before: 'He is coming soon. He is going to be here soooooo sooooooonnnnn.

2. We are calling the birth 'D-Day'. Um, What? Doesn't the WWII storming of the Beach of Normandy, France conjure up thoughts of a serene home birth to you?? Ok, so not exactly. But it works for me...

3. I have been carrying my sister's dog around in my sling, to practice babywearing.

4. Baby is growing big and the room in there just doesn't seem as adequate as before!
Now I have little toes jamming into my ribs. However, his head is down which is great because it's likely he won't be breech. I will take inflamed ribs any day!

5. He has hiccups every day. So funny. I tell him not to be scared. Don't you think hiccups might be scary to a baby?

6. I am starting to get uncomfortable. Like oh god I can't breath uncomfortable. Thankfully he dropped a little yesterday so I can breathe a little better, but my bladder is not impressed!
Maybe the twice nightly peeing is the way the body prepares for nighttime feedings? It's saying get used to this sister...you have a few more months to go.

7. Honestly, I do feel beautiful. My husband tells me so every day, which helps.

8. I really miss my skinny jeans.

9. D-day is 36 days away according to the ticker, but earlier would work just fine for me.

10. I love to hate Braxton Hicks. I have them daily, and I'm glad my body is warming up. I think I might be dilating a little bit, so maybe he will come a little early? Fingers crossed!!

best. christmas. ever. (a.k.a. how do you spell 'recession'?)

What a beautiful, lovely, perfect, sweet, and delicious Christmas it was!
Chris and I hosted the family Christmas for the first time in our little house.
His parents, sister and brother in-love, and Bella, their Chihuahua came to spend the holidays.
(Technically Bella is the first grand baby, or grand dog as we call her. We love her, and she is quite cute and lovable for a small yappy dog. We like to play with her and awww at her cute tricks. But we have started to warn her that soon she will not be the center of attention anymore...there will be a new Little Sheriff in town. Baby Brink will come soon, and he will certainly steal the limelight. As he should! :)

We all seemed to forget how to spell 'recession', which was evident by the ungodly amounts of presents that poured out from the under the tree. When your love language is gifts and you have a family who is the same, it's easy to go overboard. I understand how quickly it can be all about the gifts and have that be the focus, but really when you do it out of a good place of love, then it's not the focus. It's just...the joy of it. I was so happy to see everyone's face light up when they opened something that they truly needed, enjoyed and wanted.

My favorite gift this year was the one I gave Chris. I secretly saved up (and by saved I mean scrimped. Every penny. It's hard when you don't work!) and bought him a beautiful Taylor acoustic guitar. I was crying when I gave it, and he cried when he saw it. It was the best gift I've ever given. And not because it was worth a lot of money, but because it was so heart felt. My husband deserves the world for taking care of me and our house, for selflessly going to work every to provide for our family. He needed to be thanked, and sometimes my words just can't do justice what is in my heart. I wanted to do something for him that he would never do for himself. He is just too selfless. In this season of our lives as we prepare for our baby to come, the needs are ever increasing. So spending so extravagantly wasn't maybe the smartest idea, but it needed to be done. He is worth that much to me.

So as I gave it to him all I could do was cry....I could hardly spit out the speech I had created. I just watched him in awe as he was overwhelmed, and he was speechless too. I can tell you, this 'love' thing....is really SO much better, and deeper and amazing than I expected.

My favorite gift I got? An hour long prenatal massage (thank you chris!!) Other favs included a Jelly Cat alligator for my son. He and Ardi the Arvark will be great friends. What else... Oh!! A harddrive from my dad. So now I can finally free up some space on my overly full computer, restore some order, and begin blogging again. (I would've gone to the library like I said I would, but we had quite the snow storm, and I've already slipped once on the ice. So I don't want to take any more chances.)

There is so much more to write about, but I have to end it here. Coffee and Saturday is calling. I must comply. Future posts: new belly pics & 'Confessions'

LOVE & LOVE, Cheers, Bliss, xo,
Yana

i'm baaaaaack!!!

Holy. Majoley.

My long blogging break was not intentional! In the spirit of the holidays, let's hold hands and thank my overloaded and extremely slow and old computer, that has totally ruined java script and cookies. BAHHH.

So much has happened since my last post!

Firstly, let me say......holly jolly merry holidays to everyone!!!

Secondly, I am becoming somewhat of a spectacle, belly wise. Loves, there is just 7 weeks till my due date!

Once the holidays are over, the leftovers are gone and the in-laws have returned home, there will be just 5 weeks remaining. Which means =Operation Major Nesting will commence. I CANT WAIT!

I really want to post the pics from our recent "babymoon" to San Francisco, but I'm not sure my computer can handle the pressure. It was an amazing and restful vacation.

Augh! I'm bursting with holiday excitement, thankfulness, burgeoning belly, happiness, and many many blog topics. I will be back, I promise. Even if I have to go to a library and type on a dirty keyboard, I WILL blog again. and soon.

love and miss all you readers and friends!!!

xx, Yana

Hallloooowweeeen

Chris and I don't have any plans for Halloween this year. But if I did, my costume options would be limited to the following fatties:

Do you have fun halloween/costume plans??

I WANT!

I want this Ardvark for my son!

We shall call him Ardi, and he will be part of our family.

How stinkin adorable is he!? He's orange...and an ardvark. Can it be any cooler than that?

[from Oompa Jelly Cat]

Barefoot Contessa

my favorite tv chef, Ina Garten has impressed me once again! I made her Company Pot Roast this weekend, and OH MY HOLY STARS it was to die for.

It was my first attempt at making pot roast and if I do say so myself, it was impressive with a capital I.

I highly recommend it. For the record, I omitted the cognac and added potatoes. Delish!

I'm moving!

Friends, family, & loves...pack your bags. We're Moving Tomorrow!!
[not to the barbie dream house] but to:

http://www.myheartgoboom.blogspot.com/


so goodbye, yanabanova.blogspot....you've served me well!

cheers and see you other side!

xo, Y


[Edit: welcome to my new domain! You'll find the same fun, wit and charm, just a different name!]

he's destined to be an artist.

when I paint [be it a canvas or room] I can't help myself- I *always* get paint everywhere.
My hair. my ear. my butt. my toe. my elbow. my fingernails...

I can now add 'belly' to that list.

pretty funny.

"Cry Me a River' ... of embarrasment?

Two days ago, I was in the grocery store, doing my housewifely thang.
When in the meat department, my heart lept - - -

Justin Timberlake's [insert girlish sigh here] 'Cry Me A River' began playing on the store's loud speaker.

Then ---

I scored an amazing 2 for 1 special on Pot Roast!

At this point in the story, my heart was so full with joy, that I couldn't help but begin to shake it!
Oh.my. There's nothing better [in my wifely book] than hearing mah Boi, WHILE scoring cheap meat.

I was flat out doing the happy dance.

At this point in the story is when I notice a man staring at me, smiling, and chuckling.
[I'm sure my pregnant dancing self was a hilarious sight]

I burst into nervous laughter...spun my cart around with impressive force, and ran to the dairy aisle as fast as my legs could carry me....except to pause for a moment at the end of the meat aisle to find my favorite peppery bacon, which was another amazing 2 for 1 deal. And at seeing that, I threw my arms in the air, exclaiming "YESSS!!!" [what can I say, I love myself some cheap meat.] I'm sure he saw me.

le.sigh.

[if you share my love for this boy, then cry me a river]

when I feel gloomy from the winter weather...

...I listen to Louis Armstrong's 'la vie en rose'. It gives me the warm fuzzies & happy shimmeries. It makes me want to put on a dress, drink a glass of wine, dance in the living room and fall in love alllll over again.

le sigh, le sigh.

26 weeks

The little prince and I at 26 weeks!
Two more weeks and I'm in my 3rd trimester. mahh goonness!

same name, new place

I've wanted to change my blog address to heartgoboom.blogspot, but it has been unavailable until now! yippee! I know how to change my address, but how do I keep all of you lovely readers?? Is is easy to ask for you to follow me at a new address??

Those of you who are blog saavy out there, if you have a better way please let me know! I'm clueless!

xo, Y

eff me.

rowr!

I'm having one of those days where pulling out some hair would make me feel a lot better.

Not my hair, but his hair:

I enjoyed googling for 'Donald Trump Hair' pictures so much.....now I'm laughing and honestly not very upset anymore. Thanks Donnie.

[i was going to blog about how overwhelmed in every way that i am. That we are over committed and don't have enough time...and that i'm 'only 25 and childless, how can I feel so overwhelmed already????' But. thanks to Don. And to small projects/victories that I accomplished today, I CAN handle it all. maybe just today's worth of battles, but as least I can handle today.

ah, victory is mine!

bachlorette memories

Let me preface this post by the following:
my friends are weird.
like me.

for my bachelorette party (june 08) my best friends planned an amazing 80's bridal photo shoot instead of taking me to a sleezy bar or hiring a stripper. The plan was to do the photo shoot, get drunk on margaritas, and finish the night off at the bowling alley. We ended up having SO much fun taking pictures, drinking and having a group demonstraion of the Carmen Electra's Dance Stripper DVD (that one of the girls gave me) that we never left to bowl.



My sister-in law:

Channeling a soap opera feel:

Attempting to tease my hair as big as possible:

jump!

Mah gurlz iz so ganzta

The young and the restless cast:

This is my best friend in the whole world, and also the brains behind this whole operation:

Cupcakes. [there were phallic shaped cupcakes, but that might be too R rated for this blog.

The party traveled outside:

...which lead to a pinata filled with thongs, lube, x-rated trinketts and mini alcohol bottles.

[the best part of the pinata was the bottle of lube broke and it was spinning around shooting liquid everywhere. I couldn't figure out 'why the heck am I getting wet and sticky!?' i screamed.

we laughed a lot.

the end.

confessions, part 4

1. yesterday I found a picture of myself in a bikini and sighed, then almost cried.

2. babie's r us is a scary place! registering took me 3.5 hours, and if Jessi hadn't come to help me, I would've ended up in a puddle of tears and frustration.

3. so it's quickly becoming apparant that the only two questions [almost with out exception] that people ask me anymore is "When are you DUE?" and followed by "Do you have any names picked out??" auuuuugggghhh. Ok, clearly I am pregnant, but I'm beginning to feel a little lost here? Like when I was engaged, I was lost in the 'when's the wedding' question. I was SO glad to get married and not get asked that anymore. Once our son arrives, the next question will be 'SO when are you having #2!?' Sigh.

4. strangers are beginning to touch me

5. my order of mace is being shipped via Amazon

6. i love chocolate, especially hot

7. #5 was a joke...mostly

8. someone told me [when they saw my belly] 'wow, he's gonna be a big fella'
um, excuse me? Is that a compliment in New Hampshire?

9. gaining weight is really a lot harder than I anticipated. Pre-belly, when I'd hear a pregnant woman complaining about her weight I would say 'no, you look amazing! it's all for the baby! it's a good thing! don't stress about it! the weight will come' But now that I'm wearing these shoes myself, I feel like eating my own words. [see! eating! It's all comes full circle] But dont fret loves, I am eating a plenty for the both of us.

10. on a very serious note, I am so very thankful to be having this baby. Life truly is a miracle, and my heart goes out to a very close friend of mine who miscarred this summer, along with a blog friend who I've been reading for over a year, miscarried last week. It's heartbreaking and my prayers truly are with them.

24 weeks

here we are at 24 weeks! we're growing growing growing! as they say, time flies when you're having fun. I just hope that I can savor every moment of my little son's life...[before he grows up and leaves me, and makes me a mother in law, and makes someone else pregnant, haha]

yesterday was my second check up with my midwife, and so far we both seem extremely healthy! Good blood pressure, good weight gain, good good good. Except....for the strange phenom that my right knee doesn't reflex...what? I know. I'm perplexed too! We were laughing hysterically that my knee wasn't responding!

soon I'll be back with another 'confessions'...they've been a-brewin.

ciao loves! xoxox

snuggies . need . burning .

if you own a snuggie, and you are not over the age of 60+ [aka senior citizen] and it was NOT bought for you as a gag gift, you need to get your head examined.

i mean, i would be happy to cut holes into new blankets and sew tubes to them and sell them for triple the money...but seriously? they are one of the worst, most lazy american inventions ever.
and snuggies for dogs?? come on. they have fur!! ugh.

oh. how i love this parody.

babyyy roooom

Oh the joy's of renovation.
My baby's room never knew that joy, until now. Last year while we worked tirelessly on nearly the entire house for nine months, by the time we finished with the 'uber important top priority must finish in order to live rooms' the baby's room....(aka the storage room, second closet, random things room) got left alone in it's pitiful un-redone state. After all, it was the 'future' baby room. In other words, we full well didn't intend to USE it as the BABY room for a few years. 4 pregnanc sticks, laughs and tears later, surprise surprise!

So here I am, looking at 4 months left on the calendar to make a space for our little dude, and thinking I gotta get movin'!! So I did! I've begun fixing the walls, and as I type, the rooming is drying and waiting for a second coat, hooorah! I need to repaint all the trim and doors. I knooowwwww that people say don't paint, VOC toxins, blah blah. BUT I HAVE TO! I can't wait for help. I'm wearing a mask and well ventilating....any other tips? For paint colors, I've been hanging around the 'oops' paint section at our hardware stores. For 5 dollars a gallon, I can't complain! And it's kind of a fun game to see what they'll have!

The next big thing is the Crib. Where the heck do I find a cool inexpenxive crib? I've scoured Target, Babies r us, Craigslist, Ikea....and I'm hardly impressed. The ones I DO love are over 1k. Ack! Any suggestions???