I try to create a culture of celebration in our home. For life, for the little things, for wonder and for whimsy. I try to find the beauty around us and teach my son Wyatt to find it, and appreciate it and love it as well.
We are a homeschool family, and we love it. We love the freedom it gives us to explore a topic or idea more deeply, and I like that I can adjust our schedule around Wyatt’s other needs. Wyatt has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, and his week often has therapy, doctor’s appointments, naps peppered throughout which would make a traditional school schedule difficult. He is also an asynchronous learner, and I love that I can tailor learning to where Wyatt is at that moment.
We have a house full of animals and will probably add more because we like a zoo. We have one cat, Miso, who is a rescue. She is 14 years old and my little floofy girl. We also have one leopard gecko, Luna, a pictus gecko named Harlow, a pacman frog named Freddy, and two crested geckos, Applejack and Oliver. We love all of our little friends!
My husband Billy, Wyatt, and I are all curious, creative, stubborn humans which makes for some fun times around here. We love the outdoors, except we are not made for high temps so we retreat inside when the temps start to soar. We are nature lovers through and through. We are trying to downsize our lives too, to live more simply, to buy things that last and eat real food from small local farmers. (and of course Goldfish crackers) We live seasonally and are always up for adventure. We love books and reading, and can be found at the library at least once a week!
Last year, it was wolves. This year, the stars. Every year for Wyatt’s birthday we try to find a nature inspired adventure; when he was little, they were closer to home, but as he has gotten older, we have ventured farther afield. Last year we travelled to Indiana to the Wolf Park Sanctuary, which was awesome and I thought, well, how the heck do we do anything to measure up to that trip? And then I realized, I didn’t need to. It wasn’t about that. It’s not about finding bigger and better every year – it is about finding a new adventure as a family. After that, it was easy to pick. And honestly, this trip was pretty darn fantastic in every way.
This year, we travelled to a town in Northern Michigan – Alpena, right on Lake Huron. Billy and I were excited because Lake Huron is one of the two Great Lakes we had never visited. We always visit the sunset side of Michigan, never the sunrise side. So this was a new experience for us too! I reserved a cute little AirBnB in a quiet neighborhood, that was advertised as being close to the lake and downtown and when we pulled up we were happy to see that it was just as perfect in person as it was online. A little corner house, filled with light, roomy and bright, and perfect for our little family’s little trip. We trundled in with all of our gear – so much when traveling with a kid! Games and technology and snacks and of course his gifts for his actual birthday. Cake and ice cream too, and all the things for a pancake breakfast per Wyatt’s request.
Our first night, after we had finished grocery shopping, we just settled in and were lazy bones, enjoying the comfort of the house. We ordered food from a place named The Nest, and it blew us away it was so delicious. Billy and I each ordered a different steak burger – Billy the Brie Larson, and I ordered the Classic Owl (of course). Wyatt ordered the grilled cheese from the Fledglings part of the menu, and wow, everything was amazing. Like, it was the best burger I have had in a long time, if ever. I definitely recommend this place if you are ever in Alpena, hands down. We didn’t dine in, we took it back to the house where we ate it picnic style on our picnic blanket on the living room floor. Wyatt loves a picnic, so a picnic we gave him.
We turned in early, and were up with the birds the next day, thanks to our own little early bird.
After a cup of coffee, Billy started making the big pancake and bacon breakfast for our new nine year old!
Wyatt loves Peppa Pig. Like loves Peppa Pig. There is an episode where Daddy Pig flips a pancake and a pancake lands on his head – so we were joking and wondering if Billy was going to end up with a pancake on his head, like Daddy Pig. Hence, the pancake on Billy’s head. He’s a good sport. Lol.
After filling up on pancakes and bacon, we headed out! Our first stop, downtown Alpena for a little shopping. You may not realize this, but Wyatt loves to shop. It cracks Billy and I up, because we are not shoppers. However my dad LOVES to shop, so apparently he inherited his love of shopping from his grandpa. Our first stop was Cabin Creek Coffee, where a polite pirate held the door open for us. It was so cute in there! Then we spent the next hour or so happily popping in and out of the shops. Our favorite by far was Traveling Ladders, an art/antique/home decor store. First the woman working was so friendly and welcoming, which is always nice. And the store itself was chock full of beautiful things – I could have spent all day in there marveling at all the little things. It is two floors, with the top floor being all antiques – just like the building itself is an old building. It was an old pharmacy and you can see the all the old bottles and boxes and shelves and drawers still there. It was really beautiful! I of course had to take a photo from the top floor of Wyatt and Billy way down there below! We also ended up buying a really cool antique/vintage poster for Wyatt’s room redo that is upcoming.
After exhausting all of our shopping options, we moved on! I had read about a small little island wildlife sanctuary right there in Alpena and that was our next stop. It was just the perfect size for us and it was so beautiful. It was really neat that it was a little island too. It was like this little peaceful oasis of nature, quiet, and calm right there in the city. And, we saw flying squirrels!!! We heard this weird noise that we thought was from birds, but nope, it was flying squirrels! We have never seen them in person so that was a first for us as well. They were so cute and tiny – and so loud despite their diminutive size. We also stumbled upon a geocache, and we added our names to the notebook and left a Valentines rubber stamp that I had in my purse, because I am a mom and become the holder of all things and you never know what you are going to find in my purse.
After walking around here, we were ready to go back to the house and chill out for a while. We played games, watched tv, just bummed around. We had a big night planned so it was good to get some relaxing time in there.
We hung out for a bit, then as dinner time rolled around we knew we had to get moving again for the main event of Wyatt’s birthday surprise! We had pizza followed by cake and ice cream, then bundled up for our night under the stars! Ok, not a whole night. Just a little while under the stars. Our destination – Rockport State Park! It has been designated a dark sky park, which means there is absolutely no light pollution. Being from the Detroit area, we are used to the dark being not really actually full dark at home. As we got closer and closer, the dark began to feel much closer, and the stars started popping out in the sky, little by little, and more and more. We could not have asked for a more perfect night for stargazing either. Clear, not a cloud in the sky, and a new moon, which means no moonlight either – just the light of the stars. We pulled into the lot, with Lake Huron in front of us, and Billy switched off the headlights. And then, it was pitch black. The dark just enveloped us, which I have to admit was a little unsettling at first. The woods surrounded us, the lake was in front of us, and I couldn’t see either of them. But I could feel them, if that makes sense. There was a chill in the air, and the waves were rioting below us, lapping against the shore with their slosh and retreat. The real show however was overhead. Never have Wyatt and I seen so many stars in the sky! It was like a brilliant blanket, and it seemed like there was not one available spot left in the sky for one more star. Orion was out, bold and bright. The Big Dipper and Little Dipper. It was just awe inspiring. We could have watched them all night (even though I was a bit nervous a bear would sneak up on us and eat us up) but all things must come to an end at some time. So after collecting a few rocks (Billy turned the headlights on for this) we headed back into town, leaving the stars and sky behind. As we drove to our little house for the night, The Decemberists were playing on the radio and it was just a dreamy way to end the evening as we headed back through the black. It had felt like we were the only people on earth for a little while and made us think big thoughts as we were reminded of just how wide and vast this universe really is.
This photo really does not do the sky justice – we didn’t have any other camera equipment with us besides our phone camera and Billy managed to get this one shot, which is beautiful. Imagine it though, with stars filling almost the whole frame because that is how it looked in person.
We of course had to examine our rocks before bed – and we learned that Wyatt really loves rocks. In fact so much, he wanted to take one to bed with him that night. So one rock became designated the bedroom rock and spent the night on the nightstand. It is on the nightstand here at home now, too.
And just like that, our adventure had come to an end. The next morning we packed up and headed home, stopping only for one thing – a roadside Paul Bunyan and Babe.
We had a fantastic weekend with our little guy for his birthday!
The last couple of weeks I have been binge reading children’s books – specifically, older children’s books, and by older I mean not modern. I was in a place where I wanted some comfort reads, and for me sometimes that means falling back into nostalgia and slow, gentle reads and children’s books can be perfect for that. I usually will reread old favorites from my childhood, like The Little House series, but this time, I read books that I never read as a kid growing up. I am going to have to do this again, because I really enjoyed it.
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Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink: In this heartwarming tale by the author of Caddie Woodlawn, a family of two dreamers, the father and the youngest sister, and one down-to-earth older sister, and their dog, find themselves stranded in the country en route to live with a dreaded aunt during the Great Depression. The aunt was not particularly enthusiastic about taking them in, but they had no other options. Without a car or the monetary means to fix the car or continue on their journey in another way, they take shelter for the winter in an empty summer home. They rationalize their decision by saying they will pay “rent” in the spring when they move on, after hopefully being able to raise some cash and fix the car. They of course will take good care of the cottage and not abuse it, and the oldest sister dreams of meeting the little girl whose family owns it, romanticizing her into a benevolent creature. She is worried though, being the only practical member of her family. Her dad has the spirit of a poet, and not necessarily the skills to keep a steady job, but he does spend the winter trying to win contests to raise money. This is a very sweet story with elements of found family, although it does contain some outdated language and problematic attitudes toward the Indigenous people of that area. This chapter can be used though as a teachable moment, opening discussions with children.
Kildee House by Rutherford Montgomery: I had never even heard of this book before I picked it up at a used book sale. I grabbed it because the illustrations are by Barbara Cooney, whom I love, and I am glad that I did because I loved this book. Jerome Kildee decides, very Thoreau -like, to move to the woods to live alone. He builds his little house, and lives a very quiet life (although not escaping one of quiet desperation – however now that I think about it.. maybe he did). He had previously had a career that was full of sadness and this was a respite for him. Over time he finds himself with a house full of beloved woodland animals, and a new friend, a young girl who is a force of nature herself. This is a sweet story of living in conjunction with the natural world, protecting and cherishing all lives, yet with a tinge of reality. There are some situations that include animal deaths by violence, and a sort of confusingly cavalier attitude about the hunting of cats by dogs (was this a thing?) which may be upsetting for some readers. These scenes are not graphic, more matter of a fact and are only a sentence or two, and they do include dealing with the grief of them as well.
Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson: Another beautiful story. I checked this out from the library but I am planning on adding it to our home library as I would love to return to this story again, and have it available to Wyatt as well. It is quaint and old-fashioned, and revolves around a family who are trying to find their footing again when the father comes home from war a changed man. He had been in a POW camp, and has PTSD but of course it was not called that at the time of this book’s writing. Things were not going smoothly at their home in the city, and they decide that the dad will move to the country and rehab their grandma’s old house in the woods. Then the family will visit on weekends and spend the summer there. They of course meet their neighbors who are old family friends, including Mr. Chris who is one of those characters everyone loves. Marly, the main character and whose eyes we view everything through, loves to learn about the plants and wild things in the woods, and is enchanted by this new world of everything outdoors. This is a lovely story of community, friendship, and the healing powers of nature.
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor: This is a light-hearted look into the life a Jewish family with five little girls, that are “all-of-a-kind” as they all dress the same, living in New York at the turn of the century. Their faith is not the main focus of the story which was at heart about the little adventures and mishaps the children find themselves in, but it was just a natural part of the story of this family as they observe their religious holidays. The explanations were more in depth than I have read in a children’s book and I found it to be very enlightening myself. I am not sure of the accuracy of it today but I am assuming that it was accurate for the time during which the book is set.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner: I am pretty sure I am the last person on earth to read this book. I don’t know how I missed this series as a child because I would have eaten them up. This is a very cute story of a family of children who lose their parents and are on the run, living off their own wits and hard work. They are trying to avoid being caught and sent to live with their grandfather, who they assume to be a not very nice man even though they have never met him. These children are very industrious, ingenuitive, and take wonderful care of each other as they set up housekeeping in an old boxcar together.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful week last week! Ours was quite full! Wyatt had his Lokomat therapy twice, we had an appointment to pick up his new leg braces, and Thursday evening I went to my friend’s house for a gathering of my crew. Then the weather was so nice on Friday that I went crazy spring cleaning my house. By Friday night, I was exhausted and ready to just chill out in my pajamas and drink some tea!
This week is set to be busy as well. We are entering a period of many appointments for Wyatt and myself actually, and it seems like every week someone has an appointment or two! This week though, Wyatt has an appointment at U of M hospital at 7:45 am – and it is an hour away. So we are going to stay overnight again the night before, and I will probably drive out early and find something fun to do with him before we check into the hotel. It is just so much easier than hoping we don’t run into bad weather or traffic on the way to his appointment because you never know, and we would also have to get up sooooo early if we didn’t stay overnight.
Then in a more fun overnight, we are going away for the weekend for Wyatt’s birthday! Can you all believe this kid is going to be 9? We have a few things planned for his weekend away, and then when we get home we will have parties with our families. We have such a big family and such a small house though that we need to do them all spaced out! Lol. So Wyatt gets to have multiple birthday parties which is pretty cool – and lots of cake and ice cream!
Reading:
Last week I shared that I was making my way through a pile of cozy, gentle kid’s books, and I have loved every book that I have read so far.
So far, I have finished Winter Cottage, All-of-a-Kind Family, The Boxcar Children, and Miracles on Maple Hill. I have read Little House in the Big Woods a billion times so I may not make it to that one this time around. That leaves The Railway Children and Kildee House, which I am currently working on and should finish probably today. I plan on starting a memoir as well, A Cotswold Family Life, which was a Christmas gift from Billy. I have been waiting for the right time to start it and now seems just about perfect.
Billy and I are watching Murdoch Mysteries and The Mysterious Benedict Society, which is really cute and well done. I love that Tony Hale, who played Buster in Arrested Development (my fave character) plays two roles in The Mysterious Benedict Society. He does a fantastic job in both roles! This article describes the show as whimsical and weird, which is exactly what I like best, so no wonder I love this show. I guess I should read the books? Hmmmm. Maybe next time I go on a children’s book binge.
And that is it from my corner of the world! What is going on in your neighborhood?
Hello everyone! Today is supposed to be warm and sunny but you wouldn’t know it this morning; it is absolutely freezing right now! I am all covered up with my favorite quilt, which actually was made by my friend’s grandmother, and I am savoring this warm mug of coffee.
We had a fairly slow weekend, which was nice, especially since we were in the middle of a cold snap again. Wyatt and I spent Saturday morning under blankets on the couch, reading and watching tv, while poor Billy fixed our kitchen faucet. He was listening to his audiobook though and if I know my husband, which I do, then he was actually having a pretty good morning. Coffee, a task to accomplish, working with his hands, and a book? He was doing ok.
Later though we extricated ourselves from our cozy house and individual pursuits so that Wyatt could get his hair trimmed. My niece was getting christened Sunday and Wyatt needed to look a little less like a wild heathen wolf boy. So we trundled over to Billy’s mom’s house, where Wyatt’s grandma Bug cut his hair. Billy’s mom used to be a hairstylist, and when Charleen first moved to Michigan as a young 18 year old she used to work in a wig shop, making and styling wigs – including those for the Motown singers of the time. She worked there even until her boys were born, and she said she used to have Billy’s oldest brother, George, with her at the shop when he was a baby.
Sunday morning was the big day for little tiny bebe, who is no longer little tiny bebe, as she will be a whole year old in March! She looked so adorable, all decked out in her christening gown, which was actually mine when I was a baby! I wore it, my brother wore it, Mermaid Girl wore it, and now little nugget wore it. I love that so much. My mom took such good care of it over the years, you would never know that it was *cough cough* years old. It was just as pristine as ever. Little nugget looked so sweet, and she did amazing through the entire ceremony and at the party after. Although, she did get a little tuckered out…
Then back to Devin’s for a little party! Chrissy’s sister made these gorgeous cupcakes which were just as delicious as they looked. She used to make wedding cakes but no longer does that. She is a travel nurse and just doesn’t have the time anymore, although she definitely still has the skills.
The rest of the week has been filled with the normal everyday of life. School, work, appointments, with a little fun thrown in there as well. Painting, Billy making tiny mushrooms, building and playing, and special cheesecake cupcakes from our favorite pizza place.
And that is it from me this morning! I hope that you are all having a wonderful week!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello all! I have had a quiet few weeks, and I am easing back into the online world slowly. I am easing back into reading as well. I spent some time just reflecting and playing games and just chilling with my family and it was really a nice break. I am still pretty entrenched in cozy and gentle, and that even has extended to my reading. I read Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink, and after I finished it, I decided I wasn’t ready to leave the world of old, classic children’s books. So I went to the library and checked out a few, and added them to a few that I already own, and now I feel set up for a short while at least.
I just read Winter Cottage, which was delightful and I actually bought, and have started on Miracles on Maple Hill which I already adore as well – although there was a scene with mice that bothered me just as much as it bothered Marly, the main character.
The copy of Miracles on Maple Hill that I checked out is copyrighted 1956. I have been going to this same library my whole life, and my mom as well, since she was a little girl. I realized that my mom could have very well checked this book out and read it, the very same copy, when it was brand new. I asked her but she couldn’t remember if she had or not, but she said it was pretty likely, since she has been a big reader from childhood as well.
Right now these books are just for me, not yet for read aloud with Wyatt, and they are snuggly and comforting, and low stakes.
Billy and I have been watching Murdoch Mysteries, and The Mysterious Benedict Society, which is so neat! We love it. We also finished up Tales from the Green Valley. We love the BBC Farm shows with Ruth Goodman, Peter Ginn, and Alex Langlands, and Tales from the Green Valley is the first one of these and we finally were able to find it and watch it.
We also watched Amelie, one of my very favorite movies of all time.
And that is it from me today. How are you all doing?
Hello! So, Lisa and I were thinking about doing a month of our favorites – lists of favorite movies, books, etc, whatever we love – and then also watching and reviewing some of our favorite movies. Then, I had to take an unexpected break from blogging and now things are all a little up in the air! However, I am going to post a linky at the top and if anyone wants to participate in posting about their favorite anything, feel free to link up with us!
I started with watching one of my all time favorite movies, Amelie, starring Audrey Tautou.
Miramax summarizes this movie as:
A painfully shy waitress working at a tiny Paris cafe, Amelie makes a surprising discovery and sees her life drastically changed for the better. From then on, Amelie dedicates herself to helping others find happiness in the most delightfully unexpected ways. But will she have the courage to do for herself what she has done for others?
Amelie is a shy, introverted, daydreamer. Her parents were cold, unapproachable, and her imagination sustained her then, and it sustains her into her adulthood. She keeps to herself, the pretty girl from the fourth floor, when one day, upon hearing of the death of Lady Diana, she makes a discovery in her bathroom. Behind a tile, she finds a small tin filled with a young boy’s treasures. She resolves to herself that she will find the person it used to belong to, now forty years later, and if he is happy, then she will continue to do things to make others happy.
She is a bit of an imp, and does not go about her tasks straightforward. Instead, there is always a “strategem” involved, a plan, some of them very clever. As she goes about her new mission, her world starts to expand, and she even falls in love.. and not even that goes as you may expect. This is no formulaic, run of the mill, type romance.
Amelie is a bit of a mischief, an imp, despite her shy nature. It is one of the things I love about her character; she is not a typical “shy” movie character in all ways. She is unexpected.
And she has great style, I love all of her outfits. Just had to throw that in there.
This movie cinematically is beautiful. The colors are so saturated and rich, the music is perfect. And some of the scenes are so well thought out that they give me chills. There is one scene in particular near the end of the movie, where Amelie is baking in her kitchen, angry at herself, yet is daydreaming of a peaceful cozy scene, and there is a shift in the scene and well, you will have to see it. Or if you don’t want to watch the movie, you can see the scene here. Just know, there are huge spoilers- like huge, reveal the whole end of the movie spoilers!
Those beads.
This is one of those movies where when it ends, you just sigh, loudly and dramatically, one of those full body sighs, at how lovely it all was. Or, at least I do.
To say I love this movie would be an understatement. I used to play this soundtrack on repeat, as I cleaned or baked or wrote. One year I went as Amelie for Halloween. We are still inspired by this movie – after watching this movie on Saturday night, I mentioned to Billy on Sunday that roast chicken for dinner sounded delicious. There had been a roasted chicken in the movie, you see, and while it wasn’t important, not really, it kind of was. Well, my husband being my husband, made me a roasted chicken that night for dinner.
This is a movie for dreamers, and I can’t recommend it enough.
Hello everyone! I recently took a short break from here, and from a lot of things actually, for a little self care. The last year was pretty crazy, and I had put off some important things for myself and it sort of reached a head, forcing me to take care of it. I struggle with anxiety, a lot, and the last year I had tried different medications, none of which worked, and I sort of gave up. Unfortunately, my body and mental health still needed something, and therapy only was not working. It reached a point where I was constantly in a state of anxiety or panic; and I finally approached my doctor about trying something different, again. After two weeks of adjusting to this new medicine, I am feeling a bit better. I still have a ways to go, but everyday I see a little more progress in the right direction.
I feel it is important to talk about these things. Mental health gets swept under the rug, or dismissed by others as you should just be able to suck it up and move on, and sometimes that really is not possible and you need help. My husband read this and told me about it when I was feeling bad about having to take medication – “Sometimes you need a crutch to hold you up so you can walk”. And that is so true. I always feel slightly like I have failed when I can’t control my intrusive thoughts or panic, and I have to give myself some more grace.
I have spent the last two weeks doing a lot of thinking. I didn’t do much on Instagram, I didn’t read, I wasn’t blogging. I kept the amount of input to a minimum – and wow, do I consume a lot of other input normally. When did I have time to slow down and think, between all I was taking in and also what I do daily in my home, in terms of care for Wyatt, etc. I really didn’t. So that is one thing I am going to change – taking more time for me. I sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Even with blogging, I hurry through my posts in the morning while Wyatt is eating breakfast, trying to carve out a small bit of time for me. I am doing that right now, but I am trying not to hurry through today. I don’t need to. We homeschool, our schedule is controlled by me and if we start later, we start later. Nothing bad will happen.
The last two weeks, we also spent around the house. The first week of my new meds, I was so tired. Like for two days all I did was sleep. Thank goodness I started on a weekend! Then, the following Monday, Billy’s dad was rushed to the hospital for a stroke. It turned out much better than it could have, and it was a TIA but it was a very scary week as they put out different health issues that kept popping up while he was in the hospital. He is out and doing well now.
So we have been taking it slow.
Playing with all of our little animals, including checking on our new fish, Spot. (We started with two, sadly one did not make it)
We had a few warm sunny days, and by then, I was feeling well enough to get out more with kiddo.
Sunday, we decorated for Valentine’s Day, and Billy made us a wonderful dinner (inspired by one of my favorite movies, Amelie, which I am talking about here on Thursday)
It has been a two weeks of healing and I am hoping to keep this feeling of slowing down and letting go and soaking up more moments.
I hope wherever you are that you are doing well. Take care my friends. Be gentle with yourselves. And thank you to everyone who commented, messaged, and emailed me that you were thinking about me, praying for me, and were checking on me. I appreciated all of your kind words.
It’s been a rough week – I wasn’t feeling very well and I am starting to feel a little better. I have mentioned in the past that I struggle with anxiety and this week was very very bad for me. I managed but I didn’t have much left in me for extra things, like blogging. I feel terrible that I couldn’t participate in mine and Lisa’s Jane Austen January, and left Lisa hanging but she is a good friend – and actually helped me through the week with lots of chats online and prayer.
So, let’s focus on the good things that did happen. We will throw it back all the way to last Friday, when it snowed like crazy here!
We took Wyatt for a sled ride through the woods which was super fun. We all enjoyed being outside again, even though we were very cold! Wyatt also enjoyed throwing himself off the sled into the snow which was hilarious. He was red cheeked and happy to get that hot chocolate afterwards!
Then that Sunday, we hopped over to the zoo early in the morning to see the penguins! We have been studying them all month so it was a fun field trip out to the Penguinarium.
We saw king penguins, rockhoppers, chinstraps, and gentoo all bopping about the penguinarium. We loved watching the chinstraps playing in the bubbles, and then a king walked right by us! It was so darn cute!
And finally on Wednesday, we were able to get little Oliver! Wyatt and I picked him up at our local FedEx when he arrived as an overnight delivery. He couldn’t be delivered to the house because of the weather so he was a pickup but that was ok. He is so cute and tiny and hilarious. He is also very curious and friendly, and a bit of a goof. He and Applejack share a giant tank, that is separated by plexiglass in the middle. Well, the first night we had him I woke in the morning to find him on Applejack’s side! She was so confused, and looking out of her little coconut house, like who is this little interloper trespassing! So Billy and I had to go through and find any spot that he may have used to get over there and shore it up to prevent anymore visits! I don’t know how Applejack would react if he did it again, and she is full grown while he can perch on the tip of my finger.
We love him (or her!) and are so glad that he is finally here.
I also sold my first unit study you guys! Someone purchased my Monet in Winter Unit Study and I am so excited! My first sale! I am going to be working on my Matisse one this month – they take me a long time as I practice them with Wyatt first, but hopefully it will be online and in my Etsy store by March. We will see though, we have a lot of appointments between now and then, and when it gets done, I guess it gets done.
If you know any homeschoolers or just anyone with children who may want to do some fun Monet inspired activities, here is the link to my store! I have a Frida Kahlo one up too, as well as some other fun things.
We have been playing board games like crazy around here this winter. Wyatt loves board games and got so many fun new ones for Christmas. We were also lucky enough to receive a free board game from Storytime Learning, that is called Story Time Backgammon. We have not played it yet, but we hope to try it out tomorrow together! It looks super fun, with pirates and vikings and a whole picture book of stories. It is really neat!
One game that gets played a lot is Pigs on Trampolines. It cracks us up, and Billy and I really get into it, bouncing those little pigs off the trampolines. Wyatt likes to talk a lot and hoard the pigs and laughs more than bounces but I think that is because Billy and I are going nutso bouncing them around.
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 