Tag: family

Hello December!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized25 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s December, the last month of the year – already! Didn’t we just have New Year’s? This year certainly flew by. I will be doing a look back later, but for now, I want to just look forward to this month.

I talk a lot about slowing down, enjoying the quiet of this month, as it gets darker so much earlier, drawing us all in, indoors and maybe also, drawing us in for some more introspective thoughts, reflection, spiritual and otherwise. It is the month of the Quiet Full Moon, at least in the Kid’s Moon Club my son is in, and I can see why it was called that. We are drawing in, quieting ourselves and our spirits. (January is also known as the Quiet Moon, but Wyatt likes the alternate version of course, of the Wolf Moon).

The last few days winter has arrived fast and furious with very low temperatures here in the Mitten state. Some cities in Michigan have received up to 23 inches of snow already! Today we actually have a terrible weather forecast, that has low to zero visibility, snow squalls, flash freezes, and arctic temps but then we are back to normal in a few days. I am just keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t get all that. I like winter and snow but I don’t want anything crazy!!

I love to be outside in the cold, the crunch of the snow underfoot. It is just so refreshing and invigorating. I feel like it just sweeps through me and clears out anything negative hanging around. And to me, one of my favorite places to be is in the cold winter woods at night (but with Billy, not alone). We always go on an owl prowl every winter and it is one of my favorite things, walking through the woods with Billy and our friends the interpreters and other people excited about seeing little screech owls. There is something indescribable about waiting there silently, waiting for the owl to call back to let us know it is there. They have silent flight so you will never hear them fly in, but if you keep your eyes on the horizon at the right time, you might catch a glimpse of one.

I am being mindful this year to not overload us with too many activities- I want to do just enough. Just that right amount of going out, of seeing the lights and being a part of festivities, but also time at home spent baking and making and watching Christmas movies. All those good old nostalgic kids movies, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas (a personal favorite of mine), A Muppet Christmas Carol, Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas – they just bring all the feels. And of course some just for Billy and I too, like the Man Who Invented Christmas or Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation.

We are also listening to Father Christmas by Tolkien together every night, as well as reading from the All Creation Waits Advent book. It is all so very peaceful in my soul, with this.

We decorated for Christmas the other day, and put our tree up. I have shared this before, but our tree is special to me. The year Wyatt was born was rough. He was born 6 weeks early, with health complications and spent 6 weeks in the NICU. When he came home, it was also a lot, with a little preemie who didn’t want to eat. He was just a tiny guy! Billy missed a lot of work and we will forever be grateful to his work who understood and allowed him to miss when he had to. It was a costly year, and when Christmas rolled around, we realized we didn’t have a tree. Then our guardian angel, a friend of our family named Faye, who I had known since I was a baby, sent us a card with a little extra in it, and told us to use it for Wyatt’s Christmas. We were able to buy some gifts for him, and a tree. She passed away soon after that, and the world lost a great light with her passing. But whenever I bring that tree out and put it up, I am reminded of Faye, and her kindness and compassion. And her laugh, her big laugh that could fill a room. She was a very special woman.

And I need to wipe these tears now.

I haven’t taken many photos yet, because I am not quite done decorating. I hope to finish up this weekend.

And, I think I am going to wrap this up for tonight, and start making dinner.

Stay safe everyone! And whatever you do tonight, do something that makes you smile.

Monday Morning Coffee Catch Up: Birthday Books

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized20 Comments

Hello everyone! It is absolutely freezing this morning here! Like seriously frosty. I am letting Wyatt sit in the bed and eat his breakfast while I drink my coffee there as well, all covered up, that kind of cold. And..I love it. I do.

It’s been a few fun weeks around here. I think I last left off with our Halloween and anniversary shenanigans. Since then we have had Scouts, my birthday, and just fun days with family sprinkled in here and there.

We had a fire with my brother and family, went to my dad’s, and my cousin and her daughter were there, as well as my stepsister and her boy (although he is 17 and like 6 foot 5). And we got fun happy snail mail from Deb at Readerbuzz! We were super excited to get her cheerful letter, telling Wyatt what life is like in her part of the world, and to look through the little zine she made as well!

Scouts this past week was really fun as well. We started with going through our Oregon nature box that the pack from Oregon put together for us (we had sent them one from our area as well). The kids and parents loved it. I think one of my favorite parts of Scouts is not only the excitement from the kids, but also seeing the parents involved and excited about the activities. When we did leaf rubbings last month, one of the dads made rubbing after rubbing all by himself at the table, he was just having such a good time. And I love that. It wasn’t an aspect that I had planned for or considered but it has been a cool little extra bonus. This week we all marveled at the neat things that were sent to us – a giant pinecone from a Ponderosa Pine with bits of the puzzle bark as well. The trees have bark that comes off in puzzle like pieces, and it is really cool! They also sent sunstone rocks, which are only found in their area in the condition they are in. Each kid got to take one home too, which was neat. They sent bits of flora from the area, including a rabbitbrush specimen, which they said is everywhere in their area and causes allergies in the fall.

After going through the box, we started on the big activity, which was making ceramics with my mother-in-law. She had made a smattering of little ornaments, penguins and cats and little houses and flames but not traditional “Christmas” type ornaments, as we have some scouts who observe different religious holidays and we wanted to make sure we respected that. Then she also brought in some air dry clay as well, to show the before and after of ceramics. She started with that, having them touch and feel it and push cookie cutters into it to experience that part, then explained that they then go into a big oven called a kiln where they are fired. When they come out, they are hard like the finished ornaments. The kids had so much fun – even though my MIL brought the thing most dreaded by parents everywhere. Glitter. Glitter! Thankfully only two kids left absolutely covered in it. And who were they? The ones related to me. Wyatt and Mermaid Girl. I mean, if you know me and my brother, that tracks.

Wyatt had so much fun, as did all of the kids. I also had my heart completely melt because my littlest niece, Hurricane, immediately wanted me to hold her and carry her around as soon as she spotted me. Then when the meeting really began, I handed her off to her mom and she apparently squirmed free to run after me in her little 18 month old teetering galloping stomp. She sat on my lap and painted two ornaments too. She took it very seriously.

Two days later, it was my birthday! Billy put together the very best, perfectly perfect Erin day. First we went shopping at this store that specializes in Japanese food and other Japanese items. We all had a lot of fun picking stuff out. Pocky in all different flavors, Sake for home sushi nights, and I picked out a bunch of little bowls and plates because I am obsessed with that sort of thing. Bowls with cats, and a bowl with little Shiba Inus, including a little fluffy butt. We also picked up a few things for stocking stuffers and for other kids in our lives for the holidays. Wyatt got little training chopsticks with an owl on them, and dang, if he didn’t learn how to use them in .5 seconds. We practiced with fruit snacks and he just took off with it right away.

Next stop – Barnes and Noble. I had birthday money from different family members, including Billy and Wyatt and my mom for books, and I had a good time picking them out. I was picking books up, considering, deciding if I wanted to buy books for now me, who is in a reading slump and needs something different, or for future me, who knows what she likes to read. I ended up going with a little of each, and then Billy and Wyatt picked out a book for me as well, that is described as being a cross between Princess Bride and Legends and Lattes which is right up my alley. Wyatt of course got a book as well. And then when I got home, I had book mail waiting from a giveaway I had won!

However, the fun wasn’t done for me. We went on a chilly, twilight hike through the woods, which is one of my very favorite things on earth. We saw deer and woodpeckers, spotted mushrooms, and had a little impromptu school lesson, since Wyatt has been learning about the fur trade, voyageurs, and the Anishinaabe, and the nature center sparked a discussion about all of that.

Finally, we finished up with my favorite tacos for dinner and headed home, where we all happily collapsed and were lazy after a very full day.

I hope you all had a nice weekend as well!

In Our Homeschool: September/October

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling10 Comments

Hello everyone!! Wyatt and I have been keeping busy the past two months! I am extremely excited about the year I have planned for him, and so far we have really enjoyed it.

We kicked off the school year with a field trip to the Henry Ford Museum to see their dinosaur exhibit that they had. It was all created with metal and steel and welding, and I loved the industrial feel of it. The dinosaurs were all interactive, with different ways to manipulate them into motion, whether by a pulley system or through controls on a computer system. It was a great way to start the school year and introduce our first science unit, which is all about prehistory.

We have slogged our way through all those single celled organisms that just keep evolving. They are not super interesting right away, are they? I did like learning that the first trees were giant mushroom trees! I didn’t learn that in school so that was a new thing for me too! We are starting with dinosaurs this very week, thank goodness! Wyatt is very excited. The Detroit Science Center just opened an exhibit with dinosaurs as well so we will be taking a field trip there soon too.

In history, but not prehistory, we have been studying the Anishinabe tribe of Michigan. We are focusing on Michigan history this year and the curriculum I bought is very open, with eras and prompts to guide me but the actual material is up to me. I decided we were going to read The Birchbark House and focus on the Anishinabe in particular. I tried to do this in as culturally sensitive a manner as I could. We spent time learning about what they ate, about their beliefs, what resources they used, what their homes were like, and so on. We spent about a week or so on each different aspect of their life. We built a wigwam, painted a winter cabin, and filled out a tissue box information cube, which Wyatt loved adding to every week. Every side covered a different topic, like a very short report in cube form. I also loved adding to the area of our table where we displayed his History materials. I added a pretend black crow that we named Andeg after the crow in Birchbark House, a bit of birchbark, his cabin and wigwam that he made. It started to take over! We are starting the fur trade next and we won’t linger long on that topic – and we aren’t going to keep trap or skin or keep pelts around either. Lol.

We both enjoyed The Birchbark House, but dang, I cried so much near the end! Poor Wyatt felt so bad that I was crying. It dealt with very real challenges and issues that Native Americans in that time would have faced, and Wyatt and I had some good discussions about these things, even though they made me cry.

In literature, we read Alice in Wonderland, which I have to tell you guys, I really didn’t enjoy it. I don’t think I am into absurdist lit very much! Wyatt however really enjoyed it, all the nonsensical of it, so maybe it is a hit with kids and that is why it is in the curriculum. I was happy when we were done. We started The Phantom Tollbooth next, which fits into that same sort of absurdist genre, but I am liking it so much better than Alice. Wyatt loves it too. We just started it this past week and had fun with the first project, which was creating a peg doll Milo and a clay Tock. I ended up making Tock since Wyatt had a challenging time manipulating the clay. He has limited use of his right hand and arm so sometimes things like that are a stretch. I usually make him try but it was so small that I ended up doing it. He painted Milo though, and I helped with the hair and face.

Wyatt is still working really hard on practicing and learning reading. We had two years where he was really heavily medicated, overmedicated actually, and it really slowed down his progress. Now that he is appropriately medicated for his seizures, things are so different and have returned to the way he was acting and learning before taking that particular medication. The past year it has been so great to see him really get back to the Wyatt he was, to be curious and energetic and lively again. He never really lost that but it was sort of cushioned by the sedative they gave him for his seizures. So we are going over basics again and he is on fire with it. We are using a program called Prenda Treasure Hunt Learning in addition to The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts. We really spend a good chunk of our day working on these skills. He will get there in his own time – he loves reading and books and picks it up so quickly now, plus he is so motivated.

In art, we studied Charley Harper! We had so much fun. We studied him in September and then I let October be a more Halloween crafty month for art. Harper is a modernist who painted nature. He called his art minimal realism and I just love it. I am not usually into that style but I really like his version – perhaps because of the subjects of his work. Wyatt really enjoyed it as well, all the shapes and lines and colors. We did two projects, and had a third that never developed – which bothers me so we might have to revisit it so we can do it. I wanted us to construct an owl mobile inspired by his piece Hexit. I need Billy’s help though with construction as my brain couldn’t quite fashion the wings correctly for my design. The two we did complete turned out very nicely! We started out with Wyatt’s version of a woodpecker based on Harper’s Baffling Belly, and then I bought a unit study for Fall at the Pond from TPT and it was fantastic. Wyatt had so much fun with it!! It took a few days because there was a lot of time for painting and then waiting for it to dry, so that made it fun too, the waiting.

Next up we are learning about Canadian artist Emily Carr, and we will continue on with Michigan history, dinosaurs and math and reading! Wyatt has had a great two months and I am looking forward to the upcoming months and all of the various things we will be doing.

Hello November

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Hello16 Comments

Welcome, November.

I am looking forward to the relative quiet of November, after a very busy October. Every year our October is jam packed. I like to whirlwind our way through the month, soaking in the moments, then like magic, on November 1, seeking the quiet and solitude of my birth month.

This is when the fall gets slower for me. The days are now short, with night closing in early, and all the hijinks of Halloween are done. I look forward to our slower paced days. Days of school and our art projects, the wolf embroidery I am working on for Wyatt, a return to slow cooked meals, Billy’s sourdough. Quiet hikes in the woods. Books and reading, movies, comfy beds with soft cushy blankets and flannel sheets, backyard fires with family.

Wyatt has this picture book called Thanksgiving in the Woods, and I still read it with him every year, and Billy usually listens too. We all love it. It is about this family who has just what the title says, a big family Thanksgiving in the woods and it is based on the author’s real life Thanksgivings. Every year we read this, and every year, Billy and I talk about how cool that would be. Wouldn’t it? I would love to gather everyone I love together at a big table in the woods filled with food and laughter and music. With tents and lights and bunting, with a big bonfire and games. Wouldn’t that be amazing? I just need to find the woods. But on days like today, blustery and beautiful with bright leaves littering the ground, the crazy chaos of last nights trick or treating behind us, I can imagine it, that meal.

We do have some fun things planned, things like stargazing in our backyard under blankets, with hot chocolate and cookies, calling for owls, getting back to nature, to gratitude. I pulling out our sweaters and warm clothes today, in preparation for the cold weather that will soon be arriving. (even though it was 80 this week! Ugh)

I am excited about our November scouts meeting this month. Billy’s mom is a potter, and she is going to work with our kids on making ornaments, that she will take home to be fired in her kiln. We are also going to open the box that we received from another pack in Oregon, who lives in the high desert there. Our two packs each gathered nature items from our area to send to the other, and I am excited to share with the kids what the Oregon pack sent with them. I peeked at it already and I think they will all like seeing what is in there. In our box, we sent leaves that were labeled, a sprig of white pine, which is Michigan’s state tree, a cicada shell, acorns and sycamore seeds and chestnuts, seeds from a Michigan apple, an apple tree bud from my confused apple tree, local honey, and a few other fun things, like a bag of Petoskey stones. I am looking forward to what they think of our stuff as well! And if anyone lives in another region who is reading this, and would like to send nature representatives to our pack from your area, let me know, because this was fun!

And, I need to refill my coffee so I will end here. Have a wonderful day everyone, and whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile.

“In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures.” – Cynthia Rylant

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP24 Comments

Hello everyone!! I am so grateful for coffee this week. I am running on coffee and peanut butter toast this week – I have just been so busy! I am trying to prep for school and for Cub Scouts while also making sure Wyatt enjoys the last few weeks of summer.

One thing that happened – Wyatt got a hair cut!!

Our neighbor works at a barber shop and she did such a great job! I absolutely love it, and Wyatt does too. The barbershop is very swanky and Wyatt felt like a big shot in there among the adults.

He got it just in time for his cousin Mermaid Girl’s birthday party too. She had a cosmic bowling party and it was a blast. I had to laugh – it’s like no matter what, you can count on bowling shoes to always look exactly the same as they did decades ago.

I also got to bowl – and it was pretty sad. Lol. I came in last, tying with Chrissy’s mom. (Chrissy is my SIL) We were both not wonderful at bowling. I even took bowling in college as one of one PE credits! I remember Billy and I would have to practice bowling every week so that I could show improvement in class. We didn’t have to be good, just show that we got better. It was a stretch but I did it. Our practice sessions became just an excuse to get together with all of our friends every week, who also joined us at the bowling alley.

We also had our second Cub Scout committee meeting. The committee is made up of family and friends but it is still nerve wracking to me because I am the person who needs to run it and do like 90% of the talking. Right now we are still getting everything made all official, collecting applications and dues and signatures and learning the ropes of the big fundraiser that is starting, the popcorn sale, as well as planning the first meeting which is at the beginning of September, and the first outing, which is a few days after. It will be so fun once we get through all of this red tape, and can really get started.

We have our council meetings at the rowing club in our town, and it is such a great spot, right on the river and bonus, adult beverages that are very inexpensive.

I’m really cramming because of course all of this starts at the same time – school, Scouts, and then to throw a big wrench in there, Wyatt has a three day EEG at the hospital right in that same week. At least I guess we will get it all out of the way at once!

Of course we went to the library and got ice cream this week! Our favorite ice cream place closed for the season on Thursday so we had to make sure to get in before they shut down. So one day we went to the library, checked out a mass of books, and hung out on the giant porch reading for a bit before going to get ice cream. Then we went the very next day and got ice cream with my dad as well!

Wyatt and I both loved sitting on the big porch. It is so high up and set so far back from the road that it felt like we were just in our own bubble or our own little world. Wyatt really enjoyed people watching and wheeling around out there too. Can I just move into the library? Wyatt and I decided that would be a super cool place to live.

Looking forward to fall, which is right around the corner, I am busy making plans for field trips and little mini-vacations, for Halloween and scouts. I am also planning out my fall TBR (we will see how I do – I am not great at sticking to the plan), and all the comfy cozy bloggy stuff that Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I do together. This year we are even having a little giveaway in October and I am really excited about it!! And speaking of comfy cozy fall things, this is our fall movie line up and dates, if you want to watch or post along with us! The dates listed are the dates that our posts will go up! I think we have a fantastic list and I am really looking forward to just slowing down this fall.

And now just some randoms from the camera roll!

Have a great weekend everyone, and I hope you do something that makes you smile!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP16 Comments

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well! I was in a bit of a mood yesterday, and looking back it seems really common for me to be in a bit of a funk in August. In my blog last year I even quoted Sylvia Plath, and her reference to August as the “odd uneven time”. And who am I to argue with that, it feels so true. Today though, the sun is shining and I am feeling a bit more me, and less like the algae at the bottom of a pool during a long humid summer. (last night I was texting my friend Lisa and I was being super emo on purpose and referred to myself as the algae and she told me to write a poem, and I added on some worn out and dirty flip flop imagery. Just being silly. Lol)

We have been having a lot of fun though lately. We went to a Parisian-inspired brasserie for Billy’s birthday, and then the next day, which was way too hot and humid to actually be outside, we went for a drive to see what we could see.

Everyone was enjoying the lily pads, including that adorable young buck there. We hung out riverside for a bit, the breeze just idling past us as we sat in the back of the Subaru until we just could not do it any longer. Look at my poor little guy! He shows heat immediately!

Afterwards we were feeling peckish so we pulled in to an A&W. Are these just a Michigan thing, or are they all over? It’s just a drive up restaurant, like you see in all those 1950s movies, where you eat in your car. Billy ordered a root beer float for us all to share which was the perfect idea on such a hot day.

We also had a sad moment Saturday morning. Our beautiful Betta, Moon, had passed away in the night. Wyatt was upset over this, as was I. I could not figure out why either, which was more troubling. We took a sample of our water in to the aquarium store we go to, which only deals with fish and they are very knowledgeable, and the nice lady who always helps us, Sam, checked our water parameters and said our water was perfect. I showed her a picture of our set up to make sure I didn’t have to many plants, and nope that wasn’t it either. So we talked about some different things, trying to brainstorm what happened to our poor Moon – is the filter too fast, creating a current? No. Anything obviously wrong, like discoloration of the fins, etc? Nope. Then we got to feeding. I only fed him 3-4 pellets once a day, with a fasting day, which is what you are supposed to do. However, I do feed the snail in there as well, and we came to the conclusion that he was snacking on Sunny’s food too, and Betta’s will eat themselves to death. We decided as well that since I do have so many plants that I don’t need to give Sunny a wafer to supplement his food. We did end up getting another fish for Wyatt, which he has named New Moon. This one is a female Betta, and has the shorter fins. She is very pretty, petite, and very zippy. As a mother I am obsessed with keeping this fish alive for my kid; I told my Dad, of all the pets we have Wyatt decides he most loves the two fish, who are the most fragile. I am happy he loves them though.

We also went to a good old-fashioned block party on Saturday! The next block down was having a block party, with the street closed off and everything, and one of the families who we talk to here and there invited us down. We didn’t stay super long since it was so humid and hot, but we did go and hang out for a bit. It was nice to chat with them more than just the hi here and there small talk. And Wyatt had a blast!!! They had a ramp for bikes and of course, Billy took Wyatt up and down it. And his face! He also tried to go up it by himself when were chatting which gave me a heart attack. That kid, I swear. Lol.

Overall, it has been a fun few days!

And here are just some random photos..

And 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 Uncategorized16 Comments

Hello everyone!! Last week when I wrote this post I didn’t have any coffee – only instant packs that Billy had taken camping! Now thankfully we have a full pot brewing in the kitchen, and I have a steaming cup next to me.

It’s been hot and muggy out there this week. Disgustingly humid. Wyatt and I have been hanging out at home most of the time, but we have ventured out a few times.

Saturday we hung out with my brother and his family for a small fire, which was nice. It was before the really gross weather moved in and it was a nice preview of fall and fires. I can’t wait. The kiddos were all just doing their thing, and my littlest niece Wild Child was having fun playing with the portable fan I had bought Wyatt. (Thanks for the suggestion Captain, we take it everywhere!) It was just a nice relaxing evening, hanging out.

Sunday we spent in our shady spot at the park, under the trees. Wyatt absolutely loves this so we try to do it whenever we can. On the way there though we passed a local rotary club having a little to-do at the fire station. They had demonstrations shooting off the fire hose, and also had some free ice cream from the Good Humor woman. We spent a nice time at the park afterwards, full of ice cream, just drawing, enjoying the breeze under the trees, the singing of birds, and reading. (me lol)

Later that evening, we had game night, which is Wyatt’s favorite. This time we played a game we had checked out from the library called What’s Next. It was really fun! It is sort of a choose your own adventure/rpg type game. There are three stories you can choose from, and each card has either an event or a choice you need to make or do. There are little side challenges as well, and a tower of peril! It really was a lot of fun, and we are definitely adding it to the wish list!

The rest of the week we have been home, with one journey to the library to check out more books, and to collect Wyatt’s summer reading National Parks Card and cryptid card that he earned. Next week he gets to shop the library “shop” with the book bucks he earned with all the reading we have been doing.

I have been working on getting our school plans together for next year. I absolutely love doing it honestly, putting together the plans and then finding fun tie-ins. Fall looks like it is going to be a lot of fun, with reading adventures like Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth, Indigenous history of Michigan, dinosaurs, and artists like Charley Harper! I am just starting to construct my Charley Harper art study for Wyatt, and I am having to taper things down because there is just so much we can do – too many ideas and not enough time. I think Harper will be a really fun artist to start off the year!

And just some randoms from the camera roll!

Have a great week everyone, and stay safe!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized9 Comments

Hello everyone!! We are out of coffee and I am drinking an instant coffee from a Via pack Billy found that was leftover from his camping trip this morning. This does not bode well…. or I can look it like I am lucky that he had that. I think I will view it that way, Billy pulling some magic out of his bag.

Anyway… we have been super busy it feels like. We are just in the middle of so many house projects and taking care of business around here, and also making sure that we have some fun too. It is summer after all.

I mentioned on my Sunday-Monday post that last week was like the perfect quintessential summer week. We had a bike ride, trips to the library, a softball game, ice cream, dinner out (at Wyatt’s request, he is such a homebody but asked to go out and we were so shocked that we did!), reading, and for me, some embroidery as well. Then over the weekend we had our Saturday night game night, and Sunday a party! Let me tell you about all that.

On weekends we have a bit of a routine – Friday night is pizza night, and Saturday night is game night. Wyatt loves game night, which makes me so happy! Usually I put together our little snack tray and it is half cookies/candy or some sort of junk, and then the other half is healthy. This week I let Wyatt pick everything for our snacks and who would have guessed it, but he picked all cookies and candy. That plate by the way is our plate for us all to share, and we didn’t eat everything thank goodness. It was fun though!

Sunday night we had our Full Moon party! We joined the Kids Moon Club from Wilder Child when Wyatt was like 3 or 4, as something to do and make the long winters more fun. I didn’t take him out too much during the winter due to ~germs~ and he was so tiny at the time, my little tiny preemie boy who remained small for a long time. So we did stuff here to have fun. For a year or two we followed the club, doing all the things, and then as years passed, sometimes we would join in, other times not. (it’s a lifetime membership) This year and last year Mermaid Girl started joining us and it has been super fun. This year she has joined us as well, and we have been mixing it up and taking inspiration from the “official” club activities but have been doing our own things too. This month for sure. This month is the Buck Moon but we decided to make it the Blueberry Moon instead, and had a blueberry party! We also invited Mermaid Girl’s whole family this time around, and it was fun to have Mermaid Girl and Wild Child here together for the fun.

We had blueberry drinks – blueberry lemonade for the older kids, blueberry hard cider for the adults, and I kept the menu simple. Grilled cheese all around, with fancy cheese and bread for the adults and kids grilled cheese, with Kraft singles and white bread. We also had spinach salad with walnuts, goat cheese, and blueberries, and a lemon blueberry trifle that was absolutely devoured.

The craft activity this time was painting tshirts, and it was so neat to see what the kids all chose to do- and for Wild Child to get in on it too. They all really enjoyed it. They also made a blueberry moon collage, which turned out really well! After crafting, we went outside, threw down a blanket, and the kids played with a frisbee and with Wyatt’s metal detector. We all had such a good time!

We also added a new fish to our family last week! His name is Star and he lives in Wyatt’s bedroom, near the end of his bed so Wyatt can watch him swimming around. He is super tiny for a betta and I kind of wonder if he is young. He seems to be happy with his new home, as he made a bubble nest! This really has nothing to do with happiness and is actually a sign that he is ready for a lady friend but all betta owners like to think it is because their fish is happy.

Here is little Star! His tank is sort of a weird eerie yellow because the wood (Manzanita) leaks tannins into the water that is actually good for the fish but it makes the water yellowish. It dissipates after a while though, like a week or two or three. Right now it is funny though because it looks so 70s to me. He put so much work into this bubble nest. I didn’t have the heart to tell him though that he is not getting a lady friend.

I think tomorrow I am going to do a little post on our menagerie. It has been a while!

And now just some randoms for the roll! That goofy one of Wyatt and I… we were waiting at CVS for my tetanus shot that I needed. My arm still hurts!

And that is it for today! Try to do something that makes you smile today!

10 on the 10th – Summer Memories!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized19 Comments

10 on the 10th is hosted by Marsha from Marsha in the Middle!

Summer. I am not a super fan of summer. If you have visited me before, you probably know that since I say it way too much. I just really don’t like being hot and can be a little bit of a grump about it. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t have lots of special memories of summer because there have been some fun and wonderful moments that have taken place in the summertime. I may not actually get to ten because I am going to clump things all together.

I’m going to be honest, I would still wear this outfit.

Proposal:

Billy proposed to me in the summertime! It was a summer night and we were at the park and there was a band in the park playing (not for us but in general lol) and they were playing Kiss the Girl from Little Mermaid at the time.

Childhood Memories:

All the good nostalgic 1980s summertime things. Swimming in pools, eating soggy sandwiches and chips after, running through sprinklers and playing frozen tag with the neighbor kids. Riding our bikes to the library, reading in cool air-conditioned rooms. Watching The Monkees reruns with my cousin Brian and playing in his clubhouse that now would be considered a tiny house and he could probably rent it out.

The Street Fair:

It is timely that this post takes place during the week of our annual street fair. I have gone almost every single year of my life, with my mom and dad, with friends, with Billy, with Wyatt, and for many years I even worked 12 hour days the week of street fair at the job I had while I was in college. I have always loved it. The music coming at you from all directions and different areas, the smell of the fried food, the streets filled with booths crammed with art. The past few years I have been going twice – once with Wyatt in the morning as everyone is just starting for the day, and once with Billy for a date night. I can’t wait to do that again this year, although it will be a little more tricky as the weather is supposed to be stormy this week due to Beryl!

This is from Wyatt’s first street fair! Look how tiny. We were still at home here, and I was getting him ready to go. It feels like yesterday!

All those summer vacations…

When I was a kid, we used to go away for my grandmother’s birthday every July, my whole family. I have such good memories of playing in the pool with my cousins and hoarding my game room quarters like a baby dragon. And of course, going up north is a huge thing for Michiganders in the summer! I have so many memories of that as well through the years, again as a child with my family, with Billy as I got older, with my family again after Wyatt was born. Our family trip to the tiny house on the farm a few years ago was very special as well.

Look at little Wyatt and little Mermaid Girl. My heart!

Those teenage years:

One summer in particular stands out. I was maybe just 15 or 16, and I was hanging out with two friends I didn’t really hang out with too often. And then all of a sudden were hanging out all the time at night for some reason. Things are weird as a teen. One of them would borrow his dad’s convertible Mustang and we would drive around all over, the top down and listen to music. Once it was so hot we went swimming at night, floating around the pool watching the bats fly overhead. I only hung out with them for a maybe a month but it was memorable just for that. Although maybe I am still confused about it. Lol.

Billy and I also started dating in the summertime. We saw Jurassic Park in the theater when it first came out (yeppp) as our first date!

We also took many trips to Cedar Point. We would all pile into cars, multiple cars, and would make the road trip to the amusement park where we would spend the day, a huge group of us. I remember when The Raptor first opened at the park, and we got on it. Billy literally saved my life. My seat/shoulder doodad did not lock, and I was swinging it up and yelling to the ride worker who either did not see or hear me and we were in motion. Now this ride immediately starts out wild and keeps going, flipping upside down. Billy told me to sit back, and whammed the safety bar down so hard that it finally locked. I couldn’t breathe maybe but I didn’t fall out!

The Zoo:

We love going to the zoo! We would always go to the night out at the zoo events, which were adult only before we had Wyatt, and they were so fun. They were inexpensive too, and they sold adult beverages and food and you could stroll around the zoo during the twilight hours. It was so cool. The animals were all out and we had so much fun. After Wyatt, it was our first date night out after he was born! I remember we left him with my mom, stepdad, and aunt and uncle and I was super nervous the whole night. We also would do their Bike Safari nights, where people could ride their bikes around the zoo. Unfortunately, like everything, the price for this event skyrocketed so we no longer go but it was fun while we did. Then last year we went to Dream Night at the Zoo, which was for special needs children and their families. We had a blast!

As I sit here and think back, there are just so many memories. Time certainly flies doesn’t it? So many summer trips, day trips to Greenfield Village, peach picking, blueberry picking. Camping. The county fair filled with the sounds of the auctioneer, the cows mooing, the pigs, the goats. The smell of barnyard mixed with fried food. Just lazy days and lazy nights around the house or in the yard. My cousin Michael’s Fourth of July parties. For someone who doesn’t really like summer, I certainly have many many wonderful memories from summers past.

Wednesday Morning/Afternoon Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP9 Comments

Hello everyone!! Wyatt and I are living lazy these days, enjoying our summer break. We are taking June off and I have been just allowing us to slide slowly into our days – at least on days we don’t have therapy. It works since although he has not been getting sick from his meds, he is still very tired after taking them, and wants to take a big nap at 9 am. But I will take it over the other any day! It does have me concerned over music camp next week, which starts at 9:30 am. I guess though you never know what will change as time passes, so by next Monday he might be done with this phase too.

Relaxing for me is actually difficult. I am one of those people who feels a constant need to get things done, you know? If I have the time I think that I should be using it to check things off the five mile long to-do list that I have (as probably everyone does!) So forcing myself to not do that is…hard. Once I settle in I am ok. It is just getting there. And it has been fun. I know that Wyatt has enjoyed not having to rush about all the time, and he does deserve some lazy time where he actually feels well enough to enjoy it. For him it is all books and painting things and drawing and watching cartoons. Pretty soon the ramp will be done (well, maybe by the end of July and he will be able to go out to the backyard more easily – right now we need Billy to carry him back there, since it is too far for me to do by myself.) I’ve been reading, now that I have found the right book, and also doing a little hand stitching while I listen to an audiobook. I bought a punch needle kit of a corgi that instead of using the actual punch needle, I am hand stitching. I am loving it, although I am super slow and not that good. But it is not about that. It’s about feeling the rhythm of the slowness, the tautness of the thread, the pop sound that happens occasionally when pushing through the fabric, seeing the outline become filled with color. It is an experience to become immersed in something, isn’t it?

I have also mastered making omelettes this week, and have been making myself a feta cheese one egg omelette for lunch everyday. I just use an egg, butter, and the feta and it is perfection. There is something about that too. A simple, delicious meal.

We have been leaving the house and interacting with others, however. Last Friday our local library kicked off their summer reading program with a Family Fun Night, filled with games and crafts. Our library is two buildings – one, an old historical Victorian house, attached to a “modern” building built in maybe the 1960s? They used both buildings and three floors for family night and the staff put so much thought, love, and energy into this program. We had such a good time! We ran into my friend Kelly and her family there as well, which made it even more fun. Her daughter E. is Wyatt’s age so it was cool there was another kid there with him.

The theme for the summer reading program this summer is National Parks and Cryptids, which I thought was pretty neat! Wyatt and E. got matching glittery wolf tattoos, painted cryptid cutouts and flower pots, made buttons, met a viking and saw a dragon, pinned the hat on Smokey the Bear, and finally made it to the top floor where they got their box to collect the cards they will earn this summer. Afterwards we all went out for pizza, which was a nice way to end the evening.

The next day we woke up and decided it was an Ikea day. Ikea is about 30 minutes from our house and we typically go a few times a year, just out of the blue, need an Ikea day. It is one of those places where you wander around and think to yourself, do I really need that bright green corduroy office chair that swivels? (the answer was, I didn’t, although I wanted it…) We always buy the most random things, and Saturday was no exception. We each picked out a throw blanket – Billy and Wyatt picked out the same one, a yellow one that was super soft, while I picked out a gray-green throw. We bought a few little pink dessert plates, a bright light for Billy to use when he is doing leatherwork (wait until you see what he is making me!), a few organizing bins and boxes for our craft and homeschool supplies, and of course, chocolate. We also treated ourselves to lunch in the Ikea Cafe. I particularly enjoyed the cake.

Sunday was a big day for Billy. It was go day on the ramp! With the help of wonderful family members and lifelong friends, he started on drilling the holes for the cement, and placing the tubes. It sounds like I know what is happening, but I don’t. That is the extent of my knowledge, other than that they were working extremely hard in the heat. This weekend, the cement happens!

And with that, I should probably end here. This feels immensely long. Maybe because I stopped in the middle to take Wyatt to therapy and get ice cream?

And of course, some randoms from the camera roll!