Tag: family

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized9 Comments

Hello everyone! I am writing from my bed this morning, it is so cold and I am not ready to get moving quite yet. I do have a cup of coffee next to me though, thank goodness, that will help with both issues, although it is Friday and Wyatt and I have a lighter day on Fridays.

This past weekend was my birthday! I feel like I have been celebrating all month, with all of the surprises my family and friends have had for me. They have all been so thoughtful and made me feel very special for my 50th.

On Saturday, my dad and stepmom had a party for me out at their house, and it was so chill and relaxed and just what I needed. Good food, lots of cake, family, and laughter. I loved just hanging out with my family, chatting and eating and then I took the kids outside and they were all playing hide and seek, even Wyatt. It was a nice time.

Sunday morning Billy, Wyatt, and I had plans to go to Le Supreme in Detroit, which is a French brasserie. We love their brunch menu and we got all shined up to go (Marsha, I wore my fox dress outfit!) – however, my son decided to gift me a special surprise right as our food arrived, by throwing up right in my lap. I told him I have had better gifts before. We managed to keep things low profile and cleaned up and then packed Wyatt’s food up and went home. Billy and I both had egg based breakfasts and left them behind. The waiter was so nice, and gave me a raincheck for a free creme brulee when we go back. And we are having a redo, and this time I think Wyatt will stay home with a grandparent. Ah, life with a medically complex child. Lol. It is that pesky side effect of his medication – and we never know when it will occur since it is not everyday.

The day after my birthday would have been Billy’s older brother’s birthday, and we remember him every year on that date (well we remember him everyday, but especially the 17th). He passed at 26 from squamous cell cancer of the mouth, and we tell stories about him to Wyatt all the time. About George’s tarantulas, which is one reason I took Carl in, his love of old cars, his carpentry and automotive skills, which is where Billy learned a lot of what he knows, from his older brother. He would have been 53 this year, and probably still been giving Billy a hard time but then bailing him out as well. He was a good big brother. I remember one winter, Billy and I had been watching a movie and it was over about 1 am. Billy went out to his car, and the battery was dead, so he called George. George came over in the bitter cold, and together they jumped Billy’s car, while sitting in George’s. I would check on them occasionally out there, chatting while they waited, and I remember thinking how happy they both looked, despite it being freezing cold, pitch black, and jumping a car. Just two brothers doing brother things. He was one one of the good guys, and we miss him everyday.

On Wednesday my dad came by and kicked me out of the house, telling me to go do something for me. I decided to check out Brooks Books, a local bookstore. I knew they had decorated for Christmas, and I thought it would be nice to take Wyatt there next month for our book and cookie outing. However, it was very nice to go by myself for once. I had so much time to just look at everything, in quiet. I picked up a book while I was there, Cold Clay, the second book in the Shady Hollow series. It was a nice refresh midweek!

And, I also got my items from when I went to the tie dye place with my friends! I had made a pashmina scarf, a tote bag, and socks, which they donate to the unhoused. I really love how both my scarf and tote bag turned out! My scarf makes me think of malachite, and it is so pretty!

And I here I am, looking like an art teacher from a 1990s romcom!

And that is it from around here this week. I hope that whatever you do, you do something that makes you smile!

Christmas Gift Guide: Things Wyatt Has Loved

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized9 Comments

How is Christmas so close now? What is it, 35 days away? I am not even close to being finished with holiday shopping! I did see Amazon started its Black Friday Sale, so I thought I would share a few ideas of things that Wyatt has loved over the years, in case anyone needs a little inspiration. Some of these are Black Friday Deals, others are not.

These links are affiliate links, and I will receive a small commission if you were to purchase anything using a link, at no extra cost to you.

Outfoxed is a game that he got maybe a year or two ago from his aunt and uncle, and he absolutely loves it, as do all of his cousins. It is a mystery game where you eliminate suspects (all foxes) using clues and logic.

Hoot Owl Hoot is a game that we bought Wyatt when he was five. We gave it to some friends with young children a few years ago as he outgrew it, but it is an awesome game. Wyatt played the heck out of it with us. This is a cooperative game, and helps kids learn colors, strategy, and turn taking.

Pop the Pig. I can’t even tell you how many times we had to play Pop the Pig. Every teacher, every therapist I have talked to has said that they have this game in their classroom as well. Kids love it. It is also geared for younger kids. We still have ours and if you could see it – the box is tattered, the poor pig looks like he has been through the wars, but it had a lot of use and love.

This Makedo Discover Set is a current favorite. This is actually really cool, and Wyatt has fun transforming my Amazon boxes into art or tall buildings or whatever he wants to make. And we learned over Halloween that the sawing tool is handy for kids to carve pumpkins with as well! All of it is safe and not actually sharp. Wyatt will sit and create with this for a good while!

Picasso Tiles, all the sets, he loves. He wants a set like this with dragons again this year (and I already ordered it) and it is another thing he will play with for an hour or two. We have taken them with us on vacations, on his trips to the hospital for EEGs, for tests,and they travel well (as long as you don’t bring them ALL lol).

I bought this flower building garden toy for Wyatt when he was in pre-school and we were doing a unit study on plants. It was great to illustrate to him the parts of a plant, but I had no idea that he was going to love it as much as he did, or that his cousins would as well.

Hopper toys were always a winner around here, I mean who doesn’t like to bounce? Plus it is good for core building in little kids, and balance.

I got these little barns and farm animals for my niece’s second birthday this past March, and let’s just say, she didn’t care about any of her other gifts once she opened it. I was told I apparently bought her the winning gift, because she played with it the entire rest of the party. It has colors, animals, and little kids love to put things in things and take them out.

And then a bigger gift, but I would feel remiss if I didn’t share, just in case anyone is on the fence about getting one for their child or grandchild or whoever.

A play kitchen. Wyatt played with his for years and years and when he outgrew it I gave it to a friend for their child to use. This and kitchen toys to go with it – he was occupied for hours. I drank countless “cups of tea” and ate so many pieces of “cake” as did any other family member who came over. It was well worth the money. This is not the same one we had but it is by the same company, KidKraft.

If you search my blog, you might be able to find photos of Wyatt playing with most of these!

I hope that this gift guide gave you some ideas, and I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Soup and Story Saturday

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized14 Comments

Hello everyone! This is my very first Soup and Story Saturday, and if you are not quite sure what it is yet, well, know that I am still working it out too. It is sort of amorphous right now, and that is fine. We can all work with that.

My idea was basically about community. Sharing a meal, sharing a story. You can share a soup you have made, soup you love, soup you have eaten somewhere else, homemade or restaurant made, from a can – it doesn’t matter. As for the story, you can share a story or a memory of your own, you can share the book you are reading, you can share about a book you love, a book you hate – same, it is up to you. Just any sort of story you want to share.

Last Sunday we woke up to the first snow of the season, which is always an exciting day for us. We like to celebrate the first snow and traditionally, we order Chinese for some reason on the first snow. Well, this past Sunday our budget said no to ordering food, so instead we decided to start a few new traditions. We painted and had homemade soup and I baked. However, the soup I made didn’t quite turn out! I used to make it years ago, when I was still a vegetarian, and I must have done something differently in the past because this time there just was not any broth. Lol. It was more like a bowl of beans and dumplings than soup! It was still ok but not quite soup. It was still very hearty and soothing, although a bit stodgy.

The soup I made is called Vegan Chickpea Dumpling. I won’t share the recipe I used since this is not a good representation of it. Lol.

When I conceptualized this idea, I was just about to start reading The Enchanted Greenhouse. By the time I was done reading it, I knew I wanted to do a soup sort of posting linky. That book is full of homemade soup, sitting around a table, protected against the snow outside, and feeling snug. I always got that same feeling reading Little House on the Prairie. Laura would describe the elements outside, how it was always slightly wild and dangerous, but they were safe inside their little house, wherever it was located at that time.

This month is full of milestones for me, my 25th anniversary, my 50th birthday. Billy has been such a safe place for me for so long now- we have been together since we were seventeen, and even then, just starting to date him, he made me feel safe and cared for. There were times in my life that I didn’t necessarily always feel that way, but Billy is one of those people that are just…protective and full of love. He is human and makes mistakes obviously, but that doesn’t take away from how he is. He is an extremely capable person, and so kind to people. I remember one of the moments I really realized I love him, and what a good person he is.

I was working at a retail store, during college, one that sold office supplies, but also had a gifts side, that was sort of Hallmarkish, cards and little figures and ornaments and what have you. I worked on the gifts side of the store, and while the office supply side had more business customers, the gift side had more older people who came in, who would walk down from the senior apartments a block or so away for cards for their grandchildren, little gifts, but some came in just to chat. I would chat with them while I worked, the man named Harold Angel (first and middle name) because he was born on Christmas was one of my favorites, and then there was a little tiny much older woman, who didn’t live in the apartments but in her own home. But she came in one Christmas and wistfully told me that her family lived very far away, and didn’t visit very often, and that she wished that she had someone to visit and to help her set up her Christmas village of houses. Since her husband had died she didn’t have anyone to bring them up from the basement or help her out, and she missed seeing their lights at night. You all know I have a very close family, and it made me sad that she was all alone at the holidays. So you all probably can guess what I did. I volunteered Billy and I to go over and help her out.

Later, I told my nineteen year old boyfriend that we were going to spend the next night at a stranger’s house helping her out. And it was probably the first of Billy’s shrugs and sighs and turning to me saying “What do you want me to do”, acting exasperated but not really being exasperated. So the next night we went over to her home, which turned out to be just around the corner from my home, and she met us at the door, all huge smiles.

She had eggnog for us, which neither of us care for but that we smiled and chugged down, and her house was set a million degrees so we were sweating to death, and I sat and chatted with her on the couch while my very kind boyfriend brought up all the boxes of her decorations and little village houses, set them all up the way she wanted them, made sure they worked, and were safely plugged in. And I watched him, and knew he was a keeper. It wasn’t his ideal night out, probably a far cry, but he did it because he is kind. He has a good heart, a big heart. He is a helper. There he was, in his plaid flannel shirt over a black concert tee of some punk band, wearing his camouflage pants and giant combat boots, doing his best to make this woman happy. No one would have guessed he was that full of kindness if you just looked at him – until he smiled. Then you would know because his eyes are twinkly and his smile welcoming.

And I guess that is my story today. About Billy and his kindness, his spirit, his joy. And I probably wrote this all wrong, because I am no writer and sometimes it is hard to describe a feeling or emotion or a particular event in your life. But I hope you all understand what I am trying to say in this story anyway.

And with that, I hope you all have a great day, and that whatever you do, that you do something that makes you smile.

And, I am having a problem adding the linky today. It just keeps telling me it is incompatible with wordpress. So I apologize! If you want to share a post, add your link in the comments. 🙂 Or if you just want to share a story in the comments, that works as well! I look forward to reading anything anyone wants to share.

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized23 Comments

Hello everyone! We have been keeping busy but finding a balance over here, finally. I like when we can have down time but also activities and for awhile there, it was either too much or too little. It is finally just right.

Wyatt and I had our monthly book and cookie outing last Friday! It’s such a small little thing but we have so much fun. This time we went back to Barnes & Noble; the local bookstore in our town turned their store in a Christmas wonderland so I want to save that trip for December. Anyway, Barnes and Noble turned out to be a good time – partially because the Starbucks sugar cookies are freaking delicious. Wyatt has been binging the Frog and Toad cartoon, and now wants to revisit the books, so he chose Frog and Toad All Year as his pick. I lucked out and got the $5 Barnes and Noble Cafe book promo, where if you buy anything from the cafe, you get that one particular book for $5! It is a book called Murder at Holly House and I am really excited to read it this holiday season!

The next day was a get-together with my girls for my birthday party. They arranged a whole night out for us and I had such a fantastic time hanging out with them. I am so thankful for their thoughtfulness and friendship. We have all been friends for 20-30 years and I am hoping to have that many years more with them as well.

Our first stop was the Detroit Dye House, where we made tie dye! Kelly had arranged for us to do the class, and with the class you make three things: socks to be donated, a tote bag, and your choice of a few pieces. We all chose the pashmina scarf. I loved seeing where my friends creativity took them in the making of their pieces, what colorways we all went with.

Chrissy went jewel tones, very royal, and it reminded me a little of a peacock. Kelly was more earthy, Jill went for the colors of the ocean, and then I went for a more monochromatic look of different shades of green.

That place is really fun. I also like that it is fun for all ages; this is actually the place we celebrated Wyatt’s birthday this year for his tenth birthday! I threw in a picture of us at another creative get together, that one more than ten years ago! After getting creative, we went to dinner at Ima, a noodle house which was amazing!!

We woke up Sunday to the first snow of the season, and we had a perfectly cozy day, which I blogged about here! It was also the perfect weather for the eve of the anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy. It went down 5o years ago, 6 days before I was born, and my great uncles helped build it. One of them, Hugh McIlroy was actually the superintendent of the shipyard where it was built as well. My mom attended the launch as a kid, and remembers the surge of water when it was launched that soaked everyone. Apparently the surge of water was so great that one of the workers there actually had a heart attack, poor man. Another tragic casualty of this ship. My cousin Brian invited my brother and I out for a drink (I had a cider that was described as “cozy”) that night, Monday, in remembrance of the crew, and he also surprised me with a birthday gift. He wrote me a very beautiful letter that made me cry, and then gifted me with a first edition, seventh printing, first book club edition of To Kill a Mockingbird and told me that I always reminded him of Scout. He also again made me cry by gifting me a decorative Hummel plate of my aunt’s, that I remember being displayed in her home. I miss her so much everyday, and I am so happy to have such a memento.

The rest of our week was just routine (the balance I needed for all those outings!) and yesterday we had our Blackbirds meeting. The kids seemed to really enjoy our activity! We started with spending some time in the courtyard at the church, doing some stargazing, then we headed inside for snacks, a little art project designing their own constellations, and then ended with potting paperwhites to take home, which was a gift from my stepmom to the troop. I love being outside at night this time of year, I find it so peaceful and I even enjoy the chill in the air. They also all surprised me at the end of the night with a cake and singing happy birthday, and the smiles on all the kids’ faces warmed my heart.

And that is it from over here this week! I hope that whatever you do this week, you do something that makes you smile!

And now for some random photos.

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

Hello everyone!! Today is looking like a low key, read under a blanket rainy day! However, I don’t think my ten year old will let me do that all day. Lol. Maybe I can get an hour or so in though this morning. I did promise him that we would go out for our mother-son book and cookies outing today, which will be fun. The rain will make it even better I bet.

I feel like so much has happened since I last did one of these, which apparently was October 24th!

We carved pumpkins, which is always a tradition around here. Wyatt had a very visceral reaction to touching the pumpkin insides which could have been disastrous, but he held it together. He was very excited to carve them though, and was cracking me up giving his pumpkin kisses before he carved it. He is a super goofball. Last year for Christmas we had given Wyatt a set of Makedo tools (which he loves) and we learned that they are also useful for pumpkin carving! They are designed for cutting and creating things out of cardboard but it was good to know we can use it on different things!

Our Jack O’Lanterns from top to bottom – Wyatt’s smiley happy one, Billy’s classic version, and my dragon/lizard.

The next day was Halloween! Wyatt visited Billy at work in his costume for Billy’s Halloween work party. They go big there for Halloween! Wyatt ended up being entered into the costume contest and won. He was very embarrassed however from all the attention. Ten is a hard age! He did enjoy visiting and they know him there obviously from Billy and from Take Your Child to Work Day. Billy and some of his coworkers dressed together as minions; I didn’t get his entire costume in a picture although it was really cool.

I mean, his costume is pretty amazing. Billy did such a fantastic job making the Toothless head and the rest. I was in charge of the Hiccup/Wyatt while Billy did the rest. Wyatt absolutely loved his costume. My little viking. And strangely, this is the second time that Wyatt was a viking – the first was when he was one. This time it was his choice though.

We went trick or treating a few hours and a nap later with his cousins, my brother’s children, Mermaid Girl and Little Bit. Mermaid Girl was Coraline, and she looked amazing as well. Little Bit was Elsa, but we had a little excitement and tears earlier when she fell face first onto the pavement and scraped her nose up horribly. Poor baby. She didn’t let it slow her down or diminish her joy of trick or treating though! Although she did have a really long much deserved cry beforehand. She loves Wyatt so much though that she was distracted from it when her parents told her that he was on his way over. She calls him Wy-ee and was waiting at the door and windows for him. It is so sweet and warms my heart!

We had some much needed downtime after the whirlwind that was October! We did however, teepee my brother’s house for their anniversary on the 2nd. Kids need a little good old fashioned mischief sometimes.

And then my brother is set to repay us, I know it because he was mad he missed when we went out for our anniversary on the 4th! Lol. He had thought we were waiting for the weekend but instead we went out on our actual anniversary. His kids were disappointed they didn’t get to return the favor but I assured him there will be plenty of future opportunities.

Billy and I actually were celebrating our 25th anniversary. I have known this guy a long time I guess! We started dating at 17, got married at 24/25 and here we are, much grayer, a few more wrinkles on our faces, but still all in love and all that sappy stuff. He is my guy and my other half and I have known that since the summer we started dating. We didn’t go big for our anniversary, we didn’t have much time available, as it is hard for us to have anyone watch Wyatt but we went out for dinner together and I was so grateful for it and for him. He surprised me with a unique gift as well. He had bought a silver Indian spoon, that depicts a shadow puppet or puppet, and he built a shadow box for it to hang in. When you shine a light on it, the shadow is cast on the inside of the box and it is really cool. He is so clever! He also got me two little anniversary red cherry shrimp for one of our tanks. (Ok that wasn’t really part of our anniversary but I am saying it was lol)

We went to HopCat which is a place I have been wanting to go, and we had a blast. It was a very fun vibe there. Although my hair looked terrible. I decided to straighten it and it was so bizarre looking.

And that is it for now! I will have more to share soon!

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Hello November!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

Hello November!!

We had a whirlwind October, and so I am looking forward to a less busy November. I want to fully embrace a slower fall, now that Halloween and October is over. We went all out for October because Wyatt had such a crappy summer, and we definitely had a blast. But, now we are ready for relaxing!

Most of the month should be pretty quiet, although we do have two milestone events this month. First, happening Tuesday, is Billy and my 25th wedding anniversary. It seems unbelievable that we have been married that long, but I guess it is true. I am pretty sure we are still only 17.

Which leads me to the next milestone – guys, I turn the big 5-o this month. What the heck? I really really can’t be that age. It sounds insane to me, but again, here we are. Honestly, I’m not really that hing up on the number. I feel every year is a privilege. I am not sure what sort of celebrations we will be having, but I am sure they will be pretty simple affairs. I do know that my besties here are planning a night out, with a bit of fun at the tie dye place downtown followed by dinner at Ima, a noodle house I have been wanting to go to for awhile now! I am the oldest of our group, by one year. Jill is a year younger than me, Kelly two, and Chrissy – well. Nine. Nine years younger than me. I am very much looking forward to our night out though. I miss my crew and life gets in the way a lot of us hanging out. Kelly has a senior in high school this year, and is busy with all of the events and different things happening in her daughter’s life, Jill works so hard – she is a respiratory therapist at two different places, a full time job during the day and then some night shifts at the hospital. Chrissy works and has two children, one of which is a toddler. So it will be nice for us to have some time together, hanging out and having fun.

Billy has plans for our anniversary, dinner out at an old favorite of ours, and he took the day off to hang out with Wyatt and I. We are hoping for a hike somewhere, full of fall colors and brisk weather.

Outside of these two big events, the rest of our month should be quiet, with the exception of Thanksgiving, of course, but my brother is hosting so I just need to provide a few dishes, including my Nantucket cranberry pie.

I want to try to repair my vintage quilts this winter. I don’t know how though. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I plan on making a post about this, with photos of them as they are. I love them so much, they are so soft and warm but they need some help and I don’t want them destroyed. But I do want them to be used.

Wyatt also wants me to make some mini-felt animals. He found a book at the used book store with photos and patterns, don’t ask me how, of little animals and wanted me to sew a few. So I am giving that a whirl to this winter. He wants to sew too, but I can’t figure out how to do accommodate that for him yet. He has full use of his left hand, he is a lefty, a natural one so that is good, but his right hand is more of a helper, and he does not have much in the way of fine motor skills with that hand. More like big movements that are sort of clunky. So I do plan on researching that a bit for him.

I also have some other goals, that are pretty small but I am looking forward to. I want to make really good cinnamon rolls, for one. I am not a great baker but I like to try and focus on something until I can perfect something, and have it be like, my good version. I have the nantucket cranberry pie, chocolate chip cookies, scones, and gingerbread cookies under my belt, and have my sights set on cinnamon rolls next.

I am also thinking of doing a little Soup and Saturday Stories feature on my blog. Doesn’t that sound cozy? Maybe make it a link up, and we can all share the soup we are eating, the recipe, and the book we are reading? I love soup. It is one of my favorite things about fall and winter, that it is soup season! And I have Billy reinvigorating his sourdough mother that has been sleeping all summer, because sourdough pairs perfectly with soup and stews.

I am of course thinking about Christmas. I would like to try my hand at painting some Christmas cards, but if that proves to be too much for my talent, I am going to just purchase some. I have been listening to the podcast In the Meadow, and Vic has been talking about how analog and doing things the way we did just two or three decades ago, can make such a difference in our lives. Screens, quick information, the digital life, has its good points, but it is also good to step away sometimes, do something like send Christmas cards again, or letters. Maybe use an actual clock or watch. A radio. You get the idea. I am going to start small – Christmas cards. What better way to connect?

So that is where I am mentally tonight, on this cold dark night already, the day after Halloween. I am sitting in the den with my husband and son, Billy watching some documentary on tv, Wyatt playing with his magna-tiles on the floor, my cat purring asleep next to me.

How are you doing?

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized10 Comments

Hello everyone!! it is actually cold here this week, and temps next week will be cold as well. I think it is safe to say autumn is here for real.

And it seemed to blow in all at once. We were having a warm sunny day the other day, then all of a sudden it was overcast, gray, and a storm and rain moved in. And that was that. Fall was here in a flash.

We have just been moving along over here. We had a few Halloween events last week, where we gave Wyatt’s costume a trial run, and then a family get together with my brother’s family and my cousin’s family. Billy, Wyatt and I also went to the apple orchard, one of my favorite outings of the season, if not my very favorite.

Let’s start there. It was sort of a neat moment – we went on the same day, October 18th, that we went to the very first time we went to this orchard with baby Wyatt. When Wyatt was a baby, I wanted to find an orchard that we could make our tradition, like I had when I was a kid. The one I grew up going to has turned into a circus, with too many bounce houses and people with tables selling things – it’s just too much. I wanted a more simple experience. Pumpkins and cider and doughnuts and apples – we don’t need anything else. I found one online, Bennett’s Orchard, and off we went with tiny Wyatt. And we have been going there ever since. So this past Oct. 18th was our ten year anniversary of sorts, of going, and it was ten years to the day.

They also have this gentle Lab who will sometimes join you in your wanderings. He has to be getting up there in age now, and is such a sweetie. I love when he joins us.

We had such a good morning at the orchard, although I couldn’t talk Wyatt into wearing a pumpkin hat for old times sake.

The next day was the party at my cousin’s house. He and his partner had it all set up for the kids, and it looked so good! They did a great job making a nice party for our kids of all ages, from 16 years down to 2. There were pumpkins to paint and sticker, doughnuts, pizza, and we brought a jug of hard cider from the orchard to share, while my brother brought different chips and dips. It was such a nice time!

I also picked up my new glasses this week, and just in time, because I broke my only pair! I really like my new pair but I got progressives for the first time and I am finding them confusing. I like them when I am doing stuff around the house, because I only need them for reading and I don’t need to take these on and off all the time, but when I am just sitting and reading and not multitasking I am having a difficult time. So I bought a pair of $7 readers from Amazon that work perfectly for that. It however made for a slower week of reading until I figured out I could do that.

It was a week for reading and hanging out with Brian, my cousin this week, because I hung out with him again on Wednesday! We tried out a place in Detroit called Sip N Read, which is like a bookstore bar. It was cold and rainy and really the perfect night to sit somewhere warm and read. Sip N Read is so pretty inside too! I loved the velvety furniture in shades of green and burnt orange, the space itself was so inviting! There is a small bar when you walk in, and then on the opposite wall are bookshelves. The books are there to be perused and read while you enjoy libations, and they offer wine and mocktails to their patrons. You can either choose to buy the book or not, or just read from different books, or whatever you choose. We had so much fun just reading and hanging out with our drinks. It reminded me of an adult version of when we were kids and would go to the library, check out some Stephen King, and head to his house where we would drink Capri Suns and read together. It was pretty empty but I am chalking that up to the night – it was a Wednesday, and it was so cold and rainy! We had a great time, reading and chatting, and then Brian treated me to the book I was reading as an early birthday gift!

I also did some baking this week – I made cinnamon apple scones, and chocolate chip cookies. I think I am going to be baking more since life is so expensive these days, and the groceries I am buying look different now too. I bought a whole chicken yesterday to turn into a few meals, as it was a better cost value than buying anything else. We are also having meals that turn into leftovers, like chili and stew, and Billy is going to start baking his sourdough again this weekend. Every bit helps!

It’s been fun baking again though. I am not great at it, but I have fun bopping around the kitchen to Oingo Boingo, Taylor Swift, Yaelokre (an Icelandic band my brother introduced me to that has really cool story and lore behind it), and also listening to the In the Meadow Podcast.

All in all, it’s been a pretty darn good week! The leaves are finally turning to fire, the weather is fully fall, and things are getting pretty cozy around here!

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Hello October!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Hello October!! You had better bring cooler temps because September was confused about what fall means! I am so ready for my hoodies and overalls and sweaters and this weather has not been participating in fall.

October, October. Probably one of my favorite months. I love Halloween! I have always loved Halloween, even the years I got strep throat and had to miss trick or treating. Because for me it wasn’t necessarily about the trick or treating, it was the build up. The fun cartoon movies that we watched. Our family trip to the orchard with all of my cousins, and then following it up with chili at my aunt’s house where we all carved our pumpkins together. Picking my costume and my parents making it. I was a cat once, a Scottish dancer, Scooby Doo (my mom hand sewed the most awesome costume for this), Minnie Mouse. Batgirl, that was another great one. We had so many traditions, and that is something I have tried to form with Wyatt as well. These family traditions. My cousin Brian and Devin (my brother) have this same feeling of nostalgia, and now Brian hosts family get togethers during the school year, and all of our kids play together, or make things together and I love it.

Trick or treating with Devin and Mermaid Girl and now the Hurricane in their neighborhood feels like the 80s. The streets are packed with kids, the homeowners are out in front of their homes passing out candy, and the houses are highly decorated, and the feeling is just so cheerful and full of community. Our own little Stars Hollow moment, I guess! There are fires (contained fires of course, not the Detroit Devil’s Night fires from the 80s and 90s) and the mood is high. I should really change Mermaid Girl’s nickname on here, she is no longer into mermaids and hasn’t been for a long time, she is more KPop girl now and has been for some time, but she is staying Mermaid Girl.

We have so many fun things lined up for the month! We have the Detroit Zoo Boo, an orchard outing (or two), our Blackbirds field trip to Belle Isle, our Blackbirds Spooky Not Spooky party, of course cousin Brian’s get together for the kids, and a Halloween bonfire at the farm with Blackbirds as well.

As for myself, I am looking forward to all the spooky books, apple ciders, bonfires, and doughnuts. Because I do love a doughnut. I am planning a few extra things for the season as well, for our family but I am still in the planning process so hopefully I can get them done! And I am also really looking forward to Lisa at Boondock Rambling and my Comfy Cozy Cinema, and our crafternoons. (I have info linked at the top of my blog if you are interested!) I have picked my embroidery back up and am stitching away now at night while we watch our shows and movies. And my stepmom gave me materials to play with jewelry making, but maybe I am not creative enough or something because I can’t figure it out. However, Cat who attends crafternoons is a jewelry maker so perhaps I will try when we are zooming together and get some tips….

We had a jam packed September. I think we were making up for our lost summer! I feel like October will be the same, and then I can relax into November.

And that is it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Saturday Morning Coffee Catch Up – Homeschooling and Other Things

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized7 Comments

** so this was supposed to.post this morning.. it did.not..lol.

Hello everyone!

We have been working hard over here, with school and physical therapy! We have been very productive – and I have been pretty tired by the time I get in bed at night. It’s a good tired though, the kind of tired that you feel when you know that you have worked hard and had a good day. Today though we are going to play, and go to a marsh in Ohio, and hopefully see some pretty leaves and enjoy some time in nature.

Let’s start with school. It is weird how we are running into a theme of people protesting, in so many of areas of Wyatt’s learning. We are reading Hoot for Language Arts, and although we have quite gotten into it yet, the burrowing owls living on a live construction site are going to cause protests although right now, it is just mild tampering on the site with stakes being taken out of there spots. In science, we are talking about swamps and marshes, and Wyatt just learned about Marjorie Stoneman Douglas and all she did to save part of the Everglades – and she continued to do it even into a very advanced age. She died at 108! And finally, in history we are right on the brink of the revolutionary war, and we just covered the Boston tea party and Paul Revere.

Yesterday we had a fun Friday for school – I used to save Fridays for field trips and errands only, but now with physical therapy two days a week, we need to use Friday as an instructional day. I figured we might as well make them fun if we are having school on them now. We did so many cool things yesterday!

First, we started with making a lantern, like the ones of “One if by land, two if by sea” fame. We only made one, so our British came by land unlike the real ones that Revere warned of. And he didn’t ride around yelling “The British are coming!” although that would have been cool. It was more of a quiet version, telling people that the Regulars were coming, and only people who needed to know, knocking on their doors and telling them.

I think this project turned out pretty cute. Wyatt’s Aunt Chrissy came in for the win with the milk carton, finishing up her oat milk so that we could use her container.

After making the lantern and watching a reading of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride by Longfellow, we moved on to our artist of the month, Salvador Dali. We talked a little about surrealism, and looked at Dali’s most famous painting, The Persistence of Memory. Then we started making clay versions of the watches from the painting, which were inspired by melting cheese, of all things. Since we had to wait for the clay to dry (and we are still waiting) we just cut the circles out and moved on for now. When they are dry, Wyatt will paint them.

Next, we made a wetland! We have been talking about the importance of wetlands, swamps and marshes and mangrove swamps, and how they protect the land from flooding and also filter the water, and I thought it would be neat if we could test it out. So, using the directions from a book that I got from the library, we made a wetland out of a paint tray, sponges, and clay. However, we made the unfortunate decision to use a red soap dye to color the water… it looks a little like a crime scene, sorry.

It didn’t filter everything but it did some which was cool!

We also played a reading game but I didn’t get any pictures of that. It was a fun way to learn on a Friday!

I mentioned that Wyatt is doing awesome in physical therapy last week, and he continued working hard this week as well. His therapist was happy with the range of flexibility he is getting, but we need to keep working on strength, so that is what we focus on both at therapy at the center and at his home therapy. Our list of therapy activities for everyday is very long, and I have to be inventive sometimes to work it all in, and combine it with school when I can.

My mom is also starting physical therapy! She got her staples taken out from her cut, and she is getting a physical therapy eval today so that she can start next week. They are coming right to her apartment so that is awesome. I talked to the therapist on the phone, since I am not able to stay, and I discussed her mobility limitations, and what we are hoping for. I would like for them to focus right now on weight bearing on her right leg, and building strength, same as Wyatt. I would also like them to work on getting up off of the floor, and standing easier. I also found a few items online that I want to purchase for her to make things a little more functional for all of us. She has severe osteoarthritis in her hip, which we learned from scans she got last weekend, and that unfortunately, we can’t do much about. So we need to work with it the best that we can. Any suggestions are welcome!

And with that I am off! I hope you guys all have a great day!

Sunday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

Hello everyone! I think we can all agree that last week was a long week, and I hope that you are all taking care of yourselves and guarding your peace.

In the midst of all this upheaval going on around us, I had a mixed bag of a week myself. I will get the yucky over with first here, because I do have lots of good stuff to share as well. So my mom. I had just finally sighed a breath of relief that she was safe and taken care of – but, I guess I exhaled too soon. On Thursday my brother went over to visit our mom and found blood in her apartment and on her pillow. After searching for the source, and asking my mom what the heck, he discovered the source, which was a small cut on the back of her head. It was small but persistent with bleeding, so the two of us whisked her off to the ER for scans and probably a stitch. We were there only about two hours which is record time around here, and her scans came back good and they put two staples in her head. She is doing well but dang, mom! Lol.

Ok now on to the good stuff!!

It’s been a hot minute I think since I updated here like this. Since then, Wyatt has been seriously kicking butt. He has started back to therapy, and this kid is such a hard worker. It blows my mind sometimes how tough he is. At home, he is a little more… wanting me and Billy to do more for him, but now that I have seen what he is capable of, and getting the all clear from the PT, he will not be getting the kid gloves any longer.

We are also all the way back to school and that is going really well too. We were exhausted from a full week of school, two days of PT, a huge list of home therapy activities to do everyday, and then just everyday things (and some emergencies), but we managed. We also had our first Blackbirds meeting on Thursday! We had such a good time, and the kids were all so happy to be back together. We started the meeting explaining the name change from Cub Scouts to Blackbirds, as we decided to just have our own club, and talked about our new mission statement, motto, and learned the sign for Blackbirds from one of our kids. We passed out the new shirts which my MIL and I had made, and had the kids make a banner for us to hang every meeting. It was a great first meeting back. And for me, the icing on the cake was Wyatt saying “Bye Zane!” to his friend. This is huge. Wyatt doesn’t say hi or bye generally, or any names. However, since this one surprise, he has gone on to say the name of one of his cousins, little wild child, and his uncle Devin. It was an amazing moment for Billy and I.

Yesterday we had a great day of time with family. My dad came to visit and we went out for dinner, and after that I had my two little nieces over for a short time while Devin and Chrissy went out for a quick drink to celebrate Chrissy’s birthday. We had a good time with the girls. We painted nails, played with tons of toys, and played a board game all within an hour and some change.

We also did a little shopping at our city wide garage sale yesterday. One of the animal rescues in our city has a mammoth sale and we headed up there to shop their sale. Wyatt got a book, I got a book, and then I also picked up two mugs as well, because they were so cute! They were also apparently made in Spain. I love them but now I really really do need to go through my mug collection and pick some to have in the cupboard and some to put away for a minute.

And that is it from me!!

Let’s move through this week with grace and peace, for ourselves and for others. Be less quick to reply in anger, to be helpers when we can be. And take of your own self as well. As I say, try to do one thing today that makes you smile.