Mermaids

Once again I decided to make my girls costumes for Halloween this year. I was out of ideas when it came to princess' so I asked Jocey what she would like to be. She was very insistent that she be a mermaid, and of course Vivian agreed.

All the mermaid costumes you could buy, in my opinion, hardly resembled a mermaid and looked like a regular dress. So to Pinterest I went, but still no one had made anything I particularly liked. I decided to combine a fabric I saw one place, with a tail I saw another, a shell bra that had a dead link on its tutorial, while also adding my own touches.

Materials I used:

2 Nude Dance Leotards

2 yards of two different colored Tulle

1 yard Fish Scale Fabric from Amazon 

1/4 yard Purple Dance Wear Fabric

1 yard Stretchy Purple Sequin material

Some stuffing

Basically I drew my own shells for the bra, sewed right sides together, flipped inside out, stuffed them, sewed them shut and then I hand sewed the lines into the shell bra. After that I attached the bra to the leotards with my machine for duarability and added the sequin material around the back connecting each side of the bra. I cut the leotards in half (horizontally) and serged the edges, cut my mermaid scale fabric, fit it to their waists and sewed it to the leotards. Later I cut the bottom of the scale tail into a triangle and attached straight cut ruffled tulle to the sides of the triangle where I had cut. Last I added tulle to the tops of the tail for a completed look.

The best part is there are no zippers, buttons or snaps, just stretchy goodness. And because they're so stretchy there are no issues with walking or running!

My girls have already played in these and they're in love!

Pregnancy Comparisons

I think it is fun to do some pregnancy comparisons. So here are a few.

Morning Sickness and Gender
Jocelynn: Girl, Sick until just under 30 weeks, throwing up everyday
Vivian: Girl, Sick until after she was born, throwing up almost everyday
Oliver: Boy, Nauseated until 15 weeks, bearable with very little throwing up

Cravings 
Jocelynn: Sweets
Vivian: Sweets
Oliver: Bland, NO SWEETS-blech

Starting Weight
Jocelynn: 130 lbs
Vivian: 143 lbs
Oliver: 153 lbs

Ending Pregnancy Weight
Jocelynn: 150 lbs, total weight gain 20 lbs
Vivian: 162 lbs, total weight gain 19 lbs
Oliver: *updated* 172 lbs, total weight gain 19 lbs

Deliveries/ Complications
Jocelynn: Dilated to a 9 w/o epidural and little pain. I was scared to push, got an epidural (at a 9) and had her vaginally. 13 hour labor.

Vivian: Dilated to a 6 w/o epidural. She pooped in her water, was facing posterior, I was in horrific pain and got the epidural at a 6. Labor then stopped, I was put on pitocen, I pushed her out in a few contractions vaginally, without her head ever getting into the right position. NICU team was present at time of birth. 12 hour labor. Later I found out I had a dermoid cyst the size of soft ball that weighed 5 lbs on my ovary which most likely contributed to such a horrible labor. That was removed 8 months later via c-section.

Oliver: TBA

Weeks at Time of Delivery
Jocelynn: 38 weeks 6 Days, Not induced
Vivian: 38 weeks 5 Days, Not induced. Did not make it to scheduled induction.
Oliver: *updated* 38 weeks 2 days

Every baby is so different. You think you know what your future has in store for you, but you really don't. At least that's how I feel! Here are some pictures of Oliver from 5 weeks ago.

    The Money Shot.

     Face, Leg, Shoulder. His feet are in his face.

                                            

    His whole leg.

A long time coming

OH Wow! I haven't posted on here in ages, I view this blog as a personal family diary that my kids can look back on as well as myself.

2015 has been such a year of wonderfullness! Andrew graduated with his Bachelors Degree from Broadview University in Business Management at the end of December of 2014. And has now started his MBA this last May.

 After his graduation in December, we felt very strongly it was time to expand our family. So in March we found out we were pregnant! And later in May found out we are having a little BOY. We are so very excited, but also scared and in shock, because all new things can be quite scary. His name is Oliver and I am currently 24 weeks pregnant and feeling his little movements.

Jocelynn has perfectly completed Pre-School, and is super smart. Jocelynn is just one of those angel kids who always obeys, has a heart of GOLD, looks out for everyone and only asks for love in return. She will be starting kindergarten here in the next few weeks!

Vivian is a normal 2 (almost 3) year old who is very curious and very very aggressive when it comes to learning new things, trying to help out and loving you. She is intense. But very motivated and kind. We never knew screaming would be a gesture of love.

Well that's enough of an update for now! Of course here are some pictures!