Sunday Morning Coffee Catch Up

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Last week was a long week. Wyatt threw up once after swimming last Friday (the 22nd) and we thought maybe it was just because he had swallowed water or something. But then Saturday he started coughing and was congested, so we gave him a home test, which almost instantly turned positive for Covid. Billy and I just stared at it for a second, in disbelief. We had had a busy week, but all were in medical buildings with screening and mask requirements – except for one. His speech therapy appointment Tuesday afternoon. Due to the nature of speech therapy, he can’t wear a mask. And since it houses many speech therapy rooms, etc a lot of kids are not wearing masks. When we looked at the timeline, it fit.

We immediately called Wyatt’s pediatrician, who told us not to panic (too late!), told us to treat it like a cold, and to also call Wyatt’s neurologist. His neuro team also told us not to panic but to bump up one of his seizure meds for two days in case of fever spikes. He thank goodness did not have any fever spikes but we were happy to have such a good medical team for our kiddo. Once Wyatt was settled, I went out for a PCR test. Which came back negative but two days later I became congested with a sore throat and tested positive as well, which I knew was coming. How could it not?

We spent the week resting and healing, and for me, worrying. I drove my friends and family crazy I am sure but with their help I managed to stay mostly calm. I drank tons of tea with honey, ate chicken noodle soup everyday for lunch, kept hydrated, and laid around as much as my bounce back quickly kid would let me. (which I was grateful for, Wyatt bouncing back so quickly). I was congested, husky voiced, and a little tired. That was probably one of the hardest things, being sidelined. I missed my college roommate reunion! One of my friends from college was visiting from Australia, where he moved after meeting and falling in love with his wife, an Australian woman from Perth. I see them so rarely for obvious reasons, and this was one other time I missed them. I will probably have to wait five years again now, which is a huge bummer.

At least I had my little buddy to hang out with. And my cats and my reptiles and my caterpillars. They distracted me when I needed a distraction. I daydreamed about adopting a goat. And an English Angora rabbit, because look at this little floof!! I want to kiss it and hug it … my husband calls me Elmyra from Tiny Toons and it is not an unfair comparison sometimes.

Billy and I watched lots of Virgin River because that was just the tv I needed, I attempted two audiobooks, and mostly scrolled the interwebs. On Thursday Wyatt was growing increasingly bored but as he had just passed day 5 and I was not there yet, we were still housebound – and pretty much are until day 10. And I was still pretty gross. But I rallied enough to set up this rock painting activity for him. His rocks were so…artistic. I thought they were beautiful.

I didn’t go outside much over the week, because I wasn’t interested in adding allergies to the mix, but I did sit on the porch a few times and was surprised everyday by some new and wonderful sight. Goldfinches perching on my lavender, eating seeds from flower heads, a baby robin, just a new fledgling sitting on our porch rail, unafraid. A hummingbird even swung by and hovered in front of us, saying hello for a few seconds before disappearing in a blur. And, I found giant swallowtail butterfly eggs on my rue! So, despite a pretty crappy week, there was some beauty to be found in it.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Wednesday Hodgepodge is hosted by From This Side of the Pond

This is my first time participating and I am excited about it!

1. According to author Gary Chapman there are five love languages-words of affirmation, quality time, physical touch, acts of service, and receiving gifts. Which one is yours? 

For what I like to receive, quality time. Is that what this means? I tend to be a doer for other people, so I think I show my love through nurturing.

2. What are five foods you eat every day? 

I am not sure there five foods I eat every day that are the same.. Let me try though… toast with jam. Cheese. Right now, watermelon. I’m almost there! Ok..carrots! I love carrots so much. And..the fruit snack I always sneak from the pouch before handing it to Wyatt.

3. Five places you’d love to visit?

Italy. Scotland. Ireland. The Pacific Northwest and Nova Scotia.

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4. Something you’ve done recently that deserved a ‘high five‘?

Planned a few fun small activities and one awesome mini-getaway to a tiny house on a farm.

5. Give us five 5-letter words that describe your July. 

Books. Fruit. Trips. Dates. Farms.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I am sitting in my bed looking around and thinking I really want to refresh our bedroom. I have wanted to do this for a while but we have kept putting it off and I think I am going to prioritize it pretty soon. I am 100% over this wall color (that I never wanted, the husband chose it and I have never been a fan lol), I want my art hung, and my husband needs a new dresser. I am moving this project up the list!

My Sunday-Monday Post!

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

Last week was a busy week – so many appointments! Wyatt had a neurology appointment that went well, and we were referred to an epileptologist for the breakthrough seizures we are still seeing. He also had speech and OT. And I had an appointment too! I went to a new doctor and I really liked her. I always find it hard to switch doctors but my old doctor and I have never clicked, so I took the plunge and it paid off.

Read Last Week:

I loved this book so much!! Definitely my favorite read of the summer so far.

Reading This Week:

I started this the other night and I am already sucked in. And this cover! Gorgeous!

Posted Last Week:

Book Review: Wildwood Whispers by Willa Reece

Classic Movie Impressions: The Thin Man

Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watching and Listening:

We finished up Stranger Things and I was pretty emotional over it. Lol. It was so good though! Billy and I have a line up of shows that we want to start or catch up on – The Brokenwood Mysteries, The Umbrella Academy, Dark Winds, Only Murders in the Building, and Virgin River. We have been feeling a bit of “tv show hangover” from Stranger Things so we stuck to our fall back easy show Murdoch Mysteries, and then started Virgin River Season 4 last night. I needed something light and easy and these were great choices. This week we will probably mix it up with Virgin River and another one – but we are disagreeing on which one. My vote is for either OMITB or Brokenwood, and Billy wants to watch The Umbrella Academy. So we are in a tv show standoff!

Listening.. the podcasts I have been listening to this week include Read Aloud Revival, The Folklore Podcast, and True Crime Garage. And I found a really fun music playlist on Spotify that will be neat to listen to, since I am reading A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons.

And that is about for now! How about you all?

Book Review: Wildwood Whispers by Willa Reece

Goodreads Summary:

At the age of eleven, Mel Smith’s life found its purpose when she met Sarah Ross. Ten years later, Sarah’s sudden death threatens to break her. To fulfill a final promise to her best friend, Mel travels to an idyllic small town nestled in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains. Yet Morgan’s Gap is more than a land of morning mists and deep forest shadows.

There are secrets that call to Mel, in the gaze of the gnarled and knowing woman everyone calls Granny, in a salvaged remedy book filled with the magic of simple mountain traditions, and in the connection, she feels to the Ross homestead and the wilderness around it.

With every taste of sweet honey and tart blackberries, the wildwood twines further into Mel’s broken heart. But a threat lingers in the woods—one that may have something to do with Sarah’s untimely death and that has now set its sight on Mel.

My thoughts:

I loved every single thing about this book. Can I please move to Morgan’s Gap? There are a few things that will automatically draw me to a book (besides the cover). Magical realism (my favorite genre), witches, folklore, small towns, nature, mystery…this book has it all. I could not put it down, and dreamed my nights away in dreams of misty mountains, blackberries, homemade bread and jam.

Mel is a tough nut to crack. Hardened and honed by multiple foster homes where she was unloved and mistreated, she keeps her defenses high and her trust low. The only person she has let into her heart is her foster sister Sarah, whose death shatters that heart that is so hard to wiggle into. She makes a pilgrimage to Sarah’s hometown, where Sarah is from, where her roots were firmly entrenched before the tragedy that wrenched her away.

Here Mel slowly lowers her defenses, starting her life over in the place that Sarah had so deeply loved. She starts to make new connections, to the people who remembered Sarah and her family, to the land, to the community. And when forces start to threaten this new life of hers, Mel relies on all she has learned to keep hold of this new start, this place where she has found a home and friends.

Reece has an amazing way with words. I could feel the lushness of the wildwood, the beauty of the land and the mountains, taste the sweetness of the honey. I just about cried at one scene in the book, when Mel goes to visit the local apiarist. And phew, one scene that should be so simple is so .. er.. hot. This book is full of strong emotions, love and grief, hope and evil. This book was beautiful and wonderful and wild.

I absolutely loved this book, and I can’t wait until the next one in the series, Wildwood Magic, is released! Unfortunately that is all the way in November – but right before my birthday, so…there is that!

So go. Go now and lose yourself in the magic of the wildwood! (well, if that is your sort of thing, that is..)

Morning Coffee Catch Up

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The coffee is hot and delicious this morning! This week we are drinking Seattle’s Best Post Alley, a dark roast and dang, it is smooth.

Wyatt started swim lessons! He is super excited about going, this kid loves a pool. I had to explain though that while this is fun, it is more for learning and not playing around. That is reserved for grandma’s pool!

If you read my National Parks Jr. Ranger post, you might remember that Wyatt and I tried an online version for Denali National Park. Since we are probably not going to make it to Denali in his youth, and he knows about Denali from the PBS cartoon Molly of Denali, we started there. We completed the activity book together and mailed it in, and Friday Wyatt received the nicest letter and his badge in the mail!

Saturday night was date night! Billy and I went to our local street art fair, which is huge! We walked around, browsed, had a drink and some food, and bought a print for our bedroom. I am making a gallery wall of night time nature type prints and this one will fit perfectly! It immediately spoke to me, the moon, the fireflies, and it reminded me of our recent mini-getaway. The artists, Dennis and Christina of Arsenal Handicraft, are local to us and had beautiful artwork! They do illustration and screenprinting and I wanted to buy everything.

Sunday we did yard work, in spurts because it was super muggy. I have a ton of new bites on my leg from something, which is not cool. Our wildflower garden experiment is starting to pay off! Except, we don’t know what is a flower or a weed until it blooms! Or doesn’t, I guess? I pulled a bunch today after using Google Lens, but I left quite a bit I was feeling skeptical about. We will see! I also felt in communion with grasshoppers as they were leaping all around me as I was working. We have so many! And my caterpillar count is up to..11? Maybe 12. I have filled up most of my empty tanks so this might be it for a while.

And now I guess I’d better get a moving!

My Sunday-Monday Post

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!

After a few weeks of playing around and having fun, I spent this past week trying to catch up on work. I had so much just “house business” to do – all those fun things like cleaning, making appointments, accumulated paperwork that I needed to fill out, just all the odds and ends of living. Wyatt is now going to therapy again twice a week, and in August that bumps up to three times a week (PT, OT, and speech) and he is also taking swim lessons on Fridays. This week we both also have doctor’s appointments so this week will also be full. Then hopefully, we will have a return to our normalish schedule. I am looking forward to it!

Reading:

I finished up Hotel Paradise, which was just as good as I remembered it. Martha Grimes is a beautiful writer. I also started Wildwood Whispers by Willa Reece and I am loving it! It takes me FOR-EV-ER to finish a book these days just due to life, but I read it absolutely every second I can. It is so good – full of magic and nature and community.

Watching and Listening:

Billy and I have almost finished up Stranger Things – we just have the epically long finale left. 2.5 hours! Why!? We also have been trying to catch as much of the Tour as we can. Billy has watched the Tour de France for years and years but I only started watching about 10 years ago. We usually only end up watching the highlights these days but it is still fascinating and exciting to us. I feel sort of blah about it this year, as my favorite rider Mikel Landa is not participating this time.

We also watched our classic movie suggestion from Lisa at Boondock Ramblings – The Thin Man starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. My impressions post will be up Wednesday for those who are interested!

We are listening to a lot of Kate Bush around here lately – she has experienced a resurgence thanks to Stranger Things. I somehow missed her while I was growing up in the 80s. I was too busy listening to Madonna and Michael Jackson back then I guess. I still find myself commanding my Alexa to play Lord Huron, Tom Petty, and 70s Classic Folk a lot though.

Posted Last Week:

Mini-Getaway – about our stay in a tiny house on a farm

Mini-Getaway – Days Two and Three

Amazon Prime Day Deals I Love – (although Prime Day is over)

Things That Made Me Smile Thursday

And that is about it from my little corner of the Mitten State! I hope all is well with you!

Things That Made Me Smile Thursday

I was on Instagram earlier this morning, scrolling while I sipped on my first coffee of the day, and someone had posted little things that make them smile. Which got me thinking, what made me smile this week?

  1. Our small but mighty raspberry bushes! They are not big or not many but they produce enough right now for us to have a handful or two every few days. My little niece happily raided them the other night, and … it made me smile. That is one of my favorite ever memories of my Uncle Art, eating fruit and vegetables straight from the garden, still warm from the sun.

2. The toothless grin of my feral child. He was over the moon with excitement over this rock we found on a walk and talked about it the entire walk. I love that these small things can make him so happy.

3. That a whole stack of books I requested from the library came in at once on a day that I was sort of having a crummy day. This made me happy and made my day feel brighter. I felt like I had won the library book lottery!

4. This is pictured at the top, but bubbles! Can anyone not smile when they see bubbles? Wyatt and I spent some time hanging on the porch during the heat of the day, in the shade, while he blew bubbles and shot bubbles out of his bubble gun. Because life is fancy these days, with battery operated bubble guns.

5. Little caterpillars! I wasn’t going to bring any in this year other than the batch I saved from a hail storm, but I noticed they were losing the war in the yard, between parasitic wasps and predatory insects and birds. They all deserve to survive too, but I thought I would start bringing some in to raise. It was making me sad to see them disappear overnight! So I have three little hungry hungry caterpillars right now and watching them munch and munch makes me smile.

What are some things that have made you smile this week?

Mini-Getaway: Days Two and Three

Wyatt is possibly a farmer boy at heart.

Day two, the sun was shining, the rooster was crowing, and we were up too. Early, because Wyatt is a total early bird. But that is ok because we got to see the farm wake up as well. The chickens were clucking and possibly laying eggs, making that Bawkbawkbawk-baBAWK noise. I love a breakfast and coffee in the morning sun so as soon as I could I stepped out onto the deck with my little sidekick while Billy was lounging about in bed still. He rolled out not long after, lured by the coffee, and joined us. We finished up our breakfast and coffee seconds before the dogs raced over to see us, and we gave them lots of pets before exploring the farm.

Usually I “McGill” a vacation – that is my maiden name and we are a people full of action a lot of the time, especially on vacation. We want to see and do it all! However, my intention for this trip was exactly the opposite. I had to turn down the McGill and just be. Wyatt and Billy are masters at relaxing, so I slowed my roll and it was an amazingly restful and slow day. We hung around the farm most of the day, except for three things – getting ice cream, trying mead at a local meadery, and getting pizza (takeout).

It was a lovely lazy day. All the fresh air and exploration zonked a little someone out, so we took him to bed and I read a bit of Charlotte’s Web to him before he officially turned in.

Then Billy and I caught the sunset, and sat and chatted while watching the deer in the meadow for a long while before turning in ourselves.

The next morning the guys stayed in bed, and our little friend was back. I went out to have breakfast with him, and his friend showed up. I felt well attended and guarded with my dog friends.

Before too long, it was time to go home, and we were not ready! We are already talking about a return visit in the fall. We just loved it that much. Before we left we said our goodbyes to the animals and I spotted a teensy chicken! Is this a baby? A young juvenile? A tiny chicken? I wanted to cuddle it!

The details, just in case anyone is ever in Michigan and wants a relaxing respite.

The Details:

We stayed at the Firefly Stargazer tiny house studio, located in Hastings, MI. It is really intended for 1-2 people, but I emailed and they were very accommodating about Wyatt after I explained his different needs and we assured them we don’t mind being snug. It is a perfect mix of modern farmhouse and rustic, with a super comfortable bed and fluffy pillows. I feel like Elena and Victoria really put so much thought and care into the little touches – the ultra soft bed, the cozy blankets, including the teddy bear blankets, the thick and fluffy towels, and books and games. And seriously, whatever laundry detergent they use smells amazing. Like, I might email to ask. The shower was not a super tiny stall where you feel like you are touching the walls or curtain which I hate, it was a nice size for a tiny house.

One thing that might be different. It has a compost toilet. This was new to Billy and I, and frankly, it was honestly not a big deal. It was easy, and despite my skepticism about it, there were no issues. I actually felt virtuous like some sort of eco-warrior when I used it.

Elena and Victoria try to live exclusively from what they grow and raise on the farm, which is also an organic farm as much as possible. Elena is retired military and both women are extremely nice and friendly. And the dogs – I can’t tell you how much I loved them. I had dogs my entire adult life until our dog passed away right at the time Wyatt was born and we just never thought it was a good time to adopt another after Penny. So it was so nice to be with dogs like that again.

The trip was super relaxing and I recommend it to anyone needing a reset!

2022-2023 Homeschool Curriculum Reveal!

If you have ever homeschooled, or know someone who does, then you probably know just how much time, effort, research, conversations, and comparisons go into picking the curriculum your child uses. Our position is unique – we do not need to choose something that will be effective for an entire school district of children all with different needs. We need only choose based on our own child and their educational journey. However, despite having a much, much smaller student body, it is just as important and just as time consuming.

After weighing Wyatt’s needs, where he is academically, and how he best learns, I FINALLY made my choices and started purchasing them, always with the slightest trepidation and anxiety about making the wrong choice. And then I remind myself, when I start doubting myself, that if it doesn’t work, then we find something that does. Wyatt’s education is probably our biggest expense outside of our actual bills, and it is something we sometimes make sacrifices for. But it is 100% worth it.

The homeschool world has so many options. Secular, non-secular, nature based, wildschooling, unschooling, roadschooling. We sort of take a little bit of everything over here, and have a very eclectic approach. The past two years we have used Blossom and Root for everything, for the most part, and then in January I decided Wyatt needed more structure in math and in grammar, so I added in another curriculum. We will be using bits and pieces from a few different curriculum this year, including one that I am designing myself.

This year for Math we are using The Good and the Beautiful, which is what we started using in January last year. Since we started using it late in the year, we will finish up from where we left off before moving on to Course 2. We both like it quite a bit, and math is Wyatt’s least favorite so that is a definite win! It is academically strong, easy to follow, hardly any preparation, and very aesthetically pleasing, which really isn’t important at all but does make it nicer. They also utilize a lot of nature themes, which we enjoy, and use inclusive and diverse images. Wyatt and I were very pleased to see one of the lessons included an illustration of a little girl with braces and crutches! Kids like to see themselves reflected in books and Wyatt definitely liked that lesson.

Since we are talking about The Good and the Beautiful, I will just say we are also using it for reading and grammar, for all of the same reasons. One other thing about The Good and the Beautiful – you can purchase the whole kit and caboodle, or you can get a download of the curriculum for free! I think this is spectacular. The program is fantastic, and I like that anyone can have access to it for their child.

We are sticking with Blossom and Root for science, as their science and nature program is very strong. It looks like this year is going to be learning all about the world of plants – which is pretty exciting to me as well!

I was looking at Michigan’s Common Core because I do try to make sure we follow along in our own way, and it didn’t look like there was much on there about history/geography/social studies. It seems to focus quite a bit on community so we will make sure to include that in our studies, but I also added in Traveling the States by The Waldock Way. I think it is perfect for where Wyatt is right now. It gives him a nice overview of the fifty states, and it looks like it is very fun and engaging. It was originally designed for roadschooling, but can be used in a home classroom as well, as we are doing. It would be neat to include some long distance field trips this year though! You can check out an inside peek video here!

Music! I always struggle with this one, as I am the farthest from musical anyone can be. So this year I am pairing music appreciation, learning about different instruments and genres, with our literature and art program. I am also looking for music lessons for him nearby, that will take special needs children. And Jeanie at Marmalade Gypsy has told me about a program at MSU called RicStar, and I think I am going to try to get him in to their camp next summer. It looks like something Wyatt would absolutely love!

And finally, literature and art. This is separate from The Good and the Beautiful program we are using to learn the mechanics of reading and writing. This will be all literature based projects and activities, based on the readings for the week, and will include poetry, geography, history, comprehension, art, vocabulary lists, copywork and narration. I am designing this myself, so I am super nervous about it but feel I have all his bases covered with the other programs we are using so it should be ok. This will just supplement everything we are doing in a nicely complimentary way.

As for physical education, Wyatt does go to physical therapy once a week, as well as occupational therapy and speech. However, I did find swim lessons specifically for special needs children.

And since I have made my choices and started buying them all, I have also begun planning – and have some awfully fluffy assistants.

And.. that pretty much sums it all up! I can’t wait to share all of this with you when we begin in the fall!

Morning Coffee Catch Up

July is off with a bang! We had a wonderful long weekend, full of good times.

Saturday was all about Wyatt – ice cream, a picnic, and swimming with his cousin at his grandma’s house. We hit our favorite ice cream parlor, picking up the traditional black cherry for Billy and mint chocolate chip for Wyatt, and this time I went with a new one, Detroit Grand Slam. I don’t think I understand the name but it tastes good, like coffee.

We have two little water babies on our hands – or mermaids, as my little niece calls herself and Wyatt. And it is a much more whimsical description, so we will go with mermaids. Wyatt is all signed up for private swim lessons, and I can’t wait. I will feel so much more relaxed after we get some basics covered.

Sunday we went for a long drive, then chilled out at home. I think we were recovering from a long pool day, and knowing that another big day was coming on the 4th. I did release my last little black swallowtail. I only brought in five caterpillars this summer and my last one just went through it’s transformation and flew away. I hope to bring in a few more to raise later in the summer; we just have too many trips and overnights right now in the works.

But the fourth was a day to remember. A golden moment in time, honestly. A perfect day.

I haven’t seen some of my family since the pandemic started – my aunt and uncle (Barb and Mike), my two cousins (Michael and Meghan), and their families. My cousin Michael invited us all for a family party at his house on the fourth, for a cookout and some swimming, so of course the two little mermaids were excited about that as well.

We pulled up in the driveway, and tumbled into the backyard, where Mike was standing by the gate. When I saw his smiling face, I couldn’t help it, I teared up. And then my cousin Meghan came over for a hug and we were both teary and emotional. We have always been so close, all of us, and it was overwhelming to finally be with each other again. But once the quick tears dried up, the fun began!

Of course the kids hit the pool immediately. Michael and Meghan’s kids (3 boys for Mike, 2 boys for Meghan) were already in the pool, and Wyatt wanted to get in as well. Billy had a few minutes to say hi and give hugs and then boom, he was in the water with Wyatt. Pretty much for most of the day. Lol. There was also a lifeguard which was reassuring with so many kids in the pool at once – 9 total plus dads. And the rest of the day was all about sharing stories, both old and new, eating, drinking, laughing, listening to the music, and soaking up the sun (slathered in sunblock as our family will burn in a hot second). My cousin made an awesome playlist which I am sharing because it is a real mood for a summer gathering.

We finally had to say goodbye, and loaded up our weary kids into the car, tuckered out from a very full day of fun. I was also that kind of tired too, that comes from a day spent outdoors having a very full day of fun as well. Wyatt zonked out hard in the car on the way home, and didn’t even wake up when Billy carried him in to the house. The hallmark of a perfect childhood day.

What about all of you? Any stories from your weekend you want to share?