tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45268961185266846442024-03-13T14:53:51.543-06:00The Stratton'sThe Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.comBlogger424125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-85617444656002359142015-04-10T08:49:00.002-06:002015-04-10T08:49:42.497-06:00My Kids and Their Food...On the way to school today the boys were talking about strange foods. Tyler made some gigantic list of random foods that would be "sooooo good" when eaten together. So Marshall pipes up, "Mom? Do you think pickles and whipped cream would taste good?" I told him it sounded like something that would give me a belly ache, but even though he seem grossed out it would probably be something he would eat just to give me a hard time and he'd say it was totally yummy... like that time he dipped his apples in soy sauce. Marshall looked at me, almost offended, and said, "that is totally different."<br />
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End of conversation.<br />
Hahahahaha!!!!The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-50568903185537565222014-08-05T16:26:00.001-06:002014-08-05T16:27:17.873-06:00Happy Family Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It's come to my mind that maybe a happy family has the hardest time taking "good" family pictures. We had a great time doing these, but had a heck of a time getting a good picture of everyone. Haha.</div>
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We went to California a couple weeks ago to visit family, play at the beach, and do a family photo session for some friends. The idea of family pictures got in my head and my sweet aunt that would have taken our pictures was not feeling well, so I had my sister snap them for me. She was a bit nervous but I got her all set up and all she had to do was push the button over and over and tell us if we looked ridiculous. As it turned out, we looked ridiculous in quite a few of them but a perfect kind of ridiculous. So I'm OK with it. </div>
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It was fun to look through all of them and see my silly kids' personalities shine through. I even love the ones where you can see our natural tendencies, as parents, shine through as we watch and direct our kiddos. I love my family so much. They are a great joy and blessing to me. Enjoy.</div>
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Looking through these now, I am laughing at our entire situation. We got to the pier later in the morning than we anticipated so we were worried about there being too many people there to even take pictures. So I jumped out of the car to scope it out while Colby tried to find a parking spot. I promised we would take less than a half hour so he could park more easily and I didn't know that he just passed off the keys to a guy manning a parking lot. So Colby was feeling anxious to finish so we could get back to our car and not have to pay $10/hr for parking. It was pretty funny. On top of that, Tyler was practicing his ninja kicks the whole time and showing off how he had mastered the skill of going cross-eyed. Macy had to be convinced to smile in every photo and Marshall was thankfully cooperative, for the most part. It was a fun time. I think it stressed Megan out completely to feel responsible for getting pictures of all my strong willed kids.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-34486157402395713862014-07-21T16:15:00.000-06:002014-07-21T16:15:08.387-06:00Some sweet words about my Grandma.At the funeral, my Great Aunt Edna spoke about my Grandma. She had some of the sweetest things to say about Grandma and I asked her if I could get a copy of her talk because it really touched me. I'm going to share it here:<br />
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"My name is Edna Vargas Morales. I am the youngest sister of Albert Vargas- Anja's first husband.<br />
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I felt compelled to give my perspective about Anja since I am the only one surviving of my sisters and brother.<br />
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I never referred to Anja as my ex-sister-in-law since she continued to be a big part of our lives after the separation from my brother. On the day my brother passed away, it was Anja that called me with such love and concern. She was the one who told me my brother was asking for me the day before he passed and she knew that because she was with him at the end.<br />
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But I will tell you where the letter "x" is appropriate to describe her. She was an extremely hard worker, she was extraordinary, she was an exceptional mother, and she exemplified all the characteristics we value today.<br />
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Her hard work was demonstrated in working the night shift so she could be with her family during the day. When she was going to leave the bank for Yamaha, she hadn't given the bank proper notice so she continued working for them at night and Yamaha during the day for the time required to leave on good terms.<br />
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She was also extraordinary in her resilience and strength. Diane will tell you the full meaning of the Finnish word "sisu." That was Anja; resilient, strong, and with extraordinary character. Her past life in Finland and her story was so incredible, I am happy that Diane recorded it in the book she wrote about her mother. Anja never talked about it or let that part of her life hinder her in reaching her goals. She was also extraordinary in that she never spoke badly about my brother. She realized his good qualities and kept the focus on his special talents which I believe helped the children to grow up well adjusted. It was always amazing to me how she brought in Norman (my brother's son by another marriage) as part of her family when his mother passed when he was 17. To this day, all the children have remained close as one family.<br />
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Anja was also an exceptional mother. All her life, her main focus was on the best interests of her children and what would help them to grow into responsible, hard working, and caring adults. Her love of her children gave her an insight into what they needed. She never kept the children from their Grandma, Grandpa, cousins, uncles, and aunts on the Vargas side. I will be eternally grateful to her for keeping us close to her and her family. As you can see, she raised exceptional children who continue to love and remain close to all their family, to lead responsible lives, and to have faith.<br />
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Now that I am the only mother left to all my nieces and nephews, I feel a need to continue the legacy that each of their parents left. For Anja's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, I will remind you what Anja left you: her example of striving to be the best person you can be, working hard to achieve your goals, her belief that when life gets hard- realize that difficulty develops strong character, her actions of always being kind to those who have less than you and may need a helping hand, and lastly, the way she put a priority in staying close to her family. As you learn about her life, you will discover many more lessons she left, too numerous to mention here.<br />
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Thanks, Anja, for the legacy you left us. May God bless you."The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-39666832565952312392014-07-21T15:50:00.000-06:002014-07-21T15:52:48.086-06:00July 12. A celebration.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Two Saturdays ago we had the chance to honor two very special people in my life. Grandma Anja & Grandpa John. Grandpa actually passed away November 20, 2012 but we didn't have any kind of funeral or memorial service. Grandma died on July 1st peacefully at home, with my mom there with her. Each of her children had been able to visit recently and I hope my grandma knew how much I loved her even though we hadn't been able to visit since almost an entire year ago. My grandparents were very simple people that did not like attention. My mom has said Grandma wouldn't have liked us to have any kind of service for her either, but they were too special not to celebrate. It was a great chance to remember the wonderful, special place they hold in our hearts. I was asked to speak on behalf of the grandchildren so I've had many thoughts and feelings that I wanted to record in this "journal" of mine. I'm the oldest grandchild, which gave me the fondly spoken title of "number one." My grandma would always refer to me as her number one, especially when she'd hug me. It was a special thing we shared, since she didn't call anyone else by the order they came into the family. As I prepared to speak at the funeral, I was never really overcome with emotion... Grandma had been sick for a while and it was a great relief and blessing for her to be done with that trial. I had actually wished for a while that she could be relieved of those struggles. The emotion all came out when I stood up to speak at the funeral though. All I had to do was tell everyone I was her "number one" as I introduced myself and I was quickly reduced to tears. In front of all those people is when it hit me that I would really miss her in my life. And to honor Grandpa in the same service really solidified the fact that two of my three grandparents I grew up knowing were gone from this life. I know they are happier in heaven and that I will see them again someday when I join them in the next life. It's still hard though...</div>
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I love these two sweet grandparents. </div>
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There are not a lot of words to say about my Grandpa... he was just sweet, and warm, and friendly, and great! He really saw the best in people and I grateful for his love and example. He believed in spoiling us and always bought ice cream when we would come to visit. His favorite was butter pecan and I sometimes buy it when I miss him. He could talk and talk and talk, and as the fabulous Texan he was he was kind of larger than life. Cooking was one of his greatest loves. We were always fed so well when we would visit. If he heard we liked something he'd make a ton of it and we would have to eat until we were sick so we didn't get him in trouble from Grandma for making too much. He bought me a subscription to Taste of Home magazine for so many years so we could share that love of cooking with each other. He also loved to garden, mostly peppers, tomatoes, and English cucumbers. He was so good to ask us about our lives and then share whatever he felt most proud of us for. I loved that about him. He had funny little sayings that he would say, like "nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs." He had a love for frogs and there was a funny little motion activated frog in their family room that we all loved. Especially the little kids. </div>
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He was actually our step-grandpa, but the only one we ever knew. It didn't matter that my grandma's kids were not his own. He loved them all. He even loved the extended family that really wasn't his. I'll explain that more in a minute... </div>
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And he loved us grand kids so so much.</div>
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He suffered from dementia and alzheimer's in the last years of his life and he endured it so patiently. It was hard to watch his mind go while his body was still so strong and vibrant. I ended up missing my Grandpa long before he actually passed away. It's nice to know our bodies are whole again once we leave this life.</div>
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My grandma came from a very unique background that blessed us immensely. She immigrated from Finland when she was 18. Finland was at war with Russia and it was a dangerous place to live. Her mom was actually killed in a bombing which left her dad widowed and nervous for his daughter's future. She never had much family after that, so family was very important to her. There's a Finnish word, sisu, that means determination, bravery and resilience. Sisu is about taking action against the odds and displaying courage and resoluteness in the face of adversity. My grandma lived with sisu in her heart and taught that characteristic to her family by her great example. She had a neat accent that I was never really able to identify. A friend of mine once told me how much she loved my grandma's cool accent, and I was taken aback by the comment. I had never thought about my Grandma having an accent. I knew English was her second language and that an accent was likely... but that was just Grandma. She didn't sound different to me at all. Even as an adult I would listen to her, trying to identify her accent, and still struggle to clearly hear it.</div>
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Below on the left she was on a ship on the ocean, perhaps when she moved to America. On the right is her as a baby. The caption in the photo album said she was tasting her first cheesecake.</div>
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My grandma had a very quirky sense of humor that was very apparent in the photo albums we found the night before her funeral. She had a kind of childish, sometimes imaginative, sense of humor in her captions. It was a funny thing to find because we remember many moments of her sarcasm and humor that seemed a bit juvenile. </div>
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We loved when she would tease us about our "boring grades" since we often achieved all A's. Even though she acted so bored about it all, we always knew how proud of us she was. We also all remember fondly the funny antics she had. There were words that would trigger random silly comments. If you said the word juice, she would pipe up with "juicy fruit!" out of nowhere. </div>
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In addition to her silly side, she was very intelligent and an extremely hard worker. She supported her family after being divorced and she provided a good life to them. My mom and aunt and uncles had many great memories of the sacrifices and blessings they watched their mom live through during those years. </div>
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One of the things that stand out the most in my mind is how she remained close to her ex-husband's family. They were divorced when my mom was a teenager and he passed away when my mom was serving her mission. He had remarried and had a son, and when my mom returned from her mission she recalls feeling so strange coming into a room where her mom, step-father, her step-mom and half-brother were all eating at the same table. (We don't use titles like "step" in our family. It's just not the way people are considered. We're all family.) In fact, all of the family gatherings I remember were with my mom's father's family and my Grandma was always invited. She had a big heart that was able to love all of those people even though the typical trend in society would be to shun the "ex-family." Even with the smaller family gatherings of just my Grandma's children (like Christmas, Thanksgiving dinner and birthday parties) my Uncle Norman was always there... he was orphaned as a teenager. Grandma had the space in her heart to love and include her ex-husband's new son. It's a powerful example to me to love everyone and focus on the good you have in life.</div>
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My grandma was amazing.</div>
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Another thing that came from her love of family was the way she would reach out to those around her that had no one and needed somebody. She cared for and helped so many of her elderly neighbors as they needed companionship and help with various daily tasks. She had such a servant heart and that example was great for all of us. </div>
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She wasn't a warm and fuzzy grandma. She didn't get down on the floor and play with us kids, but we always felt loved. She loved hugs and I could really feel her love for me when she hugged me. She grew up in the depression so she saved lots of "things" that could one day be useful, but she didn't just keep "stuff." So her house had a few fun toys for us kids, but not really much. We spent most of our time at her house admiring her doll collection from her travels around the world, playing around in her yard making up games and songs, and snooping through her things in the bathroom or extra bedroom. I was the worst snoop in her house. My cousin Rachel remembers snooping too, but when we were going through everything before the funeral I learned my two younger siblings had never snooped through her drawers and cabinets and I was surprised! I was probably such a nuisance!</div>
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One other part of her legacy that I believe all of us inherited was her love of traveling. She saw so much of the world and exploring was important to her. I remember when I was a young teenager, she and Grandpa John took a trip around the world. I thought it was neat to have such adventurous grandparents because that is not something you hear of every day. Most of her posterity enjoys traveling and the occasional change of scenery. I know that came from her. I had a unique experience the summer before 9th grade when I travelled to Finland as a foreign exchange student. She knew of a family with a teenage daughter that wanted to send her to America for the summer to improve her English, and as a thank you they hosted me the following summer. It was such an adventure. Many people spoke English there, so I was able to communicate with people fairly well. The father of the family I stayed with did not speak English, however, which created some funny moments as we would struggle to communicate. I was able to see my Grandma's homeland and get a taste of the culture that made her who she was. It was a great opportunity that I am so grateful I was able to have.</div>
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The day we celebrated their lives was beautiful. Only two members of the family were missing; my brother who is serving a mission in Mexico and my cousin that is studying and teaching in Korea. Beautiful tributes were shared about each of them. We felt much love from everyone and enjoyed having the family together.</div>
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The younger kids spent a lot of time playing outside the church and had fun together. (My kids are the same age as my youngest cousins... Macy being the only girl in the bunch.) We've talked about taking another vacation to California and the boys have even requested to go play at the church again. Haha. It's nice to know they have such fond memories of the funeral. After snapping a family picture we took some photos of the boys being boys. What a great time!</div>
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<br />The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-48927226607290870232014-07-20T15:59:00.000-06:002014-07-21T13:33:33.492-06:00Macy Got an Owie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
After all of our water fun on the 4th, Macy and Tyler were jumping on the tramp. We were all out there, but missed exactly what happened. All I know is Macy was on her belly and crying. I went to cheer her up and had her follow me to my chair and she wouldn't walk. After a little while of holding her and cheering her up, we found she still wouldn't walk on it. Somewhere below her right knee was really hurting so we headed to get x-rays. I had visions of her running around in a cast (just like Tyler did before his second birthday) and couldn't believe 2 of our 3 kids were going to have a broken leg and both before their second birthday. She fell asleep in the car right away, thankfully, but woke up only twenty or thirty minutes later really sad about her hurting leg. *Note: it only took maybe 25 min to get to the St. George Instacare, but they had a long wait ahead of us so we went for a little drive to pass the time and let her nap a little longer. So much for that great plan. </div>
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Colby decided to grab a water and a snack from Target and Macy made sure to cheer right up before he made it back to the van.</div>
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She is the cutest little character. Even when she was really hurting.</div>
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We had a really long wait in the doctor's office. The doc's first evaluation was that she most likely had a spiral fracture in the small bone in her shin (just like Tyler had) so he ordered x-rays. Turns out, there were five other people needing x-rays ahead of us so we sat and waited and waited and sat. Macy still couldn't walk on it or put any weight on it, so we had to get really creative to keep her entertained. She does not sit still. Ever. Taking selfies worked for a little while. Colby got a good nap in as well.</div>
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Once it was time for her x-ray, she was hysterical. She didn't like the room. She didn't like laying on the table. She didn't like the lead blanket. She didn't like Daddy holding her down. She didn't like the x-ray tech. She didn't like any of it. So the poor guy taking her images gave her as many stickers as he could so she might cheer up. It didn't make a difference until she was sitting back in the exam room, but they kept her rather busy until the doctor came in to tell us the results. </div>
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Turns out, no breaks. Just a sprain or deep bruise that left her in a lot of pain for almost two days. But she's a determined little bugger and was back on it, walking with support of the wall, chair, or anything else she could find by the next day. By the second day, the only real evidence of her injury was slightly less jumping and a little less aggressiveness in her climbing.</div>
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We are happy to report she's as good as new and the cutest little patient.</div>
<br />The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-81529686465219952342014-07-20T15:27:00.001-06:002014-07-20T15:27:20.839-06:004th of July 2014 :: Water Fun with the Fam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Cassadee & Grandma put together a fun water party for the afternoon of the 4th. The water slide, kiddie car wash, and pool were on the agenda and kept the kids wet and happy! Catching pics of the kiddos in action is totally my favorite. Squealing, laughing, wild children are going to be the highlight of these years. Here's a few fun shots from the day.</div>
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Marshall</div>
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Tyler</div>
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Macy</div>
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As far as I can remember, this was her first time playing on this slide and she wasn't hesitant at all. She loves a good thrill.</div>
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I love her tiny cuteness. </div>
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Now for a glimpse at the kiddie carwash. It never disappoints.</div>
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Colby was sweet enough to snap a few photos of me swimming with the kids. Swimming this summer has been a great one. Macy is wild and adventurous, Marshall is unstoppable, and Tyler is getting pretty independent. It makes my heart so happy!</div>
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I love water fun with the family. It's the best part of summer.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-22293128705450117032014-07-15T15:20:00.000-06:002014-07-15T15:23:30.147-06:004th of July 2014 :: City Festivities<div style="text-align: center;">
Our 4th was pretty typical; parade, BBQ at Grandma & Grandpa's, hiding from the heat, and watching Daddy in the home run derby & city softball game. The home run derby was cancelled due to CRAZY wind, but they played the game and it was a fun time. Here's some photos from our appearances at the city festivities.</div>
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It didn't take long to have the kids celebrating here and there for the handfuls of candy they scrounged up.</div>
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Cousin Brigham... the kids loved getting these little flags from one of the floats.</div>
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Macy was in a kind of crabby mood that morning, but people throwing candy at her helped her snap out of it. She loves to clean up and put things where they go, so she LOVED picking up candy and putting in in the bag.</div>
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Cute little Harper.</div>
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I don't know what it is about the 4th of July, but we always go hog wild taking pictures. We seem to get the most cousin pictures on the 4th and Christmas Eve. Here's Cassadee and Carly in the middle of those shenanigans.</div>
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The annual photos of the cousins on the grassy hill. </div>
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It's fun that everyone comes to watch Colby play softball and it lends to a really easy opportunity to snap our favorite photos of the kids.</div>
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(This one was blurry, but I loved it. Silly boys.)</div>
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These silly face pictures were great, and the fact that Macy was a little late with it (on the second one) but she soon caught on and tried to pull a funny one... so funny!</div>
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The kids had the hill mostly to themselves for a while and had a ball playing catch and tag. Macy had a little crash with Tyler on the tramp earlier so her leg was super sore and she was stuck sitting on the blanket with Mom. She wanted to get in middle of the fun with the big boys, but she got over it eventually. She had a blast making cheesy faces at the camera and kissing her little Lambie.</div>
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The stormy night shared some pretty sights with us as well.</div>
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It was a beautiful day (minus the horrible winds for that little while in the evening) which lent to a great opportunity to reflect on our many blessings we enjoy living in this great nation. Happy birthday, America.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-68003398187502454522014-07-09T23:36:00.000-06:002014-07-09T23:36:26.508-06:00Why I CrossFit.<div style="text-align: justify;">
I try not to blab about my love of CrossFit too much, because for some reason people either love it or hate it. I'm not sure why people hate it, because I've never met anyone that tried it and HATED it. Have the haters really tried it? There are surely those that have decided it's not the right fit for them and I completely respect that. But I love CrossFit.</div>
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Lately, I notice the phrase "this is why I CrossFit" go through my mind when I encounter a moment that I can really see the difference it is making in my life. Besides the confidence and power (mental & physical) I have gained from the sport, here is the beginnings of my list:</div>
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1. Macy is now 20 months old. 20 months going on 13 years. She's a handful. She's clever. And creative. And stubborn. And she's big. Carting her around is a fairly good workout on it's own, and when she's refusing to walk, kicking and screaming in protest... it's a chore. Yet I can hold her in one arm while she throws her fit and not be overcome by her size, strength, and aggression. It's awesome.</div>
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This is why I CrossFit.</div>
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2. Seven year old Marshall weighed 70 lbs at his well child check a few months ago. Now, because he's seven, I don't often have to lift him up or carry him anywhere. But the other day we were swimming and he only had his new tennis shoes that he did not want to get soggy. We had to walk a bit from the shade to the car, so I gave him a piggy back ride. It was easy. Even when I was squatting so he could easily climb on and then had to stand straight up with his handsome, genius, and pure awesome 70 pounds on my back. I felt like a rockstar. It was awesome.</div>
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This is why I CrossFit.</div>
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3. So I can be stronger than PMDD. I don't want to go on and on about it, but PMDD is something I've come to learn is a part of my life. It's like PMS, but on steroids. I end up with "symptoms" that overtake my life... sometimes for a day and sometimes for a week or more. It's ridiculous. And stupid. And today I was feeling discouraged and really low. I almost couldn't bring myself to head to the box, but I went to attempt a tough workout anyway. Right when I started, I realized I was probably in over my head. But I walked into the gym wanting to take control of Me, so I just kept going. I dead lifted 155 pounds 20 times in a row (as only one part of the WOD) even though my one rep max is 165#. I had to do them one at a time, yet I kept moving. It was crazy hard, but I pushed through. I came in sort of defeated from my day and walked out feeling like I could do anything, seriously anything, in the world. CrossFit has shown me I can bring my mind over matter, and conquer something that seems impossible (usually through a good lifting session) and remind myself that I am strong, determined, and capable. PMDD might be monsterous at times, but I'm stronger than that. I am awesome.</div>
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This is why I CrossFit.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-52782549495593726602014-05-06T14:19:00.001-06:002014-07-20T14:02:00.051-06:00One of the best ideas...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Last weekend I fulfilled one of my goals for the year by going to the <a href="http://powerofmoms.com/">Power of Mom's</a> retreat in Park City. It was such a wonderful way to help me refuel and become more motivated as a mom. I really cannot say enough good about the experience. The one "not so positive" thing I might say is that so much of what I came home with was kind of common sense stuff... all of which I'd never put all together into conscious thought. So that made me feel a little foolish. But only like 1%...</div>
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So one of the best things I came home with was a new way of looking at to do lists. I NEED to use them more because it just helps keep my mind organized and focused on what needs to be done. I'm not big on writing down every tiny thing I accomplish each day (I know, I'm weird...), but I do write the non-daily tasks that need attention.</div>
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Now let me break it down... this new system I'm embracing. This idea was introduced by Richard Eyre, a funny, brilliant author of so many parenting books. We were at his beautiful home for the retreat.</div>
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You start out by choosing three "choose to do" items before ever writing the "have to do's". Each of those "choose to do's" fall into one of these categories; personal, family, work. Sometimes it could be something unnecessary like painting my nails and sometimes it could be a job that really needs to get done but I'm <i>choosing</i> to put it before other things on my priority list. </div>
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After that, the "to-do's" get listed on the left side of the page and you make another column on the right for "serendipity moments." Richard had a lot to say about the serendipity moments that probably puts it in an even better perspective, but you'll see how it pays off by the end of the day and the end of the week. Simply put, the serendipity moments are the things that occur throughout the day that you weren't planning for but they enriched a moment of your day. Sometimes they will be interrupters of your "schedule" that end up putting a positive twist on your day. Other times it might just be a little moment of joy that you discover amidst all of the things you had to do.</div>
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Really, the whole point of this, to me, is to let my to do list be a part of my life with my kids rather than my kids being a part of my to do list. I set a goal to do this for a week with the intention to look back on my week and see all the tasks (at least 21 of them) that I chose to accomplish and also to see the countless amounts of joyful serendipity moments that occurred during the week. Seeing those things add up really ought to improve my outlook at life, right?</div>
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So here's a glimpse at day one.</div>
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As you can see, it was a simple day as far as to do lists go. I had worked the night before and knew I wasn't going to have the energy to save the world or anything like that, but I had a few things that really needed to happen so I wrote them down. And as I mentioned before, plenty of household tasks did get done I just didn't write them all down. Being totally honest, I only did two of the three "choose to" items, but that's ok with me. I took a nap instead of doing item number one. And that was the "personal" item so I felt like swapping it for a nap was beneficial to the entire household.</div>
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My favorite part at the end of the day was the chance to reflect on the lovely parts of my day. First off, I resolved to stay unstressed while we got ready for school and we got up late (totally my fault) so I just jumped in and put Marshall's shoes on him while he ate breakfast. It was a tiny gesture towards my kiddo that I cared about him enough to help him. Strangely, he begs me to put his shoes on for him multiple times a week. I think he gets overwhelmed sometimes by being older and more responsible and it's one of the only ways I can do something FOR him. It caused me to reflect though, that I really could do better at serving him and helping him feel loved. It's hard to be responsible and he's trying to balance that right now, so I'm going to do better at being there for him in moments I can serve. The next two things were little things that enriched my day and I was grateful I could look up from planting tomatoes to visit with the neighbor and that I could break from my regular schedule to enjoy the company of friends at the park. The fourth thing on my list was a special little moment I am sure to forget if I hadn't written it down. And who knows... I may still forget it someday, but at least now it's been documented. I was finishing with my planting and weed pulling when Macy joined me in the garden, picked up a trowel, and sat down and started "digging." She would just scoop up a little dirt and let it drop, over and over again. The best part though, was she was just singing to herself in her cute, little, wordless voice. It was something I hope my heart remembers forever. She was just having the greatest time and I got to see it. So special! Lastly, Marshall was resisting doing his chores so instead of losing my cool I invited him to walk and check the mail with me. I figured maybe we could chat while we walked and he might catch on to the idea... sure enough, it worked! He felt more relaxed and contributed to the conversation and we got home ready to get all of the chores done in record time. When he was headed to bed he told me, "Mom... I really liked walking with you today. And I never got disappointed ALL DAY!" After asking a question or two, it was apparent that a little calm conversation while on a walk dispersed his frustration with chores and he never lost his cool. He noticed that he went the whole day without losing it and we all went to bed much happier than other days can sometimes end. After looking at what I've written, I realize that I even have another thing to mention on the serendipity list. The time I spent in the garden would typically have been when I would have been at the gym. And I LOVE my time at the gym, so it really never makes the to do list because it's just the way I live. But while in the garden I got two great additions to my day. How nice to sit back and be thankful for the day I had. And it was a Monday even!</div>
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I'm loving this approach to the things I need to accomplish and I hope I can make it a habit and a more permanent way of thinking.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-57388786313435480742014-05-05T02:51:00.000-06:002014-05-05T02:51:11.675-06:00Party time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The boys' had a fun, simple birthday party this year. They wanted a hunting party, so we gathered a few friends, shot nerf guns at balloons, threw "target practice" at stacked cups, then ate some goodies, and headed home. </div>
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As we were getting the cake ready we even had a fun little "freeze" dance party. </div>
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They showed off their best moves and when the music paused, so did they!</div>
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We ended up with a fun little clan that brought some fun gifts. I loved watching the boys open the presents and get excited about the simplest thing. I wish the party hadn't had to take place on Easter weekend so we could have invited more friends and just played and played.</div>
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P.S. Macy likes cake and loves to feed herself like a big girl.</div>
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<br />The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-36200441694379895772014-03-17T15:23:00.003-06:002014-03-17T22:34:30.913-06:00It's real, people. By the end of lunch today, my sister made an observation that made me laugh pretty hard. "The struggle is real," I heard her say. Seriously though, it's real. The struggle is really, really real.<br />
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I have pondered on this many times in the last few weeks. Motherhood is fabulous. It is all I've ever wanted (at least since I moved past my kindergarten dreams of being Madonna when I grew up), and I am happy to take the lows with the highs. But I feel like I'm living in the trenches of the struggle right now and couldn't help but laugh when someone else acknowledged that the struggle of motherhood is real.<br />
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Early this morning I woke up because Tyler was throwing up and his poor little heart was just broken. Not only that, but it looks like he picked up Macy's pink eye germs as well. So I got him cleaned up, put eye drops in his eyes, and laid down next to him until he fell back asleep because he had also been having nightmares. Peace returned to our house and we made it halfway through the morning before my little tornado, Macy, made sure to "organize" my desk drawers and then rearrange most items from the top of my desk into a beautiful mess on the floor. I was trying to get some work done on the computer, and she even managed to use her magic fingers and quick reach to operate functions on my computer that I didn't even know were possible. May I inform you that the desk rearranging happened while I was helping Tyler in the bathroom while his body was trying to decide which end was most sick. It was terrible, but enough of that yucky stuff.<br />
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We sat down to lunch and things started getting really nutso. I pulled Macy's high chair over towards the table and it turns out the tray was only hooked onto the one side and the tray and food flipped all over the floor. A minute or so later I was reaching for something and awkwardly managed to tip a cup of water over and spill it everywhere. It was right then that Megan piped up with, "the struggle is real." She didn't laugh and she didn't exclaim. She only said it- matter of factly and somewhat enlightened.<br />
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We all had a good laugh and I smiled at the thought of all the nonsense I endure as a mommy. I really like it. I feel blessed to be home where my kids can run amuck and stress me out on a daily basis.<br />
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Now don't you think the fun was over. Before sending both kidlets off to bed for a restful nap I hugged Tyler and we tipped right over and laughed. I was so glad to see him relax and have a little fun after feeling so yucky today. So we just laid there giggling until Macy made sure to come right over and sit on my face.<br />
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The struggle IS real.The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-65540121547968585162014-01-24T09:49:00.000-07:002014-01-24T09:49:28.899-07:00Macy :: 14 Months<div style="text-align: justify;">
This girl is getting big!! She's 14 months now, does more running than walking and more climbing than sitting. She's starting to communicate... starting being the key word. She's got one word that means just about everything. It seemed to start out being "na" for snack and now "na" means; snack, bottle, outside, walk, banana, done, look and whatever else she wants. When she combines a head shake it means no and comes out "na na na." She used to kind of say cheese and done but it's kind of all coming out the same right now. It's most clear when she grabs her sweater (outside) or points to her stroller (walk).</div>
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Macy LOVES going on walks!!! Marshall's school is doing a marathon challenge where they add up all the distances they walk up until May 9 and they'll do the last mile of the "marathon" together, so we've been going on more walks lately and Macy doesn't complain one little bit.</div>
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She's doing better about letting me do her hair. We often pull the top into a side ponytail or braid and I have put pig tails in once or twice. She used to wrestle and wiggle all over the place and get really upset, but I think she realizes it helps her hair stay out of her eyes and cooperates even if she doesn't like to sit still.</div>
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She's definitely a daddy's girl. Colby's been working in Kanab lately and usually gets home right around bedtime so maybe once or twice a week she's already in bed when he makes it in the door. When she is up, she almost screams Dad! Dad! Dad! and can't wait to get snuggles from him.</div>
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She's getting awfully bossy lately and kind of reminds me of Marshall when he was little. Because they can't put their thoughts and feelings into words, they just use their muscles or tears to get what they want. I remember wondering if Marshall would ever be nice about getting what he wanted and once he could talk he was a dream. So I'm counting on that for Macy too. If she's even half as thoughtful and sweet as her brother she'll be ok in my book.</div>
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She's bossy, but she's cute too. She still loves shoes and necklaces and likes to love on her babies and stuffed animals. And she LOVES her blanket. She has other funny antics that are so girly that I just love. Like this morning, Tyler and I went in to get her out of bed and she put both hands up over her mouth like she was so surprised and pleased by the attention she was getting. It was soooooo cute!</div>
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Here's an example of her wildness. Since she could walk, she's loved to climb onto this stool in the bathroom and I hate it. She's totally going to step right off of it sometime and crack her head open or knock out a tooth or something. Well yesterday, she wasn't content to stand on her tippy toes to try and reach the faucet... she figured out the top of the cupboard door might lift her right up to the counter. The stool was put away immediately. Her wild side is going to be the death of me. We were sitting in sacrament meeting last Sunday and something she was doing reminded me of the movie "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" and I half chuckled and half cried at the thought. She really is determined and brave and I am glad for it. But I'm also scared. It's a weird mix of emotions. </div>
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I promise to post some updates about the boys soon. They're not changing as rapidly as Macy, so I think I forget to document the wonderful things they do on a daily basis. But they are just as special and totally hilarious.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-1809520740978459152014-01-11T10:56:00.003-07:002014-01-11T10:56:57.912-07:00Our Silly Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We got our family pictures back during the busy Christmas season and I'm so glad to finally take a second and blog them. Here's a bunch of our crazy family. I saved the "prettiest" ones for another post. I loved those beyond words, but these silly ones just make my day! A true glimpse at real life...</div>
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I love this family of mine.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-15758462391240872682014-01-09T20:02:00.000-07:002014-01-09T20:04:12.364-07:00Wanna see our Christmas card?<div style="text-align: justify;">
Considering I set a goal to blog once a week, I had a couple posts thought out in my head. But wouldn't you know it... I can't remember them now! But I totally need to blog our Christmas card so I'm excited to follow through on my blogging goal. However, I cannot get the back side of our card to upload here, so I might just have to type it in. Our card was actually a postcard, which I loved doing. I like to include a little bit about us but never want it to be very long because I don't feel like I have <i>that </i>much to share. I may do the postcard thing a lot in the future. We'll see. </div>
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So here's the front.</div>
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I love the way our family pictures turned out! My pal, Dallas, did a great job on them and I need to blog those soon too! The are seriously gorgeous.</div>
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The back of our card read:</div>
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Dear family & friends,</div>
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We are so excited to finally have made it to Christmastime. It’s a favorite at our house, for sure. It’s hard to think of much that is new around our place... Marshall is 6 and LOVES first grade more than any other kid on the planet. Tyler is “pretend 5” (4) and is turning into one silly character that wants to grow right up. Macy’s so loveable and is 1 going on 13. That’s fun. They are the most adorable kids, as you can see, and we, as parents, can hardly believe how blessed we are. Everyone is happy and healthy, and we consider our busy lives are a sign that we are doing just fine. May the Lord’s blessings find you, as well, this holiday season and carry over into the new year.</div>
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Love,</div>
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Colby, Andrea, Marshall the Smarty Pants, Tyler the Ladies' Man, & Macy the Tornado</div>
<br />The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-66382963769747170502014-01-01T13:18:00.002-07:002014-01-01T13:18:25.353-07:00New Year's ResolutionsI never make New Year's resolutions. I just never think ahead enough and hate having one more thing on my to do list this time of year. But I've been thinking about my habits and goals a lot lately and came up with a pretty good list. Now it's becoming public knowledge so that maybe, just maybe, I'll stick to a handful of them.<br />
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1. Stop calling names. I have the worst habit of calling really lame, 5 year old type names. Dummy. Goober-head. Poop-face. That one's really embarrassing. This needs to stop. It became really eye opening when after being up for 1 hour and 15 minutes I had called two names and made it three by noon.<br />
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2. Save some dang money. It just needs to happen. Last year I thought about doing this weekly challenge but never did. But I might just do it this time. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">P.S. I do not love to gossip, but that blog had the best chart made... not even considering the cute graphics.</span></div>
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3. Get rid of the things in the garage and kitchen that I do not use.</div>
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4. Complete my <a href="https://www.lds.org/young-women/personal-progress?lang=eng">Personal Progress</a>. Again. :)</div>
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5. Blog more. AT LEAST once a week on this blog documenting family life and twice a month on my <a href="http://andreastrattonphotography.blogspot.com/">photography blog</a>. I have really slacked off in my blogging this last year. Some say it has something to do with having more kids and a busier life... maybe they're right. Haha.</div>
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6. Attend a Power of Moms retreat. I believe I have a few friends (Tara... Jessica...) that will join me on this one!</div>
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7. Write a to do list DAILY.</div>
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8. Be more accountable for my online spending habits. I was trying to think of the best way to do this... like only one purchase per month for a "want" item. I don't intend to limit "need" items because sometimes online shopping is just the best way to get it done. But once a month seemed a little tricky... we need to start with baby steps. So I think what I'm going to do is ask Colby his opinion of my "want" items and if he's fine with it I'll go ahead with it. If not, I'll be getting a handle on it. Maybe my plan will change. I really think it's gonna be a lot harder than I think.</div>
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9. Implement a better record keeping/bill tracking/life mastering method. I picked up an unnamed (I don't want to bash their designs & system) kit that I already don't love... I guess I'm picky... so I'm going to look around a tiny bit more before I just suck it up and use the one I have.</div>
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10. Make a blog book. I might only get the first year or two done... but I want to make some progress on this project! I've wanted to for years now...</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-66597946063711711932013-12-17T10:46:00.001-07:002013-12-17T10:46:48.444-07:00MultiplicationMarshall has been getting really excited about multiplication these days (my super amazing first grader!!) and Tyler seems to be soaking up the basic 0, 1, and 2 times tables. So Tyler was just quizzing me with all kinds of multiplication facts when he asked, "what is 16 times bird?" I answered, "well, I don't know."<br />
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Smarty pants Tyler was quick to correct me... "It's 16 birds, Mom!"<br />
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Haha!!! This kid is witty.The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-83778646715060442582013-11-10T14:51:00.002-07:002013-11-10T14:51:50.549-07:00Stratton Family Circus :: Photo Booth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Here's some pictures from the photo booth at Macy's party. We got everyone to take a turn and I love how they turned out. Somehow Colby and I never got one though. Darn it. So we just snapped one on my phone today and I'll post it at the end.</div>
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(Brigham)</div>
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(Tyler, Marshall, Karter, Brigham)</div>
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(Camie, Harper, Mike)</div>
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(Grandma & Grandpa Tom)</div>
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(Cassadee & Brady)</div>
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(Grandma Diane & Macy)</div>
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(Great Grandma Stratton & Cierra)</div>
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(Grandma & Grandpa Stratton)</div>
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(Mom & Dad) </div>
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(Mom & Marshall)</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-63987618351066898962013-11-10T13:35:00.000-07:002013-11-10T14:10:29.588-07:00Macy Turns ONE :: The Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had Macy's birthday party yesterday afternoon and it was such a great time with our closest family (we totally missed those that live far away though...). This little girl is so loved. </div>
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A while back I was in Target and came across some darling party stuff that left me totally inspired. I didn't know what direction to take it into right away, but I bought up a lot of "stuff" just in case it all sold out before birthday time came around. By "a while back" I mean probably summer time. Haha.</div>
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After a little pondering, I knew just what we would have to do! A circus party!!! If I'm being totally honest, it did cross my mind to track down a magician, and a clown, and some fun animals, but then I remembered I was planning a party for a one year old. We would be lucky if she cracked a smile and went along with opening presents. So I scaled back my thinking a bit and just found a few special details and spent the rest of the time leading up to her birthday loving on her cute little face.</div>
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I ordered the invitation from this <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/PicadillyLime">super great Etsy shop</a>, called Picadilly Lime. </div>
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Thank goodness for others who sell their talent on the internet!</div>
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I got really excited about the little details for the party and was really pleased with how it turned out. I think there were just two more little things I wish I had thought to do before the day of. I won't mention them though, because I don't want to take away from all the cuteness that did come together. </div>
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I'm positive the gold animals were my favorite detail. Everyone made sure to comment on them too, which totally made my day! I'm really glad I took the time to make the poster that highlighted Macy's life right now. I've spent way too much time on the computer doing work lately that it would have been really easy to just skip it, but I just couldn't. That was probably my second favorite detail.</div>
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Huge shout out to my awesome sister-in-law, Cassadee, who made the fabulous cupcakes. </div>
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She's seriously amazing and I couldn't thank her enough. If anyone local wants some for any event, I'll get you her #.</div>
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Here's the birthday girl herself! </div>
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She took everything rather seriously so I'm glad I got a photo or two of her toothy grin.</div>
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Pretty sure this was the only time she smiled with the cake in front of her too. She gets into everything, all day long, so I was sure it would be no different with cake and presents, but not so. She was very deliberate and dainty and really just wanted the individual sprinkles and would have been happy if there wasn't cake and frosting in the way of those. Haha. Silly girl.</div>
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She was very funny about the presents and wouldn't open a thing and didn't really crack a smile. Colby had to open every one of her presents. She was definitely ready to be done once she had opened up two baby dolls and strollers! They were a total hit. I know she loved every gift though. She woke up bright and early today to play with all of them.</div>
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She did a great job sharing the strollers with cousin Harper, but was happiest when she had both. </div>
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What a lucky little lady.</div>
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We had a photo booth too, and I plan to blog those pictures ASAP. They were so hilarious.</div>
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The party was totally fun and I'm, again, so grateful for all the love that was showered on our little Princess yesterday.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-75544123111356520662013-10-17T18:37:00.000-06:002013-10-20T10:23:00.144-06:00From Where I Sit Right Now<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm sitting here in the kitchen, in front of my computer, doing the final edits on a newborn twin session I had recently. Taking photos for people is such a blast and I was so excited to finally get a chance to photograph twins. What a dream...</div>
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But that hardly compares to everything else around me at this very second. </div>
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Tyler is running around in his Ninja Turtle costume he got at Karter's birthday party. The mask hasn't left his face since we got to the party before lunchtime.</div>
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Macy is walking EVERYWHERE. Literally, she crosses back and forth through the kitchen after making a loop down the hall and through her bedroom. Crawling is no longer cool. She usually has two or three toys/objects in hand (and sometimes her mouth) and they change every minute or two depending on what she has discovered in her travels. There's a funny trail of items around the house as she swaps one treasure for the next. It's so cute to see her embrace this new skill and leave babyish things behind. Cute, but sad.</div>
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And then there's Marshall. He blew me away yesterday with his discovery about reading. He was choosing a show to watch on Netflix and can now read the episode titles and descriptions. So once he announced his selection he told me, "when you can read, it changes your whole life." What a beautiful truth he has come to know. I'm so proud of him and his skills. He tries really hard to do his best academically and has a thirst for knowledge.</div>
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My kids are such a gift. I cannot believe the beautiful world that surrounds me on such an insignificant Thursday evening.</div>
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The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-58664365416833911592013-09-27T12:11:00.002-06:002013-09-27T12:21:15.649-06:00Goodbye Summer. We will miss you.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Around here it's pretty much official that summer is over. We've reached the end of September and there is a slight chill in the breeze and a cool touch to the air. I'm definitely excited for fall and all of the holidays that are coming. But I'm going to miss summer a little bit.</div>
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We finally made it to California in August and played at the beach. I'm a major beach lover but Colby is not, so we don't get there very often. Strangely, my kids have played on the beaches of Hawaii far more than California. It's just that whenever we can work a trip to Cali into our schedules it is usually for family stuff so we never make it farther west than Grandma's house. I had my heart set on a beach visit and had promised it to the boys for months. Wouldn't you know it... conflicts kept getting in the way and we almost didn't make it, but I made sure to get us there. And it was windy. And it was cold. And almost miserable. But look!! We're all smiling in all of these pictures so it was a hit, no matter what.</div>
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Marshall went barreling into the water even though it was a little chilly. I'm so glad he loves it like I do.</div>
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Tyler was a bit more cautious... I don't think he likes the moving water.</div>
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Nevertheless, they seemed to love it either way.</div>
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Even Macy loved it. I felt foolish that I didn't have a sweater for her, so we just had her play in Tyler's towel. </div>
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I think I have some great pictures of her on my phone... I'll have to see what I can find.</div>
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Tada!!! I do.</div>
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She loved the water and watching all the people.</div>
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Watching my kids enjoy the things I loved as a kid make me so happy. Ahhh....</div>
<br />The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-47894223122274099802013-08-24T06:06:00.001-06:002013-09-01T05:14:45.252-06:00A long, long time ago...<div style="text-align: justify;">
Way back in June we went shooting because Uncle Rodney came down and we wanted to go blow stuff up with him. Ironically, I don't have any pictures of Rodney or his boys... Grandpa Tom came along and Brady & Cassadee, Matt & Melissa, and Matt's dad & brothers were there too. The guys had a bunch of tannerite to shoot at and had rigged up some great targets that made for a lot of fun. I didn't get pictures of any of those because I had Macy who has become very wiggly and busy. Come to think of it, I'm not sure who snapped all these pictures because I'm in that second one! Haha. Some of the targets were steel pipe with a hole in the bottom for the tannerite and they would put melons, squash, and even soccer balls in the top to blow them up as they launched into the sky. Since I'm not the one with the pics of the cool stuff, here's what I did get pictures of:</div>
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Tyler using his ear plug to cure boredom.</div>
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Colby, Melissa Scott, Grandpa, Macy, myself, & Brigham </div>
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These three crazies.</div>
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Karter, Marshall, & Tyler </div>
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Marshall was teaching Karter how to shoot a BB gun. Marshall is very disciplined about his gun safety and it was a big compliment that Uncle Brady trusted Marshall to teach Karter how to shoot.</div>
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<br />The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-37191165984187849562013-08-24T04:00:00.001-06:002013-08-24T04:00:42.904-06:00Tyler Heads Back To School<div style="text-align: left;">
Oh, my Tyler. I sure love you. I just had to say that first...</div>
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School has started and you're so happy about it. You've been looking forward to going to "Miss Gwen's" preschool for the last couple of years since Marshall went there for the first time. You learned so so so much with Miss Lorilee last year that I was sad to switch things up, but I feel it is important for you kids to have many opportunities and make tons of friends so the change of environment was important to me. So I'm glad you're happy about the change instead of sad. These pictures are from your first day of school right before we walked over to Miss Gwen's house.</div>
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Welcoming a baby to our family has been a funny transition for you, I think, but you've done wonderfully. Sometimes I notice you like to behave a little bit like a baby for whatever reason, but you've also figured out how to be such a big boy. Your emotions are much more near the surface and you like to talk in your own little language. I don't think it's really baby talk though, it seems to be more like one more way for you to be a silly goose! You're also very good at conversation. You use phrases that surprise me because they make you seem so mature. You have a cute little stutter sometimes when you get excited about things and the words just won't come out all at once. I need to get that on video... I really love listening to you just talk and talk.</div>
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Your biggest step in your independence has to be the way you get yourself food. You're determined to pour your own cereal and milk (you just do it before even asking that way I don't take over) and have recently become very fond of Nutella sandwiches and make them yourself as well. You're also good to put everything away which is impressive. I'm proud of you for being such a go getter. Keep that up! </div>
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You have a gift to be content with alone time. You're rarely phased about Marshall being at school all day leaving you without a playmate. It doesn't take much on my part to keep you entertained because your imagination is so great and you can have fun with whatever is around. Even though you seem to be an introvert, you are also the friendliest little boy. I love that about you!! It isn't hard for you to reach out to others and make them feel at ease. You just turn on your silly and have fun. And MAN are you silly. You're also so thoughtful towards me and I adore that. You're sweet and silly and pretty wild... everything a perfect little boy should be. </div>
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I love you, mister. </div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-84367113787744680962013-08-17T06:07:00.000-06:002013-08-17T06:07:02.468-06:00I feel like I live with Curious George.<div style="text-align: justify;">
So... the other night Colby and I are just enjoying a night at home. Those are rare these days, plus it was a Sunday and I cannot think of a Sunday in the last 8 years that we have just stayed at home for no reason other than we didn't want to leave. We usually really enjoy going to visit the grandparents on Sunday evenings, but this was a rare treat to just be at home just because. I digress...</div>
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So we're at home enjoying some TV, or something, when Colby says, "Uh oh... Mommy's gonna love this," or something like that. I stand up to find this. Macy is all about discovering things lately and she LOVES to empty things. It really doesn't matter what it is either. So she managed to find a moment alone with her box of wipes and had almost every single one out around her. Isn't she so funny...?</div>
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After sneaking a quick picture before she knew I was on to her, I jumped in front of her and asked what in the world she was doing. This face I got in response is so classic. "What? I'm just doing what I'm doing. Why are you taking pictures?" She doesn't even act guilty! Haha. By this point, all of the wipes had escaped their container and were mostly all separated from each other. I'm just glad it was an easy fix.</div>
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Lately we have had to keep the garbage can up on the counter top or shut in the pantry, keep the bathroom shut and the toilet closed, all papers that are on the fridge need to be at least 2 1/2 feet up from the floor, and I've considered buying cabinet locks even though I despise the inconvenience. She empties her basket of toys out whenever she finds them put away, and I clean the floor of the pantry almost daily since she likes to scatter cookie cutters and bags of crackers all over the floor. She's cute and curious and I'm trying to decide if her curiosity is harder or the same compared to the boys since she's mobile months before they were. It's a little hard to remember, but some things feel very familiar. Just today I told Tyler about how I remember him doing the same exact thing with the papers and magnets on the fridge.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-61239104970257913322013-08-16T16:05:00.000-06:002013-08-18T03:44:45.163-06:00Nursing Cover Tutorial (the most useful and easiest sewing project EVER!!!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I have gotten countless questions about my favorite nursing cover and the original instructions I followed were pretty confusing. I had to read through maybe 50 comments before I found clarity... so I'm hoping to improve upon that a little bit right here.</div>
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The thing that makes this cover so glorious is how it covers Mama on all sides (a lot like a poncho). I have seriously been able to feed my baby in all kinds of settings thanks to this wonderful cover and the way it covers my back, sides, and front so well. It's made of jersey or another similar knit material that has plenty of stretch and doesn't fray, so it doesn't need to be hemmed on all sides either. It's so simple, I'm positive you could sew it without a sewing machine.</div>
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Most jersey material is 60 inches wide on the bolt, so you just have it cut anywhere from 30-36 inches. * As long as it was cut fairly straight, you don't even need to cut it at home, unless the selvage is really noticeable. If it is, I'd trim that off. I've found maybe half of the fabrics I have used for this need the selvage trimmed off and the others were completely unnoticeable. </div>
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Here is the entire piece of fabric laid out on the floor.</div>
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Now fold it in half "hamburger style" placing right sides together* creating more of a square of fabric. (The fold is along the bottom of the fabric in the photo below and no, I did not smooth it all out to make it look nice and square. Whoops. :) )</div>
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Starting at the fold (on either side) measure along the unfolded side towards the open corner anywhere between 13-15 inches and pin the two layers together right there.* (Fold is on the left and my pin is barely visible right there barely to the left of center.)</div>
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Now that you have the magic spot pinned, you are ready to start sewing. You are going to sew ONLY ONE LINE between the pin and the corner that is not the fold. I start from the outside (the not folded corner) moving toward the pin so the edges line up exactly with less effort. You can see in the picture below that the fabric where I am beginning to sew is two loose corners NOT folded on either side.</div>
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And just sew a straight line until you reach your pin, using about a half inch seam allowance. Make sure to back stitch at the beginning and end of your seam so nothing comes unravelled with use.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EfFWHZwY2VI/Ug6FGWQLPCI/AAAAAAAAFgI/71AjtDnm4jw/s1600/IMG_2462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EfFWHZwY2VI/Ug6FGWQLPCI/AAAAAAAAFgI/71AjtDnm4jw/s640/IMG_2462.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This next step is totally optional. I do a little zig zag stitch to finish it off but have also just sewn one straight line and left it like that. Both ways totally work. You could also use a serger for this and only have to sew one time and it would be all "finished off" but I don't have one of those!!</div>
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And seriously, you're done! </div>
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Just flip it right side out and put it on like a poncho. </div>
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The sewn seam will lay along one arm and the fold will lay along the other. </div>
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And you're done. :)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K5jqM-aj_ls/Ug6FV1djAdI/AAAAAAAAFgY/eCrnnjkPTmg/s1600/IMG_2464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K5jqM-aj_ls/Ug6FV1djAdI/AAAAAAAAFgY/eCrnnjkPTmg/s640/IMG_2464.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This picture is showing you the seam is, in fact, laying along my right arm.</div>
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*THINGS TO NOTE: </div>
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I'm 5'3" with a moderate frame and I feel like 30" was plenty big for me. Some of my friends that are rather busty or taller than me have appreciated it cut closer to 36". I'm sure if you were really wanting to you could cut it even wider, but it would be less square and I don't know if I would love that.</div>
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"Right sides together" means the printed or pretty side of the fabric will be touching each other once it is folded.</div>
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If your fabric has a print that would make your cover appear to be worn upside down, BEFORE YOU PIN you will need to pay closer attention to which side will be "up" while worn. The side with the pin is the top of the nursing cover.</div>
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I prefer my neck opening at 14" although I never would have differed from 13" had someone not mentioned they felt a little constricted with such a small neck hole. The more this cover gets used the fabric will stretch out a little bit more, so the hole could feel a little wide after a while, but that's totally easy to adjust down the road. You just sew the hole closed another inch or so.</div>
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An additional note about fabric choice:</div>
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There are so many options out there for darling jersey fabric, but I've found I get a little gun shy about buying material for this nursing cover without feeling it with my own two hands. If it's too thick, poor baby will just sweat like crazy under that little layer of fabric. I've decided my favorite is one that is somewhat sheer when held up to light, but when it is right against your hand nothing is really visible. That way I know it will breathe a little better and let air flow easily past baby's cute little face without being revealing. (Hello!!! We don't want anyone to see what is going on under there... hence, the nursing cover.) The first time I made one I ordered four different fabrics. One for me and the others for gifts. Two of the four were pretty thick and one was super sheer... now whenever I'm at a fabric store, I check out the aisle for jersey and similar "spandex-y" fabric to keep in my stash for new baby gifts. I've learned the hard way that I can't always find the perfect fabric and was very sad to have to give another type of gift when the big fabric store in my area was overwhelmed by thick, warm jersey.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4526896118526684644.post-43455262288582984232013-08-10T18:29:00.000-06:002013-08-17T06:30:09.226-06:00Well then.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I got home from an all day YW activity today and was worried that Macy was giving Daddy a run for his money. Turns out they were fine! She had woken up right before I got home giving Daddy enough time to change her diaper and hand her a Twinkie. Yuck!! I hate those things and don't think they are good for our bodies and I had to just stand by and watch this little girl make quick work of that big fat treat.</div>
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I think she thought I was going to take it away, which I had thought about but figured I'd let Dad have his fun for once.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0skwo70a3Vk/Ug9rAejUq8I/AAAAAAAAFlg/5GlHWRazV7g/s1600/IMG_2618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0skwo70a3Vk/Ug9rAejUq8I/AAAAAAAAFlg/5GlHWRazV7g/s640/IMG_2618.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
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She loved it! Haha.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pf8ok6kfxqg/Ug9q-VRtuQI/AAAAAAAAFlY/_rtt30qRLkM/s1600/IMG_2621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pf8ok6kfxqg/Ug9q-VRtuQI/AAAAAAAAFlY/_rtt30qRLkM/s640/IMG_2621.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
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This is her proud little face once she had finished it off. </div>
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She seriously ate the whole thing except for the last bite she shared with Dad. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rNZBlfE8k-Q/Ug9rAXxS0OI/AAAAAAAAFlk/VCXGW2walbQ/s1600/IMG_2628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rNZBlfE8k-Q/Ug9rAXxS0OI/AAAAAAAAFlk/VCXGW2walbQ/s640/IMG_2628.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Again... yuck.</div>
The Stratton'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17356194761763123833noreply@blogger.com0