Wrap Up to the Weekend

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, family friendly, Uncategorized1 Comment

The weather was, for the most part, glorious this weekend, with the exception of Saturday morning.

It was gray, cold, rainy and damp. It was awful. Billy went to the movies and left Wyatt and I to our own devices. And my devices believed we needed scones. I am not a person who bakes a lot, but my grandma baked all the time, everyday almost. And she was so good at it, turning out delicious pies, crumbly jammy tarts, cookies, and scones, just to name some of her specialties. I have never made scones myself, but I have eaten plenty over the years, and I spent much of my time growing up watching my grandma and then my mom make pastry. I felt slightly prepared, and the recipe looked pretty simple. I used a recipe online, I need to find my grandma’s for next time, although this one was very similar to hers.

scones

And they turned out awesome, if I do say so myself. Wyatt and I nibbled on those for a bit then later we took little man for ice cream, because it was a beautiful afternoon compared to the morning, and ice cream was required. And swinging on swings in the park, which we also did.

wyatt ice cream

This kid takes his ice cream seriously.

On Sunday we went to a vintage bike swap meet, where there were literally hundreds of old bikes. It felt so much nostalgic and buddy movie, like The Goonies or Now and Then or Stranger Things. There were many, many sparkly banana seats, banana seats with stripes, road bikes, dirt bikes, old bikes – like super old. There was an old Schwinn cycle truck, with a gigantic basket. And the cutest little kid bikes ever. We don’t know if that is  something that Wyatt will ever be able to do with his Cerebral Palsy, but you never know. We will just keep working hard, and maybe one day. If not, there are plenty of amazing adaptive bikes out there too, even bikes that are designed for someone to ride and someone to do the pedaling. So, there are many options.

I also loved all the different names of the bikes – I am not a bike person, so I don’t know all the terms. My husband does, he is a bike fanatic. So I will just call them the names. There were so many different ones! The Meteor, Stingray, Stardust, Phantom, Hornet. It was my favorite part, I think reading all these different names and kinds. We also saw tandem bikes, and unicycles, and really old bikes, like Penny Farthings. The sun was gleaming and shining like crazy off all the chrome and it was just a beautiful day, with the sun finally shining. We had a great time.

And seriously, isn’t that Lil’ Tiger adorable!!! The woman selling it told me that her son learned to ride a bike using that bike. And I love the addition of the training wheels and bat. So darn cute!

Back to the same old routine today – preschool, cleaning, work. Blah. But at least the sun is still shining and we had a great weekend. You can always look back on a happy memory for a pick me up!

Phoneless and free

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family friendly, mom life, Uncategorized3 Comments

black-coffee-caffeine-cell-phone-878236 (1)

On Sunday, my phone quit forever, dying the true death.

At first I panicked. Then I ordered a new phone through my service provider.

However, said new phone wasn’t going to be here until Wednesday or Thursday! That meant at least two full days without a phone, maybe more. This was terrible news! As a stay at home mom to a special needs child, I feel isolated a lot. I often feel like my phone is my link to the world, to other people, to social contact. I have a laptop, but it is hard to sit down and work on it right now with Wyatt so young. Wyatt and I usually have a pretty busy schedule of appointments too, and when at home we are hanging out together.  So, it’s not really in the cards. I do use the laptop when he is at school, like right now though.

Monday morning was rough. Then slowly, slowly, I found that I didn’t really care as much anymore about not having it. I felt a weight lifted actually – a certain freedom. I didn’t need to check emails or Facebook; my feeling of being really busy was gone, although, my to-do list never changed. I think on some level, having a constant connection to everything makes you feel you actually need to be participating at all times in your email and social media, even though we really don’t. We don’t need to answer an email as soon as we hear that ping. We don’t need to immediately respond to people on Facebook or Instagram. It can wait.

Ironically, I am also reading a book right now called The Nature Fix by Florence Williams. It is fascinating. Not a quick read for me by any means, there is a lot of neuro-talk and physiology and science, which slows me down a bit as I am not naturally inclined towards that realm of learning. But, I am loving this book and learning so much, nevertheless. It’s all about how nature helps you to heal, how it is healthy for you, emotionally and physically. Just five hours a month can improve your mental and physical health greatly. This book talks about how nature straight up affects your brain, how most of the time we operate “top-down” using our active brain and focus, while nature allows us to be “bottoms up”, to allow our brains to relax, taking away all that stimuli that makes us work that frontal cortex constantly. Williams mentioned a study that took place in Michigan about why drivers choose to take a tree lined scenic drive rather than a different route, even over the faster route. Or a study that showed that when recovering from an illness, just being near a window can reduce recovery time and amount of pain medicine taken.

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I remember when Wyatt was in the NICU – I had been in the hospital myself for a month before he was born, then he was in the hospital for the next six weeks. It was a long time to be in a hospital. His incubator was always on the far side of the room, away from the windows and the light, and I started to get this feeling that if we were near a window and he could experience sunlight (muted of course, not direct!) that he would flourish. So when the next window spot opened up, I asked the nurses if Wyatt could be moved. And those sweet women did it, although it took a tremendous amount of extra effort on their part. And, a week and a half later, Wyatt was discharged. While I know that it was the hard work and care of his entire massive team of doctors and nurses that healed my son, I like to think that having a week in the sunshine helped just a tiny wee bit. I know that it helped me, being able to sit in daylight for a change, rather than shadow.

Honestly, this book has so much information that I found valuable and interesting. How our senses interpret nature, from scent to audio to visual. I highly recommend reading it!

Some alarming things I have learned: The average person looks at their phone 150 times a day. IPhone users spend 26 minutes more a day on their phones. There are less than a dozen places in the United States that are devoid of man-made noises and contain only the sounds of nature. As I write that sentence, I hear birds singing outside my window, some sort of power tools being used, and a car driving by on the street, my coffee maker beeping. My fingers typing on the keyboard.

Everyone has been saying to me, “Oh it must be so hard”, or “Ugh, that must be so annoying!” to not have your phone. But, it has become a little easier. Since I haven’t had it, I kept track of things I have done differently. My own tiny observations, if you will.

Our mornings have had a different rhythm. I feel more relaxed, not getting up and checking out what happened over night or checking my emails. I am on medicine for high blood pressure, and when I checked my BP this morning as usual, it was super low – 98/62!  I also feel I have more time. On Monday, Wyatt and I went to my brother’s house and hung out with my mom and my niece, the kids were playing and having fun while mom and I had tea together and chatted, where we would usually have a phone conversation. Williams said people are built for social face to face interaction, and it was much nicer for Wyatt and I, and my mom and Chickadee, to all be together for a while. It was really fun, actually. I took a nap when Wyatt did later that day too, which was pretty awesome. I have more time, and things are getting done that I haven’t had time for – which is sad when what was getting in my way was checking my phone! Wyatt and I spent some time outside too, in the sun listening to birds, and Wyatt even tried to imitate a robin’s trilling song. And I have been singing more in the car, now that I am not talking to people on my Bluetooth. I have also been able to notice how much time my husband spends on his phone, since I haven’t had one. It’s been enlightening. I feel like I have had a detox and honestly I like it.

On the other hand, I still need a phone. While I have felt more free, I have also missed a few really important phone calls. I also had to tell Wyatt’s preschool to call my husband first since I am unavailable by phone right now. My husband is at work and would have to chat me, which works but is not the best way to do things. I like to be available if I am needed in an emergency. Today is also my mom’s birthday and I can’t call her to wish her a happy birthday. So, I definitely need a phone. I just don’t need to be on it as much as I apparently was. I am going to stay balanced – I like this new feeling of not being as anxious, tethered, but I also want to receive calls and get information when I need it!

How about you? How often do you get outside in nature? Do you feel like you couldn’t exist without your phone?

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Goals y’all. Lol.

 

Let’s Begin the Season of Flea Markets!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family friendly, Uncategorized4 Comments

I always joke with my friends that I don’t know how anyone finds anything at flea markets or garage sales or rummage sales. When it comes to that, I have no eye. I walk around and see things all spread out willy-nilly on a table and think “this is all just trash!”. Lol. Now, I know this is not the case. I am just not good at seeing things apparently for what they could be.

My friend Kelly however is a mad genius of taste and decorating. Seriously. Her home is beautiful, like something out of a magazine despite having a two year old. One day I will do a series on her house maybe – it deserves to be talked about. She has an innate ability to know what will look good where, what colors to use, and of course finding treasure at flea markets.

We are entering the season of these sales in our area, and we are all excited to start going. I love them, despite my innate inability to visualize new homes and lives for the things that people are selling. I am a curious sort of person, I like to see what people once liked. But this year, I am challenging myself to look beyond, and to see what an object could be. I am sure most of the time I will fail. But, I have been studying magazines like Country Living and HGTV for ideas, and to read about what other people do. And I asked Kelly what her magical secret is, other than it being her own natural creative talent. She told me I need to go in with an idea already, something I am already looking for. Like art for a specific wall, or a piece of furniture I need, or just a little something extra, but to have a plan.

So this morning Billy and I popped in spontaneously to a church rummage sale. I didn’t have a plan, but I did have an idea. We are redoing my office, and my “theme” is Michigan artists and writers – even if it was just for a brief time, like Ernest Hemingway. It was inspired by a postcard I found of the artists colony in Saugatuck in the 1920s, and I am pretty excited about it. So while we were poking around, I spotted something in a box on the floor under the table and was rewarded for my eagle eye nosiness.

A vintage calendar of block prints by Gwen Frostic! I was so excited. Gwen Frostic is a Michigan artist and poet. She even graduated from the same high school as I did! She moved north to Benzonia, just a few miles from where our family vacations every summer. And she loves nature, just like me. So I was super excited about my discovery! I couldn’t wait to show Kelly and Chrissy, who both validated my instinct.

We also picked up a bunch of other stuff – it was fill a bag for $1.00, so we threw more stuff inside. I added a small green Pyrex bowl for Chrissy, who has a collection. A grey cardigan that looks perfect for winter days writing or reading or exploring. A slate tile with a fox engraved in it from Wales (Trallong, Brecon). Billy added a small silver frying pan, an old fashioned ice cream scoop, some weird little silver pans that he said are used to poach eggs, and also an 80s era light blue Camaro t-shirt for me. Wyatt’s contribution to the bag was a roll of Christmas ribbon with Nutcrackers on it – we aren’t sure why, but hey, if he wanted it. He does love the Nutcracker episode of Daniel Tiger, so maybe he did know what they were. And then finally, an oval box with Christmas trees. That was a random pick up as we were walking to check out.

My husband noticed too, that the calendar from 1979 actually matches date and day for our current year – weird! So I can actually use it this year and then frame it at the end of the year.

So a pretty random assortment, but I feel like I got at least two or three pretty cool items! I am looking forward to what else we find this year.

What’s the coolest thing you have found at a flea market or rummage sale/garage sale?

April Book Club

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book club, Uncategorized2 Comments

Bottle of WineBook Club

Chrissy was our hostess this month, and the book we read was The Hideaway by Lauren K. Denton – and I loved it.

It was a full house this time, with all of us able to go. We all loaded up our plates with pizza and cheese and bread, filled up our wine glasses, and took our places in the living room, where we admired Chrissy’s new couch. It has a “cuddler” feature, which juts out just a bit more, making it so you can curl up with a book or a toddler or cuddle with your sweetie while watching a movie. It was very comfy! But made us all super anxious – we were all paranoid of being clumsy and spilling our pizza or wine on it! I don’t think Kelly set her drink down all night!

Whenever we get together there is the normal chatter, catching up on this and that and the other. We talked about our kids – over the years we have all become moms! We talked about Jill’s upcoming wedding, Chrissy’s plans for their house, Alyssa’s job; about our families, our pets. What we have been up to since last month. It was a gorgeous night out, spring might be finally here (fingers crossed, it’s been such a long winter!), so we had the setting sun behind us as we drank and ate and talked and laughed.

the hideaway

We finally arrived at the book. I loved this book, I read it so fast. It was one I read whenever I could get a chance, waiting to pick up my son, before bed, sometimes while brushing my teeth. I have to say, it was a little sad. The story begins with workaholic Sara Jenkins learning that her grandmother has died – a grandmother that she never really made much time to go and visit, a grandmother who raised her when her parents died, a grandmother who was her only family member. Sara reluctantly heads back to her small hometown, away from her life in New Orleans, which really isn’t much of a life, as she lives for work and not much else, for the reading of the will and to tie up loose ends.

Instead, she gets much, much more.

She learns so much about her grandmother, a woman who embarrassed Sara when Sara was a teenager because of her eclectic ways. Sara though, begins to know the woman her grandmother really was, and the story of their home, an old B&B that was no longer much of a B&B, aptly named The Hideaway. Sadly, Sara missed out on knowing her grandmother when she was alive, which made me a bit teary. Pay attention to your family while they are here, darn it! Don’t take loved ones for granted. Talk to them, learn their best stories.

The Hideaway itself was in actuality, a bit of a real hideway for Mags. And it made me think, what my hideaway would be like – not to go forever, but maybe a weekend. Or a place to go with my family, away from everything for a bit. I am a mountains girl – I am all about the foggy mornings and evenings in the mountains, looking out at a forest of old trees, the light streaming through the leaves. So for me, a perfect hideaway would be in the woods of the mountains somewhere, a cabin all cozy and snug. Chrissy is a beach girl through and through, so is Jill. Take those ladies to a beach house, a sandy spot with the sun warming them, and the salt heavy in the air, the sound of waves crashing, the water whispering at night.

My little niece Chickadee slipped down from the upstairs where my brother was hanging out with her while we were all there, and gathered up all her little toy horses to play. She also handed out My Little Pony toys to all of us to hang on to while we were there. I am sure her hideaway would be somewhere with “horsies” and trains, her current favorites. (She is a big fan of Spirit)

Then excitement! My husband called me to ask if I had heard and felt the rumbling – we hadn’t, I guess we were all enjoying our dessert of Turtle Pie too much. There had been an earthquake here in our area – very rare for Michigan! And it was a 3.6! I guess most of our area felt it, pictures shook, it was very loud and rumbly just a few miles further south. Book Club is a powerful force!

Then, all the excitement over, the wine drunk, the chocolate consumed, the chatting slowing down, the insanity of an earthquake, we headed on home to our families until next month.

So, how about you? How do you picture your hideaway?

What Wyatt’s Reading/Book Haul : March

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family friendly, mom life, special needs parenting, Uncategorized1 Comment

What

I think this is really March part II, but oh well. Lol. Wyatt had a big book month! We are working on the 1000 books before Kindergarten challenge, which is fun for both of us! He absolutely loves books (like his mom!) This is what we read together this month, including books that he received for his birthday! (His own little book haul!)

 

Library List: Booboo by Olivier Dunrea, Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. (not pictured Punk Farm)

Birthday Book Haul: Happy, Colorful World: Farm and Forest, Five Stinky Socks, Peep and Ducky Rainy Day, The Little Artists Collection, Seasons, Lift the Flap What Are Stars, and Big Fish Little Fish.

Wyatt’s Favorites: While he pretty much enjoyed them all, he absolutely loved Booboo, The Little Artists Collection (which we have to take with us everywhere), and of course, Five Stinky Socks. To Wyatt, there is nothing funnier on the planet than stinky feet and socks. So that book is one we read over and over. And over. As long as he is listening and loving it though, I will read it as many times as he wants. And Booboo – Wyatt is working on developing language skills, and he immediately said Booboo after reading this book. And would ask for it to be  read again, by name! This was huge for us. Words and sounds are coming faster these days – reading is so good for developing speech, so we make sure to read at least a few books together everyday. We will meet that 1000 book goal sooner than we think!

And if anyone wants to know my favorites from here, I loved Happy by Emma Dodd, The First Sticker Book Nature, and Paul Bunyan. My husband and I love the tall tale of Paul Bunyan, his ox, and those giant pancakes. Happy just makes me happy! Such a sweet book, great for cuddling and reading before bedtime. And the sticker book is amazing! I was so impressed by how cool the stickers look honestly. It is very well done. And seriously, who doesn’t love stickers?

We are already hard at work (hardly work, more like) on our April reading!

Still Waiting on Spring

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Detroit, family friendly, food, Uncategorized2 Comments

Michigan is still waiting for spring, it seems. Sometimes we get a sneak peek, but then it hides away again. Today is sunny – but also 24 degrees. I have strawberry plants that have arrived and want to be planted, but the ground is still frozen! For now they are living in the house, but I am going to have to come up with a new plan for these guys, my awesome Viking strawberries.

Yesterday was sunny and mild except for the crazy wind. The wind was biting cold when it slammed against you, but when it wasn’t stealing your breath, the day was actually not too bad. Our family celebrated the return of the sun to our area by heading downtown to Belle Isle and visiting the aquarium and conservatory, where we not only got the sun, but we also had humid temperatures, tropical plants, heat. It was wonderful, despite the fact that we were dressed for winter but walking through a greenhouse.

It was jam packed there – I am guessing everyone in the whole metro area was out enjoying the weather. We have had gray skies for too long! This whole state has a Vitamin D deficiency, as we wait for spring.

The garden was beautiful, full of green growing plants, smelling of earth and warmth. We saw a banana tree, a lemon tree, an orange tree, a pomelo tree. Cacti. A ginger plant, pink puffballs. Giant leaves bigger than Wyatt, delicate fronds, wispy ferns. A water fountain. Even signs that a cat lives there somewhere, but not the cat itself, although I would have loved that, and Wyatt would have too. He loves his kitties.

It was a nice day, that we ended with pizza slices from Supino’s, which has the most amazing pizza ever. It was Wyatt’s first time eating there, and he kept asking for more. Another fan is made. We stuck with the basics but I love their pizza with basil – I love basil anything. The slices are huge, thin crusted, so you can just fold them over and eat. But there is something about the crust, some taste, some deliciousness we can’t put our finger on – that is where the magic is. In that crust. We had a car picnic so I didn’t get any photos, but next time I will.

I feel inspired! This week we are going to start seeds indoors. Normally it would be too late, but with this delayed spring I think we should be ok.

How about you guys? Any thing in particular you like on pizza? Are you a thin crust person or a thick crust person?

 

My YouTube obsessions

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn mom life, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Lately, I have discovered the wonders of YouTube.

I feel like a tween. Or a teen. Sometimes though I want to just chill and veg but don’t have more than 15 minutes. And actually, they also have some pretty cool stuff for the boy too!

What I put on for the boy:

Sesame Street Celebrity Songs – Wyatt loves these. He constantly is signing “music, music, please” to us. I have to admit, I like these too..

Dave and Ava: These are also wonderful! Wyatt, who is working on gaining speech in therapy (and at home of course!) actually has started saying some of these words, along with the songs!

And then what I watch:

Zoella – I’m not into beauty or fashion really, but, for some reason I watch all of Zoella’s videos. I found her at Christmas, and loved her monthly favorites. And those were my gateway Zoella videos.

Clutterbug! I just found her stuff the other day and love it! I am so busy reorganizing and redoing our little house, and I love all her tips. I also discovered that Billy and I are butterflies. We are not messy, we just are trying to use methods that don’t work for us! And that is my story and I am sticking to it, thanks to Clutterbug!

Living Big in a Tiny House: I am fascinated by how creative these tiny houses are! I am in love with this one. So cute and adorable!

Little Book Owl: I watch a few book bloggers on YouTube, but Little Book Owl is my favorite. And if you read my book blog (Quixotic Magpie) she is the reason Billy and I read Nevernight, one of my new favorite books!

I’m open to suggestions too! Anyone have any recommendations? I would love to hear them!

 

Third Birthday Celebration

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Detroit, family friendly, Michigan, Uncategorized2 Comments

My little guy is three. Three! I can scarcely believe how fast these years are going by. It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny peanut in the NICU.

The day Wyatt was born was the coldest day of the year that year. This year, we had a severe winter storm alert the night before. Schools were called off, big snow, ice and just generally crappy conditions were forecast. We were disappointed since Billy had taken the day off of work for us to celebrate as a family. And when we got up, the weather was pretty nasty. But within the hour, it began to warm up, and thaw. And melt. Huge snow clumps were raining from trees and telephone wires and house awnings, like enormous snowflakes. The sky was blue, the air was not blisteringly cold, and there was no bone chilling winds. So, we loaded up with multiple coats and layers to prepare for the day and whatever it might throw at us, and headed out into the blue.

First stop was Tim Hortons. Our guy loves doughnuts, and as a special treat, we had doughnuts for breakfast. Wyatt devoured a doughnut with sprinkles, most of his father’s sour cream glazed, and then followed that up with a few bites of Timbit. Not his normal breakfast obviously, but a special birthday one. I had a giant coffee and my favorite chocolate dip. Billy had the remnants of the doughnuts that Wyatt didn’t eat. I guess I lucked out since Wyatt is not a chocolate fan. 🙂

Once Wyatt finally stopped eating doughnuts, we set our sights north to the Detroit Zoo. We have a membership to the zoo, and we love it. One of the things we love most about it is that with a membership, we never feel pressured to “do” the whole zoo in a day, if we don’t want to. We can show up, walk around for an hour or so, just visit our favorite animals. We do of course visit all the exhibits some days, but most of the time we amble about, taking our time. And we love to go on weird off days, when we have it mostly to ourselves. And Wyatt’s birthday was perfect – almost empty, probably due to the fact that it was midmorning on a Friday, and that the weather had been miserable in the morning. Plus, you know, it is winter. Lol. So, we had the zoo to ourselves.

First stop was the amazing Polk Penguin Center. It is seriously awesome, with a 4-D experience to enter, like you are on a boat headed to the Antarctic, complete with day and night changes, storm simulations, and even a little rain and water spray. Wyatt loved that part, getting wet in the spray. He loves the penguins, probably because he can get face to face with them!  That little trio of Gentoo penguins waddled on over to preen and show off and pose – the volunteer told us that the Gentoo are the friendliest and love to have their photos taken! If you want to see the penguins in action, you can check out their webcam feed.

From the Penguin Center, we headed further in, toward the River Otter habitat, one of our family favorites. This little river otter family is so delightful and entertaining, the way they zoom around, and play. We could stand and watch them for a long time, and we were the only ones there besides the volunteer for a good while. She shared some pretty fun stories, and the exhibit itself is relaxing, made of solid wood like you are in a cabin up north. It was a good moment, watching the otters play, in the brisk air, the scent of pine around us. We were so delighted by them we didn’t take photos!

Next we had planned to go through the Reptile house to warm up, but it was way too humid in there, and after being out in the cold, it was too much of a temperature change so we headed back out. At least the reptiles were comfortable though!

We decided to just walk a little further before leaving – the zoo is pretty huge and we didn’t want Wyatt to get too cold. So our last and final stop were the camels. Usually this family is sleeping or just relaxing all together on the ground, but today they were up and at ’em, super active. There was one right by the wall too, we could hardly believe it! They are pretty cute, especially the babies! Wyatt was entranced. He is usually a ham, posing for the camera (just like the Gentoos!), cheesing it up, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the camels to look at me long enough for a photo!

All in all, it was a fantastic visit, albeit short. Next time we will see more, the Red Pandas, the lions, the wolves, the kangaroos, the polar bears (our Nuka just got a girlfriend!). All favorites of ours. One thing I love about the Detroit Zoo is how many of their animals are rescues. They do such a great job, and while I don’t know the percentage of their animals that they have rescued, I do know that a great deal of them were. It’s definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area!

We headed back home and had one of Wyatt’s favorite dinners – fish sticks and macaroni. The night sky even showed off for his birthday, with a clear sky and a giant brilliantly bright moon. My boy loves to be outside at night, stargazing, so this was the perfect ending to our day.

He was a happy little boy.

 

What Wyatt’s Reading

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, Uncategorized1 Comment

What

Reading is huge in our house. I grew up with my nose always in a book, and I read whenever possible now, even if all I have time for is an article or two online. My parents were readers, and now, my son loves to look through books and is always asking me to read them to him. We went to the library tonight and brought home a huge haul! He usually picks a few out, and then I pick some out. Do other parents do this? I can’t help it. I used to work in an elementary school library. I have favorites I want to share. Oh, I guess I answered my own question. We all probably have favorites to share!

Here’s what we checked out:

cecil the peteaster micegnomelittle white rabbitlittlest bunnyminerva louisemy gardenpeas

I did most of the picking out today…Wyatt was exploring the library with his dad, socializing and then looking for me in the stacks. I adore Kevin Henkes, so I had to get these two super springy looking books. And Little Green Peas looks adorable. And I needed to get some Easter ones too, right? Then Wyatt’s birthday is this weekend and his party is gnome themed, so let’s read a gnome book. And finally, Cecil. I saw it on the shelf and was intrigued. It does not look like a typical children’s book. So I checked it out. More for me than the boyo. And I read it immediately when we got home, while making dinner. (just spaghetti, but oh so good spaghetti! Ask me about this later)

I freaking loved Cecil, the Pet Glacier. Loved it. I need to own it. It is so wonderful and different and quirky and not typical, and that is exactly why I love it, and why it is so fantastic! I say read it. Go on, get it. So good.

So the spaghetti. Billy and I usually hate spaghetti, but Wyatt loves it, so we eat it. I have not ever made my sauce (I know, eek right?) which might be why we don’t like it? Although neither of us has ever liked it, even as kids when our parents did make their own sauce. So maybe not. Anyway. I bought Newman’s Own Tomato and Basil Bombolina sauce. It smelled amazing when I popped the top, like summer in a jar with all the basil. That alone was awesome. But then Billy did this trick that he learned on Binging with Babish, a youtube show about cooking. When the noodles were done (we used egg noodles, Wyatt’s favorite), we drained them, then added some butter, and mixed it up. Then slowly, Billy folded in the warmed sauce into the noodles. Finally, we topped it all off with freshly grated parmeasan cheese, and seriously, it was the best spaghetti I have ever eaten in my life.  We both went back for seconds, it was so good. Never before have I enjoyed spaghetti. So thank you Babish.

And wouldn’t you know it? Wyatt hated it. 🙂 Ah. Toddlers.