Christmas, Round 2

We are gearing up for Christmas with our Kansas family now and I couldn't be more excited! Usually we drive down there either Christmas day or the following day but this year my man had to work. So we decided to leave after he's done working tomorrow, and it's given me just the time that I needed. Christmas with my family is always wonderful but oh so busy. It starts on the 23rd and ends on the afternoon of the 25th with not much of a break in between. I'm not complaining. I love it all, each and every minute of it, but it's busy.

So having a break this year has been really nice. A couple of days to settle into our regular routine again. A couple days of eating normal again instead of overeating. A couple of days of quiet time in our own space.

And then Kansas. We'll get to celebrate all over again with Dan's family and we are so excited! Plus, we'll be down there for the annual New Year's Eve Party we love to attend.

The theme this year is "Come as your favorite SNL character". Dan and I have something really great in the works. Let's just say if you're at the party you'll be sick of hearing us "cheer" all night long!

Jesus is in my heart

Merry Christmas!

It's officially the middle of the night and I can't sleep. This happens every year. I seriously get so excited about all the activities we have going on that I can't sleep. Even though I need to. So, I get up, and blog now!

Two really sweet things have happened in the past few days as we are gearing up for Christmas. We talk an awful lot about Jesus in this house. He really is the reason we celebrate during this time of year and He gets so lost in the midst of all the gift giving and holiday gatherings. So, Greta (and Audrey of course) and I have been talking about why Christmas is so special.

The other day, while crafting with a great friend, Greta was asked if she was going to see Santa this year. To which I quickly replied, "oh- she thinks Santa is Noah. Like from Noah's Ark". You see, my darling Greta thinks they are the same person and both her father and I don't have the heart to tell her that they are not. And really, what does it matter? I kind of love it anyway!

So then, out of nowhere, Greta stops both of us and says, "Jesus is in my heart". To which I quickly said, "what, Greta?" Thinking that I had heard her correctly but wanting to be sure that she did, just in fact, declare that Jesus Christ dwells in her little 2 year old soul. And again, she pointed to her chest, well, kind of her neck but we're working on anatomy, and said, "Jesus, He is in my heart".

Tears welled up for both me and my friend. It was beautiful. My precious lamb loves The Precious Lamb.

Then last night, as we were reading before bed, I decided to pull Greta's Bible off the nighstand and read the story of Jesus' birth, just to bring it all home. She's heard it before but somehow last night meant more. So as I was reading from the Jesus Storybook Bible (a truly great Bible with beautiful illustrations for little ones) we got to the page where it shows Jesus in the manger with Mary and Joseph around him. Greta just placed her sweet little hand on the picture of Jesus and held it there. I was ready to turn the page and continue reading but she wasn't. She just held her hand there and said, "baby Jesus" over and over again.



There is absolutely nothing like watching your little one light up at the sound of His name.

"For a child has been born- for Us!
the gift of a son- for us!
He'll take over the running of the world.
His names will be:
Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness."
Isaiah 9:6, The Message

Audrey Lou

Well, it's official. My baby is one! You heard right, 1! Exactly one year ago today, almost to the minute, I gave birth to my second daughter, Audrey Louise, right in this very house. It was such a beautiful morning. Cold like today but I'm pretty sure there was about a foot or so more of snow on the ground. We were so excited for her arrival!

I don't think words can truly express how I feel about this little one.

First of all- she's the chubby baby I've dreamed of all my life.
Second of all- she was completely unexpected. Completely. And yet, she couldn't fit more perfectly with the rest of us.

Third- she has a smile that will melt your heart. Seriously. Melt it.

Fourth- Growing up without a sister I always dreamed of what it would be like. I LOVE that I'm getting to witness the relationship between sisters first hand. Audrey adores Greta. They are like playmates. It's a precious relationship I hope to foster well.

The list could go on and on but the moral is this-
our family has been blessed by Audrey Lou and we thank God for her constantly!

Happy, happy birthday my little Lou-
Mama

has anyone seen....

The month of October?
I think I saw her but now she's quickly leaving us and I am so not ready for her sister, November to come.
Seriously?
Anyone?
October?

Happy Halloween-

(Greta with her Godmother on her first Halloween Oct- 2009)

I'm hoping to wrap up some last minute costumes for the girls so that we can go trick or treating tonight for Greta's first time!

(Gretasaurousrex- Halloween 2010)

I'm also hoping to carve our pumpkin today. Yup, that's how far behind we are on this month!

(Greta from October 2010)

Maybe I'll be able to post in November about the stuff we've been doing and the cute projects I've been completing? I made a yarn wrapped Fall wreath, a freezer paper t-shirt for my brother in law, multiple tulle tutus, and some other random stuff.

Finding balance

Balance.
It's a dance. To find the balance in our day to day lives.
I've been substitute teaching a little here and there and I love it. But I don't love the work it takes to prepare to be away from my ladies, whether they stay here with someone watching them or I take them somewhere. It's a lot of work either way.
I've also been working with my Aunt Maureen as her CAbi assistant at shows. It's a blast and I get to meet all sorts of new people. But it also requires time away from my family.
And then there are the other, normal, commitments that just seem to creep their way into our lives and require either me to be away or people to be here. And again, I'm social, and I usually love them all, but they still take something from the quiet night at home.

So here's my dilemma. Life is short. My babies will never be this young again. How do I find the balance? How do I make time for my family, my man, my friends, and myself?
Suggestions?

My Love

On Friday of this week, September 30th, 2011, I will celebrate 5 years of marital bliss with the love of my life.

(wedding photo, 2006)

I have only one question to ask: how did I ever get so lucky?

(engagement photo- summer of 2006)

This man loves me for me.
With all my faults.
With all the junk that I have.
With the crazy that's in me and sometimes comes out.
He loves me.
So well.

(photo from our honeymoon- January 2006)

I never, ever, in my wildest dreams, thought I'd get someone as great as him.
He leaves me sweet love notes around the house.
He works 40+ hours a week to provide for our family and allow me to stay home.
He comes home every day with energy and enthusiasm for our family.

(photo from right before Greta was born- summer 2009)

He plays with our girls regularly

(photo from Greta's newborn shots- Fall 2009)

He spends time with me doing things we both love- like going for walks outside.

(photo from our family photo shoot, Fall 2010)


He encourages me to try new things.

(photo from Audrey's newborn photos: December 2010)


He supports me when I make decisions for us.

(summer 2011)

He is my better half and I'm so very lucky to have him.

(Fall 2011)

Happy Anniversary Daniel Mark.
I love you more than life itself.

Greta is turing 2!

I cannot believe it.
She's going to be 2 on Saturday.

As in, less than a week.
She acts so old sometimes.
Every day she learns at least one new word or phrase.
Today's was chachi-mer-shake (chocolate milk shake, of course!)
She is constantly amazing me with what she can do.
I feel like we just celebrated her first birthday.

Is this the same little baby that I gave birth to almost two years ago?

I love who she is becoming.

Confident. Smart. Curious. Funny. Mischievous. Beautiful. Caring. Protective.
Oh, my darling Greta.
How I love you.

My first race!

It's been a while since I've blogged but I have about 15 things to write about. Well, maybe not 15 but awfully close.

I'll start with something I'm so proud of:
I ran my first 5k last Sunday morning!

(Can you tell we were excited?!)

I actually did it! 9 months after delivering Audrey and almost 2 years after Greta, 3 months into running, and a c25k program later, I ran a race. And I did pretty good, if I do say so myself!

(You can see my stats above- finishing the race in under 31 minutes! Not bad for my first one!)

I did the Women Run the Cities race right here in Minneapolis, on a gorgeous Sunday morning, with my dear friend Ashley by my side. She's run a few races before and was quite the trooper to pace with me and stick by my side!

Our cheering section rocked! Ash's family came, her husband John and her two kiddos- Zeke and Nash. My man came (thanks babe!). And my folks came with our two kids (who spent the night at their place the night before because we were helping with a wedding- another blog post to come!), Greta and Audrey!


Once the race started it was hard not to run full speed. But the guy at the running place where we picked up our packets told me to start slow. So I tried. But I was just so darn excited!

(me getting my cool t-shirt and bib!)

I did think I was going to throw up around 2.5 miles. But Ashley told me to tuck it away and that's just what I did. Also, she advised me to take my hat off. I did that too. Both things helped immensely. So did burping. Lots of info, huh?


And then, once we saw the finish line, we sprinted. It was a blast.


So next up:
Monster Dash on October 29th and then the Thanksgiving Day Race in Kansas City on T-day 2011!

Our dinner tonight

Another delicious meal was enjoyed in the Hansen house tonight and I had to write about it.

I get daily emails from allrecipes. I usually ignore them because all they do is make me wish I had the money to go buy the ingredients and cook new and interesting meals. However, when today's came across and I read that first two ingredients and new I had them on hand, I decided to read on.

I was missing a couple of ingredients but after reading reviews from others on the site I decided to give it a go, add what I had, and substitute for what I didn't.

It was a hit. Warm. Delicious. Hearty. And affordable.

Brown Rice and Black Bean Casserole
My ingredients:
1 cup of brown rice
1 can of chicken soup broth
1 Tbs olive oil
1/3 cup diced onion
1 medium zucchini thinly sliced (garden produce!)
1 green pepper (garden)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chili powder (I would add more next time to kick it up a notch!)
salt to taste
1 can black beans, drained
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup of shredded carrots
2 cups of shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese

1. Mix the rice and broth in a pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly grease a large casserole dish.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the chopped garlic, zucchini and green pepper. Season with cumin, salt, and chili powder. Cook until the zucchini is lightly browned.
4. In a large bowl mix the cooked rice, onion and zucchini mixture, beans, tomatoes, carrots and 1/2 of the cheese mixture. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
5. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking 10 minutes or until bubble and lightly browned.
6. Serve with a delicious bread!

P.S. I had no idea how much I loved cooking. It's becoming a huge passion of mine. Finding good recipes, creating my own, and making meals that my whole family enjoys. Sorry if you thought you'd get more knitting patterns or projects on this blog. The title is quite misleading!

Our dinner tonight

Well, as promised, I made that zucchini dish I mentioned yesterday and it was delicious.
Here's the recipe and here are my adjustments!
Wish I would have snapped a photo because the colors were gorgeous.

Ingredients:
1 small onion, thinly sliced (I had one from my garden!)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium zucchini, cubed (also from my garden)
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained (our tomatoes didn't do nearly as well as we had hoped they would this year)
2 Tbs chopped green pepper, about 1/2 of a green pepper (from our garden)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbs Italian Bread crumbs

I sauted the onions in a small skillet with the oil. Then added the rest of the veggies. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Then I poured all the contents into my casserole dish and topped with the bread crumbs and cheese. I then baked the whole thing, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Yum. Absolutely delicious!

Served with a grilled steak (probably the last time we'll grill this year as Fall is definitely upon us) and crescent rolls. Oh, and a glass of wine for good measure.

What's next?

So lately I've been thinking about my next step. Maybe it's Fall? That whole "back to school" feeling?

Before being home full time with my babes I was an elementary school teacher (5th grade and 1st grade). I absolutely loved it but since my break have been wondering if going back to teaching is really for me. My license will expire next summer and so I'm currently in the process of gathering all of my continuing education credits or units to make sure I have enough to renew it. I've heard it's terrible to let it lapse. I've also heard that it's even harder to find a teacher job now than it was when I was applying. I'm still currently substitute teaching, when I can find childcare and when I'm needed, which I'm sure will help keep me "in the know" but doesn't really mean it will make it easier to get a job.

However, since my hospital birth with Greta

and my home-birth with Audrey,

I've become increasingly more passionate about labor and delivery. Like, to the point that I think about it, a lot. When around friends that are pregnant or have recently delivered I get goosebumps when hearing their stories. I literally get chills when I describe my experiences. I could talk about pregnancy, labor, delivery, breastfeeding, and babies all day every day and not get bored.

Which leads me to believe that my next step needs to be in that direction.
Lactation consultant?
Birth Doula?
Labor and Delivery Nurse?
Midwife?


Knowing that my man supports me is what means the most to me. He's the one that will have to take the brunt of care for the girls in the evenings if I start classes. He's the one that will have to help me coordinate where they go if I get called to a birth. He's the one that will have to deal with me every time I come home radiating from experiencing new life and want to have another bundle ourselves.

So where do I start?

Our dinner tonight

Well, after a 25 minute run and a full day including but not limited to: a dr. appt for Audrey, our first BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), lunch with my niece, naptime (watering the garden, hanging the diapers out to dry, coffee with my friend/neighbor), and a trip to Rainbow for groceries, I decided to make dinner. With the ingredients I had on hand/purchased from the grocery store.

I made this pesto on Sunday afternoon using fresh basil from my garden and our local Camden Farmer's Market. I reheated it tonight on the stove top and added more fresh tomatoes from our garden.


I made this lovely potato dish tonight! It was delicious.

Here's what I did:
I made my own rosemary infused olive oil by following the directions and using rosemary that my amazing husband lovingly picked from our garden.
I cut the fingerling potatoes (also from the local farmer's market) into 1" pieces.
I doused the potatoes in a couple of tablespoons of my special olive oil.
I added 5 cloves of garlic (whole) into this mixture!
I roasted the potatoes for 20 minutes in a 400° oven.
I then added the asparagus that had been also drenched in the olive oil I made.
And roasted it all for another 8 minutes, making sure to stir everything up every couple of minutes so it didn't stick.
Then I salted and peppered the whole thing.
Then I ate it. All. Well, I shared with Daniel but I didn't want to. He made me. He was hungry.

All in all it was a delicious dinner that I enjoyed with a glass of Columbia Crest Wine (a tribute to our wedding- our 5 year anniversary is coming up soon!)

Don't judge me for all the starches. I'm doing my best to just eat what we have and well, this is what we had. Tomorrow I'm hoping to grill blackened chicken and make this with all the zucchini I have!

Finding myself in my day to day life

I've been working on a few different projects lately.
I've been making a goal to do something active/creative at least once a day.
It's really helping boost moral in the Hansen household.

I started running.
My goal is to complete a 5k before the end of the year and to live to tell about it. My first one is scheduled for two weeks from today and yesterday I ran for 30 minutes without stopping. That, my friends, is amazing compared to what I used to be able to do (about 90 sec. to 2 minutes without stopping). Plus- it ended up being almost 3 miles which is fairly close to a 5k. I'm almost there! (Sorry- no picture to post on this one!)

I started quilting.
Well, not really. I made two mini quilts for my dear friend Bree who just delivered deliciously yummy twin girls. Lucy and Dottie were born on Tuesday morning and are doing great! I threw this friend of mine a baby shower with some other gals this past summer and we made animal print iron-on onesies for her shower. I had some of the same material leftover and decided to whip the pieces together for a little quilt for the babes. My other dear friend Shelby helped me with this a ton!

I wanted to embroider their initials onto the quilts so that they could always remember whose is whose. So I printed off their initials in a font that I liked and outlined and sewed the piece of paper right onto the quilt in the spot that I wanted it. Then I just ripped the paper away and was left with this adorable looking hand embroidered initial set.

Dorothy "Dottie" Lynn N

I started coastering. (Don't worry, it's a word now)
On pintrest I saw these adorable coasters and new I had to make a set. I bought a box of white tiles from Home Depot, a bottle of clear spray paint, and mini chair pads. I already had scrap book paper that I loved as well as modpodge. So I was set to go. From start to finish this project took me about 2 hours and I was able to do it all while the girls were napping. I sold some of them at our recent Labor Day camping weekend and got rave reviews! I also just made a set for a friend of mine who is getting married in a couple of weekends. For them I added some letters (her first name initial, his, their new last name, and L for Love!)


Speaking of Pintrest. My dear friend Shelby pinned this the other day and so we decided to make some together for wedding gifts for our upcoming events. I love how mine turned out! I can't wait for my dear friend to open hers and realize that it's pieces of their wedding invitation all cut up!

From Gillian Welch to California

Where do you start when you haven't blogged in weeks and so much has happened? A quick recap? Something not important? All the details?

We've had a lot on our plates lately.

On July 20th my man and I went to hear one of our favorite singers at a great venue. Gillian Welch played with Dave Rawlings and it was wonderful! We had a beautiful date night together.

On July 21st I finally went to urgent care for something that has been bothering me for about a month. I thought I was just dealing with back pain (being pregnant for 20 months out of the previous 24 months) or cramps (being pregnant means not having your regular cycle, sorry, tmi?). Anyway. The pain got bad. Really bad. So I went in. Thank God my mom lives close and could be here in 20 minutes. Otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have waiting until Dan got home. And then died. From pain. So, I went to u.c. and they did a bunch of tests (urine, blood, pelvic exam, and a pregnancy test) and we still didn't have an answer. I wasn't pregnant and it wasn't my appendix, which we thought it might be. So, I had to go to the hospital the following day for an ultrasound and ct scan to see what it was.

So I went home. Ate some food. Relieved my mom. And went to bed. Only to wake at 4 am with extreme pain again and no way to relieve it. So, we called my amazing mother again and headed off to the emergency room. We waited for a while. Got into a room. Got a ct scan. Then met the doctor. And here's where it gets a little silly. I have kidney stones. Yup. Me. 27 year old me. I had a stone, whom I'm affectionately named Adele (apparently I'll be making more so we started naming them, like hurricanes, and started with A), stuck in my ureter and they needed to do a surgery called lithotripsy to break it up. So I met with my urologist later that day and we scheduled the appt for the following Tuesday. Which meant I needed to make it through the weekend, Friday- Tuesday before anything could be fixed. Yikes. The pain meds helped but they made me nauseous. The anti-nausea medicine helped but it made me dizzy. I couldn't eat.

Tuesday came and we had the procedure. It went really well and they said it would take about a day to feel normal. Wrong. It took me until Sunday to feel normal.

Then Tuesday, of the following week, I got the flu. A bad one. Like, one you can't even describe for fear of grossing people out.

Then Thursday, August 4th (my older brother's 30th birthday!) we flew to Kansas with the girls. Thank God I was feeling better and could get on the plane. And, thank God my girls and my man didn't get sick.

Then Saturday, August 6th, Daniel and I left the girls in KS with my amazing in-laws and flew to California with some of our best friends

for a weekend getaway. It was incredible!
We ate good food,

listened to great music,
swam in a breathtaking ocean,

drank delicious drinks,
and enjoyed a refreshing time together.

We flew back to KS on Tuesday, the 9th, and were so glad to be back with the girls. I was nervous that Audrey wouldn't want to nurse again after having a bottle for 3 1/2 days but boy was I wrong. Immediately upon sitting down with her in my arms she starting leaning to the side and panting. It was hilarious and beautiful. So very glad she missed me!

We spent the rest of the week in Kansas enjoying time with family and friends and then flew back to MN on Saturday. It was great to be home. We quickly got back into our regular routine.

So there you have it. A semi-quick recap of what's been going on.
Oh, and I started running during this time and love it.

Goodbyes

I'm not very good at them. Goodbyes that is.

I've recently said goodbye, for now, to a friend. I didn't think we'd ever say it but the time has come and circumstances are now out of my control. It makes me really sad.

I'm in the process of saying goodbye, to another friend, because she's moving. And it's hard. I'm not sure when we'll see each other again and I think that makes it even harder. I'm doing the best I can to maintain my composure but I'm pretty sure around noon on Tuesday you'll find me in a heap on my living room floor. Not even sure how to express how grateful I've been for this friend for the past couple of years. She lived across the street from me and we shared coffee, both hot and iced, together, almost every afternoon on my porch. It's be wonderful. Her kids are comfortable with me and mine with her. We know each other. Well.

Our two oldest and their "babies"

I think I'll just give her a hug and pretend I'll see her the next day, when we finally say, Goodbye. It'll be easier that way.

But for now, I'll cry.

Washy washy washy

The other night I felt like putting the babes in the kitchen sink for their bath.

Greta loves "bubo ba" as she calls bubble baths, and so we loaded up both sinks with bubbles and warm water and let them go nuts.

Of course we snapped a few photos!

Deal of the Week

I couldn't resist sharing my "extreme couponing" moment of the week!

I had a coupon for $1 off Johnsonville Chicken Sausages. While at Target (one of my favorite places to shop! Usually with this gal) today I spotted the brat section. I saw Turkey Brats. And all Beef Brats. But no Chicken brats. Bummer. Well, I scooped up a pack that looked tasty and thought I'd try the coupon anyway. I continued shopping in the same meat department and noticed that they had specific varieties of the same brats on sale- like on sale for $1.27 a pack. I'm not kidding. So again, not knowing if the coupon would work or not- I just scooped them up and put the other ones back right there on the shelf ( I know, sorry). Once at the register I watched the total of my bill, something not uncommon for me these days as we live life on a budget! I handed Evelyn, the lovely cashier, my coupon and sure enough, it went through! I got an entire pack of smoked brats for $.27. That's 4 1/2 cents a brat. And the best part is- they were delicious!

Here's to scoring more deals like that! Anyone else grab anything for super cheap or free?

Ice Cream Flavor of the Week

I love making ice cream. I truly had no idea how much I loved it until Daniel's parents bought him us an ice cream maker. I've been mixing up different flavors almost weekly. Last week, while said parents were in town, I tried Nutter Butter Peanut Butter with crunched up pieces of the cookies mixed in and on top. It was gone within 24 hours. My go-to flavors are: cookies and cream, mint chocolate chip, thin mint, coconut, raspberry chocolate chip and chocolate chocolate chip. Yum- I'm loving it.

So today a friend asked if I'd make him some ice cream using an herb that's incredibly in season and fresh right now... basil. Of course I said yes! In fact, I said, "Basil with mint, vanilla, or lemon?" To which he responded, "you decide". And so I went with vanilla. Knowing that basil could overpower the ice cream I eased into this batch but after tasting realized that as odd as it sounds, this ice cream is delicious!


Here's what you'll need:

• An ice cream maker. Don't have one? That's odd. Go get one! This past Spring I saw one at Unique Thrift store for $6. I tried talking my man into getting it because it would be great to have two (don't have to wait for the one canister to refreeze!) or it would be great to give away. I have since been back to said thrift store and it's gone. However, keep your eyes peeled though! Maybe in the Fall/Winter/or Spring!
• 2 cups of 1/2 and 1/2 (some people make their ice cream with milk. Boo. If you're going to have ice cream why use something with less fat?)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 7/8 cup of sugar (you could probably use a whole cup but these are the rules I was handed down!)
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream (don't skimp on this!)
• a handful of fresh basil finely chopped

Here's how I make my ice cream.
Pour the 1/2 and 1/2 into your blender.
Add the sugar, flavoring (vanilla in this case) and basil.
Mix it up.
Then, using a small bowl or, in my case, a leftover 32 oz yogurt container, pour your whipping cream in and beat with an electric hand mixer. This aerates the cream before you mix it in with the rest. Beat it just until it starts to thicken and look almost like whip cream.
Add the cream to the blender and mix all of the ingredients together.
Here's where this recipe diverts from the others I use. Usually I'd just pour the ice cream mixture into the frozen canister and start stirring but- I didn't want to have tiny pieces of basil in my dessert. So I strained the mixture first through my strainer with a piece of cheese cloth on top. Voila! Clean ice cream that tastes amazing.

My ice cream maker is a hand crank one but it only takes 30 minutes to get to the right consistency. I then scoop the ice cream into a freezer safe container and let it harden for a couple of hours. Of course, you can eat it right away, and of course, I do. But I try to save some for later!

DIY Baby Teether

My girlfriend Laura made this super cute baby teether the other day and posted about it on her blog! I just couldn't resist whipping one up for my little teether, Audrey Lou. I found this adorbable material I had lying around and started to work on it.

Materials:
1 piece of fabric about 24" long and around 8" wide (mine needed to be wider than Laura's as I wanted to make it double the thickness)
5-6 wooden balls
Matching thread (or not!)

1. I pressed my material as I took Laura's advice to double it the second time around.


2. If you look closely you'll notice a piece of tape on my machine. We, Mama Hansen and I (can I just say how much I loved having her in town? Made things like this feasible with two small children) measured to see how much room each ball needed and then sewed the seam of the teether along that line.


3. I sewed a zigzag stitch along the edge of my straight stitch to reinforce this.


4. I then trimmed the excess of the strip and pulled it right side out. This took me quite some time. Next time I'll do something different to make this process a little faster. Also, I think that because mine was double the thickness I had some issues with it just slipping right on through.


5. Knot one end. Insert a bead. Knot the material as closely as you can to the bead. And repeat until you can't add another bead.


6. Wrap one end inside the other and sew like crazy over the seam to close it and insure that none of the beads fall out.


Audrey with her first taste. She loves it!


Big sister- just hanging out.


Thanks again Laura for the fabulous idea and the quick and easy project!