Made in Ireland: A Few Irish Etsy Artists

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn artist review14 Comments

Top of the morning to you!

Like most Americans, I love learning about my heritage and ancestry. My ancestry hails from England, Scotland, and Ireland, with a teensy bit of Italian and an even teensier bit of Norwegian. Of them all, Scottish is the dominant force in my DNA – but it is St. Patrick’s Day so of course I am super Irish today! I have a whole day of shenanigans planned for Wyatt, and we started off the day with Leprechaun bread (pistachio pudding bread), which was delicious.

When I think of Ireland, I think of creativity, artistry, beauty. I think of magic and whimsy and fairy tales. Of poetry and literature. And today I wanted share a few really cool artists that I found while browsing Etsy! All are living in Ireland or from Ireland, and today seemed like an appropriate day to share them here.

This post does contain affiliate links. If you were to purchase something at no extra cost to you, I would make a small commission.

Cotton and Moonstone is the first shop I want to mention. The artist also does framed crystal work, but it is these macrame pieces I want to talk about! They are simply gorgeous, and the artist, Cathy according to her Etsy page, has a lot of Celtic inspired pieces but also boho and botanical inspired ones as well. The wall hanging here is her Irish Blessing Celtic Knot.

This next shop had so many pieces I was in love with that I had a really hard time deciding on which to share! Karen Pleass is a textile artist, and her work is so detailed and make me think of little vignettes, just looking out into the Irish countryside through a window. They are just so lovely and each and every one made me smile! This one is called Stargazing and I love the idea of these sleepy sheep enjoying the night sky.

Ok, Erin, step away from the textile artists for a minute! Let’s look over here…

… at PannaDraws! Panna Zsamba is a Dublin based artist, whose artwork is simply stunning. Her work includes nature inspired paintings and prints of birds and other animals, and peeking out from the hawks and robins are dragons and unicorns and other fantasy creatures. I am in LOVE with her unicorn. It is so majestic and the look in its eye! I am adding it to my hopefully one day I will buy it list. (I did not include a picture of it here on the blog per her copyright info, but bounce over to the shop if you want to check out her stunning art!)

Susan Meaney’s shop is full of the cuteness we all need in our lives! Sweet bunnies and adorable foxes, badgers, flowers, fairies – all available on cards and on tote bags, and even on notebooks, like the one pictured above. Her shop is Burren Flower Fairies and if you like whimsical woodland creatures then you need to check out her store!

Last but certainly not least is this Irish Wolfhound linocut by Wild Creature Cuts. I am a big fan of lino art work, and of Irish Wolfhounds. We have a teeny house or I would totally get one. I have loved them since learning of them in high school, when I read Finn MacCool by Morgan Llewelyn. Man do I love her books! This lino I think is so full of movement and intent, and maybe if I can’t have an actual wolfhound I could have a picture of one? Wild Creature Cuts features other animals as well, but this was my favorite of the bunch (pack?)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day all! Make some music, write some poetry, paint a picture, create something beautiful today!

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP15 Comments

It’s a cold lazy morning around here today. I am soooooo over this snow and winter. Spring needs to get here! I am letting Wyatt watch tv in our bed this morning, while I sit here next to him drinking coffee and writing this post. I am reluctant to get out from under the covers today. I made quick coffee this morning, Keurig version – Newmans Own blend. It does the job but I drink it way too fast!

Let’s start with a Wyatt update. Yesterday he was able to go back to physical therapy (where he did awesome!) and then we went straight from PT to Detroit to Children’s Hospital for his follow up appointment to check his incisions. They thought he looked great!

Is daylight savings kicking anyone else’s butt? Wyatt and I are such primitive creatures I think. We are both having a hard time adjusting! I read that for some people it is hard because the darkness in the morning and the light in the evening is confusing to your brain and body, making you more tired in the morning and then more awake in the evening. That seems to be true for Wyatt and I. It’ll even out but dang I was draggin’ wagon yesterday almost all day, UNTIL it was bedtime. Billy however is just one of those rare people who can sleep anywhere, anytime, no matter what.

Wyatt had a playdate with Mermaid girl Friday while my SIL went for a check up at her baby doctor (one week until her due date!) and they played like crazy. Board games, restaurant, drawing, they just were into everything and having so much fun. My messy house got even more messy and I loved it. I wanted them to have fun! Wyatt was wiped out afterwards! It was good to see him have so much fun. Then Saturday was his little party! My mother-in-law got cake and ice cream and invited just a small amount of people over. Sadly, a few family members were sick so they didn’t come so we didn’t get to see them, but Wyatt still had fun. My mom definitely enjoyed hanging out with my in-laws two dogs – she is snuggling Murphy in that picture.

In other news – I got a new rug! Our other one in the den was just so dingy and since we spend so much time in there and with Wyatt healing, I felt like I needed something new. It is so bright and cheery! Next I need new couches since my cat Maggie (who passed away in October) used these as a scratching post; now that she is no longer with us (I still miss her everyday) we plan on replacing these, maybe in late spring. It didn’t make sense to do that until she was gone since she would have just done the same to new ones. For now though, a new rug it is! Not the most level photo, but I was kneeling in front of the other couch and Wyatt decided to hug around my neck while I was taking it. Lol.

Well, we need to start school soon, and then I need to get cracking on this house! It’s gone to the dogs over the past few weeks with everything, and I need to get it back in order.

Speaking of, does anyone else enjoy watching people declutter and organize on YouTube? I have no idea why I find it so calming but I do. I watch With Love Kristina for many reasons, but lately she has been decluttering and I feel relaxed after watching. She feels like a very real YouTuber, who shows her messes. She was also very preggers in this last video, but I saw yesterday on Instagram that she had her baby, so congrats to her!

And that is the big and small of it over here! How are things in your world?

Homeschool Journey: Easing back into our routine

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling11 Comments

Hello everyone! So as we recover from Wyatt’s surgeries, I thought we would start back to our homeschool routine focusing only on his favorites – so social studies, art, and science. We are probably going to add math and reading back in this week starting Tuesday. (We had a neurosurgery appt this morning as well as physical therapy)

Our pared down schedule worked well. It got Wyatt back into the swing of school again, and also made room for him to rest when he became tired.

For science, Wyatt learned about the difference between coniferous trees and deciduous trees. We opted for the table crowd activity this time (his curriculum has three different approaches to labs – outdoors, tabletop, arts and crafts ) It was the right choice for his first day back! Just look at this face. Lol.

For social studies, we visited Massachusetts! Well not really obviously. Wyatt loves learning about the states way more than I expected him to honestly, especially learning the state symbols and seeing the flags for each state. I am happy he loves it like he does though! I always loved social studies too. We learned that the Boston Marathon has a wheelchair division! I had no idea so that was a neat fact to learn. We also learned that Dr. Seuss, Theodore Geisel, was from Massachusetts which is neat because Wyatt shares a birthday with Dr. Seuss – March 2! Wyatt loved how I told him to identify the state on the map too – I told him the little hook that comes off and branches into the ocean looks like a strong arm flexing, and that is how to find it. He thought that was hilarious.

But what Wyatt loved the best was art. Of course. He has been asking to paint for weeks now, and I just didn’t think it was a good idea until he was more healed up. However, he was cleared for physical therapy so I figured it was time to paint as well!

Instead of focusing on a particular artist over the next few weeks, I am mixing it up a bit. We are focusing instead on a poet, and then painting a picture that is inspired by a poem that poet wrote. This week we did Emily Dickinson, naturally, as she was from Amherst – plus I love her.

We talked a bit about Dickinson as a person, read a few poems, read a picture book, then we focused on the poem Make Me a Picture of the Sun. We talked about the imagery, what it could mean, and how it made us feel. Then I had Wyatt watercolor a painting that correlated with this. He loved it.

I also love that he felt his picture needed two suns. I get it, I miss the sunshine too!

Now, what we used – not much this week!

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

M is for Mayflower || Emily Writes

This week we move on to New Hampshire and Robert Frost!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized39 Comments

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

Last week was all about easing back into our routines slowly. We started off slowly with homeschool, Wyatt attended OT, went to the library, had a play date, and even a small party for his birthday Saturday. Baby steps!

Read Last Week:

Oh my gosh did I love this book! Cozy fantasy is obviously the genre I need right now. I have been reading so much of it lately and loving every word and story. This book was particularly beautiful and well written.

Reading This Week:

I am starting The Grace of Wild Things this week as part of Middle Grade March, and I am super excited about this one. It is marketed as a “an inventive and fantastical reimagining of Anne of Green Gables—with magic and witches!—that explores found family, loss, and the power of a girl’s imagination..” Um yes please! I would have definitely grabbed this book off the shelf as a kid, just as I did now as an adult. We will see if it is as good as it sounds! (Fawcett also wrote Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries so I have high hopes!)

Posted Last Week:

Last week, I shared some of our favorite picture books featuring magical creatures, which was pretty fun to write. I also posted my book review on The House in the Cerulean Sea, as well as a Coffee Catch Up.

Watching/Listening:

We are watching mostly old comfort shows right now – When Calls the Heart, Hamish Macbeth – and also started watching Ted Lasso again. Wow, that show really surprised me! I did not want to watch it, because sports, but Billy convinced me and now I love it so much. Ted is such a positive force, and I can’t help but love Roy Kent, who is my favorite.

On ye old YouTubes, I have been seeking out favorites there too – The Cottage Fairy, Dainty Diaries, Roots and Refuge, Gold Shaw Farm, but also have added in a new favorite Cecilia Blomdahl. I found her channel (I think) thanks to Joy at Joy’s Book Blog. Life in Svalbard is fascinating! It must be absolutely exhilarating in some ways, in other’s an introverts dream, but.. those polar bears are a big drawback. I love polar bears, yet find them terrifying, like I would not want to run into one while running errands.

As for listening, I’ve been listening to a lot of Casefile this week.

And that is it from my little corner of the world! I hope all is well with you all.

Our Favorite Magical Creatures Picture Books

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn books and reading9 Comments

So for as long as I can remember, I have been enchanted by the idea of faeries and other magical creatures. The magic and whimsy, the thought that there are wee little creatures living in my flower garden, that could fly and drank out of acorn cups and slept inside flowers. I loved fairy tales, Tinkerbell, and all magical type creatures – elves and gnomes and pixies, even dragons. They are just so fun to daydream about, you know? It is probably why I am really enjoying this whole new cozy fantasy movement in books right now. My little niece seems to take after her aunt, because she is completely enamored with fairies and mermaids and unicorns too; Wyatt has his favorites too, dragons for one. And gnomes, but gnome picture books are weirdly hard to find. And Yetis. And since March is a magical month, with leprechauns and pots of gold and rainbows, I thought I would share a few magical creature favorites!

Fairies!

The Fairy Garden is about a little girl who wishes and wishes for fairies to live in her garden. I feel ya girl! Maybe this is still why I plant a garden…. And Backyard Fairies by Phoebe Wahl is fantastic. I love anything by her. This book is about another little girl searching for fairies. Are they there?

Dragons!

Franklin’s Flying Bookshop is an adorable story about a little girl named Luna and a dragon named Franklin who love books and reading, just like Wyatt does. (and me) These two start a flying bookshop to share the love.

Dragons Love Tacos. Well, Wyatt loves dragons and I love tacos. Wyatt loves me. Dragons love tacos. Does this make me a dragon? Maybe. Anyway, this book is all about dragons and how to lure them to your party by providing tacos. Although, maybe keep the salsa hidden from them.

There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon. This one takes me back! I read this book when I was little, and then I read it to Wyatt too. He loved it, I love it. There are so many books out there, new books, that sometimes I have to remind myself of all the wonderful stories I read as a kid to share them with Wyatt.

Zog. This one is a big hit around here. Wyatt loves the Julia Donaldson books and when we studied Scotland a few summers ago, we did a whole big unit on her and on Zog. It was super fun, and Zog remains a favorite.

Mermaids!

Tallulah Mermaid of the Great Lakes is a definite favorite around here! For one, it’s the Great Lakes, not the ocean, and we are soooo much closer to the Great Lakes being in Michigan. Have we seen Tallulah yet? No, but we will keep looking!

Oona. Oh my gosh is this one adorable. Oona and her little otter (squee!) Otto are the best of friends. Oona is a mischief, jut like my Wyatt, and the illustrations are amazing. There are three books in this series as well!

Pearl. A simple story of a mermaid given a small task which under her care becomes something more. This one is so beautiful too, all shiny and glam and pearlescent.

Nessie and Gnomes!

Nessie Baby. I actually just bought this for my new niece, who hasn’t even arrived yet! It is just super cute and while it will be a bit before she enjoys it I couldn’t resist. This may be the first book she ever gets!

Nessie the Loch Ness Monster. This was another book we discovered during our Scotland study! This was probably Wyatt and Mermaid Girl’s favorite section, learning about dragons and the Loch Ness Monster. And this book was so darn cute as well as containing actual history about the legend.

No, No, Gnome. Wyatt cracked UP when we read this book the first time. This gnome has a lot of enthusiasm but also causes a lot of trouble! Wyatt also enjoyed yelling “No, No” along with the book.

Tomtens and Yetis!

Tomten and the Fox. I almost put this one with gnomes, because it does really belong there. But, it is also a snowy book and I felt like the Yeti needs company, so here we are. This is one of the books we read multiple times a year, but especially in the quiet winter months. It’s a quiet story, and while the fox doesn’t get exactly what he came for, he was taken care of. Everyone is happy. I bought this all the way back when Wyatt was only a year old, and we still love it. It’s the sequel to The Tomten which is good but we love this one.

Yeti and the Bird. This poor Yeti is lonely! (told you, poor Yetis) But one day, this lonely Yeti makes a friend when it lands smack on his noggin. I love this message of not judging people (or magical creatures) based on appearance!

Dear Yeti. These intrepid hikers set out in search of Yeti, who is feeling shy. They send him letters, that are brief updates reminiscent of telegrams from old timey explorers, and yep, a bird delivers them. When the hikers run into some trouble, Yeti comes to their rescue. Super cute, and Wyatt loved it for the yeti, and because he loves mail and letters.

The inspiration for this post comes from Wyatt, who when asked said I should post about books – and my head is still in the Cerulean Sea, and thus, this post was born.

Do you like magical creatures and fantasy? What is your favorite creature?

Book Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn book review12 Comments

Publisher Summary:

Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He’s tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world. 

Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.

The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place – and realizing that family is yours. 

My Thoughts:

This book could not have come into my life at a more perfect time. I needed this book, this warm and fuzzy read about found family and courage and becoming who you really truly are inside. It was simply beautiful, and I wanted to hug it close, along with just about every character (but especially little Theodore the Wyvern).

I feel like this book has been talked about and talked about so much, and that I am one of the last people around to read it, so maybe I am not adding anything new to the conversation with this review. I still want to give my two cents though, and have the chance to wax rhapsodic over it too.

Linus is a rule follower, a pencil pusher, someone who doesn’t deviate from the path he is on. He does his duty, and he does it well. He does it with empathy yet at the same time, dispassionately. He lives a pretty lonely life, with his cat and his beloved records of golden oldies, but doesn’t seem too unhappy. More – resigned and somewhat…accepting that this is his life.

One day, out of the blue, he is called to the offices of Extremely Upper Management, which is a bit alarming for our quiet hero. He goes and learns that he has been chosen for a very special, very classified assignment, a Level 4 even. He is to travel to Marysas and observe the residents of the orphanage there, including the master, Arthur. He is to determine whether the children are safe and cared for and that Arthur is managing them all well. Because these are not just children – they are magical beings, level 4 magical beings, that could be considered dangerous. But whether the danger is from them, or to them, is something that Linus begins to question. I am getting ahead of myself here, sorry.

Linus arrives, slightly terrified, well, ok, super terrified, because one of the children is the Anti-Christ. The other children include a very powerful forest sprite, a female gnome (rare), a wyvern (very rare), a shapeshifter, and Chauncey, who defies classification. The island where the orphanage is located has its own sprite, Zoe, to round out the crew. Linus is determined to do his four weeks, remain objective, and write his weekly reports. Slowly though, he finds this to be more and more difficult, as he makes connections with the children, Zoe, and Arthur as well.

I loved this book. I loved Linus and his transformation. I loved the characters. I loved the beautiful writing of Klune. I just loved it all. I originally picked this up thinking it was middle grade; I was misled by some things I had read but now I know it is not. It is classified as adult but I could see young adult readers reading it. And I am not the only one who feels this book is ambiguous in its age group – check out this quote from an article I read.

THE HUB: This book defies classification! Published as an adult title, winning an Alex Award for YA crossover appeal, it could also easily fit on middle grades shelves next to Harry Potter or the Penderwicks or the Melendy quartet from Elizabeth Enright. Why do you think this book works across so many ages?

KLUNE: I think there’s something not only topical about the story, but also universal in its messaging. Fantasy is often filled with grimdark stories (absolutely nothing wrong with that!), and we don’t get to see a lot of “happy” fantasy these days. I wanted to write a story that reminded me of the cozy fantasies I read as a kid, books that not only made me happy, but allowed me to believe everything could be okay. Hope can often seem like it’s in short supply these days, and while a novel like The House in the Cerulean Sea won’t fix the world’s problems, I hope it can at least serve as a small reminder that we are capable of so much when we stand for what we believe in and lift each other up.

I choose to believe that a good number of people want to feel hope, especially over the last year we’ve all been through. And the idea of accepting differences and creating change through goodwill is something that people can believe in, no matter what age they are.

https://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2021/05/07/an-interview-with-alex-award-winner-tj-klune-author-of-the-house-in-the-cerulean-sea/

The book itself is endlessly quotable. I found myself scrabbling about in drawers and whatever was close at hand for pencils or pens, so that I could underline parts of the book that spoke to me. Parts like this one:

It’s that kind of book y’all.

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized10 Comments

Today, I know what day it is! Lol. The sun is shining brightly, the sky is bue, the birds were singing, and I’ve already had to ask Wyatt to please stop yelling and it is only 8:15, so homeboy is feeling better. I don’t have tons of new things to talk about here, but I wanted to give an update since the last two coffee catch ups have been intense.

We are healing here. Wyatt has been doing lots of things he loves, drawing and playing and watching cartoons. He has talked to his grandparents on the phone, which always makes him happy. We had cupcakes and gifts for his birthday, just the three of us, and while on some level I felt like I was letting my kid down with such a small and low key night, I was also thankful that we were home and able to celebrate. We will celebrate again with family this weekend, just another small party but it will be something and he will love seeing everyone. And of course his big present from us is the wolf trip in May so he has to wait but he is practicing his howl so by then he should have it perfected.

Family members and friends were dropping off gifts or having them Amazoned here for the birthday boy. He really made out! He got a little lap harp since he is a music kid, these gigundo dice that are supposed to be for a yard game but because it was snowing we built a tower, books and games and clothes and a light up drawing easel. He is a happy kid, and the gifts came at a good time because we have been home recovering and helped occupy him. Plus the joy he got from receiving presents! He is a typical 8 year old when it comes to that. Lol.

Life is slowing coming back to normal. I am a jumpy crazy mess, but I am working on it and have supportive friends and family helping me through the emotional toll this took. Just so much up and down and uncertainty and fear – I am having a hard time getting out of the action mode and being on high alert. But texts and phone calls and comments here have been helping me, and I have people checking in with us all the time. One of my friends dropped off soup the other night before a big snowstorm and it was the perfect thing, cheesy corn chowder on a cold snowy night. Delicious!

Wyatt was cleared for therapy starting next week! We are easing back into his routines, starting with school today as a half day, then slowly building on and going by his own energy levels. Next week we will add in therapy as well, and the therapists know to sort of gauge what they do by Wyatt. Until then, we are doing some occupational therapy here at home, as part of play. Wyatt’s right side is his affected side, and is weaker than his left. We are always working on his motor skills and use of his right hand, and little activities like this are perfect. Look at how he is holding that corn with righty! He is also cracking me up with those goggles. He likes to just wear them around on his head like that. I love it.

And that is about it from here! Thank you everyone for all of your kind comments and wishes and prayers.

My Sunday-Monday Post

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized40 Comments

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

The last eleven days have been a lot. Wyatt had three brain surgeries within seven days, with lots of recovering in between. He is sitting here now eating breakfast and talking like the chatterbox that he is, and I couldn’t be happier to hear it. I posted about his surgeries here and here if you want to read about this amazing kid of mine.

Reading:

I am reading The House in the Cerulean Sea, although admittedly I haven’t had much opportunity to read lately. What I have read so far though I love. I am also reading The Wild Robot to Wyatt at night before bed.

Posted:

Hello March!

Book Haul

Book Review: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies

Wednesday (I think) Coffee Catch Up

A Little Window Shopping Serotonin Boost – Garden Edition

Wednesday (I think) Coffee Catch Up – Part 2

Watching:

Not a lot. Billy and I haven’t been able to concentrate well lately so we are rewatching When Calls the Heart. It is just a really easy show to watch. Before the surgeries we had started Ted Lasso though and were loving it!

And that is it from our corner of the world! How is it going in your world?

Hello March!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized19 Comments

Hello March!

February sure ended a lot differently than I had planned! We had planned to be on our wolf vacation in Indiana at the end of February but obviously that all had to be rescheduled due to Wyatt’s surgeries. I just want to say that the Airbnb rental owners, Airbnb, and Wolf Park were all wonderful to deal with and helped me reschedule very easily. We are now planning on going in May fingers crossed!

Today is Wyatt’s 8th birthday!! He shares it with Dr. Seuss which I thought was super cool the day he was born. It’s still a pretty cool day to be born. We will celebrate very small today, just him and Billy and I, and then hopefully next week have a very small party. He wanted a pirate party this year, but I have had no time to get anything together, except a few presents! We will have an easy day today – and he wants to paint so that will be happening this evening. My little artist. He was telling everyone at the hospital about how much he loves Bob Ross.

My new niece will be born sometime this month too! We are so excited. I actually went to a very small sprinkle shower right before Wyatt started showing symptoms the first time. It was a very nice wee shower for a wee little baby. This will be niece number 4 for us, and I can’t wait to meet her!

March is actually Cerebral Palsy Awareness month, and I had planned on blogging a bit about Wyatt and our experiences with his cerebral palsy, including his birth story. I know that my knowledge of CP was absolutely zero before Wyatt came into our lives and I hope that by sharing our story, to help break down barriers, to show you what a kid with cerebral palsy can do.

I had planned on reading all middle grade this month, as part of Middle Grade March, and I am so excited that I made that choice. I know that my soul needs the comfort of a middle grade book. There is just something about them. I read online that many adults enjoy reading middle grade fiction, and perhaps one reason is that elementary school is the time we fell in love with reading, and we get a cozy, nostalgic feeling by reading them. Plus, I just want to add that they are just fun and whimsical and full of imagination and wonder. Middle grade (and all books) can be used to help kids through difficult times and emotions as well, and I think by reading them as adults we can stay tuned in to what it is like to be a kid so we can better understand our own children.

We are also going to sort through our seeds, organize them by when we should plant, and then start our seeds that we can start. It is such a hopeful thing, isn’t it, to start a garden? Wyatt is super excited to plant the pumpkins and watermelon this summer; I am looking forward to the tomatoes. I am thinking we should be able to start some seeds this week, and that will be a fun activity to do while Wyatt is recovering.

And that’s where I am at today! How about you?

Wednesday ( I think) Coffee Catch Up- Part 2

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized23 Comments

Hey all. Soooooo…. poor Wyatt’s week went sideways again last week. All week following our return home, he was getting stronger and making improvements everyday, then Saturday he had a fantastic day, seemingly at 100% himself. Then Sunday morning happened. I woke up and Wyatt’s hair and shoulder were soaked and I was so confused at first. I woke Billy up to tell him something was wrong, and Billy mumbled something in his sleep about it just being slobber, but when I was adamant that it was not sleep drool (WAY too much) he became fully awake, looked, and was like yeah, this is no good. So, back to the ER we went.

Wyatt was leaking spinal fluid from his sutures. We both kind of knew that but it was still terrifying to hear. Wyatt on the other hand was acting completely normal and fine, his normal goofy charming self. Thank goodness, at least. They did an X-ray, and yep, this time the tubing for his VP shunt had broken off from his new valve, causing the fluid to not drain since the system was broken. And, as it built up, it sought the easiest way out – his sutures. This meant more surgery for little man. They moved very quickly, and got Wyatt right in. He came out of surgery pretty feisty as usual, and up to the room we went. We had them skip the morphine and narcotics this time, and he had a much much better recovery in that respect.

This next part is harder for me to type and might be hard to read.

Wyatt was not really seeming better. He threw up twice over night, and then the next morning was extremely lethargic and difficult to rouse. His heart rate was very low. They checked the X-ray they took after surgery the night before to see what his valve setting was at, and learned a terrible thing. The surgeon made a mistake and put his valve back in the day before backwards, so that it wasn’t working. I was in shock. I still am. This meant more surgery for my boy for it to be switched back the right way. Wyatt’s normal doctor was called in and he took over from here, which made me much more comfortable, although, I still wouldn’t say I was relaxed. This surgery was much quicker at least, and the anesthesiologist was the same as the day before, and so was his post-op nurse, which also was good because they were familiar with Wyatt. In fact, after surgery this time when we entered the room to see him, his nurse had her computer turned around so she was facing the hall, and had one hand on Wyatt’s shoulder, because Wyatt wakes up a bit grouchy and tries to escape the bed. She told us she knew his game! He was a bit happier honestly after this surgery, as he probably felt a lot better, despite having only tylenol as opposed to morphine or hycet.

From there it was back to our room, and amazing nurses, who watched him like a hawk. We had neurology popping in constantly all day, and the next day, his regular doctor came in to see us to give us the all clear to go home. By this point Wyatt was making the staff all laugh with his toot jokes and making them smell his “stinky” armpits and was in good spirits, eating and drinking. And so here we are, home again.

This kid teaches me daily how to keep smiling.

Billy and I are not ready to think about or discuss what happened in the hospital at this point in time, our focus right now is getting Wyatt back to Wyatt and we don’t need the distraction of that right now. I just want my boy to recover and heal and be back to normal. So if you all could send your continued prayers and good healing vibes, we welcome them, most definitely, my friends.