Tag: family

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.

Saturday Afternoon Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized10 Comments

It has been a week! I am sooo ready for a break. It was a week of appointments which always makes for a long week, and coming off of a week where Billy had to work super overtime didn’t make it easier! However, I do feel as if we are finishing up “old business” and moving on in time for autumn.

One thing that finally got accomplished and finished was getting the financials all finished for my mom, and all of the proper care she needs lined up. We had a big meeting on Tuesday that was seriously three and a half hours but at the end I felt such overwhelming relief that my mom was going to be secure and taken care of the way she needs to be. I am not able to be there to do all of the things she needs help with now, and it was very distressing. My brother is not able to either, and both of us had sleepless nights agonizing over her future. I feel like a weight has been lifted and I feel more positive about my mom’s life right now. That was a huge moment.

We also had Wyatt’s follow up appointment with the surgeon this week. It was a mixed bag honestly. He said that Wyatt is doing great, and he is all clear for physical therapy, with no restrictions, which is fantastic news! Onward and upward! However, we do have to keep bracing him and using the wedge pillow until his next appointment, which is in DECEMBER! That was a blow. But, if it needs to be done, it needs to be done and we will get through it. It is certainly not the hardest thing we have done!

We also have an early morning MRI on Tuesday followed by an appointment with his neurosurgeon. He has to have his shunt checked once a year so this is just a regular routine checkup. I hate that he has to have an MRI since he goes feral in them, and it causes him such distress and he just went through a major trauma. But again, we will make it. I feel like at least we are getting everything over and done with. He usually has a freak out for X-rays too, anything he has to lay down for causes him great fear. Children’s Services at Mott has told us that this is because you are so vulnerable when you are laying down, and asked us to think of it like if someone broke into our house: is it scarier when you are awake and on your feet, or laying down in bed? And he has had so many invasive procedures that have caused him pain while laying down already. So it is tough. However, yesterday for his appointment he had no issues at all during his X-ray, and we think it is because he was holding an “emotional support book”. He just held on to that book and was fine. So maybe he can hold a book on Tuesday as well.

Once we finish up at Mott, then we have an evaluation with his physical therapist in the afternoon. It is going to be a long day but at least it will be all out of the way in one day.

There were also some fun moments thrown into the week.

Following Wyatt’s appointment yesterday, instead of heading right home we decided to hang out in Ann Arbor instead for a bit. I had always wanted to go to the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Wyatt wanted to go for a walk somewhere, and Billy had the day off so it seemed like perfect timing. It was such a great time, and there was so much to look at. We only did part of it, but it was just what I needed after the stressful week of appointments. We spent a lot of time in the Bonsai garden, and then wandering around outside in the Children’s Garden. There was also an indoor tropical biome area and a desert biome as well, and it was a lightbulb went off in my head – we could visit these areas this year since we are doing biomes in science! I love when I find things like that to tie into our learning!

We also went school shopping with my Dad, and Wyatt picked out some new stuff, including that sweatshirt he is wearing in the photo above. My dad and I were kind of wishing they had one in our sizes. It is oversized and not too thick and seems really comfortable. I also picked up some fall decorations while I was out from the Target dollar spot, a cute mushroom canister, a squirrel, a fox, and a pumpkin. I am slowly putting out my fall stuff, but since it feels like fall out here, I am going with it. I blame my cousin. He recently took a trip out East and brought me quite a few souvenirs back, including a cute little teapot from Salem that says Witches Brew. I had to set it out immediately! It was good to see him, and hear some of the stories from his trip.

We also had a little guest the other day. I happened to glance out the window at the right time to see my neighbor’s elderly beagle just chilling on our front lawn. I turned to Billy and was like “Billy! Luna is on our lawn!” and sent him out to take her home. But she seemed perfectly content to just lay there instead, so I went out and chilled with her, petting her and enjoying her company, while Billy alerted the neighbors. I was happy that it took a little time – I love dogs and miss having one but our life with Wyatt right now doesn’t suit one. So I have to enjoy other people’s dogs, and Luna is a sweetie. She was so happy, just hanging out. I feel like she had a tiny adventure, escaping but only going as far as our house, right next door.

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

Thursday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized19 Comments

Hello everyone!! I am feeling pretty good this morning – I had an actual whole night of sleep and it was amazing. I feel ready to take on the world! Or maybe just my patch of the world. That works too.

We are still at home, and going a bit stir crazy. Wyatt is feeling pretty much back to normal but still has all of the restrictions, which is a difficult pairing. But we are managing. He has really only felt this good beginning this week, and I am so happy that we have gotten to this stage. I just need to shift gears now a bit and figure out this new conundrum. We will get it though. We are through the worst of it now, thank goodness.

His recovery timed nicely with the completion of his Little Free Library! We had the grand opening on Sunday, and Wyatt was so happy and proud of it. We had goodie bags for the kids who came, and my dad came and brought balloons.

Our first visitors were two of my nieces, Mermaid Girl and Little Bit! They promptly plopped down on the lawn and got busy with their goodie bags, and flipped through books. Then we had some friends stop by with their children, and our little neighbor girl has been flitting back and forth to it all week. I need to find a way to keep the inventory “fresh” for the kids who come a lot, like the neighbor girl. Wyatt even got a super cute card from some friends down the street.

It was a really good day!

I joined a Little Free Library group on Facebook, and posted about our new library, and asked for suggestions on how to keep the momentum going, and they were all so welcoming and had great ideas. Just what I would expect from people who love books! One person suggested that I get a map and have Wyatt mark on the map where everyone who responded to my post has charters, or show him how to use the LFL map, which I didn’t even think about doing. Other suggestions were to post on the NextDoor App, in our city’s Buy Nothing group, and to start a FB page just for his library. So I guess I will be doing all of that pretty soon.

Right now though, I am busy planning the school year, or at least up to December. I need organization to stay on track with life, so I have been working very hard this week on plans. I have a good chunk finished and I am pretty excited about how our fall is shaping up. We do have two days of physical therapy that we will be working around as well, as part of Wyatt’s recovery. I am leaving those days light for now.

And because I am who I am, and don’t have enough projects in my life, we made a big change with Cub Scouts. We ended up deciding as a group to continue meeting and doing all of our fun stuff and community work, basically stay the same as what we were doing, but without the umbrella of Cub Scouts. So we are now starting from scratch, sort of. I am going to register our group as a nonprofit organization with the state, and get a name and motto and oath and all that together, so that the kids can still have the bond of an organization, and then also design some ranks and badges. I have a few ideas percolating..

And then in the midst of all this, my long suffering husband turned 50!! I am unsure how he is 50, it feels like we are still the teenagers we were when we started dating. We didn’t do much to celebrate this week, but we are hoping to go out together this weekend. We are just now feeling comfortable leaving Wyatt with a grandparent for an hour or two without us. It will be nice to go out together, even for a short time. I am thinking a hike and a drink somewhere might be fun.

And I feel like I have prattled on long enough this morning! I hope that whatever you all do today, that you do something that makes you smile!

Hello August!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized14 Comments

Hello August!

July was a rough ride – I am hoping that August will be a better month. Wyatt is doing better everyday now, and is back to his normal self, at least every way but physically. We go for his next recheck at the end of the month. The last recheck went very well so I am hopeful the next one will be even better.

The weather so far this August, that one whole full day that we had, was cool and wonderful. No humidity, lower temps. I could tell that autumn is hiding around the corner waiting its turn, with cool breezes allowing me to open the windows most of the day. This morning it was actually cold when I stepped outside, and I did a little dance in the doorway. I would much rather be cold than hot. I am hoping to get outside and enjoy some cold temps this evening, with a cup of tea outside. I love to sit outside at night alone, just listening to the quiet, with the occasional train whistle or boat horn making themselves known.

We had a girls night at my friend Kelly’s the other night and the weather was the same, reminding me of northern Michigan, and nights near a fire, lakeside. It has been way too long since my family has done that and we need to fix that next year. I may not be a daytime beach person, but I am definitely a nighttime beach person.

I was so relaxed at Kelly’s. I would lean back and stare at the sky, listening to my friends talking, feeling calm and safe, their laughter wrapping itself around me. We also spent time fawning over Kelly’s newest addition, Simon. Simon is a sweet little fellow with the most beautiful green eyes. He just showed up one day two weeks ago, hungry and looking for a safe place to land. A few years ago I named Kelly’s house Belle Refuge, a place of beautiful refuge, for she takes in all strays and nurtures them and loves them. Simon is the newest to the bunch, and he recently was neutered and given all of his shots, courtesy of Kelly. Now he comes and goes, living life on her sofas inside and out, and we got to meet him finally last night. He was unprepared for a gaggle of cat lovers as we all vied for his attention. I felt chosen because I got a little cat chirp out of him as he came towards my outstretched hand. He is sweet and adorable and a polydactyl with big old paws. He was definitely soaking up all of the attention.

I am not planning much for August. I want it to play out as it will for the most part. I do have some things on tap though, like Wyatt’s Grand Opening for his Little Free Library, and Billy’s summer work party, Billy’s 50th birthday on Monday, and Mermaid Girl’s 10th birthday later this month.

Usually August we spend soaking up the last of summer, but this year it feels as if we are just starting summer as we enjoy the last of it. We have some of the best of summer ahead of us – and Rebecca over at The Farm Wife Reads has gotten me me very excited to eat more of summer’s bounty. Tomatoes and zucchini, cucumbers, corn, peaches, blueberries, cantaloupe, and of course watermelon. I could eat all the watermelon and cantaloupe, I just love it. I don’t have a garden this year, so I will have to head out to some local farmer’s markets and farm stands to stock up. Isn’t this the time of year for summer sweet corn?

So we are planning on taking it easy this month. Seeing friends, having some backyard dinners on the deck, getting back to the library, taking walks, going on drives and car picnics. Sunsets, iced matcha lattes, daydreaming, reading. It’ll be a nice way to end this crazy summer.

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

Quick Wyatt Update

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized23 Comments

Hi everyone. First, thank you guys for all of your well wishes pre-surgery. They meant a lot to me! I just wanted to post a quick update this morning, and I will probably post a video update from me later on. It’s been rough and sometimes I need to talk through things to process them better. It has definitely been rougher on my kiddo, although he is handling things like a champ.

The first few days were very rough on Wyatt. The first 24 hours he was inconsolable from pain and muscle spasms. Literally screaming in pain for 12 hours. However, things have gotten better. His pain seems to be managed and he is able to sleep when he needs to now. He is pretty unhappy about everything and I don’t blame him. They said the worst days are the first few so we are praying he is feeling better in a day or two. He will still have to wear knee immobilizers and a wedge pillow between his legs 24/7 which will take some getting used to, but Wyatt is a trooper. The staff at the hospital was incredible though and did whatever they needed to take care of him.

We were able to bring him home yesterday afternoon, which was both awesome and scary for us as parents. However, we have all made it through the first night and we all were able to sleep. It sort of reminded me of bringing home a newborn, with lots of middle of the night tasks – instead of feedings we gave meds, but it felt the same, waking up, stumbling around, doing what we needed then collapsing back into bed for a few more hours sleep until the next alarm. He is up and watching cartoons and eating some toast this morning. We are praying and hoping for another good day today, and hope that as time goes on things just keep getting better.

We thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and messages about Wyatt.

Our Cozy Little Life

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

The past few weeks have felt more like the summers I had growing up. Slower. Simpler. Small joys. And I am not complaining – and Wyatt wasn’t either.

First though, I want to brag about my little Scouts for a minute. Last Saturday morning we assembled to pack lunches at the church to hand out to people who needed them, and the kids did such a great job. I was proud of my Scouts! Only half of our pack could make it, it is summertime after all, but the three of the kids who did worked so well together and packed 120 lunches! The kids who weren’t able to make it are going to fill some blessing boxes on their own, which is just as important.

Later that evening, we got together for ice cream with friends. Wyatt’s and mine! Just a summer night, scoops of ice cream, stories, and laughter, sitting outside at the tables behind the ice cream parlor.

When the weather cooperates, when it is not too swampy out or extreme heat, we have been enjoying the outdoors. You know, let me amend that. I decided it was a good idea to take Wyatt on a hike through the woods on a very muggy day. It was beautiful out, the water was sparkling, the birds were singing, Wyatt kept telling me how happy he was, and I was sweating profusely while pushing a child and a wheelchair through the woods. It was a good time although I looked like a wet tomato at the end. Wyatt was in charge of holding my phone and recording the birds on Merlin and we would stop occasionally just to record a spot that had lots of bird chatter. I plopped down under a tree at the end and told Wyatt we were going to enjoy the shade and breeze and take a minute. While we were enjoying this moment, a man walking by told me that we were sitting under his favorite tree, with a little smile on his face. I agreed, it was a really great tree, with giant roots all over the ground, wide and strong with lots of shade branches and leaves. And I loved that idea of a favorite tree! Do any of you have a favorite tree? I don’t know if I do, but I might need one.

While we were out sweating in the woods, Billy was at a friend’s house building Wyatt a Little Free Library! I use the term “little” loosely, as it is actually quite big. Like almost as tall as me. Taller than Wyatt for sure. It is awesome and Wyatt is extremely excited to get it set up. Billy is actually working on it right now, putting the final touches on it while I type this.

I have been spending mornings outside on our deck, drinking coffee, reading, working, while Wyatt plays or draws out there with me. I also usually wander about poking at all of our flowers, checking on the caterpillars (who are slowly disappearing, even before full size – I think the birds have spotted them too), and I found a chrysalis! Some silly caterpillar had formed its chrysalis on the grill, and since it was a black swallowtail chrysalis, I gently removed it and relocated it, and also the only remaining caterpillar, to a butterfly enclosure. I decided I would protect the last little baby ‘pillar from the birds.

We haven’t been outside all the time though. It’s been more hot than not. When my dad visited the other day we decided a shopping trip to Target was in order to stay cool yet get out of the house. I also wanted to see if there were any Camp Snoopy notebooks there, since Wyatt loves Camp Snoopy. I had seen a post online that there were, but we didn’t find them. However, we did find a bunch of other things! All three of us had a really good time honestly. We spent some time in the dollar spot, oooing at all the things there we could buy – tiny colorful plates with summer fruits on them, card keepers for flash cards and playing cards, a little metal lunch box with clasps that says “Happy Camper”, fun mugs. My dad and I each picked out a mug – mine is a pastel purpley color with clouds on it, and my dad chose a yellow one with a handle that looks like a banana. Wyatt wanted the Happy Camper tin so we picked that up too, and it now houses his markers. My dad and Wyatt each got some shorts and shirts, I grabbed a new nail polish color. We just wandered around looking at everything and picking stuff up. It was good time!

Also, at the urging of my friend Kelly, who I had drinks with the other night in her yard, I ordered a few new embroidery kits to do during Wyatt’s recovery. I am glad she convinced me, it will probably be the best distraction for me, and the most relaxing too. I have oodles of books to read but I will probably be doing more reading with Wyatt than I will for me. I tend to not be able to read as much when I am anxious, but I can embroider. I picked out a set of three, that are hygge themed and they are really cute!

Then yesterday we got together with my whole extended family for the fourth. It also marked the 100th Independence Day since my grandfather’s family, the Keedys, came to America! My cousin has a big party every year, and it is so nice to just hang out near the pool, chat with family, eat and drink, and listen to the bops in the background. He has a gorgeous house and yard, and the kids go wild in the pool, and so do the dads. It was a typical super muggy day in the midwest, so even if we weren’t swimming we were poolside, legs and feet dangling into the water, getting splashed by children, mostly Wyatt. I was so happy that I decided to take a second dress with me, since I ended up getting soaked at one point when I chased my littlest niece down to give her mom a break for a second. We were a happy, motley crew and I think I smiled and laughed all day. We came home and all crashed hard.

This is my favorite photo from this past week or so…

And with that, I will sign off for now. I hope that whatever you all do today that you do something that makes you smile!

Thursday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized14 Comments

Hello everyone!! It’s been a whirlwind my friends. Billy and I have spent most of this month so far trying to cram an entire summer into one month to the best of our abilities, and we have done ok. We have hit most of Wyatt’s bucket list at least so that is good.

Hmm. Where did I leave off last time? Ok, so Dream Night, the EEG, and our deck ramp oasis. Lol. Since then we have done a few more things on our quest to fill Wyatt’s June. If you are new here, Wyatt is having surgery in July and will be recovering most of the rest of the summer. So we are trying to make June full of adventure.

Billy and I did take a look at our schedule board though a few weeks and took a deep breath before plunging in.

Wyatt was invited to a birthday party for one of his fellow scouts the other week and it was so much fun. I think the parents at the party had just as much fun as the kids! It was a bowling party, and it was super chill and relaxed. As a little bonus, we all got our own little Nothing Bundt Cake. It was delicious!

We followed that up the next weekend with the Summer Reading Kick Off at the library. We love going to the these kick off parties. The library does such a nice job of having lots of activities and fun things for the kids to do. This year the theme is art related, and they had different craft activities set up around the library, a quiet coloring room, a sticker room, and a caricature artist! Wyatt really enjoyed the coloring room, which is where we spent most of our time. Afterwards we went our for pizza at our favorite pizza place downtown, where we ran into my bestie and her family. They were on their way out but we got to chat for a bit before our pizza came. It was nice way to spend a summery Friday night.

Then Saturday was the day Wyatt had been waiting for! We got up early and went to the movies to see How to Train Your Dragon. Wyatt never would really sit for a movie before this spring, so we had never really taken him to the theater. However, now that is something we can do – and we started with a movie he was really excited about. We bought tickets for a few of the VIP seats, ate hot pretzel bites, and settled in for the movie. And we all absolutely loved it! We all loved the original animated movie, and while Billy and I were a little apprehensive about the live action, it was perfect. It was almost shot for shot just like the original, and the additions they made were thoughtful and made sense. Wyatt absolutely loved it, and later that night we went to Burger King just so that he could get the How to Train Your Dragon kids meal. Wyatt also told us he is no longer our little wolf boy, he is a dragon boy now. I am not sure how I feel about that, after years of him loving wolves more than anything!

The next day was Father’s Day, and we always go to Greenfield Village for their vintage Motor Muster. We try to get there when it starts because it gets so jam packed, and it is always like a million degrees for some reason. We walked around a bit, and then looked for our friend’s dad, who always take his car to show. It is a 1949 Packard. And this year he won for his division so congrats Mr. Gallagher! I am not as excited about the cars as Billy is, but I always appreciate how shiny and colorful they are. I do have some favorites though usually every year. This year I thought the Gremlins were so cute, especially the little Gremlin logo, and I also love old station wagons with the wood paneling. I wouldn’t mind having one of those honestly. They are just so retro cool to me. Billy really likes the Mustangs from the 1960s. I always tell him every year how my mom bought herself a little Mustang in the 60s. I think that is tradition too.

This year they also had reenactors for different decades and eras. They had an area set up for the CCC and the She She Shes, another for hippies, women working a Victory Garden, and it was just so fun. It just added to the vibe! Our favorite reenactors though were the Women’s Baseball league from the 40s, just like in A League of their Own. These ladies were the South Bend Blue Sox, and we loved talking to their manager. She told us about an event in Ohio, that reenacts the Normandy invasion, and they also have old timey baseball games for the women’s league and a USO show. We are totally putting it on the calendar for next summer! I think it will be a great living history event for Wyatt to experience.

Of course, we had to get dinner for Billy on Father’s Day! Nowhere fancy for us though – I thought it would be fun to keep with the theme of the day, and have dinner at A&W! It’s a drive up type restaurant, you eat in your car with a little tray hanging off your window, and the menu is like hamburgers and coney dogs and root beer. It is pretty iconic in this area (in fact one of the cars in the pictures above has a tray displayed), and all of the branches around here look exactly like they did in the 80s, which is also probably how they looked in the 70s. I sort of think they haven’t been upgraded too much since then, but that is beside the point. We went and ordered our root beer and hot dogs and coney dogs and then drove around the Metropark before heading home. And we had to head home, because we still had a lot to do there! We had to pack for music camp and get everything in the house ready for us to leave, including instructions for my poor brother who agreed to watch our menagerie of critters.

And I think I will leave off here, as I want to spend some time talking about music camp, and this is already a lot.

And of course, a few random shots from my camera roll.

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

Hello June!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Hello everyone!!

Today is sunny and bright, and our deck has plenty of shade, and a brand new grill. We have strawberries in the refrigerator, and ice cream in the freezer. It is definitely getting to be summer here, bit by bit.

So the big thing of our summer – Wyatt’s surgery. Wyatt is having double hip surgery July 9, along with tendon lengthening at the same time. I can feel it hovering over us, as I try to make this June as fun as I can for him. The recovery for it is supposed to be very intense, and he will need to be basically in bed for a month, with a wedge between his legs 24/7. I am extremely nervous about next month, but I keep telling myself what the surgeon told me, that this is short term pain for long term gain. I am just going to have to grit my teeth and push through, and help my son get through this time as easily as I can.

We are trying to pack as much as we can into June for him. I had him make a bucket list for the summer, with a few things we can do during recovery, like ice cream for dinner, but most of them are things we need to do either this month or the end of August. He wants to go see the movie How to Train Your Dragon, have a car picnic, where we drive somewhere and then have a picnic in the back of the Subaru, ride the train at Greenfield Village again (hopefully without barfing this time!), and see the dragon exhibit at the zoo. He has a few others on there too, which I am hoping we can accomplish!

We also have his yearly EEG this week. On Wednesday we head up to the hospital for 24-48 hours, where he will be all hooked up with wires. I am packing his tablet and books and drawing supplies, and hoping we get the go ahead to leave on Thursday morning. I am also taking a book and my headphones for myself, for when he goes to bed that night. TV in the hospital is always the worst! Lol.

This month is RicStar Music Camp too! A million thank yous to Jeanie at Marmalade Gypsy who told me to look into this camp for Wyatt, it has been a blessing and we can’t wait to go back this year. We are starting to feel like we are part of the RicStar family now, as this will be our third year in attendance. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again! I am hoping to get to the Children’s Garden this year after camp lets out for the day. I have said that for two years now, so fingers crossed!

And then we have a birthday party for a friend and fellow scout of Wyatt’s, and our beginning of summer Scout party, where the kids will be able to play and enjoy some pizza and ice cream and I will award them their pins that they earned this year. They have all done so well and I am so happy with how Scouts has turned out for all the kids. They are a little community now and that is what I wanted, for the kids and parents to have fun in scouts together, and to form relationships. I have made new friends and so has Wyatt, and the other mothers and kids are hanging out as well, and it just makes my heart so full. It is everything I hoped for when forming this pack. We have a few other things on the calendar as well, like getting together with my brother Devin and Chrissy and Mermaid Girl and Hurricane whenever we can. I am trying to pack it all in guys!

I have also been planning like a maniac. I have the first four months of our history curriculum planned, and one read aloud for history so far. I am in the process of choosing our language arts books, and think I have a rough list to work from. I am thinking: Secret of the Andes, Bud Not Buddy, Because of Winn Dixie and either Call it Courage or Heart of a Samurai. I would love to hear thoughts on these choices! I have a whole other list for history, but I am solid on two right now, By the Great Horn Spoon, and Rascal. I also want one for the Oregon Trail and one about Harriet Tubman or the Underground Railroad, so any suggestion would be welcomed!

I have also planned out the entire next year for scouts, or at least what we are doing each month. It’s going to be a fun year!

This month is going to be a whirlwind, and I hopefully have lots of iced lattes in my future to keep me going!

And that is where I am at today. How are you?

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

Homeschool Thoughts: A Review of the Year?

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized15 Comments

For the first time since we have started homeschooling, our year was more of an amble than guided hike. I must be getting more used to this homeschooling thing and Wyatt and how we work together! I didn’t stress as much about sticking to arbitrary timelines that I just decided on, and let ourselves explore as we wanted. However, that does mean that we only made it as far as the brink of the Revolutionary War this year! Did Ben Franklin really need two weeks dedicated to him? Probably not, but Wyatt was enjoying learning about him so we really spent time on him, which is one of the perks of homeschooling.

Since I started with American History, I might as well talk about that for a minute. I have been rolling Michigan history up with American history, adding in the lessons about Michigan as necessary in the timeline. I feel like we are walking the timeline of history here. What do you expect from a woman who has a history degree though? We really dig in here. We started with the Native Americans of Michigan, specifically the Anishinabe. We read Birchbark House, which was fantastic, and made a birchbark house, a winter cabin, and learned more about the way of life of the Anishinabe. From there we wandering into the fur trade, and read The Littlest Voyageur, which I felt was a less traumatic way to learn about this time period. It was less historically accurate, as it was told from the viewpoint of a squirrel, but my introduction was Eagle Fur by Robert Newton Peck which was extremely violent, honestly, and I was maybe 12 when I read it. It has stuck with me forever. (As a side note, his book A Day No Pigs Would Die also has haunted me forever)

From here we segued into the 1600s over there on the East Coast, the puritans, the 13 colonies, and colonial life, which we apparently lingered over for a while, but I wanted to be thorough. We ended the year in the years leading up to the Revolution, and our last study was good old Benjamin Franklin. We read a lot of good books, like The Courage of Sarah Noble, Who Was Benjamin Franklin, Your Life as a Settler in Colonial America, Explore Colonial America, and we started Sign of the Beaver but we just couldn’t finish it, as we had just finished two books about kids surviving on their own in the wilderness. ( My Side of the Mountain and The Courage of Sarah Noble) and couldn’t do another.

Wyatt loved history this year. I will say his one of his favorite things was learning about the different jobs that were available during the Colonial times. At the end, we pretended that he was getting ready to move out as an apprentice (since kids did at like 11 in that time) and had him choose his job. He had a hard time choosing – first he thought silversmith, then thought about blacksmith, before deciding on printer, which I thought was a good choice.

We did put history on hold in March while we did a whole month of Irish legends, folktales, and culture. I mixed things up a bit here and there.

In the spirit of that, we celebrated Appreciate a Dragon day, and had a school day dedicated to dragons.

Science was another area we really lingered! I had only planned for dinosaurs to take like 6-8 weeks tops, and we spent much longer on them. We started at the very dawn of existence though, with the Pre-Cambrian period and trilobites and worked our way on up. After that we sort of dodged around, talking about the environment, conservation, and then even the experiments of Ben Franklin, so no formal unit the last few months.

Our book studies were pretty awesome this year too, with the exception of Alice in Wonderland, which I hated although I tried to like it. I think that trickled down to Wyatt a little as well. Neither of us cared for it. Next we read The Phantom Tollbooth, and Wyatt loved that book so much. I think that was his favorite book this year, hands down. (He also loved Fortunately the Milk which was also that same absurdist type style) From there we leaped to My Side of the Mountain. This book was so crazy to me as a mother to just think this kid did that, his family knew and were like ok, see you later. Wyatt liked that one. Then I wanted to read a “fun” book, so we read The Wolves of Greycoat Hall, which was the book that generated the interest in conservation. Plus it had wolves for Wyatt.

Art – I was disappointed in our art this year. We learned about some great artists- Hundertwasser, Maud Lewis, Charley Harper, Emily Carr – but we just didn’t get as much time to work on art as we usually do. We had to focus our attention elsewhere, which is fine, but I missed it and so did Wyatt. Hopefully next year we can add it back in more. We will see, as every year is different and fun in its own way.

We of course worked on reading and math and English type things as well, but those are not super interesting to talk about here. Just, we did them. I think I am going to write a post about homeschooling resources soon, maybe next week, and these will come up there too.

I have started planning for next year, of course. I usually do this time of year, so we can be ready. It is even more important to be ready this year, as next year we will be jumping in post-surgery and I don’t want to have to worry about planning school during his recovery time. I am also working on planning out Cub Scouts too, for next year. This is such a time of getting ready for us!

And with that, I am going to go do just that before we start school for today!

Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile!