Author: Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

/ Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life / 5 Comments

Hi all!! Happy belated Easter if you celebrate and Happy Earth Day! I hope you all had a great weekend! Friday we had dinner at my brother’s house where we had a blast, hanging out and chatting while our kids were just being kids around us, the way it should be. Then yesterday we took a family hike by the lake, spotted lots of water birds, and then went for Easter dinner at my cousin’s house. She went out of her way to make a fun Easter for my son and niece. Her kids are grown, but my cousin put Easter Eggs all over the yard for the kids to find, and Wyatt loved it! My niece wasn’t able to make it, so Wyatt got all the treasures! It was a great weekend!

I am finally feeling myself. All last week I was a bit a run down and gross, my allergies were acting up like crazy, and I just wasn’t me. I had no get up and go, and to top it off, I was in a bit of a reading slump. I finally settled in with the perfect book though, and it is one one of my favorite reads so far this year. So from the slump I emerged with a new book to rave over!

Read Last Week:

In my slump, I picked this book up off of my bedside pile, and was immediately drawn into this micro world. This little books is a calm, gentle, beautiful read, one that speaks of perseverance and appreciating life. I completely loved it. Look for post hopefully this week!

Reading This Week:

I have been horrible about following my reading plans this month. Things just aren’t sticking. This week I am going to read my book club book Bohemian for sure, and then I’m going to read Bonavere Howl. Here’s to hoping I can stick to my plan!

Posted Last Week:

Earth Day Reads

A Poem for Everyone

How about you guys? Did you have a nice weekend? What’s going on in your neighborhood? Any plans for Earth Day?

Earth Day Reads

/ Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life / 7 Comments

We are all about nature at our house. We love to be in it, we love to celebrate it, we love to read about it. It is very important to me that Wyatt loves the earth and the outdoors as much as we do, and by exposing him to it through being outside, cherishing all our creatures great and small, and learning by reading as well, we can nourish that ingrained sense of love toward our world and all of its inhabitants. I have a few books that I have put aside just for Earth Day next week – some are old favorites, some are new to us. And here they are, one for each day next week and then a bonus one for fun!

The Earth Book – This one has been in rotation here for a while! Wyatt loves it, so do I. It’s a quick easy read, and has great colorful illustrations.

Me… Jane– This is a great read for kids, to introduce them to Jane Goodall- and to show them that a dream you have as a kid can become reality! We read this one together surrounded by every monkey toy that Wyatt has.

Blackout – This one is a favorite of mine. It is about a citywide blackout that causes families to leave their technology behind and venture out into the community. I love it to pieces and is a good book to use to talk about energy conservation and time without tech.

Fancy Nancy Every Day is Earth Day – It is important to me to make Wyatt aware that our choices for a better planet are an every day thing, not just on earth day!

Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration – I thought this was a cute look at a few things kids can do to participate in keeping our planet alive and healthy.

It’s Earth Day! – I love Mercer Mayer! Little Critter was a favorite of mine as a kid and I can’t wait to read this one with Wyatt. This is a new one to both of us!

The Lorax – No list about Earth Day books would be complete without the Lorax…I think we might make some truffula trees even!

Bug Hotel – My son loves bugs. We bought a bug house last year but this year I want to really expand on it and do a few other things as well.

And a few books for you!

Two books that I love, and one that is on my list! Meadowland and John Lewis Stempel started a whole new way of how I look at the world around me. The Nature Fix took that a few more steps. I highly recommend them both. And Common Ground just intrigues me! I have it on hold at the library and it’s a waiting game.. (If you like nature narratives I read about one a month, check back for more!)

What about you? Do you have any good earth day/environmental reading suggestions? I would love to hear them!

A Poem for Everyone

/ Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life / 6 Comments

I fell in love with poetry on the laps of my mom and dad, snuggled up close, as they sang nursery rhymes to me, and then later on, Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky and yes, Dr. Seuss too. Poems like Ickle Me Pickle Me Tickle Me Too tripped across the room, enchanting me with their rhythms and of course humor; my dad read The Owl and the Pussycat to me every single night before bed. And who, old or young, doesn’t love Listen to the Musn’ts. Even after my parents stopped reading Silverstein to me, my cousin and I used to spend family holidays curled up in a corner, reading Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic together, and we still talk about these poems sometimes.

As I got older, I didn’t read as much poetry anymore. Then my senior year of high school I took an Advanced English class where we spent a whole semester on poetry, and I fell in love all over again. I was introduced to Emily Dickinson, Edward Arlington Robinson, T.S. Eliot, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Dorothy Parker, who I discovered on my own that year. I wanted to be Dorothy Parker, with her sharp. clever wit. I wanted to be a big time journalist, and sit at the Algonquin Round Table. (Ok, I still want to do that) I started smoking – yeah, I started smoking not due to peer pressure or anything, but because all my favorite writers and authors did it- and she even influences me a bit now. A craft cocktail bar opened up in Detroit about 8 or so years ago, and what did I order? A whiskey sour, like my old idol Dorothy Parker. I no longer smoke, but I do still enjoy a whiskey sour every now and again.

Last Friday my husband, Wyatt, and I stumbled into an art show celebrating the beauty of the spoken and written word, titled Pose and Poetry. For the entire month of April, works of art inspired by poems are on display, as well as a night of open mic spoken word. We had attended a Free Spirit Fair in the same building, and saw the exhibit going on, and decided to check it out too. I am so glad that we did. I loved it. There was this beautiful, delicate piece of artwork, a sculpture of glass shaped into a little nest, with strips of Dickinson poems tucked throughout. It was exquisite and lovely and I adored it. I can’t stop thinking about it really. Dickinson is a favorite of mine, and this piece was really a gorgeous tribute to her work.

Patrons were encouraged to participate as well, by writing a line from a favorite poem and sticking it to the window. I of course had to do this too. The problem was, which of my favorites would I leave a line from? Degrees of Grey in Phillipsburg flitted through my mind, and I considered Hope is the thing with feathers by Dickinson but she was already so beautifully represented. But in the end there was no other poem I could have chosen besides The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, my very favorite of them all.

These days I read a lot of Mary Oliver and Wendell Berry; different poets affect us at different points in our lives, and right now, Oliver and Berry hit me where I am. I think there is a poet or two out there for all of us, even in some of us. Or maybe just a singular poem that calls to us, even just a line that sings to our soul. What do you think? Is there a poet or poem that you love? Feel free to drop a line in the comments! I would love to read who or what speaks to you.

My Sunday-Monday Post

/ Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life / 21 Comments
sunday post It's Monday! What Are You Reading
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My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz 

 

Hi everyone!! My week was a bit hectic, playing catch up from spring break plus some family things going on as well. This weekend though we took a walk in the woods and saw so many signs of spring, including a little frog we spotted that was peeping out at us. We also celebrated my niece’s birthday today. She is such a little glamour girl already at two, walking around with her toy phone and toy lipstick, adorned in her sparkly shiny necklace and bracelet. Plus, there was cannoli cake!

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Read:

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I still didn’t end up reading Finale! I am not as great at reading on my Kindle although I am trying to be better about it, for many reasons. However, I did read this review book and I couldn’t stop reading it! I picked it up one afternoon and had it finished by the next day, which four years ago wasn’t a big deal, but now is a huge sign I loved a book. Review coming soon!

Reading This Week:

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I will probably be reading from these three over this week. I can’t quite land on a book fully it seems lately!

Posted Last Week:

Spring Break Staycation

Hello April!

Watching:

Not too much. We spent the week running about and by the time evening rolled around we were wiped out! When we did have a second to take a break and watch tv, we just watched whatever was on HGTV.

So what about you guys? What all is going on in your neighborhood?

Spring Break Staycation

/ Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life / 3 Comments

Last week was my son’s spring break from preschool, and for the first time in a very long time, Wyatt and I found ourselves looking at a week that didn’t have any doctor’s appointments, therapy (usually three times a week), school, or even work for me, as my boss (and cousin lol) was on a family trip for their spring break. I had planned at first to work on some potty training for my little CP warrior since we had all week to do it, uninterrupted. But, this kid works so hard, you guys. So hard all the time. So, I changed my mind. I was taking advantage of this wonderful gift of time, and letting Wyatt just be a kid.

We spent a lot of time outside – the weather was amazing, spring making its way to the Mitten state, finally! We took lots of walks, had picnics in the yard, ate lots of ice cream, practiced pedaling on the tricycle, and just lots of “play momma, play”.

We also went on a “zoofari” together. We picked three animals to go find at the zoo and then went and found them! He picked the zebra and giraffe, I picked the otters, one of my favorites – although Wyatt picked my other favorite, the zebras! He loves the giraffes, and I found out last night that his cousin does too!

We planted a few seeds for our garden – moon and star watermelon, cinnamon basil, and lettuce. We were also really excited to find a new friend, a neighborhood groundhog that we have named Stan. He lives under these steps of a church, and is always just hanging out on his porch. We would go check on him everyday, of course hanging back to not disturb him or interfere with him.

I even managed to get some adult time in! I had book club with my buddies, and then Billy and I reconnected with a friend who we were so close with for years and years, and then kind of fell out of touch for a bit. We met for dinner and it was like time had never passed since our last visit together.

It was a very full and wonderful week, full of lots of good times, laughter, friends, and just all those moments that make up life, everyday.

 

Hello April!

/ Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life / 5 Comments

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Hello April!

I always like to start the month by thinking ahead to what this month might bring, and what we might do. It is the month of the pink moon, named because of the pink phlox that blooms in April. April’s full moon also has a few different names, but I really like the thought of a pink moon – which might be slightly influenced by Nick Drake’s song, which really is so beautiful.

Spring is definitely here, although we might have some snow still this month yet! The weather has been so gorgeous, we were able to get outside and play for a bit. We have plans for our garden, we are even planting a cherry tree in our backyard and I can’t wait! We are also working on sprucing up our porch so we can do some porch sitting – in fact, I might try to steal a few minutes with some coffee out there today, if I get the chance. Maybe at naptime I will sneak out and just sit and listen to the breeze rustle the branches which are just now budding, the birds chirping away, my woodpecker couple who like to hang out in front. I like to hear their knocking for some reason – it feels comfortable in a way I can’t describe.

Since the 22nd is Earth Day, we want to try to make some more lifestyle changes, swaps that we can make, different things we can do to do our part in protecting and saving and reviving this planet we all share. We have done some small things already, like swapping to shampoo bars and regular bar soap, cutting down on our plastic in the shower. We have a reusable straw for the kiddo that we take with us when we go out, and I have started carrying our own silverware in case we we need it as well. I have some ideas that I am going to work on and I am looking forward to our new changes! I will be sharing our how they work out with all of you, and I would love to hear different things that you do too!

Easter is this month as well – our family celebrates but not like we do other “big” holidays. Usually something small and easy, and really for the kids to see their grandparents more than anything. I am looking forward to dying Easter Eggs with Wyatt this year, I think he is really going to enjoy it!

This month is about spring and cleaning and getting outside planting and just enjoying the nice weather for as long as we can. And is there anything better than a nap with the windows open, a just cool enough breeze drifting over you, as you drift off? Or a sleep after a long day outside? I know it is one of my favorite things!

My Sunday-Monday Post!

/ Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life / 23 Comments

 

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My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz 

Last week was my son’s spring break, and despite my efforts, it was rare I made it to my laptop or had time to read. My husband worked quite a bit as well, so it was mostly me and my little buddy everyday. We actually had a blast – the weather was wonderful, and we were outside or hanging out with friends most of the time. I also had book club on Thursday at my house, which was a MUCH needed mom break. I hope to share some of our humble staycation adventures and book club shenanigans this week!

Read Last Week/Reading This Week..

I made little starts on two books..

 

I am super excited to read Finale in the Caraval series. I was able to download it and begin reading but like I said, I just didn’t have a lot of time. And I grabbed The Witch of Willow Hall when Wyatt and I went to get library books for him last week and I started reading that as well – it is really good so far! Since I only really started these books, I am still reading them this week. We resume our normal schedule and routine starting tomorrow, and while I have to play some catch up around the house and on some projects I will hopefully have more reading time.

Posted Last Week:

I figured I wouldn’t have a lot of blogging time so I prepped last Sunday, in a rare flash of organization! I hope to get a few new posts up this week too.

Book Review: Girl Most Likely

What Wyatt’s Reading: March Edition

Watching:

Criminal Minds. Home Town, really not too much honestly

 

How about you? What is happening in your world right now?