Pocahontas costume!

My cute niece Callie came to me one day and asked if I would make her a Pocahontas costume for Halloween. I don't have much experience with sewing... really at all. But how do I say no to a 4 year old?? So I started thinking, and I decided to attempt it! Everyone kept telling me I needed a pattern... but that is not really how my brain works. So I just winged it.

Here is the necklace I made from felt

I dug through my bag of clothes to be donated and I had this shirt I bought for my dad that was printed wrong. I decided it would be the perfect fabric! 

I cut off the bottom and used that as the bottom of the dress, using that bottom hemline.

I cut out the front side of the dress from the back of the t shirt and then had to piece together two pieces to make the back of the dress. I used another piece from the back and a sleeve. To know the size, I traced around one of her dresses that had a similar shape, just slightly larger so I could sew the seams. 

This is the back that I sewed together. 

Then I sewed around the neckline and sleeves (with a double needle, which I learned how to do just from my instructions that came with my machine but it made it look a million times better). Then sewed the shoulders together and then down the two side seams. So then I basically had a tank top.

For the white fringe, I dug again through my old clothes and found a tank top I hadn't worn in years. I cut strips and then fringes in it. 

Made the bottom gathered to sew it on the top by sewing one long straight line on the largest stitch and pulled the strings! You can see how to do that here. Pinned and sewed it all together and done!

Motherhood: What I've Learned!

I feel like the past 5 months I have learned SO much. I've been thinking about writing down some of the things I've learned since becoming a mom. I thought about calling this post "Tips for becoming a mom" but who am I kidding? I still don't know anything I can't give tips! And I thought about calling it "things I wish I could tell my pregnant self" but then I think, who am I kidding, I wouldn't have listened anyway! So here are things that I have learned... Mostly the hard way!
1. Having a baby is a type of tired I never understood. I apologize to every woman who was a mom before me, if I ever said "I am tired" to you... WHY DIDN'T YOU PUNCH ME IN THE FACE? It's a tired that I didn't know existed. But somehow you are still able to carry on your day! Even though it consists of me more times than I would like to admit... putting milk in the pantry and cereal in the fridge... thinking my blow dryer was broken and it wasn't plugged in... and far more things that should never be repeated.
2. In the worlds of Justin Bieber... Never say never. When I was pregnant, and before then, I thought I had it all figured out... I would always say "I will never be the type of mom that does (fill in the blank)" I have done so many of these things that I said I would never do...
3. Recovery ain't pretty... Your body goes through some intense stuff when you birth a child! There is SO many things that people don't tell you... Just find a good friend you're comfortable with because you will probably call them a million times asking what the heck is happening to your body.
4. When Oakley's umbilical cord fell off... there was a little blood... and a lot of crying. Oh, Oakley was perfectly fine. I was the balling mother thinking I had injured my baby. Since you're so tired, your hormones are out of whack, those first few weeks I cried about a lot. Or when Stefan went to McDonalds and got breakfast and didn't bring me home some... there was a few tears shed. Dear husbands, IT'LL PASS. Your wife isn't crazy. She will be normal again!
5. This is something I saw even when I was pregnant. The thing that is the best for you could be the worst for someone else. Everyone and their dog will tell you their opinion. And every single person has a different one. You just need to figure out the type of mom you are, the things you think is best for your baby, and not think too much about everyone else's opinion.  This is probably been the hardest thing for me... STOP CARING WHAT EVERYONE ELSE THINKS. And realize that they are trying to help... even though you feel like you're being attacked as a parent on every thing you do. Just take a breath, and know that you're doing what you think is the very best.
6. I learned that I have to do something for myself. Or I would go crazy. For me, I choose to get ready every day. It is something that I do that makes me feel better about myself and I am doing it 100% for myself. All day long I am taking care of a baby and everyone else and I feel like it is easy to lose yourself! So I think it's so important to find something that you can do for yourself everyday. Even if it is just as simple as getting ready.
7. Make friends, or have a friend you can talk to. Motherhood really can get lonely! You are constantly with a baby, so I never would have thought I would feel lonely. But it is good to have some adult interaction throughout the day. Obviously my husband is home at night! But I feel like the days get long if you don't have people to talk to.
8. Stay off of WebMD. or really google in general... Babies do a lot of weird things that people don't think to tell you. So you will find yourself up at night looking this stuff up and it will make you think that your baby has some horrible disease.
9. I learned to love my husband in a whole new way. There is nothing like watching a man become a dad.  I feel like my love for Stefan and our relationship in general grew in ways I can't describe. It has been so amazing! He has been SO helpful. I really couldn't have done this without him!!
10. You are the first and the last. I am the last to bed, last to eat, last to shower, last to everything. But I am also the first person that is up with the baby, the first person people hand the baby to when she cries, the first to clean up the mess, the first person to take care of her. (of course my husband helps too)
11. I have a whole new respect for my mom. Thank you mom, for always taking care of me, loving me, and doing everything. Even when I know you must have been exhausted and worn out, you never showed that! I love you.
12. IT IS ALL WORTH IT.  The love that comes when you are a mother is indescribable. I really do love every second of it! I can't even explain how grateful I am that I have been blessed with this little baby. I love it!! To mothers to be who are reading this, I hope I didn't scare you away. IT IS AMAZING. I really love it so much.

Disclaimer** these are the things that I have learned. Motherhood is obviously different for every person! I don't want this to come off like I am preaching to anyone about anything. Just sharing my feelings:)