Author: Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life

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!

Family Day Out at The Henry Ford Museum

On October 21, 2022October 21, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn day in the life, Detroit, Michigan15 Comments

On Monday, Billy surprised Wyatt and I by taking a vacation day! We considered going to Greenfield Village but it was cold and then started to rain so we switched plans and went to the museum instead. Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum are two parts of the same museum and we haven’t been to the actual museum in quite a long time. It was definitely time to go back. And they have a special exhibit right now, the Heroes and Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume exhibit!

We loved it. These costumes designers are so talented, with billowing dresses, perfectly tailored suits, and all the various whimsical fairy tale touches.

Billy and I couldn’t believe how tiny these actors and actresses must be to fit these wee little outfits!

We all had favorites:

Ok so I had two favorites. The costume that Julie Andrews wore as Mary Poppins, and Keira Knightley’s Sugar Plum Fairy gown. Wyatt loved the Captain Jack Sparrow costume, and Billy loved Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent dress.

After goggling over the costumes we moved on to the rest of the museum.

One of my favorite permanent exhibits is the Your Place in Time exhibit. It takes you through the different generations and highlights the different technologies and pop culture of the day. The 80s bedroom was so me. I even listened to Depeche Mode and had a moody James Dean poster. Wyatt is such a music kid – he enjoyed listening to the music of the 50s and 60s, especially The Beatles. And while I might be a Gen Xer, I think it would be really cool to live in the hippie geodesic dome. (not to be confused with the Buckminister Fuller Dymaxion House that is there which is also super cool)

I always have to go visit the William Hopson sign too. His story is so crazy, and romantic to me. Lol. He was also a bit of a looker. He has a page on the Smithsonian site as well – he was a well known and beloved pilot in his day.

Billy and Wyatt were more excited about the trains and cars – and there are so so many. Seriously. I did take this photo of the stagecoach trailer that belonged to the Lindberghs. Anne wrote her novel The Steep Ascent in it!

And in case you have wondered where certain items from history end up, check museums. They are probably there. The Henry Ford has a sort of macabre collection of items within its walls – including the car Kennedy was in that fateful day in Dallas, and also the car Reagan was in the day he was shot as well. It is strange and eerie and sad to view the Kennedy car; I wasn’t alive at the time but I have seen the footage numerous times and can picture Jackie trying to climb out the back very clearly, and it brings that day to life for me, as learning about history should, even the sad and tragic moments. The Henry Ford also has the chair Lincoln was assassinated in, and Edison’s last breath. We didn’t do the whole museum this time but we will go back. We use our membership pretty heavily, and my favorite thing about a membership is that you don’t feel you need to get everything done in one day.

And on that note, we were ready to head home, one of us with a little souvenir.

What Wyatt’s Reading: Halloween Edition

On October 20, 2022October 20, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review7 Comments

Wyatt and I have been hitting the library hard this month, checking out and returning books, for both school and pleasure reading. It is not unusual for us to leave with 25 books at a time, which seems absurd but we need them! We really do….

What We Have Read So Far:

How to Haunt a House was a cute little book about little ghosts in ghost school, learning how to haunt a house. It was a non-scary Halloween story and pretty silly too.

Halloween is Coming explores the excitement that builds before the holiday. We liked it because of the disability representation, and because it was fun autumn read.

No Such Thing and There’s a Ghost in this House were very similar – both have a little girl main character who exclaim there is either no such thing as ghosts, or that they have never seen a ghost in their supposedly haunted house. In No Such Thing, little readers can have fun spotting the ghosts that the little girl doesn’t see, and in There’s a Ghost there are see through pages that make the ghosts appear on the pages. Both are really well done and fun, and I love the art in both. There’s a Ghost in this House is a bit creepier than No Such Thing.

Wyatt absolutely loved Inside a House that is Haunted, Trick or Treat Crankenstein, and A Tiger Called Tomas. These three were his favorites besides the above ghost books – all of the ghost books. Inside a House that is Haunted is a progressive, repetitive story like There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, with picture clues as well. Wyatt loved this one and I did too, because Wyatt had so much inadvertent speech practice with it. Trick or Treat Crankenstein is about a little boy who was so excited for Halloween only to have the day not go as he had wished. Wyatt was loving this story. And A Tiger Called Tomas was adorable – I loved the art, and this story of a boy who is shy and unsure. His Halloween costume lends him some confidence with its anonymity, and he learns that not only do people still know who he is, but that they like him.

Finally Stumpkin and Samurai Scarecrow. Stumpkin was sort of sad for me – this poor little pumpkin who is waiting and waiting to get picked and no one picks him. But it does have a happy ending! It was very sweet. Samurai Scarecrow is a cute little sibling Halloween story. Yukio is so excited for Halloween, but he gets tired of his little sister Kashi following him around and copying him all he time. He gets annoyed with her and lets her know it. Then feels bad about it. In the end though they make up but how it happens is a pretty big surprise!

On Our Shelf Waiting To Be Read:

There is still time before Halloween so we are going to keep on reading! We have some waiting on the shelf to be read which we will get to soon – and maybe a few more after these even!

I would love to hear your Halloween picture book favorites!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On October 19, 2022October 19, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

Today’s brew of the day is Cafe Bustelo. It apparently has more caffeine than I am used to in my coffee. So if I get a bit off topic and rambly today, blame the Bustelo!

This past weekend Billy went camping and Wyatt and I had a quiet weekend at home. Which was nice, we watched movies and read books and took some walks including one along the riverfront. When Billy got home though, he seemed to bring chaos with him (thank you Lisa for this description lol). He hadn’t been home for an hour when the hose on the washing machine broke, flooding that area of the basement. Then about 20 minutes later, we heard a loud bang from outside somewhere near and then the power went out! A transformer blew and took out our neighborhood’s electricity. I had to race around putting towels on all of the gecko tanks to try and trap the heat in and was stressing about what we would do if the power was out for a long time since it is so cold right now. However, our city manufactures its own electricity and they had a team out to fix it right away. They are usually quick like that if an outage occurs but it made me think about getting a generator! The three of us and the cats could always vacate to my mom’s house but I don’t see us lugging the five lizards and their setups out with us too! Lol. Billy ran up to the store and bought a replacement hose and fixed the washer so that is all taken care of as well.

I listen to a lot of podcasts and watch a few YouTubers that I really like and want to support, even in a tiny way. So, I budget a few dollars a month for Patreon and choose a few to subscribe to for a while. Recently I switched them up and started being a patron of The Night Owl Podcast, and Alexandra Roselyn, a booktuber who always picks the best middle grade reads. I love to read middle grade, as a preview of books for Wyatt but also just because. She reads a lot of other genres as well, but I mainly started following her for the MG content. Anyway, she just launched a Patreon and she has put so much thought into it! It is designed with a whole secret society theme, and even the most affordable tier has a ton to offer, with two book clubs, liveshows, printables, a discord (whatever that is, can someone please explain to this Gen Xer? ) , and just a bunch of goodness. All for $3. I am sort of excited about this. She has set it up like a little story, a “club” name, it is just really cute. I am not sure if the middle grade book is designed for parents/educators because her YouTube seems to target that demographic, or if it is for actual kids, but I will be participating in the Adult Cozy Reads book club.

So I have that going on. And just in time for tea season! I have been stocking up on teas, from our favorite indulgences to our normal everyday tea. In our case, that is Red Rose tea, my favorite. I am so distressed though that the little ceramic figurines are no longer included in every box! You can still get them by ordering tea online from them but it makes me sad. For me, it was the adult equivalent of fishing the toy out of the cereal box. Apparently not everyone appreciated the little ceramic figurines so they moved it to this situation, but…it’s the end of an era I guess.

I decided to switch up some artwork this past week as well. I found a box of frames in our basement that I had forgotten about, left over from an old photography show I did, and put them to use! I framed my grandfather’s library card, my grandfather’s swim team picture (he is bottom row, second from left), and a painting Wyatt did of a butterfly. I also framed my grandfather’s report card but I gave that to my brother as a gift.

Edited to add: About a year ago I started listening to a podcast called Your Own Backyard produced and written by Chris Lambert, an investigative journalist. The podcast focused on the disappearance of Kristin Smart, who went missing after a party in 1996. Lambert’s work on the podcast and investigative abilities renewed interest in her case, and also produced evidence and witnesses. The energy of this podcast kept the case moving and yesterday, Smart’s family received justice after 26 long years – Paul Flores was convicted of Kristin’s murder. The podcast is very sensitive, compassionate, and well thought out, without the sensationalism that comes with some true crime podcasts. I hope that today Smart’s family has some sense of closure, and I hope that they continue to get answers.

And that is about all I have this morning! I am going to go read a few blogs, and drink my coffee and eat my apple pie for breakfast before starting our morning for real. I hope you all have a lovely day!

Field Trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts

On October 18, 2022October 18, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Detroit, family friendly, homeschooling, Michigan15 Comments

Circumstances have aligned that are going to make going places and doing things much more accessible for us. First, the wheelchair! Wyatt is working on walking but just doesn’t have the stamina or endurance to go very far, so we need the wheelchair until he gets there. And we have one now and life is easier! Second, the pandemic has reached a point where I feel comfortable taking Wyatt into places like museums again. We still wear masks but things are better for us around here. So I was super excited to take Wyatt to the museum!

We rolled up early in the morning., bright and early at 9 when they open. We are get up and go people, we are up early anyway (thanks to early bird boy) and I also like how empty a place is that early so, there we were. The only other people there seemed to be the people going to the Van Gogh exhibit (which I need to get to before it leaves) so we sort of had the rest of the museum to ourselves for quite a while. My mom went with us, as did Billy since he had the day off to go camping. (he headed out after our field trip). We had a great time.

First up were the Diego Rivera murals, the whole point to our trip. Wyatt has been learning about Diego River in art and I was really excited to be able to show him some actual, in person, works of Rivera. He could not believe how huge they were. They are pretty awe inspiring.

After we spent some time here, we moved on to the ofrendas, a special exhibit right now. I wanted all of us to see it, as this month Wyatt and I are focusing on all Hispanic artists this month and I also have some lessons about Dia de los Muertos as well coming up. My mom, Billy, and I were very moved by these personal and emotional creations. They were very elaborate and thoughtful. I was not comfortable taking photos of them for obvious reasons, but there were some parts I did feel it was ok to do so. These ofrendas were intended for public viewing to educate but also still were personal to the artist’s family, so it was tricky.

After soaking in the ofrendas, we wandered around the rest of of that floor. Wyatt was more excited about using his wheelchair than he was about the art and we had to keep him in check – I was slightly anxious my exuberant child was going to knock over a Roman bust or something.

Just a few more, I promise.

We didn’t explore the whole museum this time – I figured that this was enough for this visit and we can back and see the rest later. I also wanted to visit the gift shop before we left to look for Frida, Rivera, or Day of the Dead stuff. I could have poked around in there all day but my guys were getting restless.

The DIA offers a free educator pass to homeschool families which is pretty cool! I applied in September and received mine a few days later. I am looking forward to seeing what they offer!

Our first wheelchair field trip adventure was a success and I am looking forward to our future adventures!

Homeschool Journey: Diego Rivera, Texas and a field trip

On October 17, 2022October 17, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized13 Comments

It was a great week! As it is Hispanic Heritage month, I thought it would be a great time to study a few Mexican artists, and we kicked it off with Diego Rivera. I knew a little about him previously, but not a whole lot. I was fascinated to learn that he was commissioned by his country’s government to complete a series of murals that was intended to “inspire and reunify the country after the horror of the revolution” (Diego-rivera.net). In our study, I focused on emphasizing to Wyatt how Rivera was an artist of and for the people, and depicted scenes from everyday life, workers and vendors and flower sellers.

For our art project, I thought it would be fun to recreate a version of one of Rivera’s flower seller paintings. I drew and cut out pieces of the actual seller for Wyatt to place and glue to create the picture, and had him cut out his version of the flowers. Then he went back and added in details with crayon. I was actually pretty impressed with how his flower stems turned out, honestly.

In Social Studies, we turned our attention to Texas- this state is so huge and has so much history, culture, biodiversity, just really so much in general, that frankly there was no way we could even really come close to even talking about it all. So, we stuck to the basics like the state flower, tree, etc. I wasn’t happy with what we learned but we can do a deep dive another time.

We of course also worked on the basics – spelling, reading, math, etc but I don’t share too much about that on here, except for our language arts projects. And this week the book we needed never came in! Since he does so much other reading during the week I didn’t worry about it and we will resume that part of school this week.

And, we went on a field trip! However, I am going to do a whole post about it tomorrow. Sorry, that was a bit cheeky of me probably to mention it and then not talk about it but there is so much to share.

What We Used:

This section contains Amazon Affiliate links. In addition to the curriculum I am creating for him, we also use curriculum from The Good and the Beautiful, The Waldock Way, and Blossom and Root for phonics, reading, science, and social studies.

L is for Lone Star || Diego Rivera His World and Ours

Overall, this was a good week. Not a ton of “extra” stuff but we did have that field trip!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On October 16, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized35 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hey all! The weather here has gotten downright cold at night – and definitely chilly during the day – and I am loving it! Billy went camping over the weekend, so I am not sure he did, but I was all tucked up in our cozy bed with my books and Midsomer Murders and tea and feeling pretty relaxed.

Read Last Week:

I enjoyed both of these reads! A Haunted History of Invisible Women made me think about ghost stories a little differently, and Book of Night kept me guessing! I really liked it. Billy has wanted me to read it for months now and I finally see why! I’m excited for him to get home today so we can talk about it.

Reading This Week:

I have already started These Fleeting Shadows and I have been sucked in. I am so curious and I want to know what the secret to this house is! And I am looking forward to The Raven Spell – I really loved the previous series by Luanne G. Smith so I am anticipating I will like this one as well.

Posted Last Week:

A Cute Little Cottagecore Autumn Halloween

Spooky Season Cinema: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Spooky, Creepy, Dark and Twisty: My October Podcast Playlist 2022 Edition

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

10 on the 10th – Birthdays

Recipes We Tried:

(I’m going to include this whenever we find some favorites online – because I hope that you all will share some back lol)

Italian Sausage Orzo – We loved this. Super fast, super tasty, minimal ingredients and dishes

Watching and Listening:

We started a new show called Ghosts. It is an American sitcom, so very different for us lol, but we love it. It is on CBS, and it just makes us laugh. It is based off of a UK show of the same name so we are going to see if we can find that version too. We are also watching Edwardian Farm for the third or fourth time. I love all of them but Edwardian is my favorite. And..for spooky season we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas. Wyatt and I also watched Coco again (ugh it always makes me sob but it is my favorite Disney cartoon right now) but I don’t consider that a spooky season movie.

As for listening, check out the haunted podcasts in my post that is linked above!

And, that is about it from around here! I hope all is going good for you.

A Cute Little Cottagecore Autumn Halloween

On October 13, 2022August 29, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn artist review, autumn15 Comments

I love all of these new aesthetics -cottagecore, dark academia, green academia – to name a few of my favorites. I have to admit I feel like I was into the dark academia vibe before it was a thing, all the way back in the early 90s. All those books that fit that genre are books I loved as a youth. But, this is a cottagecore post – an aesthetic I really associate more with spring and summer – its all rural and pastoral and quaint and cute. However, it lends itself to Halloween and fall better than you might expect! I was browsing Etsy, as I am known to do, especially while Wyatt is in therapy and I am just sitting in the waiting room, well, waiting for him, and I found the cutest things! It is just so fun and happy to look at!

(links do contain Etsy affiliate links) UPDATED: Some of these links are no longer valid a year later. I am planning on a whole new post like this for this year, but it won’t be up for another week or two. Are you all as excited for fall as I am? I did start a collection on Etsy though if you want to get a sneak peek! You can find it here!

L-R: Orange Ghost and Flowers || Ghost and Roses || Collage of Cute Halloween Things That Make me Think of Doodling in my Notebooks

These mugs are so adorable! Those sweet little ghosts! I couldn’t pick a favorite if I tried. Well, ok maybe. That middle one is calling my name. And we all know a good mug is absolutely essential to a proper fall for drinking all the tea and cocoa.

L-R : Fox Beret || Ghost sweatshirt || Black Cat Knitted Tea Cozy

I mentioned the other day I was considering a beret. I don’t think I could wear this everyday but maybe on Halloween, taking Wyatt trick or treating I could! Or if I chicken out, that sweatshirt is cute and appropriate for the season – and me! And that tea cozy is perfect for a Halloween poetry tea time, which I do with Wyatt every year.

L-R: Pumpkin Stickers || Glow in the Dark Mushrooms || Gloomy Bookshop Print

I think these pumpkin stickers are practically perfect in every way. We always get more pumpkins then we want to actually carve and these would be great to use instead of carving but still making them festive. And these glow in the dark ghost mushrooms!! Why oh why must they be so cute? I am also in love with the gloomy bookshop print – it would be so cute in an office or library or really anywhere.

But this – this is the big daddy of cute.

It is seriously the sweetest, most joyful ghost I have ever seen. I think Wyatt needs it. Or I do. One of us does.

Boo!

Spooky Season Cinema: The Nightmare Before Christmas

On October 13, 2022October 13, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn movies18 Comments

Oooo spooky…Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are are watching and posting about spooky cinema for the next two months, here and over on our Instagram accounts. We are starting fairly family friendly and working our way up to the scariest!! I love a thriller or chiller!

This week we watched one of my favorites – The Nightmare Before Christmas! I love the weirdness of Tim Burton, but this one is by far his very best. It came out when I was in college and I remember my friends and I went for my birthday. After the movie ended, we all walked out it and it had started snowing, the first snow of the season and it just felt so magical. I think about that moment every time I watch it.

This movie is so well done, with its stop action claymation, the music, the actors who voiced the characters – I mean, Catherine O’Hara? She is a queen y’all. And Danny Elfman from Oingo Boingo, a band I loved in my youth does all the singing for Jack Skellington and his voice is so amazing. I watched this movie this time around with Wyatt. It was his first introduction to it, and I knew he would love all the singing – and he did. I figured he wouldn’t pay too much attention to some of the actual happenings or what was being said and I was right – he was just there for the dancing. His favorite songs – What’s This? and the Oogie Boogie Song. Oogie Boogie is the Bogeyman but he has a cool song.

Anyway, in case you are unfamiliar, Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King (say this very dramatically) and every year plans the scares and frights of Halloween. However, he has post-Halloween sadness and is bored and tired of doing all the same things over and over. Basically, Jack is in a rut and is depressed. He bumbles into Christmas Town and is overcome with all the joy of that season, and is literally swept up into the cheer of Christmas. So much, that he wants to be in charge of Christmas. He hypes it up to the town, gets them all involved, and has the creepy creatures who usually manufacture fear try to switch gears and make Christmas instead. Sounds like a great plan, right?

The only resident of Halloween Town who isn’t down with this plan is Sally, the ragdoll who is in love with Jack from afar. She knows that this is a very bad terrible idea. And eventually, almost too late, Jack realizes it as well. But, he sets things right – and realizes he loves Sally as well.

There is a lot of debate over whether this is a Christmas or Halloween movie…I always think Halloween but I know some people think Christmas. Billy likes to split the difference and says it is a Thanksgiving movie. And we did actually watch it one Thanksgiving with my cousins, so maybe he is right.

This post wouldn’t be complete without some Danny Elfman representation. So, I am sharing Wyatt’s favorite part of the movie. He was as swept up in the mood as Jack! It’s hard not to be though.

Next up for us is The Creature from the Black Lagoon. I have never actually watched that one before but I am excited. I have a feeling it is going to be super campy and fun! But we will see!

For Lisa’s review, click here!

Spooky, Creepy, Dark and Twisty: My October Podcast Playlist 2022 Version

On October 12, 2022October 12, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Podcasts6 Comments

It’s October, and for me that means ’tis the season for all things spooky and scary! My brother and I were just comparing our reading lists for the month, both full of ghosts and witches and monsters. I’ve been indulging in spooky movies every week (and reviewing some of them with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings as part of our Spooky Season Cinema posts) and of course, listening to spooky, creepy, dark and twisty podcasts. Some are old favorites – others are new to me this year.

This year I seem to be all about the ghost and ghost stories, and lately I keep reading and hearing the same theory over and over in different places – that ghost stories are a form of folklore, of storytelling, that have a purpose – whether they are a warning or a lesson, whether they give a voice to those who didn’t have a voice while alive, and I love this idea. Entertaining, spooky, but with more under the surface than just the story and the scare.

Here are my current favorites – maybe listen with your favorite beverage, a cup of tea, a mug of cocoa, a hard cider, a glass of wine – and make sure the mood is right. I like a vibe y’all. We have thunderstorms in our forecast for today, the perfect ambiance for a spooky read or listen.

The Night Owl Podcast: My current favorite. Host Stephen Belyeu leads us through haunted houses and businesses with the help of his team including clairvoyant Sara. These stories are all central to Austin, Texas and usually are the result of someone coming to Belyeu for help with what they believe is a haunted home. Rather than just share ghost stories (although that is done as well in their Campfire episodes) they attempt to help people who are afraid by investigating and providing support. Belyeu and his team present well thought out, sensitive, serious, high quality pods that are highly addictive to listen to. They took a short hiatus due to some health issues, but recently have started to release new episodes. Favorite episode: The Pioneer Farms series of episodes

The Haunted Road with Amy Bruni: If you are a fellow ghost story lover, then you may know the name of Amy Bruni already. Bruni was an investigator on the popular show, Ghost Hunters for years. She now has another show, Kindred Spirits, which I have not watched, and is also the host of The Haunted Road. Filled with history, Bruni sets the stage for the tale before sharing the ghost stories themselves. The Haunted Road is informative and at times, unsettling. I have listened to some episodes over and over again, and I listen in times of quiet and also when I am cleaning or doing work. I find them so interesting and entertaining. My favorite episodes: His Body Wasn’t Discovered for Six Months (Mackinac Island) and The Lake It Is Said, Never Gives Up Her Dead (another Michigan episode) and When My Fire Burns Low, about Lizzie Borden.

The Dark Parts: The Dark Parts is a podcast hosted by Daphne Woolsoncroft and Heath Merryman (both awesome last names) who also host the true crime podcast Going West. The Dark Parts is all about creepy – horror stories, dark history, unexplained events. There is something for every spooky seeker with this one! My favorite episode: Terrible Tilly Lighthouse

Homespun Haints: This one I just recently started listening to, but it is part of my October list so I wanted to include it. This one is fun and funny, and has great stories! I have not listened to many so far, but the ones I have listened to I have enjoyed. Favorite Episode (so far): Three of the World’s Most Haunted Libraries

And an old favorite:

Camp Monsters: Oo I love this one. I saved the newer episodes just for this month- and plan on listening to one today during our independent quiet time while I sew. Weston Davis is the writer and host and his voice is so soothing. Like you could listen to him read a phone book, he just has a way of storytelling that is lost almost in this day and age. And this format, like stories being told around the campfire, emphasize those storytelling skills. There is atmosphere to this podcast, y’all. The crackling of a fire, little noises and sounds that fit the story and the mood. I can’t speak highly enough of this pod. Fave Episode: The Jersey Devil

If you interested in my previous lists you can find them here: 2021 and 2020

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On October 11, 2022 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized14 Comments

It is not a quiet morning around here, my little tornado is awake and enjoying his little self already. I am trying to catch up with the help of my coffee – which today is Cafe Bustelo. It’s not bad!

It’s been eventful around here!! First, and most important of all, Wyatt got a wheelchair yesterday! It is a loaner from the medical supply place until his actual wheelchair comes in, but this will give him more independence and freedom for now. I am so excited to be able to go more places with this kiddo – I have plans for lots of field trips during the week. His world is about to expand and I can’t wait. This was a huge thing for us. The AMT who came to deliver it and fit it to Wyatt was also so nice. He is the technician who always comes to our house for Wyatt’s equipment and Wyatt charmed him into his fan club. He let Wyatt “help” him screw some parts on, and told me that Wyatt is one of his most talkative kid clients… I was like yeah, that is not a surprise to me….lol. After waiting five years for Wyatt to talk, he seems to be getting all his words out at once, nonstop. I love it and am so grateful, but sometimes I am like – please child, I need some quiet!

And on that note – I am about to sound a bit ungrateful. Billy has been working so so hard on our bedroom making it look spectacular and I have been pretty much 100% holding down the rest of our life. Sunday I hit the wall of not having had any introvert recharge time and called my mom and asked if she would watch Wyatt for a while so that I could have some quiet. She of course agreed and I dropped him off, did a little shopping, and went for a solo walk in the woods. And it was glorious.

I also spotted this tiny bone and used leaves to pick it up to bring home for Wyatt’s nature cabinet of curiosities. I picked Wyatt up after and felt so much better. Introverts need introvert time.

Our bedroom is finished! We still need to add in our personal things and decorations but it is done! And Billy knocked it out of the park. It is beautiful and such a dramatic difference. He put in new trim, changed vent covers, did electrical, painted, and it is fantastic. This is a sneak peek but I am totally going to brag on him in a whole post. Once the room is all put back and decorated though.