Lee can suck it!

Tropical storm Lee can go suck a lemon. This weather system blew into town last monday and has rained all week, causing major flooding in central PA. Yesterday the power, water and gas were shut off in ouor area and we were evacuated. We went to stay with some friends high and dry up on the mountain, but before we left we spent 5 hours moving everything from our basement into our dining and living room. Our basement was expected to flood 5-6 feet because the river near our house was well over flood stage. 12 ft over, to be more precise. So......we are hoping to find an open, non-flooded road to go home and check out the damage. Last we heard the flooding was going to be 2-3 feet in the basement, down from the first estimate 5-6 ft. Thank God.

So the cleanup we will have to do in the basement will be insane because the Susquehanna River is one of the dirtiest river in the US, [suck a lemon LEE!] not to mention there will also be sewer water too. Oh joy!! On top of the cleanup - the entire contents of my basement is sitting in my main floor. Which means, at least a week of insane purging, cleaning, sorting, and storing back in the basement.

This pregnant mama moved more than I physically should've, not to mention the emotional toll this took on me. Please keep us in your prayers as we deal with this disaster.

All my love,

Y


UPDATE: There was (thankfully!!!) only a foot in the basement! It drained quickly and thanks to Chris's dad Rich, they got the mud hosed down and bleached clean! And thanks to my mother in law Linda we got all my stuff organized, sorted and purged. So really, the circumstances to do it under was stressful, but it was really a blessing in disguise. I feel like such an accomplished woman - my basement is all organized and labeled in 20 gallon rubbermaid containers!! :-)

this is what Joy looks like

We had the privilege of working with the super talented, amazing, creative, lovely, sweet [shall I go on??] photographer Brittany Fray, of Brit Fray Photography. On saturday night we took our family photos, with baby girl at 20 weeks. It was a gorgeous day, with the golden sun and beautiful broken down barns as our backdrop. Here is a sneak peek.

would you like some cheese with that WHINE?

I don't know when it started or how it escalated, but somewhere along the line my little boy became a whiner. The whiny whines drain me of all energy and patience to deal.

WHAT'S A MAMA TO DO?? I'm at a loss.

Friends, any books/tips you could recommend? Puhleaze, help a sistah.

xo,

Y

It's a GIRL

Just home from our ultrasound & celebratory dinner; cheeks hurt from smiling all night.

We are having a GIRL! A little baby girl, who at present looks just like her big brother did when we first saw him at 19 weeks. A little girl that we will raise into a woman; that I will get to dress up and clip bows into her hair. Dollies and tutus and sweetness, oh my.

I have a daughter.

le sigh.

gray hairs and sleepless nights

'Motherhood can be rough, but someone's gotta do it. Kids don't raise themselves.'

That was my thought this morning in bed when I had a little pseudo woodpecker, pecking at my eyes and my tugging on my ears. [burrows under the covers] 'Mommy is sleeping Rue....go play in your room.'

Which thankfully he did. He listens. But oh, the collateral damage of that request! All the books off the shelf, the wooden blocks thrown across the room and then the monkey was back in my bed, playing his piano app on my phone, and then when he was done, he threw my phone at my head.

What a costly 5 minutes of sleep that was! And I say 'sleep' in the loosest term. Sleep. Oh sleep, I miss deep sleep. The kind where you know you won't be needed. The kind where you don't jerk awake from every little peep and cough and sneeze and cry and whine and moan. But that little grin that I get in the morning, when I go to pick him up...and he says 'UPPPPPPPP!' No matter how tired I may be, it is face meltingly cute.

From what my mother tells me, I was a perfect baby. Happy, easy going, never cried and slept everywhere. She made me think a baby would be a breeze. My son came out roaring and hasn't stopped since; it's obvious he takes after his father! Or, option 2 - my mother developed a severe case of memory loss and forgot. Maybe she chose to forget. Highly likely. I am sure mothers forget on purpose, and often.

Well, this bun in the oven may be another boy, but let's hope if it is a HE, that he'll be just like me.

Or else, I am going to be an early gray-er. [in hindsight, maybe I was setting myself up for this when we chose Grayson as his middle name? Touché God, touché]

growing belly, growing heart

Pregnancy is going waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay quicker than last time. WAY.

I have a crazy 17 month old to thank for that. No more sitting on my bum reading pregnancy books to my hearts content. I am running around after him!

Sunday I am 16 weeks. Which means, in 16 days, we will find out if we are having another boy or...a little girl. Just over 2 weeks to wait! That's it. Wow. Sheesh! Shit. That's insane.

In other amazing news, I can feel this baby moving already. Life is such a beautiful thing!

Just feeling sappy, that's all.

xo

week 13

27.

Monday was my birthday. I am 27 years old, and it feels goooood.

I truly had the best weekend ever. Eveeerrrrrrrrrrr. When you love something a lot you are allowed to write with extra consonants and vowels. It was ahhhmmazing.

Sunday morning started out with gift opening. My stud husband gave me a camera. A swoon worthy, drool worthy Canon Rebel tSi. I cried a little. Finally, I can take the photos that I see in my minds eye. We left the baby at home with my in-laws and headed to Philly. On the way we made a fabulous detour to Terrain, Anthropolgie's outdoor home and garden store. It was incredibly rustic. Every where you looked was something beautiful and inspiring. Their cafe is in a greenhouse, where we dined on a delicious brunch. Our favorite part was the bread that they bake and serve in a terra cotta pot, paired with a lavender honey butter. I'm still rolling my eyes....it was soooooooooooo good.

From there we headed into Philly where we grabbed a Starbucks and hit my fave Anthro. I picked out a few home tchotckes [that sounds better than it looks] and knobs for my new buffet. Then an afternoon pickup was in order, so we stopped at Parc for a little French goodness. Iced coffee, roasted beet salad and creme brulee.

We finished the night at our favorite seafood restaurant in Hershey, Devon. And as good as it was, it was our least favorite of the day. Which...says a lot. Here are a few snaps from the day taken by my new camera!

Here's to a new year! My next birthday, I will be a mother of 2. Wow.

17 months

Rue.

You are 17 months.

And so far summer is amazeballs.

You are so fun.

Water is your best bud, as can be clearly seen in the picture above.

Last week I took you to a 'splash pad' and you were in heaven.

You talk gibberish all the time, and more and more we can hear clear words starting to form.

"UP"

"Apple"

You even said High Chair yesterday...of course it wasn't super obvious but I heard the effort!

We have nicknamed you Caption Destructo because, well, as the name implies, you love to destroy. Throwing things down the stairs is your favorite activity as of late.

You are still my little shadow, following me around the house. It's cute and annoying. But I am choosing to focus on the cute ;)

You love puppies and kitties and motorcycles and trucks. And sidewalk chalk.

Enough gushing for one day, but I just want you to know, we love you A LOT. And we like you too. I think we'll keep you.

xo, Mama

baby kisses are caffeine

12 weeks & 6 days preggs. Feeling good. But on this particular day I'm tired & lazy. Sitting on the couch all morning, watching Sesame Street, Million Dollar Decorators, the Food Network, and What Not To Wear. No playing energy, whatsoever. Out of the blue Rue climbs onto the couch and kisses me on the lips. And then again. And then again. About 12 kisses later, I am a happy teary mess. And surprisingly full of energy. I was in a playing mood.

Kisses in the morning are SO much better than even the best cup of coffee.

It is possible to pause this moment and hang on to it forever?

10 weeks preggs

We saw Baby #2!

Happy strong heartbeat.

Baby is in the right place.

Legs kicking, arms swimming.

Everything looks perfect.

Relief.

Peace.

Happiness, schmeared all over my heart. Mmm, schmear. Now, I want a bagel with cream cheese. Oh food. I love you.

Grand debut/ETA: January 22, 2012 [one week sooner than I calculated. Awesome!] Grow baby grow! See you in 30 weeks!

Anniversary #3.

Did I seriously miss blogging about my 3rd anniversary? On June 8th? As in 2 weeks ago? Yes, yes I did. Ah, well. Baby news certainly trumps all other news. Regardless of my tardiness, that doesn't change the fact that I'm a wife who is still 'ooh la la' in love with my husband and that deserves a post, late or not.

So here it is.

3 years baby! woo! We have seen a LOT of life in three years. A kid, one in the making, a major renovation, a new job....that's just the major stuff. There have been many hurdles in between.

But I love you more than I can say and I guarantee I could never find a better match, friend, confidant, father, lover in the world. You are my supreme. My crème de la crème. My joyeux sur le dessus.

Cheers to the next 3. And the next 30. And maybe the 30 after that. That would make us 66 years married and ........ almost 90. Sounds good to me.

love you babe.

xo

not sure what to title this one...

The news of baby #2 is settling deep into my heart, and psyche. I am feeling it's great joy.

The knowledge that I am going to bring another human into the world is so huge. Even though baby is only the size of a raspberry and the weight of a paperclip, I know that baby's personality and habits and character are already forming. With each day that passes, I know there is a big countdown, ticking, down down down the days until our little blob of a baby will arrive and change our lives forever. I like that I have less fear than I did with Rue. There was just so much unknown then. And true, while I don't know how I will handle two babies, I am confident that I will do a great job and I will be a great mama even when I fail.

It's a beautiful season I am in. There is a rest and peace in this time. I am not anxious for number 2 to get here, but rather I am really enjoying my time with Rue.

On a less emotional/ethereal/dreamy note, pre-nesting is kicking in big. Changing around winter/summer/maternity clothes, purging, organizing closets, and cleaning the radiators with a toothbrush. You know, normal stuff. My belly is growing. First trimester sleepiness or rather, fatigue, is biting me hard. But no morning sickness so no complaints here. I am feeling better than I did though- the first 3 weeks were very painful. I didn't know subsequent pregnancies could be so painful and uncomfortable. Thank goodness it's over.

Friday is our first ultrasound. We will get to hear a swoosh-swoosh heartbeat and figure out a due date. I am eager to find out that baby is healthy and growing in the proper place. The pain had me worried it was Ectopic. But I'm sure everything is A-OK.

Thanks for the congratulations and well wishes. We are so excited!

love, Y

number 2.

There was no time for deciding 'to try, or not to try'. No time to plan for a hot date night, put on my bedroom eyes and get it on till the break of dawn.

[ha! it rhymed. I had to.] Nope, no time for me to think I held the reigns on this one. When I wrote my 'itchy-itch' post, little did I know...

I was already.

I am currently.

Pregnant.

!!!

6 weeks and a few days.

If you could only see my face! It's pretty much ONE BIG PERMA GRIN. Ya'll, I'm sooooo happy.

I am so ready for this next phase. For the new life growing in my belly! For the baby brother or baby sister that Rue is going to love. [really, he looooves babies] For the bump...which is already popping out. Say WHAT!?

So...yeah. There it is folks. Fertile. Womb fruit. Preggo. Gahh!!! :)

xo, Yana

15 months

My little sweetness.

You are 15 1/2 months now.

I hate it when I am late for 'month' posts...I feel as though someday you will read this blog and notice that I was usually a week or so late and you're gonna call me on it. Well, ya know what? I was busy cleaning your butt, picking boogers out of your hair, and stepping on cheerios.

I have grown to love those things.

You know what else I love?

You.

Everything about you. Your 8 teeth.

The sweet days, I love.

The days you drive me insane, I love.

My ABSOLUTE favorite part of 15 months:

YOU PUT YOURSELF TO BED.

You get tired, rub your eyes, walk upstairs and grab the bars of your crib. Then you shout MAMA! and you plead with these little pleading eyes....as if to say PUT ME IN and LET ME SLEEP !!!

Can I have it any easier?? You may not sleep long at all...but at least the getting there is good.

You LOVE your belly button. You have a hard time finding it because your potbelly is so big, but you know it's there and you try to lift your stomach up so you can see it. You like my belly button too, which is only cute when we are at home, because you like to pull my shirt up.

You have started to like food again, which is HALLELUJAH chorus awesome. When I ask you 'is that good?' you don't say 'mmm' instead your eyes get really wide and you nod your head slowly up and down. You are certainly very expressive.

The last few months have [in general] been so amazing, fun, & fulfilling. So much so, that daddy and I are getting our heart strings pulled and the thought of making another one just like you [in general] makes us smile.

I love you Rumi.

xo, mama

itchy itch

I wrote this post a week ago and it's been sitting as a draft. Waiting. Waiting for me to hit publish. After a week of processing and pondering aaand....more processing, I'm ready to hit publish.

So...here goes.

I am getting the baby itch.

I see pregnant bellies and my heart swells a bit. In the card section buying a 'congratulations on your baby boy' for my cousin and her son Luca I got a little misty eyed. Then I got a smile and a big-big-oh so big lump in my throat. I told my husband and he said 'well... you are already at a better place than the first time. Cause we weren't ready at all then. See how I spun that for you?'

So.

I don't know what this means exactly! I don't know if this means: let this little seed/idea simmer and culminate and grow and take over our hearts and if we get pregnant, celebrate? Or...should we decide 'let's make a baby' and put on my bedroom eyes and get husband to jump on me and give me everything he's got before we have a chance to change our minds? Haha. [I hope that made him blush]

I'm curious friends, what did you do, if I may ask? Did you decide to try? Or just let the chips fall where they may? Did you try for a specific gender?

.

.

.

Well, regardless, I'm just glad I'm finally at this place. Those of you who have been around HGBB for the last year or so can vouch that I never thought this day would come. And for my real life friends who I haven't told yet...well, now you know!

Big heart swells, xo.

Y

my mom is rad

Feed The Poor, Feel The Bliss! from Georgian Banov on Vimeo.

My mom is so rad. Besides being a great mother to me, she is inspiring in so many ways, to many people. She is an artist, ordained minister of the Gospel, entrepreneur, business owner, world traveler, shopper extraordinare, and not to mention she's hilarious. But one thing that she has been doing lately just blows my mind. She is a garbage dump treasurer. And the 'treasures' aren't material, the treasures are people. She spends her time and money going to garbage dumps around the world and she finds diamonds in the rough. She brings them hugs, joy, love, food, clothes and Jesus.

She is my hero. Watch this video and you will understand why.

Happy Mother's Day!

the little [big] things.

Last week an epic thunderstorm blew into town. Something about the crazy wind and thunder and lighting rolling in the distance got me thinking, got my heart churning. Standing on the balcony next to Chris I blurted out:

'why is it so hard to live in the NOW of life??'

Like most people, I spend a lot much time thinking about the future. About our next house. The next baby. The next horizon. Thoughts like 'when that one thing comes through...when that one thing changes...when those pieces to fall into place.' Dreaming is crucial, of course. Without dreams we would be hopeless. But dream too much and you lose sight of now. Of what's your reality. So I question, why can't I just live in the 'now' and be satisfied? I propose that maybe the day-to-day, the ins and outs of daily life can be mundane. Tunnel vision of sorts. But I don't want to wake up in 10 years and realize my babies turned into kids while I was sleep walking.

Truly, I want to embrace and savor this life that I HAVE, not the life I want. The life that is staring me in the face, daring me to enjoy the little things and not just the grand moments. The life that is messy and crazy and beautiful and challenging.

Rue woke up at 12:30 [thank you tooth #8] and at first I was in a mumble-groan-gripe-exhausted-bad mood and tried to get him back to sleep with no avail. So, I picked him up, and for the next hour or so, I snuggled him in the rocking chair and ran my fingers through his hair. I stroked his little cheeks and stared into the deep darkness of his eyes. He stared right back, and talked to me, in his sweet little mumbo jumbo jibberish language. He rubbed my arm. And then one moment he cupped my cheek so gently and just held my face in his hand. My heart exploded into a million pieces and I couldn't find a trace of bitterness that I was losing sleep and that I would probably be useless the next day. I was enjoying and savoring and soaking up every second of our little nighttime rendezvous.

Today, I am certainly tired, but ohhh so satisfied. I enjoyed a little [big] thing.

success

As a mom, life is constant. One big clean up, following around a giant moving tornado of giggles and messes and whines and spills. Some days I have achieved to-do list 'success' : 4 loads of laundry, made a scrumptious meal, got my toddler napping & eating, gone to the bathroom in peace, bought groceries and done it all in a cool, calm & collected manner. Other days I don't get any thing 'done' except manage to stay in my pj's all day and be available to hug my toddler as often or as little as he wants. But even on those days I know I succeeded because I have LOVED him. 'Success' is subjective and it's definition is exclusive to your set of values, but as the quote below describes, it's all about the little things, and people matter most.

~ To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

the [belated] one year old gift

When Ruehl's first birthday was nearing, I began thinking about birthday gifts.

What do you buy for a one year old? More noisy toys to fill up the box? More clothes to dirty? Which, we bought both. But I kept thinking there has to be something more substantial to buy him, more meaningful, more special! Like a keepsake.

And then an idea bloomed in my heart: An art collection. Buy him one piece for every birthday and then when he is all grown up he will have a beautiful collection of one of a kind art.

I've been browsing Esty for the past 4 months looking for the perfect [and not $$$] piece to buy for his [belated] birthday gift, and I finally found it! A Toronto based Esty artist Siiso creates beautiful oil paintings full of vibrant colors and shapes. Her stuff totally floors me and I am so glad that she sells high quality Giclee prints of her work starting at $20. Squee!

This is my favorite for Rue:

And I'm loving this for my room:

Aren't they beautiful? Check out her Etsy to see more beautiful work.

Love, Y