Category: Coffee Catch UP

Wednesday Morning/Afternoon Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP9 Comments

Hello everyone!! Wyatt and I are living lazy these days, enjoying our summer break. We are taking June off and I have been just allowing us to slide slowly into our days – at least on days we don’t have therapy. It works since although he has not been getting sick from his meds, he is still very tired after taking them, and wants to take a big nap at 9 am. But I will take it over the other any day! It does have me concerned over music camp next week, which starts at 9:30 am. I guess though you never know what will change as time passes, so by next Monday he might be done with this phase too.

Relaxing for me is actually difficult. I am one of those people who feels a constant need to get things done, you know? If I have the time I think that I should be using it to check things off the five mile long to-do list that I have (as probably everyone does!) So forcing myself to not do that is…hard. Once I settle in I am ok. It is just getting there. And it has been fun. I know that Wyatt has enjoyed not having to rush about all the time, and he does deserve some lazy time where he actually feels well enough to enjoy it. For him it is all books and painting things and drawing and watching cartoons. Pretty soon the ramp will be done (well, maybe by the end of July and he will be able to go out to the backyard more easily – right now we need Billy to carry him back there, since it is too far for me to do by myself.) I’ve been reading, now that I have found the right book, and also doing a little hand stitching while I listen to an audiobook. I bought a punch needle kit of a corgi that instead of using the actual punch needle, I am hand stitching. I am loving it, although I am super slow and not that good. But it is not about that. It’s about feeling the rhythm of the slowness, the tautness of the thread, the pop sound that happens occasionally when pushing through the fabric, seeing the outline become filled with color. It is an experience to become immersed in something, isn’t it?

I have also mastered making omelettes this week, and have been making myself a feta cheese one egg omelette for lunch everyday. I just use an egg, butter, and the feta and it is perfection. There is something about that too. A simple, delicious meal.

We have been leaving the house and interacting with others, however. Last Friday our local library kicked off their summer reading program with a Family Fun Night, filled with games and crafts. Our library is two buildings – one, an old historical Victorian house, attached to a “modern” building built in maybe the 1960s? They used both buildings and three floors for family night and the staff put so much thought, love, and energy into this program. We had such a good time! We ran into my friend Kelly and her family there as well, which made it even more fun. Her daughter E. is Wyatt’s age so it was cool there was another kid there with him.

The theme for the summer reading program this summer is National Parks and Cryptids, which I thought was pretty neat! Wyatt and E. got matching glittery wolf tattoos, painted cryptid cutouts and flower pots, made buttons, met a viking and saw a dragon, pinned the hat on Smokey the Bear, and finally made it to the top floor where they got their box to collect the cards they will earn this summer. Afterwards we all went out for pizza, which was a nice way to end the evening.

The next day we woke up and decided it was an Ikea day. Ikea is about 30 minutes from our house and we typically go a few times a year, just out of the blue, need an Ikea day. It is one of those places where you wander around and think to yourself, do I really need that bright green corduroy office chair that swivels? (the answer was, I didn’t, although I wanted it…) We always buy the most random things, and Saturday was no exception. We each picked out a throw blanket – Billy and Wyatt picked out the same one, a yellow one that was super soft, while I picked out a gray-green throw. We bought a few little pink dessert plates, a bright light for Billy to use when he is doing leatherwork (wait until you see what he is making me!), a few organizing bins and boxes for our craft and homeschool supplies, and of course, chocolate. We also treated ourselves to lunch in the Ikea Cafe. I particularly enjoyed the cake.

Sunday was a big day for Billy. It was go day on the ramp! With the help of wonderful family members and lifelong friends, he started on drilling the holes for the cement, and placing the tubes. It sounds like I know what is happening, but I don’t. That is the extent of my knowledge, other than that they were working extremely hard in the heat. This weekend, the cement happens!

And with that, I should probably end here. This feels immensely long. Maybe because I stopped in the middle to take Wyatt to therapy and get ice cream?

And of course, some randoms from the camera roll!

Thursday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP13 Comments

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well this morning! I am feeling relief this week, and could start singing the Hallelujah chorus; Wyatt has not been sick from his meds in the morning for six whole days, and I am hoping and praying that we turned the corner!

We actually had a visit with his epileptologist on Tuesday morning, which went pretty well. Wyatt has medication resistant epilepsy, which means that despite trying multiple medications, they are not able to get them under control. Wyatt’s seizures are focal/myoclonic so right now he is not having those full body, clonic seizures like everyone immediately thinks of when they think of seizures, and hopefully he never does. We learned that he is not a candidate for resection surgery, due to where his seizures originate, but there are still options out there for us to try. There are still medications to try (after giving this poor kid a break for a bit! After a month of vomiting he deserves some time off), and something called a vagus nerve stimulator. This is sort of like a pacemaker that zaps his vagus nerve which dispels the electricity that is gathering to create a seizure. It is something we are very seriously considering in the future. Overall, I left the appointment feeling pretty hopeful.

He was so funny at the appointment too, despite it being super early. He rolled up to sit right next to the doctor like he was conducting the appointment too, and was just chilling with her. Sometimes he takes to people right away, others he needs to warm up too. He absolutely adores Dr. Reed though, which gives me a very good feeling about her.

Last week Devin (my brother) and his fam met us for pizza and then we all headed back to our house for games with the kids. It was hysterical. We played a game called Castle Feud, where two teams each set up their castle and the other team shoots a tiny catapult to knock the other team’s castle down. We spread out between our den and family room and tried to take each other’s castles down. The adults might have made it a bit too exciting, with the Game of Thrones music playing, hyping up the rivalry, because both big kids – Wyatt and Mermaid girl – got a little too excited and ended up getting in a wee bit of trouble. Lol. Nothing too much, they are good kids and just needed a reminder but I think they were a bit overstimulated. The wee one was funny, wandering between rooms like an attacking giant. We of course made sure she was seated and protected before firing the catapult each time! She enjoyed looking at our fish tank too. She would point to Moon swimming around and then turn around and look at me in wonder. It was really neat to experience it with her.

Speaking of Moon, he and his tankmate Sunny the snail are doing well. We took our water to be tested at the aquarium store and the woman working said we were doing awesome. We had A+ water, phew. Sunny is doing so well that she even left us a gift of a clutch of eggs… I don’t know what to do with them honestly because I can’t raise 200 baby Mystery snails! We had fun looking around at the crazy fish types they have there, like this Lionfish. They also have the cutest little cherry shrimp! I didn’t know what those were until we visited that store and they are adorable. I won’t get them as I have nowhere to put them but they are pretty cute.

Other than that, we have been living pretty quietly over here. With our easier mornings (Wyatt is now just super tired after his meds, which is an improvement) I have had time to catch up on some of the things I had to let slide for a month due to his being sick most of the morning. I caught up on Cub Scout stuff I needed to get done, bills.. you know all those fun things….

And that is it for this week! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Just some random photos…

Thursday Morning Coffee Catch Up: Easter and Other Things

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP9 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s another early spring morning here, where it looks warmer out than it really is! Next week though it looks like we have warmer weather moving in finally!

Last weekend here was all about Easter. Saturday I spent running around, getting last minute presents for all of my nieces and for my son, and I enjoyed some quality alone time at Target. It was a madhouse for a minute in there; I guess everyone descended upon it at the same time for their own last minute needs.

Then Saturday night we dyed Easter Eggs with Wyatt. He always loves this, but Billy and I always forget about how fast it goes and never boil enough eggs. Next year, maybe, we will remember?

Miso was a reluctant bunny.

The next morning we did the Easter Egg hunt and basket before heading to church. Our church looked so pretty and joyous!

After church, we had a bit of time to lay around before we started visiting family for dinner and dessert. Then it was time to eat! We went to Billy’s mom’s house for an early dinner/late lunch thing and she had Middle Eastern, my favorite. Rice, salad, hummus, chicken shawarma….yum!

After eating and hanging out there for a bit, it was time to pop over to my brother’s house to visit everyone over there!

I was the chosen one to hold little tiny peanut after she woke up while her mom and dad were working in the kitchen. She would only go to me and I felt very proud (smug) about it. And hey, our shirts were similar! My brother’s best friend of 30 plus years was there too – he is one of those friends that has become family to us all. And he and Wyatt were both in tie dye! (Wyatt’s nice sweater had long been taken off..)

It was a lovely day of family and food and fellowship!

Before I sign off for the morning, I wanted to talk about the eclipse! We are in an area of like 98-99% totality which is awesome. However, I have a feeling Wyatt will not leave his eclipse glasses on so we might not go outside and will just discuss it from our big window looking out. It will still be pretty cool, and I am sure I will run out for a minute to see it myself.

I wanted to share two things that I read this week about the eclipse though. First, that the eclipse can really negatively affect animals outside. It can hurt their eyes too, or cause them to panic. So if you have outside animals maybe bring them in for the eclipse. Also, for those of you with kiddos and grandkiddos, there is an opportunity to get a junior ranger badge, even at home. I am linking the page here, just print the booklet and complete at home! It doesn’t look like you can mail it in for an actual badge, but I might try send it in anyway, just in case.

And with that, I am off! It is “robot legs day” which is what we call Wyatt’s lokomat therapy. It’s a big day here, with Wyatt and I being busy from about 11:00-4:00. He is doing so well though! If you want to check it out, I usually post videos on my Insta!

Have a good day today! Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, homeschooling13 Comments

Hello everyone! It is snowing here. Snowing. It is not sticking thank goodness, but I am so ready to just be able to leave my house without layering Wyatt and I all up to go outside. I long to step outside barefoot and in a t-shirt again! I mean I guess I could do it now but I would freeze my toes off!

It has been cold here for days, and we have been sticking close to home. And honestly, I complain about the weather but it does have its benefits. I love all the family time we have been having here at home together. Lots of game nights with popcorn, or on the couch tucked into a book, or all the creations we have been making together!

On Saturday we spent quite a bit of time together sitting at the table, making these little creature portraits. Billy made the badger, the rabbit is Wyatt’s, and mine is the fox. We actually loved making these so much that we have been eating eggs all week so that we can make more! They were so simple to make. Just a few simple supplies are needed to make them, just paint and glue and cardboard and egg cartons. I found them on Instagram and we put our own spin on them. This woman’s Instagram is filled with super adorable craft ideas!

Billy has also been making his little miniatures for me too.

I am still on my older book binge. I can’t stop with these old books, and I love the vintage copies the best. I intentionally seek them out from the library, over the more modern copies of the story, with the shiny new covers. I love a shiny new cover, don’t get me wrong, but for these books, I like reading the older copies, because then you find things like this. Isn’t this beautiful? It’s from the end pages of Thimble Summer, and it was just such a happy surprise to see this artwork when I opened the book.

I was also going through the millions of boxes of my books I have in storage, and found a book that was my mom’s. I don’t think I am going to read it, but the cover…sigh. So pretty.

The main event of the weekend however was my little niece’s birthday party! This little nugget turned one! I can’t believe it. We loved celebrating her first year around the sun! It was a fun afternoon spent with family, watching the presents getting opened, cake being smashed and eaten, albeit very daintily. My favorite part was her face when we all stood around her and sang Happy Birthday. She was looking at us like we were all crazy, and it cracked me up.

Finally, I added a new printable to my Etsy store, all about frogs, just in time for spring – and world frog day, which is today!

If you are interested you can pop over here! (Use code SPRING to get 20% off until Saturday the 22nd)

And I am off! Wyatt and I have a full day today! We have school of course, and then after I want to make cookies and visit the library before I go to my mom’s later this evening to help her with a few things. I don’t usually book my days like this anymore but.. I am sure we can do it. I am thinking start the cookies before school, pop them in the oven and while we work on one of topics for today they can bake – then we can eat them!

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP23 Comments

Good morning (or afternoon, or evening) everyone! It has been a crazy long week for a short week! I am so thankful for a lazy day hopefully today. One with a cup of coffee at the beginning of the day, and a cup of herbal tea later tonight.

Soo what have we been up to? Well, we had a very quiet New Years, just the three of us. We were planning on getting together with my brother and his family, but then my brother got sick so it ended up just being the three of us, which was fine. I always feel holidayed out by New Years Eve so sometimes I like the quietness of welcoming a new year snug in bed after a calm night.

I spent the day of New Years Eve taking down Christmas. I love having the decorations up but then I am ready to have my house all back to normal soon after the holiday. I have mentioned before that we live in a very small house, which I don’t mind at all, I just need to be mindful and creative with how we use our space, and while the decorations are so cheery and festive it’s nice to have our space back.

This year when I took the tree down, I decided to carve out a little “nook” for Wyatt. A few years ago we flip-flopped our space – we moved our couches and television into our dining room and made it our “den” and then the living room space we moved in the table, books, whatever else we wanted and use it as a sort of do it all room. It was a good decision and we are still very happy that we did it. Please excuse the mess in the photos, I was still cleaning up and clearing out after Christmas when these photos were taken. But little man is super pleased with his little nook. We also bought new couches for our den, one of which is here and the other arrives today, so I moved this old beat up tiny loveseat into our all purpose room, threw an old comfy quilt and some pillows on it. It created another comfy little spot to sit in, right next to Applejack our crested gecko. Lol.

New Year’s Day we went for a ride, Billy made us a delicious dinner, and then we watched our annual watch, The Big Year, which we watch every New Year’s Day and have for at least ten years – maybe more! It is just such a feel good movie.

Then Tuesday we hit the ground running. Wyatt started a brand new, very exciting therapy this week! It is very intense, for both him and me honestly. It is an hour away, twice a week, and each session is 75 minutes. But it is amazing. It is called Lokomat, and basically it is a way to build new neural pathways for walking and build up endurance while also providing more physical support. He looks like he is a robot or training to walk on the moon! He is doing very well so far. Each time they build up a little more time and speed, and random weight bearing, and he is very tired afterwards but he is a trooper.

So we have both been finding our bearings, with schedules and routines and recovery days and trying to figure this out for now. He has this therapy for 7 more weeks. Please if you can send good vibes and prayers as we begin this new journey in the new year!

I also want to add that Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are launching Jane Austen January this month – in fact, it has already begun! Feel free to post any Jane Austen related posts between now and the 3rd of February! I have a permanent linky page up top in my little header bar but here it is as well.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c0efdbe6b4add43dd7ef

And…that is where I am today! I hope you are faring well, and I hope to be chatting with you all a bit more very soon!

Comfy Cozy Christmas Coffee Catch Up: Holiday Lights on the Farm

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, comfy cozy christmas13 Comments

Hello everyone! And phew, how is that for a blog post title?

We had a family emergency with Wyatt last week that we are all still processing, and we took it easy the rest of the week afterwards. Lots of staying in our pajamas and vegging out. Look at that crazy hair!

We did however, get dressed Sunday evening because I had bought tickets to Holiday Lights on the Farm at Wolcott Mills Metropark, and I knew Wyatt would love it. There was going to be lights, farm animals, a wheelchair accessible wagon ride, and best of all, Santa! It was also an hour away from home, but my kid needed something happy. And he never stopped smiling.

The drive wasn’t bad, and we got there about 15 minutes early which I was glad we did, because there were already cars lined up to get in! You needed to buy tickets beforehand, but it was a sold out program. I knew we were probably only going to stay a short time instead of the whole time so I wanted to get in at the start. And first stop, Santa! We were the second people in line so I was happy to have that part checked off my list right at the beginning. (Yes, I am a total nerd and had an order of efficiency in mind – Santa, wagon, then see the lights and then when Wyatt was ready to go, we had to the “big” things already done) I hadn’t told Wyatt about Santa being there so that was a fun surprise for him!

Santa and Mrs. Claus, and the elves were all so kind and helpful!

When I had been looking around for an event for us this year, one of the reasons I picked this one was because it mentioned right on the page that it was all accessible by wheelchair – and they were right! But I was most excited about the wheelchair accessible wagon ride, because I knew my boy would love that. He loves transportation, tractors, trucks, trains, etc and I knew he would dig that. And he absolutely did. The smile never left his face the whole ride!

The employees were fantastic. They had a wheelchair lift to get him up and down which Wyatt of course loved, and then they also strapped his chair down so that we didn’t need to worry about hitting bumps and him rolling around (even though his brakes were on). Again, everyone was so kind and accomodating.

The ride itself was fifteen minutes, and it was so pretty and peaceful to see all the lights of the farm fading away into the distance from the wagon. We went in a loop, looking at different trees made of lights before heading back to the farm area, where the lights welcomed us back. It was a really good time.

Once those two big things were checked off my list, we were free to just explore the animals and the lights!

I loved all the ducks and geese and especially the chicken coop.

Wyatt was not a fan of this fellow..

Billy and I were so excited to see Lil’ Sebastian (not really the name but iykyk) but Wyatt was super weirded out and afraid of him/her. So Wyatt and Billy skipped this next stop, where I met the Percheron Fern.

Then got this moody dramatic cow photo.

Billy said it needs a UFO in the background. I think he is right.

Wyatt cracked up in the dairy barn where he could not get over how “stinky” it was. He wasn’t wrong, but we did get to see little calves!

We stayed about an hour, and it was the perfect length of time for us. We all had a blast, and it was nice to try something new. And for me and Billy, to see Wyatt so happy!

We definitely have it on our list to do again next year!

Thursday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP12 Comments

Good morning! Thursday mornings are super busy for us! Wyatt has physical therapy and speech back to back and we have an early start. I finally have a chance to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee, thank goodness.

Hmm where to start?

Thanksgiving! I didn’t take many photos during our celebration; I was totally in the moment, enjoying family, food, and hanging out. I hosted at my little house this year which was different for us but we loved it, although it was tiring! Whew! Most of my family are pescatarians, so we didn’t even make a turkey, even easier. We made something that when I tell most people they are like, say what? But let me tell you, it was delicious. We made a version of shepherd’s pie but with salmon, and oh my goodness. It was perfect. I’ve seen it called online fisherman’s pie, but the recipe we used just called it fish pie which sounds not as nice but tasted amazing anyway. Lol. This photo is not mine, it is from the website where we got the recipe.

Everyone brought a dish or two – we had cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, corn pudding, Billy’s homemade sourdough loaf, pumpkin pies that Chrissy made, and then my Nantucket Cranberry Pie. Well, the Pioneer Woman’s Nantucket Cranberry Pie, but it was my contribution. Everything was fantastic and I ate way too much.

Wyatt and I were mostly lazy Friday (Billy had to work, but thankfully from home), but we did take some time to make a countdown to Christmas chain! This one has a book title on every loop, and when Wyatt tears that one off, we will read that book that day! I’m pretty excited to start it tomorrow!

I also did some online shopping, and bought our Christmas homeschool curriculum. Oh, and also tickets to Holiday Lights on the Farm! It is held at a metropark near us and there will be lights, Santa, snacks, all sorts of fun things. And best of all, a wheelchair accessible wagon ride! I am super excited about it.

Saturday we got back to it, and decorated for Christmas!! I think I am going to do a separate post on this so… you will have to wait. Hopefully it will be worth it. LOL.

Sunday we took it easy again, before we had to get back to business – school, work, therapy.

I do want to share this video I took of Wyatt at therapy on Monday! He was having a blast, and every time I watch it I smile. I hope it makes you smile too!

And that is it for today! I hope you all are doing well! What is going on in your worlds?

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP19 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s Wednesday already, can you believe it? We are flying towards November at this point!

We had a pretty busy weekend!

Friday night we took Wyatt to the trunk or treat at our library, which he loved. We go to the library so much and he thought it was neat to see it totally different! Although he did think we should pick out books while we were there. Lol. Cutest wolfboy ever! We asked Mermaid Girl to go with us but it was the trunk or treat at her school so we went our separate ways. It moved so fast inside the library as well that I didn’t get any pictures inside, but I did get that cool one of the dragon! Since we were downtown we went and had pizza afterwards and it was a really fun night out.

Saturday was my annual girls trip out! This year we went to Frankenmuth, a place I haven’t been to in forever!

We started out at Starbucks, of course, and then hit the road north. Our first stop was lunch at this really neat little diner called The Comet. It was super retro and had a fantastic french fries.

Next stop was the antique store down the street. We wandered around in there a bit and I picked up a mug, stoneware, probably circa 1970s/80s ish, with rabbits on it! I love it. After the antique store we headed into Frankenmuth proper and of course, had to go to Bronner’s. Bronner’s is iconic in Michigan. It is this enormous Christmas store filled with over 6,000 different ornaments. There is literally an ornament for everything you can think of! It also has Christmas trees, decorations, stockings, and really just anything you can think of pertaining to Christmas. You wander around sort of like a deer in headlights (if you are me) while Christmas music plays, and it is sort of surreal, but fun! I bought my little Bob Ross fan a Bob Ross ornament – told you they had something for everyone!

We wandered around Frankenmuth the rest of the afternoon, waiting for the grand finale, dinner at the Bavarian Inn. By the time we got in the car to go home, we were all exhausted but had had a very good time together.

It was absolutely beautiful there too, with all the fall trees and the day itself was gorgeous, even though it had started out cold.

Sunday I was on the road again! This time Billy, Wyatt, and I were off to the orchard to get Wyatt his pumpkin and doughnut (a doughnut for me too!) We love Bennett’s Orchard in Michigan, it is just perfect. It is simple and doesn’t have all the extra gimmicks. It is pumpkins and apples and donuts and although they have introduced different food trucks, it doesn’t take away from the simplicity of it. And I have to say, Wyatt and I enjoyed the macaroni that we split, while Billy enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich.

It was a very busy, very full of fall weekend, and we had such a good time. Wyatt is so excited about Halloween every year and this morning was even hugging his pumpkin, first thing. It’s even still dirty!! He is such a nut but a happy cute one.

Enjoy your day all!

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP12 Comments

Hello everyone!! So I have been talking here and there about how I have been having some rough times lately but…I don’t want to talk about that today, because other things have been happening as well. So, positive over here today!

A few weeks ago we decided the day was beautiful and we didn’t know where to go and what to do, but got in the car and headed out anyway. We found ourselves at the River Raisin National Battlefield Park, a destination that had been on my list for a while, but the timing was now perfect. Wyatt has been working on the history of local Native American Nations and I figured there might be a little something at the Battlefield Park about the Native Americans Nations that once lived here.

Well, there wasn’t a ton. But there was some material that I picked up and brought home to use, and there was a lot of other stuff to look at, which will be more important in a few weeks. It was actually a really cool place to visit, and the NP worker was very kind and informative. And, Wyatt got another Junior Ranger Badge to add to his collection!

The diorama of the settlement there was super impressive – in size and in detail! One of the Junior Ranger activities revolved all around it, and finding a specific figure hidden all throughout, kind of like Where’s Waldo, and it was really neat.

We also finished up Van Gogh that weekend, with Wyatt’s rendition of Starry Night! Billy painted one as well.

We helped my mom decorate her door for the apartment complex contest….

Then Wyatt got a cold and we laid low for a while, reading, cuddling, watching tv, and trying to make a wigwam. History for Wyatt is more meaningful for him when he can see and touch it, so I wasn’t intending to be culturally insensitive with this project, so I hope that it isn’t! Also- that project was very complicated for us! LOL. Wyatt ended up getting bored and he still wasn’t feeling well so he wandered off while I finished it up with the mighty glue gun and determination. It was getting done! It’s not perfect but at least Wyatt can have something tangible to look at while we continue our lessons. I am not looking forward to building a log cabin in the next few weeks… lol.

We also had lots of hot drinks and walks apparently. Well, I had walks and hot drinks. Wyatt had his first hot chocolate of the season while we all sat in the back of the Subaru tailgate style. Billy looks very contemplative here, although we were having fun. Then my dad picked me up Sunday for tea and a walk by the river which was very spirit lifting.

And.. I started an Etsy store too! I’ve been working on a few unit studies and journal pages and now they are available on Etsy as printables. I’m still working on adding them all but the wheels turn slowly over here sometimes. Lol. You can find my store at foxandfirth.etsy.com if you want to take a peek!

And that is it from here today!

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up: Van Gogh and Ghosts

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn autumn, Coffee Catch UP, Detroit, DIY craft10 Comments

Hello everyone! That fall chill is in the air here in the mornings now, making my morning coffee even better than normal.

I feel like I have so much to share today! I will try not to talk your ear off.

Two weeks ago was our city wide garage sale and we had such a good time checking everything out – and buying some things as well! Wyatt decided he had to have that tiny fisherman which he kept calling a fisherman gnome. We had picked that up while on a neighborhood walk and Wyatt rode his little bike home, holding it the whole time. Little fisherman gnome now lives in our den. My husband also found that giant snail in a box of tools, and knew I would want it. He knows me so well! I love it! And finally, we picked up four different paintings/pictures that I had a master plan for.

Wyatt and I also went to an immersive Van Gogh exhibit in Detroit with my dad. We had so much fun!! I thought this immersive experience would be much more accessible to Wyatt as we learn about Van Gogh this month, and it seemed like a fun way to start the school year, with a special field trip. It was pretty amazing actually. The walls, ceiling, floor, everything is covered in images and it moves and flows with music. You are literally in the paintings, and it sweeps you away into the scenes. When they played one of my favorite songs, Non, je ne regrette rien by Edith Piaf, I literally stood up, it was just such a powerful, exciting moment. I didn’t even film or take photos during that part, I was just fully in. I did talk to Wyatt about the scenes we were seeing, the music, and since there were only like ten other people there with us we were able to freely explore and walk around. I know that my dad loved it as much we did. I caught Wyatt bouncing around to the music, and clapping a few times throughout, and it made me so happy.

On this past Saturday, we went to a Halloween/fall themed festival with my brother and his family down in Detroit. It was a nice time! I don’t think any of us bought anything but it was fun to be together and chat. The kids enjoyed all the monsters and everyone enjoyed the Lyra Hoop aerialist.

Later that night, Billy and Wyatt and I put those paintings we got at the garage sale to use! I had been seeing around the internets how people were painting ghosts into old pictures and paintings. Well, we wanted to do that too, but we didn’t want to permanently alter the painting in the process. So Billy came up with the idea of using wax paper and it turned out so cool!! Wyatt did two pictures, I did one, and Billy did one, and we had so much fun! Wyatt wanted his ghosts to have happy faces so they are the cutest little ghosts you ever did see! Our works of art are now displayed proudly around our home – in the den, in the hall, and above my bed. Lol. We had to take a few things down temporarily but that is ok, this was so fun and festive. And after Halloween is over, I think two of the paintings will go to my mom’s apartment if she wants them, and one of them will hang in Wyatt’s room. The other we will just store until next year!

The lighthouse minus ghosts is going to hang in Wyatt’s room for a bit I think. He seems to like lighthouses and ship captains and nautical life lately. I blame Grandpa Rabbit on Peppa Pig.

And then here are some random photos from the old camera roll!

And now I need a coffee refill! Have a good one everyone!