Tag: cub-scouts

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Hello everyone! Have you ever had those mornings where the coffee just hits perfectly? That is my morning coffee today. I don’t even know what I am drinking today, it is just good.

It was a bit of a week this week! I think our weeks are going to be like this for a while, while we are in the run-up to Wyatt’s surgery. Just a lot of different appointments and phone calls and arranging equipment, and so on. And if any of you have dealt with insurance companies, you know how many hoops you need to jump through first, and the amount of phone calls you need to make! However, it does look like things are starting to all come together, and as a person who needs things prepared and ready, I am starting to at least feel better on that front!

I made a joke yesterday that my whole week has been spent between doctors appointments and the fish store, because it has. Who knew this new fish tank would give me (and Billy) such a headache! It is our first community tank so it is a learning curve. We had a few losses right away, because our parameters were off, but we have been diligently doing 75% water changes almost daily and running up to the store for water tests. We have three lemon Tetra, that we named the Lemon Sisters, two albino African dwarf frogs who have had a few different names, we can’t settle on any, and one Khuli loaches. Once our water is perfect (and we are soooo close!) we are adding two more loaches because they prefer to live in a group. I read that they will actually die of loneliness if they are the only one in a tank! Ours should be ok since it won’t be that long of a wait – I asked Sam at the fish store to make sure! It seems like our little frog likes it though, and they hang out together. So maybe the loach doesn’t feel so lonely. That group needs a name too. If anyone has any name suggestions for the frogs and loaches, I would love to hear them! (and I snuck a photo of Wyatt’s favorite fish, Moon, into the group here, even though he lives on his own)

Wyatt and I also went for a stroll and browse through my favorite nursery the other day. I still haven’t given up on my plan to plant a tree or trees in my yard. I had originally wanted to plant birch trees, but with the new ramp I don’t think it will work. So I am thinking maybe a Japanese Willow now? I also liked the look of the Whipcord Red Cedar, but that might be a bit much too, lol. Wyatt found the name “Crabapple” tree hysterical, and laughed about the whole time we were there. I did buy two little rue plants to put on the deck, as a small offering to the butterflies.

Last night we had Cub Scouts!! It was a very chill, easy meeting this time, with the kids working on windchimes to hang in the yards. I would have said they were for their mother’s as gifts, but in our group, the mothers are there with their children and helped them make them. Our little pack is getting so close and it makes me so happy. Wyatt even allowed one of the other kids to push him in his wheelchair, which is unusual! He usually only lets family do that, so Billy and I were happily surprised at that development! Wyatt was playing, and with someone other than his cousins! He was slightly apprehensive, I could tell by his face, but his desire to play was greater than his apprehension. Progress!!

The kids all seemed to have a good time designing their wind chimes, choosing the best and most “aesthetic” beads as one little girl kept saying, and putting them together. The parents all seemed relaxed (even me!) and it was just a fun night.

Next month we have a few things lined up- a fishing derby, a meeting, and then the kids are helping my church pack bag lunches to hand out free to the community.

I even had an outing, all on my own! The clinic where Wyatt has therapy hosts a Mother’s Day event every year, and it so fun to go too. This year it was Kentucky Derby themed, and we had to dress up a bit and wear hats or fascinators. They had games, good food, prizes, and lots of togetherness. We all shared our wins for the past year, and there were some tears among us moms of special needs kids, feeling the hardships and pain, but also celebrating the wins, big or small.

And then that was our week! It was a week of ups and downs, but I think that is what life is, isn’t it? A series of ups and downs? We enjoy those up moments, and then rally together for the hard ones.

And I will say goodbye for today! I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized17 Comments

Hello everyone! This morning is rainy but we had the most glorious sunrise, the most amazing shades of pink and orange. It was spectacular. So is my coffee, which is Seattle’s Best Henry’s Blend this morning. I think it is my current favorite.

I feel like today is a big exhale, like I have been holding my breath for weeks making it through all of the various plans and appointments we have had. Nothing that should have been stressful, just low key busy.

Where should I start? It’s been a minute since I wrote one of these. I will start with my own good news! I have had high blood pressure since I was 24; my dad and brother since they were 13. We just have some weird genetics. Anyway, ever since I spent a month in the hospital with pre-eclampsia when I was pregnant with Wyatt, I have been extremely anxious about having my bp taken, which when you already have a history of high blood pressure is not super helpful. It’s controlled at home, but usually in the office is ridiculous. I have to take a blood pressure log and everything with me to appointments. Well, this week my blood pressure in the office was 123/85! I think my anti-anxiety medication is working! My doctor was extremely happy as was I. My log from home reflected these have been my readings at home too, that or lower, but to have it in the office was another thing altogether. So that was my little success this week!

Ok, moving on to more fun things!

We had our scout meeting the other week and we had a blast. We are exchanging nature boxes with another pack in Oregon, who live in the desert area of Oregon, so it will be really cool to see what we receive. Our scouts spent the meeting making pages of leaves stuck with contact paper and labeled. They loved it, and they also loved the leaf rubbing station we had set up as well. It was some of the kids first time doing a leaf rubbing and they thought it was magical, which was cute. The parents enjoyed it too, actually, with one of the dads making quite a few himself. I was happy to see the plans all coming together and everyone having fun.

Wyatt and I also had a fun day out the other week! We went to see the Wild Kratt’s Live Action Show in Ann Arbor, and it was pretty neat. It was Wyatt’s first show like that and he loved the being able to yell and cheer and interact with the rest of the audience and Chris and Martin. My only complaint about the whole day was the theater’s interpretation of wheelchair seating. I bought wheelchair seats and it literally was a regular seat where the arm raised up, and then Wyatt’s wheelchair, his only way to move around, was moved into the hall. We were also the last seat in the last row of the theater but that wasn’t terrible on its own, I guess just the idea of that is how they prioritize disabilities. What if there had been an emergency situation? What if I had not been able to transfer him on my own? It just felt extremely low effort on the part of the theater for accommodations for the disabled community. However, all that aside, Wyatt did have a good time and I did as well. It was nice just to have that moment and first with him.

This week we also went to the orchard and pumpkin patch! I look forward to this trip all autumn! We picked our pumpkins out and drank some hard cider (well not Wyatt), bought some apples for baking a pie and some honey, and just in general had a great time. They didn’t have doughnuts the day we went but that is ok, I think this weekend we will take a little drive to the Halloween bakery, although I haven’t told Billy and Wyatt that yet, it will be a surprise. After our pumpkin hunting, we took a walk on Grosse Ile, foraging for things to put in the scout nature box.

This month has been so full. Full of fun and family moments, watching the football game with my dad and stepmom eating our bowls of fancy ramen, a nice long massage, reading with Wyatt, sitting out on the deck for the ramp in the sun with Billy and Wyatt and Devin and my nieces. Stitching in bed while watching tv at night, our comfy cozy cinema nights, just all those little things that make up most of our days. It is apt maybe that this month is so full feeling, in tune with the season of harvest. A long time ago, when people still lived mostly off the land, this time of year would be their richest in food, as they laid up their food for the winter. We are reading about this right now in Wyatt’s read for history, The Birchbark House. I do like that the mom thought about those times they would need a little something extra too though.

I too often need a little sweetness to remain strong in spirit.

And now, some extra photos from the camera!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized21 Comments

Hello everyone! This might be a long post today, so you may want to put the kettle on or refill your cup, and settle in. I just have so much to share! We have had the final culminations of a lot of big projects, plus some other fun (and not so fun!) things going on as well. Well, you will see.

First up – the ramp!!! Billy and a bunch of our friends and family have been working hard all summer to build this ramp for Wyatt, and on Saturday, they came so close to it being completely done. It is for the most part, done. It is useable and complete – we just need railings for our own wild child to be out there. I don’t need this kid zooming off the side! However, it is done and can be used with supervision and assistance right now. This was such a huge and major accomplishment, and I am so thankful to all of the people who contributed and to Billy of course for having the ability and knowledge and talent to do it.

Please ignore the state of the rest of our yard. It was very neglected this summer while this was happening. The ramp is very long, to accommodate the pitch dropping at the appropriate rate. The other option would have been lots of bends and turns and Billy thought this would be a better way for kiddo. Since it is so long though, we added an extra few feet to make the deck part wider and we are turning that into an outdoor play spot for Wyatt, complete with a wheel up painting easel that one of our friends is making him! This is going to be such a huge thing for Wyatt. He can get out into his own backyard, play, have some independence. I am feeling so grateful for this gift!

So that was Billy’s project done – I had one of my own that I had been working on all summer. Cub Scouts! I have to say getting this pack up and running from scratch was more complex than I had anticipated – but it was 100% worth it. More than worth it actually, especially after seeing all the kids, our scouts, playing together and having such a good time at our first meeting. Yep, we had our first meeting! It was just big smiles, on kids and on parents, and that warmed my heart. The kids learned about some of the pack laws and the oath, we gave them their t-shirts and handbooks, they made a keychain lanyard with a bead for every quality (a scout is kind, etc), and they played a get to know each other game, that was low pressure. Instead of being forced to speak or come up with something on the spot, which would have been hard for some of our kiddos, we gave them all paddles that said “Me too!” and when someone named something they liked, like spaghetti or books, they would raise their paddles! It was a good way to show them how they are the same. Also, Wild Child was there and having her own good time, racing around the church social hall. You can see her little head there, next to Wyatt and his grandma.

I mentioned that not all of our happenings were happy! Somewhere in between scouts and home, Wyatt managed to get stung by something. He never said anything or cried, so we didn’t know. At around noon the next day though, I looked down at his hand, which was super red and swollen, and about passed out. We ended up taking him to the ER since he had cellulitis last year. The doctor did not think it was cellulitis, he thought that it was just the normal reaction to a sting, but did prescribe antibiotics just in case, along with zyrtec and hydrocortisone cream. The next day his hand looked perfect – just in time to meet the Detroit Tigers!

Our scouts had the opportunity to meet the Tigers, in a “Kids Take the Field” event! One of our parents arranged it, and it was so cool. The kids were able to go on the field, meet a player, get their game ball, and their names were even up on the scoreboard, in the positions that they were in. It was really cool! Wyatt got to meet the catcher, and hang out at home plate. It was really amazing opportunity, and something they will never forget!

It was his first MLB game too; I told him not many people get to go on the field and meet a player their first time there!

Our last few weeks have been a whirlwind and now Wyatt is dealing with a cold, which has not been fun. Rest will do us both good! Then it will be back to a full school day and our fall activities!

And that is it from me today! Whatever you do today, do something that makes you smile – even if it is just taking five minutes to yourself to relax.