Monday, December 31, 2012

What a Year!

2012 has been a pretty spectacular year. My Husband and I celebrated our 2nd year wedding anniversary, I watched two of my best friends get married to their soulmates, we celebrated 1 year as Marin residents and home owners and celebrated life and all the bounty it has to offer in between. But most importantly we found out that (in just 19 short days) we'll be expecting the arrival of our precious daughter. May 2013 bring you and your loved ones health and happiness everyday! Cheers to another fabulous year <3 (and please have a champagne toast for me tonight!) xo





























Friday, December 28, 2012

Things are happening!

We had our 36-37 week doctor's appointment today and we have great news to share.....I'm officially 1cm dilated, heartbeat sounds healthy, my bump is measuring "perfectly" AND my cervix is thinning! So ladies and gents, things are in full swing here and baby girl could really come any day now! Thank god we've been receiving all the items that we've recently purchased online as well as getting her nursery finished up because I'm feeling like she's going to come before her due date. Just a hunch!!!! ;)

Happy Friday y'all!

"Midnight Run"

I just got off the phone with labor and delivery about my severe heartburn tonight/this morning. Not only has it progressively gotten worse over the last couple of weeks, but it's now keeping me up at night and I've actually gotten sick several times. No bueno....soo, I was advised to take Zantac (Tums and ACV weren't strong enough) and try some yogurt and plain toast.

My darling Husband threw his best set of pj's on and headed to Safeway for the goodies and now here it is 5:15am, already been up since 4am, waiting for the medicine to kick in.

Did I mention B has to work today (poor guy is going to be tired!) and we have a Dr's appt in 3.5 hours?! Lovely ;)

All for the love of baby <3



Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did too! Here are some pictures to recap the fun we had with family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.





























Saturday, December 22, 2012

36 Weeks-size of a Crenshaw melon

Happy Saturday everyone!!!! Feeling pretty good over here-no nauseous or back discomfort today so it was probably the heavy lifting I did. Ran errands this morning with B, and tidying up the house right now while he unloads the firewood. We're now stocked for at least another month and a half! We can't wait to be cozy by the fire with our daughter. Tons of cuddles and snuggles for sure ;)

Later on this afternoon we're going to our local children's store, Five Little Monkeys and going on a shopping spree for Flora, courtesy of Nana, B's mom. As for tonight, you guessed it-leftovers, a fire and a movie.

Much love from The Costas xo







Friday, December 21, 2012

Breathing & Bed

I'm experiencing the slightest, littlest bit of back discomfort today. I'm not sure if it's from carrying heavy groceries two days in a row( yesterday I went to TJ's & this morning I ventured out to Whole Foods) which yes I know, I really shouldn't be doing, or if things are simply progressing along naturally and this is my body telling me, "no more lifting woman-you've got a full grown baby inside ya!" Hey, at least yesterday after pulling into our driveway from TJ's I asked a neighbor kid skating by on his longboard to help me by carrying the bags to the front door. He stopped and kindly emptied my trunk and then rode off on his way to work at Papa Murphy's but grocery trips from this point on will be accompanied by my strong, handsome hubby ;)

Now back to laying in bed and breathing through this new feeling. Our baby girl is getting closer and closer to her arrival into this world, I know it ;) And mommy and daddy can't wait!

*Misty is so cute with me these days. She adores sleeping on or right near my belly. I'm convinced her and Flora are already the bestest of friends ;)




Thursday, December 20, 2012

Almost There!

With only 4 weeks until Baby Flora's due date I feel like there's still so much preparing to do in her nursery. Oddly enough the only anxiety I'm feeling is related to getting her little space set-up and everything in its place. This is because I'm a planner and an organizer by nature and if the ground work isn't laid out (and complete!) and things don't have a 'home' before she arrives, then there's no way in hell I'll have a second to do it all when she's home, especially not in those first few weeks. And to be honest the energy in my Home needs to feel inviting and cozy, it has to be clean and it has to flow. And right now the energy in her little space ain't feeling so cozy...but it will! Here are a few of the remaining items we still need in order to achieve that 'zen' for our precious daughter's nursery:

Naturepedic Organic Cotton Classic Crib Mattress
- Ubbi Steel Diaper Pail in White
- 6 BumGenius 4.0 One Size Diaper Covers (variety of colors)
- 6 BumGenius Organic Elemental One Size Diaper Covers (variety of colors)
- 2 diaper pail liners
- a 5x8 rug...still deciding.
- a mobile, baskets, a few Etsy wall art items, dresser & an extra crib sheet



Hulk Hogan

So, according to my (darling, ah hem) Husband, over the past 2-3 weeks l've begun to snore like "Hulk Hogan." Lovely, right?! But to be honest, I can't help it ;)

I guess my snoring was so intolerable last night, he grabbed his sleeping bag from his pre-packed hospital bag and set-up shop out in the living room. Seconds later, Newton, our year old puppy, woke up and joined him. Haha. Oh well, I slept like a Queen in our California King ;)

Luckily for him, we only have a few short weeks left of my "manly" sleep sounds, then it's Baby Girl who will be waking us all up with her little cries instead!

Monday, December 17, 2012

35 Weeks-size of a honeydew melon

Only 33 days until Baby Girl's due date! Holy Sh*t!!!!! ;)

I'm still feeling pretty amazing. And I keep thinking, is that weird?!? But then again, I only have so much time left with being pregnant and I want to relish in every second of having my sweet precious daughter growing safe inside of me for as as she's willing! So, despite the 2-3 times I'm up at night to go to the bathroom, and tossing and turning with my big baby belly, this first time mama-to-be is still loving life and havin' a ball with what it's handing me!

Now, it's time to take our puppy on a walk in the rain! 1 mile loop, here we go! Rain jackets & all!!!

*The two pictures below of Brian and I were taken at his work Christmas party last Friday night at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Sunday Night Football

For tonight's game, 49ers vs Patriots, here's what's on the menu:

-Wonton Mini Beef Tacos w/diced green chiles topped w/cheddar cheese
-Baked Almond Flour Chicken Tenders & raw veggies w/a mustard yogurt dipping sauce
-Artichoke JalapeƱo Dip baked on an Asiago Ciabatta Roll

To drink:
-Diluted cranberry juice for me...ho hum
-Full Sail IPA beer
-Chilled vodka, cranberry limeade shots w/fresh squeezed lemon juice

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Reindeer Cookies

I baked some peanut butter reindeer cookies from my 'Holiday' board on Pinterest that I pinned forever ago. Today was the ideal day to make these holiday treats because my sweetheart is returning Home from a weekend away in la and will be exhausted after a long car ride.

I thought these would be a fun welcome home from me and Baby Flora!

Here's the recipe-I followed it exactly, but used almond milk instead of dairy milk.

http://buddingbaketress.blogspot.com/2010/12/peanut-butter-reindeer-cookies.html?m=1




Friday, December 7, 2012

Diapers!

4 dozen washed and ready to use cloth diapers for baby's bottom!

I purchased the diapers from a wonderful company called Green Mountain Diapers online. They sell cotton and organic cotton cloth diapers as well as any and all cloth diaper covers that are out on the market. I went with organic cotton because I was able to score a sweet 30-35% off sale at the time and bought 2 dozen newborns, a dozen small and a dozen medium. This of course is just a starting point and will need to buy more once Flora arrives and we see what size she is. Ideally, it's helpful (I've read) to have around 20-24 of each size.

I still need to buy diaper covers and have decided on using BumGenius 4.0 snaps and Flip Cover Snaps. I'll probably purchase 6 of each to start off with. Both kinds of diapers have three sets of snaps to grow with baby so she'll be able to use them when she's a newborn and up another two sizes. And they come in a variety of colors and patterns.



Christmas Time at The Costas

Our sweet little tree. About 3 feet tall and only cost us $15.





Monday, December 3, 2012

My Baby Clothes

Just went through bins of baby clothes my mom kept for me and let me tell you-she saved some cute stuff! Besides all the gorgeous holiday dresses and baby bloomers, I fell in love with this sailor dress, my first ever swimsuit and this purple track suit with ruffles! To die!