Category: Coffee Catch UP

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP9 Comments

Hello everyone! Another early morning over here…. Wyatt sure is an early bird. I mean, I am a morning person, but he is a different story altogether. Billy and I try to prolong getting up as long as we can but eventually we have to get up because Wyatt is up and at ’em in full force. Thank goodness for coffee!!!

Wyatt and I were obviously over the moon to get out and do something last week after weeks of being stuck at home. I mean, really, this summer has been a weird one, between the weather, the air quality, Wyatt’s allergies, and his bite/cellulitis/antibiotic issues. So getting out to the library was like a dream come true and we took full advantage of our time out, and got a little silly on the porch taking photos. Wyatt is such a ham, and loves his picture taken. I am not as thrilled but, for my kiddo, of course I will. We picked up a ton of books and even saw our tiny art on display!

Billy’s isopod is in the front row, while the paintings by Wyatt and I ended up in the back row…hmm. I love his sun and moon painting! My snail is pretty sad, but we had a really good time painting these together a few Saturdays ago. There are some really cool paintings actually, and I plan on going back and taking some more photos. I thought this idea was so cute.

I’ve been happily busy working on our school year plans! And extremely thankful for my electric hole punch, and that my husband works at an industrial printer who prints all the curriculum for me every year. My little bit is a drop in the bucket of what they print every week but it is always so nice of them to make time in their day for it. I very contentedly punched holes and organized and put it all in binders the other day. Then I was able to flip through and make plans for field trips and different studies and readings to go along with what he is going to be learning this year. (I posted a bit back what we are using this year if you are interested) We are still going to be filling in with Traveling the States from The Waldock Way as well, as we didn’t quite finish them all yet! We will actually begin the year with Ohio, our neighbor to the south, move into Pennsylvania, and then New York, as we read Paddle-to-the-Sea.

Speaking of Ohio, we took a road trip to a wildlife refuge over the weekend that was so much fun. I am going to do a whole post on it since I took a billion photos and videos, and feel like I have a lot to share about the day.

And now, just some random photos from the week – Wyatt is back on the bike, we have apples (and some are turning red!), Miso likes to random pose for me, the cucumbers and nasturtiums are going wild, the canopy is still up, and my neighbor cat wants some pets.

We have cooler temps and good air quality right now, and it feels like fall and it is marvelous around here. I wish you all a great day!

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP12 Comments

Good morning everyone!! I have almost finished my first cup of coffee already, and am getting ready for my second! Little man decided to get up super early!

Speaking of Wyatt, if you have been reading here, then you know we have been battling some health issues with him this month. He seems to be on the upswing, fingers crossed and all the prayers please that we continue on this path.

Last Wednesday I did have the opportunity to go to outdoor yoga in the park in my city. I can’t tell you how absolutely refreshed I felt afterwards. The night was beautiful, warm but not too warm, breezy, with swallows chittering overhead. I could have just stayed on my mat all night but I did have to go home. Lol. And yep, I totally wore my Agatha Christie t-shirt. I 100% needed this after the time we have been having! I was planning going this week but it is going to be close to 100 degrees Wednesday so I think I will skip it… otherwise I will melt and pass out probably. I’m not an outdoors heat kind of person.

This weekend we were able to get out a little bit more, and we had such a nice weekend. A slow paced one, which I love.

Wyatt has been asking to ride the train at Greenfield Village for WEEKS, and we finally had the chance to go and ride it on Saturday. He was ecstatic. We rode it all the way around twice, and he would have been ok with us doing it all day, honestly, but it was time to get him home after twice around. One day I think I am going to take him and pay for the all day ride pass and we will go on all of the transportation options that day. The antique cars, the horse and carriages, the train, the carousel. He will love it. We did have a few extra moments, so we took a quick little zip around the makers area, where all the potters, weavers, artists are.

Later that night, we went to my brother’s for an impromptu cookout, where I got to hold Tiny Bebe the whole night practically and chat with my niece Mermaid Girl, who I have been missing! She was having us solve the mystery of the smashed mushroom, and my Detective name is now Detective Sapphire, in case anyone wants to hire me.

The next morning I took my mom to church. We started going again a few weeks ago, and that also has been so good for my soul and spirit. It is a nice quiet time between my mother and I as well, just the two of us. And although it felt super weird, I couldn’t resist snapping this quick photo before services of this window. The stained glass is beautiful.

Later that afternoon, we took a ride and then ended up taking refuge from an incoming storm at the nature center at the Metropark we were traveling through. Wyatt was very happy about this unscheduled stop!

I was happy because I had forgotten they had a whole huge display full of information about the Wyandot tribe, and learning about a local tribe is part of our history curriculum this fall. So I was pretty excited!

And here are some just random little photos of the past few weeks..

That last picture of Wyatt and the framed map – my friend Kelly was out shopping and spotted this treasure and she knew I would love it. She didn’t even know that Wyatt absolutely loves learning about all the state birds! It is so perfect for us, and is the sweetest gift!!

And now, I am off to grab that second cup I mentioned! I hope you are all doing well, and staying safe. This weather is wild!

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP12 Comments

Hey all! It’s been a minute since I did a proper catch up!

It’s been a ride the past few weeks – again. A few days after the fourth, we noticed a bite on Wyatt’s leg, probably from a spider. It started to get red all around it so I took him to the pediatrician who recommended both antibiotics and hydrocortisone since she wasn’t quite sure what exactly was happening. However, by the time the pharmacy had the antibiotics ready, the redness had spread significantly. So, I drove him to U of M Children’s Emergency. We ended up staying the night while Wyatt received two rounds of IV antibiotics and by the next morning you could tell it was helping. We were discharged with a different prescription for a different antibiotic and wow, it really knocked the heck out of the infection quickly. However, it also knocked the heck out of my kiddo, who experienced some antibiotic side effects that we are still dealing with, but hopefully we are rounding a corner. Please send up some prayers and good vibes for this kiddo!

However, we were close to home for about ten days now, with very short trips out – quick trips to the library or the store, and a quick trip to the nearby wildlife refuge where we did not hike, but just toured the nature center and walked around out front. Short and quick has been our motto these past few days.

Because this was all caused by a bug bite, I am now super reluctant to take my kid outside, when we have been nature lovers forever. It is pretty hard for me to wrap my head around! I did cancel our upcoming camping trip, I am not ready after this! I did plan a small surprise for Wyatt (and Billy too) last Saturday night though, to try to a little bit make up for the cancelled trip.

I bought a little bed canopy from Amazon, hung it, and set it all up with board games and books. I also made indoor s’mores with unmelted chocolate because, well we were in bed, marshmallow fluff, and graham crackers, and had bowls of popcorn too. I put an outdoor sounds ASMR on the tv for background, and ran Wyatt’s little star projector to put stars on the ceiling. It turned out super cute, and Wyatt loved it! I have to admit, I sort of liked the feeling of being all enclosed when I have the canopy untied and down, and it is still up for now. It was a bit of cheer in what was a very difficult week.

In keeping with our quick and short outings, the next day we took Wyatt out to the International Wildlife Refuge to visit the nature center. It had opened during Covid, but never actually opened to the public due to Covid. It finally opened to people I think last fall, but we just made it there Sunday for the first time. It was really cute in there, with great educational displays, and a gift shop, which Wyatt loved since he has become a shopper for some reason.

I almost forgot!! The local street art fair was happening last week as well, and Wyatt and I went bright and early the first day at opening. I knew we could walk around and be done in less than an hour and still have fun, which we did. We met a local author who writes books about a little boy who is a wheelchair user who becomes a superhero! She wanted to write books about children with disabilities, where the book is not just about the disability, which is usually what we run into. We were so excited to pick this up and meet her, plus she inscribed the book and it made me teary! Her name is Andrea Kurth, and she is a special education teacher as well! (her book is free for Kindle Unlimited or $6.99 for a paperback if you want to check it out!)

The next night my dad and stepmom came to watch Wyatt and give us a little break. Billy and I have been going to the street fair together for 30 years, so of course that is where we headed for our time out together!

We had a good time! We were there about an hour and half but it was much needed. I am so excited about my new squirrel print by local artist Anthony Brass! I love that he looks like some sort of nosy neighbor Cosmo Kramer. There was another squirrel that I think I might have to get eventually to match. Later I saw on Instagram that Brass got an award for the best booth at the art fair, so congrats to him! The tote shown is from Carpe Librum Crafts, which was also a favorite booth of mine. Wyatt picked out a sticker when we went together, and then Billy and I bought him a shirt that we plan on giving him at Christmas when the two of us went.

We had some quick trips out, but most of our time was spent at home. We played lots of games, read books, and while Wyatt did his independent projects, I reworked my journals. They just weren’t the way I wanted, I weeded some out, fixed some, added some new ones, and while I am still reworking a few, I am excited about how it is going. I have a page up there in the menu of blog pages that shows quite a few of them, as well as a link to my Amazon Storefront where you can find them. I have been having a good time using my reading journal lately, personally. I keep it nearby close at hand when I am reading other blogs or watching booktubers or booktok.

And after all of that, I need a refill! I hope you are all doing well!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, day in the life, family friendly, mom life, nature12 Comments

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great holiday weekend if you are in the U.S., or just a great past few days if not! We had a pretty relaxed few days, with the exception of our July 4th celebration with my family. We actually celebrated on the Monday instead of yesterday and it was nice to have yesterday as a rest day. Because we needed it!

I have not seen a few of my cousins or their families since the fourth of July party last year! My cousin has been hosting and his house is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for parties, and the day is just so perfect and filled with laughter. Wyatt (and by default Billy) spent hours in the pool, where the kids just swam and splashed and used squirt guns, while the rest of us adults caught up with each other in the shade. Other dads did duck in and out of the pool, as well as a few moms. I loved being able to hang out with my brother and cousins – we had an hour or so where it was just the five of us sitting around the table, chatting and laughing and remembering. And all the food!! So much food. Everything was delicious but my sister-in-law made some sort of ooey gooey peanut buttery thing and oh my gosh, it was amazing.

The weather was a bit unpredictable – we would have a few hours of straight sun, then a stray rain downpour would unleash itself on us all. The first few the kids just kept on playing in the pool, and the last one was just crazy and we all ran off for the various areas of cover. Billy and Wyatt and I ended up in the best spot – we headed for high ground and the pergola covered patio – also where all the food was.

Tiny Bebe girl met the next youngest little, my cousin Mike’s youngest son. Little kiddo was slightly alarmed to see his mom holding a different baby. Lol.

By the time we left, full of sun, memories, food, and pool time, we were exhausted and ready to clean up and put on our pajamas. It had been a fantastic day though.

Saturday and Sunday were so rainy! We did do some fun stuff over the weekend leading up to the holiday though, despite the storms that kept rolling through. Between the rain and the air quality (again ugh) we were stuck inside but we made good use of it, playing board games and reading and completing our tiny art for our library’s tiny art show!

I am not an artist but I had fun anyway. It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon, painting our “submissions” to the show. Billy and I have a few details to add to our paintings but I will be turning them in later this week and they will be displayed in the library the whole month of August, along with everyone else who registered. From left to right – Wyatt’s sun and moon, Billy’s Panda King isopod, and my little brown snail. Lol.

All this rain has been good for the garden and the plants though!

We managed to squeeze in one bike ride before the rain and air quality got bad this weekend. And we took lots of drives and ate lots of watermelon.

And that was that! How about you all? What have you been up to?

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, mom life20 Comments

I am soo tired this morning! I think it is all this rain! We need it though so I won’t complain. Everything has been so dry and parched that a few days of straight rain will do everything good – for the farmers, for the gardeners, all manner of flora and fauna.

I can say we have some very happy bees! I have no idea where these ladies live but they are loving our lavender. It’s amazing how alive a yard can be when you stop and look. Sadly Billy told me that if you pay attention to your car’s windshield, you can tell just how reduced insects are these days – remember road trips and having to wash the dead bugs off the window? Do you still need to? Anyway we try to do our part over here in helping the insect and animal populations – we have so much life out there in our yard. Sometimes too much, but that is a story for another time. But we have little baby praying mantids, katydids, grasshoppers, jumping spiders, a blue jay nest with blue jay fledglings, possums, and I am sure some other nighttime creatures I don’t know about. And of course, butterflies and caterpillars. I do give them a helping hand, we have established a pretty good food chain out there so I bring some in. Some for the predator insects, some to help grow and release.

Speaking of little creatures, my little tadpoles are all tiny tiny toads now! We only have two left, and I have named them Simon and Garfunkel. They are still way too tiny to release, so for now they live here. We are enchanted by them and how very wee they are. How do these things make it in the wild? I am sure that is why they have so many eggs and tadpoles, it is definitely a numbers game.

Last night I spent a rainy, relaxing evening with my friend Kelly. We talk everyday but don’t always get to get together in person and it was good to just hang out. I got to visit with her daughter Tadpole girl, who showed me some of her new cool things she made, and then Kelly and I got to just sit and chat. I also got to check out her tadpoles and toads and insects and plants. She has a bunch of cats but has a large house and you never even realize there are more than one or two or three most of the time. I only saw three last night, Cecil, the buff old guy in the first photo, Buddy on the chair by the window, and then Pal, who is still sort of new to the house. Buddy and Pal were stray cats until this winter when it got really cold and Kelly let them in to warm up. I said, well, they are yours now, they are going to get comfy and that’s it. And she was like “No, no, we have enough cats, these are my outdoors buddies I feed..” Mmm hmm. Looks like I was right, and these cats have landed in the lap of luxury. Buddy in particular looked super cozy. And those toads are both girls, nothing going on there in that photo!

This has started already – homeschool planning for next year. I have a pretty good idea of how our structure and routine is going to work. I have all of the curriculum bought, and I am busy reading through it and looking at what we can do to enrich our studies in the fall. We are going to start a small version of summer school July 10th and do that for about a few weeks or so, then take another small break before we start up again for good in September. We are not super hot day people and it keeps us busy inside during the hottest hours. We have zero shade in our yard and it feels like the surface of the sun in the summer! We won’t be going all out schooling but it’ll be good for both of us. And I love my new planner from Schoolnest, and I also very nerdily like that the tabs match so well.

Annnd my cup is empty! Time for a refill! So not too much exciting happening around here, just…life, I guess, and that is perfect honestly.

How are you all doing? What is going on in your world?

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, family, garden13 Comments

Good morning everyone! (or afternoon or evening or whenever you are reading this!) I felt like just having a chat this morning while I drink this wonderful, lifegiving, cup of coffee.

I’ve been sharing about so many of our big events lately, Wyatt’s EEG, RicStar, but I haven’t shared many of our small moments or just small joys – even as simple as just this cup of coffee, which is nothing special, but still one of the best moments of my day, that first sip of that first cup.

Every morning, I get Wyatt his breakfast, make my coffee, and check on all of my little creatures. Our tadpoles have made some exciting new developments!

They are now teensy tiny little toads! Well, except one late bloomer. That one is still hanging onto its tail and is still very tadpoley. It is swimming around in the water. This container is pretty small and the water shallow because they need more land right now and don’t necessarily have the strength to swim in deep water yet. Sadly, I learned that the hard way. These little ones are the size of my pinky nail, I swear. They are so small. I am going to raise them a bit longer because they will just get eaten or drown if I release them now, they are just so baby still. Although I told Billy it will be hard for me to let them go, and I do have two giant tanks still, just sitting in the basement…. I could name these three Peter, Paul, and Mary! Or Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Or Huey, Dewey, and Louie. So many options. Toads are more of a pain to take care of than lizards though, at least for me. So, they will probably end up being released into the pond when they are big enough.

My caterpillars are getting huge too. Monsters! They are at the eating machine stage right now and have quite a few that have already gone into chrysalis. I also still have some wee little baby caterpillars too. I am at capacity with caterpillars right now! So many!! These are Black Swallowtails, I am not doing monarchs this year, and after this little group I will probably be done with caterpillars for the season too, although caterpillars will keep being born on my rue and lovage until fall.

My strawberries are going like crazy too!

We took Wyatt to a city street festival the other day. It occurred to us that he has not really ever been to one, and our city has them constantly. He was pretty excited. It was the BBQ and whiskey fest, so we went early and had macaroni and cheese that was delicious, and left before the crowd got crazy. We also got a blue-raspberry slush from this super ornate tent with slushes. And seriously, we are terrible parents because this kid has never seen an amusement park ride apparently in his life. He could not get over the Ferris wheel or little mini tiny kid roller coaster these things always have set up. Wyatt is not allowed to ride anything that can whip his head around due to his shunt, so it just never entered our thoughts to even take him to things like this before. He was content to watch, and didn’t ask to ride it, he was pretty blown away by watching it rocket around. He also enjoyed watching people come down the big giant slide – thankfully not like the Belle Isle slide debacle from last year!

Annnnnddddd…. the most exciting news of all! Wyatt’s adaptive bike came on Sunday! Two weeks ago the clinic where Wyatt goes to therapy, the social worker there, and I all worked on his application for an adaptive bike. One week ago I got the email that he was approved, and then Sunday, we got the bike! We were all shocked that it came so fast!! Wyatt was so excited that despite being super exhausted from our super fantastic and very full Father’s Day (more on that tomorrow) he wanted to get on it immediately, no shoes, not properly hooked up, but just on it. We were all super excited, honestly. I am so happy that we got it so fast, now we can use it for months and months before winter comes.

And that is all from my little corner of the world this morning! How are you all doing?

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP15 Comments

Hello my friends! I got a new to me laptop (Billy’s new within the last two years but old to him) and all my stuff looks weird now. Is this font different? Why? I need to do some investigating! (update – it’s not, I am just apparently crazy)

Let’s see, what has been happening since the last time I chatted? Well. We moved my mom to her new place last week and that sort of consumed the entire week, outside of school and appointments. We are still working out details of what she needs, what she wants to replace, etc. All that nesting type thing, decorating, so it is not completely done but this is the fun part at least.

Saturday we had a day without work, and it was awesome. We went to Greenfield Village to celebrate my dad’s birthday and it was hilarious at first, just pure chaos. We had no idea prior to arrival (at 10 am, mind you) that it was Thomas the Thank Engine day, where they make the train look like Thomas, and everyone on earth is there to visit. So there were virtually no parking spaces at all. Then after we all finally found a spot, my brother realized they had forgotten their stroller! So while they were making the long trek to the village from the lot they had to park in, Billy and my dad went into guest services and rented a wagon to put the baby and her car seat in. By this point, it had gotten super cloudy and it was absolutely freezing – and I only had on a thinnish t-shirt. So my stepmom and I went into the gift shop and my stepmom generously treated me to a warm and cozy sweatshirt. Phew. By this point it was now 10:45 and we could finally enter the actual village. The good part- all of the Thomas people were now inside and on the train at least. Lol.

We had a great day, hanging out with my dad and stepmom, and my brother, his wife, Mermaid Girl, and Tiny Bebe. We ate, we walked, we laughed, it was a good time. I have decided I need a version of Camp Mohwak in my yard to retreat to. Although I would like a better view than the house behind me – instead, it should be woods and a river or something, more of a view like the actual cabin pictured has.

Then Sunday I met my friends at the garden center for our annual flower shopping day!

We all had our specific goals, mine being to buy plants to spruce up the toad abode, to make it prettier and to give shade. I ended up buying a few ferns, a hosta, some tomatoes and basil and cucumbers for the garden, and then some petunias and snapdragons for fun. I also picked up a crazy foxtail fern, simply because it is called a foxtail fern. I have no idea where to put it but I love it so much. Lol. Our next garden task is to get more topsoil since we are still working on getting rid of that darn ivy our previous neighbors planted, and sprinkling wildflower seeds down. That will end up being in the area behind the toad abode and it will look so pretty when it is finally all done. But, that is gardening isn’t it? You can’t hurry it, it is something that requires you to slow down and take your time. Or at least, that is the way that I like to do it. My friend Kelly is my total opposite pretty much in all things (I call us Grace and Frankie on here all the time) and she powered through and had everything in place that she bought in like an hour and had her entire yard done in a few days. I am more of a meditative gardener, I guess. I like to think about where something is going, maybe change it, maybe do this… I am just very slow. Neither one of us does it better than the other, it’s just our ways.

Speaking of Kelly…she and her sweet daughter E. supplied the “toads” for our toad abode! Well, sort of. I have to raise them first. E. and Kelly went to a vernal pond near the railroad tracks near their house, and E. collected ten little tadpoles all by hand just for Wyatt!

They brought them over to us and hung out for a bit, and it was so fun. We exclaimed over the cute little tadpoles zooming around, E. enjoyed meeting all of our creatures, from the geckos to the isopods (although I think she liked Applejack the best). I was reminded of those summer nights when I was a kid, where time stood still for a while, the weather was perfect, the kids were laughing and playing, and it was just one of those perfect, everyday moments in time. We gave her an old praying mantis ooth to take home for her own nature collection, and for some reason it just really made me happy, tadpoles for an ooth.

So that is about it for me – I need a refill on this coffee, and I need to get ready for a big day of school with Wyatt. He is also getting a haircut, and hopefully we fit some time in for the library and then later tonight, time in the yard.

How are you all doing?

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP14 Comments

Hello everyone! I am just about to take my very first sip of coffee, and I can’t wait. That is always one of life’s best small moments, that first sip of coffee in the morning. At least for me. And I am still missing my percolator!

This past weekend was a pretty good one. We have been running like crazy people for weeks and weeks and we wanted a super chill weekend. It was our citywide garage sale so we headed out in the morning to slow boat around town and just browse what people were choosing to sell. I am super nosy that way; I love to see what people had owned and what they are choosing to not own anymore. However, after two stops we were done, but for a very good reason. I found the perfect desk for my office! I have been looking for three years for something that just spoke to me, and Saturday I found THE ONE. Lol. It was marked $75 but Billy talked the lady down to $50, and I feel like it was a steal!

However, getting this home was a bit of a challenge! We had Wyatt’s wheelchair, which takes up all the room in the back of my SUV. So we thought we would head home, get Billy’s car, we would both drive back (like 4 blocks), Wyatt would stay in the car while Billy and I loaded it into Billy’s car…. but thankfully our neighbor was out and he agreed to help Billy instead – plus, he had a pick up truck! So Neighbor Eric came to the rescue! Billy spent some time on the porch with it, cleaning it up, since it was pretty dirty and then Billy and I moved it to the office. I LOVE it. And Miso does too! I love that it is a double desk, and can hide all my crap in there. Lol. It is the perfect Mother’s Day gift! And it is special for another reason as well. Billy and I met in third grade, when we shared a double desk. It was not as cool as this one of course. They sat us next to each other because I never talked and Billy never stopped. He would ask if I was going to finish my lunch, and I always said no because I was shy, and so he would eat my sandwich or whatever and then draw me pictures. So I am thrilled to have this desk that also makes me think of little Billy and Erin.

Sunday, we worked in the yard. Everything is a big giant mess out there, we are just so behind. Everything has been so crazy – even my seedlings died due to neglect. So we put some time in on Sunday cleaning things up, getting ready for planting. At least, Billy and I did. Wyatt played.

I joked that Wyatt might have been the camp cook in an old logging camp in a past life. Lol.

I worked on this garden bed, which is mainly flowers and strawberries – and formerly dandelions as well. Billy worked on constructing our toad abode! It is still rough right now, I am going Sunday to buy some plants to plant around it, and grab some more rocks. I would like to attract toads to our yard because they are just so cute. Right now though, it looks sad still. Lol. It’ll be spruced up soon. I am going to add some hostas behind the wood logs, and then ferns and smaller plants closer to the water area. I didn’t want a giant pond to maintain, but I was reading that we just needed a small water feature so we went for petite. So this is our petite bijou toad abode. I am also getting a small water aerator (it should be here tomorrow!) to keep it not super gross or stagnant, because mosquitoes…

Yesterday I met my besties (minus one) plus baby for lunch! It has been ages and ages since I had lunch out with them and we had such a fantastic time. I got there early and made sure we got a table in the shade for the Bebe, and by the time everyone arrived I was starving!! Lol. I ordered an avocado three cheese sandwich with a side of brussels sprouts and it was delicious. But the main attraction of lunch was this wee one. Her first girls lunch! She will be two months on Thursday and she was so funny. Her mother had thought she would nap during lunch, but instead she wanted to be part of the group and action. We all had a great time.

And that is about it for this morning! I hope you all had a good weekend!

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP18 Comments

Hello everyone! Our percolator died and so we are currently just using the Keurig. Keurig coffee means Newman’s Own coffee, which is quite tasty. And I definitely need it this morning, it is rainy and chilly!

So much happened in the past week!

So Jeanie at Marmalade Gypsy has told me in the past about a music camp for special needs children at MSU, called RicStar which is an all-inclusive day camp that lasts three days, all about music and musical expression and music therapy for the attendees. Then it all culminates in a StarShow on the last day that family and friends can attend! I have always wanted to sign Wyatt up for it, but the timing was never right. Well, this year it was! I am extremely excited about this adventure my little guy and I will be taking together; it’s a hike from our house but not terrible. My plan is to drive there and back one day, then the next stay up there. Billy will join us after work and stay over as well, and just work from the room until Wyatt’s concert. I have all the reservations made. Kiddo is going to have a blast. Music is his favorite thing in the whole world, besides books and painting, and the one thing that neither Billy nor I are good at (well out of those three). So this will be an awesome experience for him!

This camp was created by Judy Winter, whose son Eric had cerebral palsy just like Wy-guy. Judy and her husband are huge advocates for the special needs community, and Judy is an author and speaker for individuals who are differently abled. Cindy Edgerton , the Director of the CMS Musical Therapy Services, is their partner in this endeavor, and she is the woman I have been corresponding with. She has been extremely helpful and friendly, and has even offered to help me find regular music therapy services for Wyatt closer to home!

We also went visited Greenfield Village for the first time this season! It is one of our favorite places, even when it is chilly and damp (is that our only weather these days?) We have a membership and I try to take it advantage of it as much as possible during the summer, even if we go just to walk around and ride the train and eat frozen custard, and skip the actual historical bits. Although, I do always stop and visit all the gardens.

All my favorite spots! I also made sure we stopped in at the house that George Washington Carver grew up in, since Wyatt studied him a few weeks ago. The walls are made of wood planks from each state tree, which since we talk about different state trees every week, I thought would be mildly interesting to show Wyatt. I took special pains to find South Carolina, since we did SC last week, and Indiana, since we are learning about Indiana this week, to show Wyatt. And as you might imagine, he was not super impressed, or interested. LOL. He did very much enjoy his giant chocolate chip cookie though.

Billy was also excited this past week. His isopod dreams are coming true! I have no idea why he is so enthused about fancy roly-bugs, but..he is. And Wyatt thinks they are pretty neat to watch so I guess this is a new thing at our house. For those of you who have not heard, isopods are a niche little hobby. People keep them as pets and also raise them and sell them for others to either keep as pets or to put into their terrariums as “clean up crews” to help keep the terrarium healthy and clean. Billy plans to add our isopods, once they grow in number, to our lizard tanks and also sell them on the side. But first, the colonies needs to grow. He currently has three different kinds – and let me tell you, there are SO MANY different kinds. It is unbelievable how many! The prices range from very cheap to very expensive (not Billy’s, just in general). There is a type called the Rubber Ducky isopod, which generally costs $200 for 6. 6 roly poly bugs y’all! I guess I don’t have to understand, just accept that Billy is into this and if it makes him happy, it does me as well. Billy’s isopods are Dairy Cows, A. Gestroi, and his new ones, Panda Kings (The Herd, The Horde, and The Sleuth, as Billy refers to them). Frankly, as far as pets or a hobby goes, they are fairly easy to maintain. Just some dirt and wood and leaves and vegetable scraps, and a damp side and dry side. I also think there is a clay ball thing drainage layer too. I am not thrilled that right now they are living in my office, but we are still working on the best spot for them to permanently live.

And, I think I will leave off here! My coffee cup is empty and I should probably get ready to start our school day! Have a good one everyone!

A Vulnerable Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, metal health31 Comments

Hi everyone. I want to share what I have been going through the past two weeks, but first, if talking about mental health or anxiety is triggering for you, then please skip this post. I would hate to cause anyone any negativity.

So. Where I have been. Three weeks ago I was feeling good – blood pressure fantastic, mild anxiety left over from Wyatt’s surgeries but nothing terrible, my weight is good, and had A+ blood work according to my doctor. However, at that wellness visit we decided to increase my Prozac by just ten milligrams. I had been taking 10mg Prozac for years, and we thought since I was having some mild anxiety we would increase it. The doctor said it still was considered a very low dose, etc. Then things when to absolute hell.

My anxiety and fear grew with every single day. I was struggling to not just lay in bed, I wanted to hide from my own brain and thoughts. It took all of my strength to get up everyday and care for myself and Wyatt, which I absolutely did. I did the bare minimum, fed us, made sure we were safe, went to appointments, but nothing extra and for sure nothing exciting or enriching. In addition to my anxiety growing – like I was afraid to eat or walk around for fear I would have a stroke – my blood pressure just kept climbing as well. I have had essential hypertension since I was 24, it is just inherited and I am very good at tracking my blood pressure and keeping a log. However, no matter what my doctor was increasing my blood pressure meds by, it was not controlling it. By Good Friday, I was feeling out of my mind, and when Billy came home from work, I drove myself to the ER. I told them I was having constant panic attacks and that my blood pressure was insane. They monitored me for about an hour, prescribed an extra pill, told me that I was actually fine and not going to die, which I was absolutely positive I was going to and gave me some good information about my current blood pressure to help me through. I wrote that kind doctor’s words down and kept them with me.

My doctor contacted me the next day, saying that she had gotten my ER notes and was going to have the nurse manager call me the following Monday to help me find an appointment to follow up. At my follow up, my blood pressure was still high. After we talked a bit about what was going on, we realized that I had been fine up until she increased my Prozac. She thinks that there is a very good chance that the increased dose triggered a reaction in my body, like a less severe version of serotonin syndrome, which in extreme cases can be fatal. Even if it was not serotonin syndrome, Prozac is a drug that when you first start taking it or have an increase in dose, it can actually INCREASE fear and anxiety for a few weeks. So just something to realize and pay attention to. I think due to my small dose and dose increase it wasn’t as severe as it could have been. However, unfortunately for me, I have a whole lot of anxiety tied up with my blood pressure anyway, as a result of my month in the hospital while pregnant with Wyatt for pre-eclampsia, which probably exacerbated the whole situation on top of things. Yay me. So, my doctor came up with a new plan. We dropped the Prozac back down to 10mg, since I can’t simply just stop taking it completely just like that, and she put me on an entirely different blood pressure medicine. And Xanax, the lowest dose for a short time until I get through this time of transition. I am not super comfortable with that last one, but I do need it right now and don’t plan on taking it longer than I need to. I will take magnesium instead, when the time comes. She told me that it is going to take a little bit to get things (blood pressure) back to normal again, and to not expect it to be back to where it was (110/75!) in just three days. I am impatient to get back there though, so I have to fight that inclination and disappointment as well, and believe that I will get better, but it will be a process.

As for my anxiety, well, right now that is pretty good. I think that once the excess Prozac has left my system finally, I will be much better. And as for the jump scare of taking my own blood pressure, Billy and I team up. He takes it, doesn’t tell me what it is, and records it for me. He knows the parameters that our doctor gave for it, and also knows how to contact her if needed.

Mental health is such a fragile thing, sometimes. Medication can be good, but also, we need to pay attention to what our bodies are telling us. Sometimes they work and sometimes we have reactions. I never read side effects because I am a person who will automatically get them if I read them, but if I take something and feel weird, I contact the doctor and let them decide. I was nervous to write this post, so many people don’t believe in medication for mental health and look down on those who take it, think they are weak. I don’t feel that way. Your body chemicals can be out whack anywhere – brain, cholesterol, hormones, heart, what have you, and it is important to take care of yourself, and if taking a medication can help and doesn’t hurt you, then so be it. But also, if you do take something and know something is wrong, do not be afraid to bring it up to your doctor. I also think you should be able to have an open, trusting relationship with your doctor. My doctor is wonderful, she listens to me, considers what I am saying, allays my fears, and is very responsive to emails – all things that I need in a doctor.

It has been a wild few months for our family and homeschool has suffered, I haven’t been as available to my mother as I need to be, but I am managing that guilt as well. I need to take care of myself so that I can get better and get back to my normal life. I am thankfully very very blessed with supportive family and friends who are helping me through these times and hopefully I will be back to my normal self soon.

Consider this my PSA for the month! Lol. Take care of yourselves, no matter what that looks like for you!