Tag: family

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized14 Comments

Hello everyone! Happy midweek! Why do I feel like I have already lived an entire week already and it is only Wednesday morning? I must be tired this morning!

So if you caught my posts last week about Wyatt, you know we were in the hospital and kiddo had numerous tests due to some unexplained vomiting he was having. For Wyatt the biggest symptom he has when his shunt is malfunctioning is throwing up, so if he vomits more than once, we need to go to the ER. That all happened last week, and then even after being home this past week he has continued to have mornings where he throws up. I realized that there is a pattern, and it is always around the same time. It appears that on mornings Wyatt doesn’t eat enough for breakfast, his morning meds are making him sick. But it is super hard to convince a 9 year old to eat when they don’t want to, and while I explain to him why it is so important, I can only do so much. If anyone has any experience with medication and nausea, and has any other tips besides holding my child down and force feeding him (joke obviously) I would love to hear them! Right now we are having moderate success and it is interfering with school and therapy, not to mention I just hate him being sick.

However, there have been good moments! For one, I got to see the Northern Lights when they came far enough south on a cloudless night last Friday. It has always been one of my top bucket list items and I am so thankful to have seen them. The sky was a gorgeous shade of pink, and while I couldn’t see them perfectly due to light pollution I could see them better with the night mode camera setting on my phone (thanks Michigan Storm Chasers for this tip!) I didn’t get the most dramatic pictures but I could see them, and felt rather blessed to have been able to do so, even just a little.

Mother’s Day was a simple day but a very nice one. I slept in and Billy got up with Wyatt (who gets up with the dawn, I am not kidding lol) I had a tasty blueberry muffin for breakfast, and my guys gave me my gifts – a new copy of Watership Down for my collection and the cutest little custom made Lego, made to look like Wyatt. I love how this Lego Wyatt has a paintbrush in his hand with green paint – my favorite color and Wyatt’s favorite activity! There is a little wheelchair that is still on the way too. It is just the cutest little gift from Wyatt.

We met up with my own mom and my brother and his family, and my SIL’s mother for ice cream later that afternoon. It was a gorgeous day out! My brother and I took our mom for a drive while Billy and Wyatt went to Billy’s mom’s house. I just had Devin drop me off there after we dropped off our mom. The three of us had a nice drive. I had a delicious Cobb Salad for dinner, and we called it a night. Simple day, lovely day.

I have also been rolling along with getting our Cub Scout pack up and running. Billy and I had a meeting last night with the Executive Director and the Special Needs Coordinator over dinner and while I feel absolutely submerged in information, I can see it all coming together and I am very excited. And nervous, to be quite honest! I really want this to work out for Wyatt’s sake and for the other kids, and is a huge project on my heart right now.

We are also getting ready to take a month long break from school. We have already slowed down quite a bit, and then we will be taking all of June off. Wyatt has RicStar Music Camp in June, as well as a 48 hour EEG, and Billy will be working on the wheelchair ramp as well. It is just going to be a very busy month and it seems like a great place to take a break. We will pick up again after the 4th of July, school for about 6 weeks, then have a bit of a break at the end of August until the beginning of September – which is also when I am planning on actually starting our Scouts pack officially.

So that is where we are now in our lives. How are things with you?

(and now just some random photos from the camera roll)

Tuesday/Wednesday Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized18 Comments

Hello everyone! It has been a doozy of a few days.

(written Tuesday evening – posted Wednesday morning)

On Sunday, I wrote my little Sunday-Monday post and then headed off to church like normal. This time however while I was gone, Wyatt started throwing up. Normal kid stuff usually, but for Wyatt it automatically means a trip to the ER to check his VP shunt. I hurried home and jumped from my car to Billy’s, where Wyatt and Billy were waiting for me so we could drive straight to the ER at Mott’s Children’s in Ann Arbor. Wyatt was triaged pretty quickly once there and were shown to a room.

They gave him Zofran, and sent him for his shunt survey – x-rays of his head and torso, then an MRI. Wyatt hates getting an MRI to the point where he fights like his entire life depends on it. Billy actually has to ride into the MRI machine with him, and holds him down. Afterwards, Wyatt settles down pretty quickly but that 5 minutes is so long for us all. We received the results pretty quickly as well! And, it was all good on the shunt side. His shunt was intact, no kinks, and his ventricles in his brain were decompressed and not enlarged. Wyatt also gets enlarged ventricles when his shunt is malfunctioning. So, they moved on to the next phase, the fact that he had a seizure right before throwing up. He was scheduled for an EEG in June (and still is) but they thought we were there so why not get a head start on it. So, in came the EEG team, Wyatt’s hair was twisted into tiny ponytails and the leads were placed in between the short little shoots of hair. Then the final wrap of gauze and tape, and we were ready for his EEG. All this time we were still in the ER, where we stayed until we were discharged 30 hours later.

Through this whole ordeal, Wyatt was a little charmer, making the staff laugh with his jokes and by being a super helper, helping to put the seizure pads in place, putting tape on the gauze wrap on his head, and trying to tape his o2 monitor to his toe. We had a restless night of sleep, with the team popping in all night to fix his EEG leads and all was going well the next morning. Until he threw up again! Up until this point, neurology believed that the emetic episode was a post-seizure episode (after the shunt was ruled out). At this point, we had to just believe it was something else, perhaps a little stomach bug instead. However, we still had to rule all of that out first so that we didn’t miss something important. I would rather them do that then say stomach bug and then have something happen.

The EEG did produce results that said Wyatt was having breakthrough seizures despite his medication increase a few weeks ago. So they further increased his meds, and we go see his doctor in June, and then later that month, have another 24-48 hour EEG. So, lots of good information came from the visit, it was just very long and exhausting for all of us, especially my kiddo.

Those are the happy, tired faces of two people who were just told they could go home. Poor Billy had actually gotten up in the morning after a terrible night’s sleep in one of those hospital room sleeping chairs (if you know you know) and went to work. He was actually on the way back to the hospital after work when Wyatt and I got the good news! So when he got there we only had to wait for all the i’s to be dotted and t’s to be crossed and then we went home, with a very very happy boy. He cheered when we got in the car, and then when we pulled up into the driveway. Billy and I felt the same way, so happy to be home and so relieved, and exhausted as the adrenaline and anxiety of the last 30 hours wore off.

Update – Tuesday we spent just relaxing and trying to recuperate, except for Billy who went to work. Our internet was down though and I didn’t have access to my phone because I turned it into a hotspot so that Wyatt could watch tv as he rested. He was very tired at the beginning of the day but in good spirits, and by evening he seemed much more like his normal little self. Today, I am going to have us take it easy but also add in a little schoolwork and one errand. Slow little baby steps!

And that is it for the moment! I hope you are all doing great!

Northern Michigan Trip – Part One

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Michigan13 Comments

Day one of course, was our journey to the cabin we rented in Indian River. A four hour drive sure feels like forever when you are in a hurry to get somewhere! We opted to stop in Hartwick Pines for a break, which is no hardship for us because it is one of our favorite places. The beauty of the Old Growth Forest is majestic, with trees soaring high above, so high you have to lean your head all the way back to get a glimpse of the tops. And the smell! So fresh and evergreen.

Before we stopped here though, we saw a sign for the CCC Museum, and decided to pull in and see what that was all about. We were glad that we did, it was a neat little quick stop, and we learned quite a bit!

This is a self-guided tour of the grounds and buildings, and it was really neat (and wheelchair accessible). This site depicted the work done by the CCC to regrow the forests that were lost due to forest fires. The interior pictures above are from inside the cone building, referring to pinecone, of course! They would roll the seeds out of the pinecones, overwinter them in mold and damp proof containers that looked like those giant milk canisters you see on dairy farms, and then start the seedlings off and turn them into “Happy Little Trees”. Wyatt was excited about the Bob Ross sign, as you can see.

It was a neat little stop before we got to our next one, Hartwick Pines.

When we got there, we headed straight for the visitor’s center first. We weren’t sure where exactly we were going, but I had found a wheelchair accessible trail on my AllTrails app, so I did know I wanted to do that with Wyatt. First though, we poked around the visitor’s center, and even picked up a few souvenirs. T-shirts for Billy and I, and a book for Wyatt – they didn’t have shirts in his size (or any kids size), which was a bummer. The book we got was really cool though, and since he loves books it was fine that he didn’t get a t-shirt. Then we walked back outside onto the boardwalk to look at the big map, and met the cutest little Llewellin Setter! She was so darn sweet! Some of you may have been around long enough that you remember my Penny, an English Setter and this little girl reminded me so much of my Penny, even though Penny was copper colored.

We opted to start out at the lumberjack camp, which was smart since that is where the trail was that we wanted. We were having a tough time with the map for some reason and were pleased to find the trail right where we ended up. LOL.

There was a little chapel tucked back, high on a hill among the trees, that was so serene and peaceful, and so just beautiful in its simplicity. There is a prayer inside that is so perfect for the surroundings, and for the people that visit, called Nature’s Prayer.

Our Heavenly Father, Creator of all that is nature,
We humbly come to you in the midst of nature’s splendor,
To thank you that as Americans we are free
To worship as we please, work as we please,
And move about as we please to enjoy all that is nature:
Its mountains, its hills, its valleys, its lakes,
Its streams, and the living things that dwell therein;
We pray unto You that someday the world may be at peace
And all men be free to enjoy nature’s abundance.
We ask you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
That we be guided to protect this priceless heritage
Which we, in America, are privileged to enjoy. Amen

It was a wonderful walk through the woods and Wyatt was SO happy to be back outside under a canopy of trees. We have been having a hard time lately finding a place to go with him in his chair! The AllTrails app I used is perfect though, you can use a filter for wheelchair friendly trails which is awesome.

After exploring we knew we had to get back in the car. We were so close to the cabin and had one stop left – a store for food supplies for the cabin. We were all bringing stuff and just sort of sharing food around, as we were sharing the cabin with my dad, my brother Devin, SIL Chrissy, and my nieces Mermaid Girl and Tiny Peanut. My stepmom was supposed to be there too but actually had some medical issues of the non-contagious sort and had to stay home, which was a bummer – and we really missed her!

Anyway, we finally got to the cabin. My brother was already there, and my dad got in just behind us. We spent the rest of the evening figuring out who was sleeping where, unloading the cars, and just settling in. Billy worked as a short order cook in the kitchen making either eggs and toast or grilled cheese for dinner since it was late, and a pizza order was going to take 90 minutes! We all hit the hay pretty early that night.

It was a good day!!

Northern Michigan Memories

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn family, Michigan22 Comments

If you live in Michigan, chances are you have gone “up north” at least once in your life. Some of us travel about, stay in different areas, while others have had permanent homes that have housed decades of memories, or even rentals that their families have stayed at for decades as well. Some people camp, some stay in hotels, but regardless, you are up north.

We went a few times when I was a kid, sometimes all the way up to Traverse City, sometimes a little bit south of the TC for my grandma’s birthday which was in July. I remember swimming in the lake with my cousins at a rental on Houghton, endless video games in the game room at the Holiday Inn in whatever city that was we stayed in, walking up really hot sand dunes with my mom and dad when my legs were only 4 years old long. (Not the big dune!)

Billy and I always used to head toward Mackinaw or the UP on our trips. We camped, we stayed in a hotel that was really little tiny cabins, we stayed in a big hotel. We walked on beaches, hiked through the woods, visited the Sawmill at Mackinaw at least a dozen times.

We’ve eaten fudge like the fudgies we are, visited historic Fishtown, shopped in Glen Arbor. Spent days in Traverse City, sampled the wines at Mission Point, and visited the lighthouse. Just so much. So many memories that I can’t do them all justice in this post. My dad took me and the family all the way up to the Upper Peninsula in high school when I was considering Northern for college. We saw Copper Harbor, mighty storms on Superior, waterfalls, Paradise, the shipwreck museum, and ate in a restaurant that was the living room of a home. Billy and I have ventured to the UP as well, to Germfask renting a tiny cottage and visiting Pictured Rocks. Thomas Dambo just built a troll up there in Germfask, so we will have to go back!

It’s been fun watching these two through the years. They are so big now it seems! And now our pictures will have tiny Bebe too!

We may never get anywhere like Disney together, but to me these days up north are precious and full of fun. Of game nights, crafting, sitting around the fire. Kayaking, swimming, stories, and laughter. Looking for Petoskey stones (and now I want to find a Yooper Stone!), cedar forests, the scent of conifers, one of my favorite things in the whole world. I always know when we have reached “up north” – when the road at the side of the highway is just lined with all the big evergreens, reaching toward the sky, pointing our way ever north.

Look at that little face!

Thanks for looking back with me!

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP15 Comments

Hello my friends! I got a new to me laptop (Billy’s new within the last two years but old to him) and all my stuff looks weird now. Is this font different? Why? I need to do some investigating! (update – it’s not, I am just apparently crazy)

Let’s see, what has been happening since the last time I chatted? Well. We moved my mom to her new place last week and that sort of consumed the entire week, outside of school and appointments. We are still working out details of what she needs, what she wants to replace, etc. All that nesting type thing, decorating, so it is not completely done but this is the fun part at least.

Saturday we had a day without work, and it was awesome. We went to Greenfield Village to celebrate my dad’s birthday and it was hilarious at first, just pure chaos. We had no idea prior to arrival (at 10 am, mind you) that it was Thomas the Thank Engine day, where they make the train look like Thomas, and everyone on earth is there to visit. So there were virtually no parking spaces at all. Then after we all finally found a spot, my brother realized they had forgotten their stroller! So while they were making the long trek to the village from the lot they had to park in, Billy and my dad went into guest services and rented a wagon to put the baby and her car seat in. By this point, it had gotten super cloudy and it was absolutely freezing – and I only had on a thinnish t-shirt. So my stepmom and I went into the gift shop and my stepmom generously treated me to a warm and cozy sweatshirt. Phew. By this point it was now 10:45 and we could finally enter the actual village. The good part- all of the Thomas people were now inside and on the train at least. Lol.

We had a great day, hanging out with my dad and stepmom, and my brother, his wife, Mermaid Girl, and Tiny Bebe. We ate, we walked, we laughed, it was a good time. I have decided I need a version of Camp Mohwak in my yard to retreat to. Although I would like a better view than the house behind me – instead, it should be woods and a river or something, more of a view like the actual cabin pictured has.

Then Sunday I met my friends at the garden center for our annual flower shopping day!

We all had our specific goals, mine being to buy plants to spruce up the toad abode, to make it prettier and to give shade. I ended up buying a few ferns, a hosta, some tomatoes and basil and cucumbers for the garden, and then some petunias and snapdragons for fun. I also picked up a crazy foxtail fern, simply because it is called a foxtail fern. I have no idea where to put it but I love it so much. Lol. Our next garden task is to get more topsoil since we are still working on getting rid of that darn ivy our previous neighbors planted, and sprinkling wildflower seeds down. That will end up being in the area behind the toad abode and it will look so pretty when it is finally all done. But, that is gardening isn’t it? You can’t hurry it, it is something that requires you to slow down and take your time. Or at least, that is the way that I like to do it. My friend Kelly is my total opposite pretty much in all things (I call us Grace and Frankie on here all the time) and she powered through and had everything in place that she bought in like an hour and had her entire yard done in a few days. I am more of a meditative gardener, I guess. I like to think about where something is going, maybe change it, maybe do this… I am just very slow. Neither one of us does it better than the other, it’s just our ways.

Speaking of Kelly…she and her sweet daughter E. supplied the “toads” for our toad abode! Well, sort of. I have to raise them first. E. and Kelly went to a vernal pond near the railroad tracks near their house, and E. collected ten little tadpoles all by hand just for Wyatt!

They brought them over to us and hung out for a bit, and it was so fun. We exclaimed over the cute little tadpoles zooming around, E. enjoyed meeting all of our creatures, from the geckos to the isopods (although I think she liked Applejack the best). I was reminded of those summer nights when I was a kid, where time stood still for a while, the weather was perfect, the kids were laughing and playing, and it was just one of those perfect, everyday moments in time. We gave her an old praying mantis ooth to take home for her own nature collection, and for some reason it just really made me happy, tadpoles for an ooth.

So that is about it for me – I need a refill on this coffee, and I need to get ready for a big day of school with Wyatt. He is also getting a haircut, and hopefully we fit some time in for the library and then later tonight, time in the yard.

How are you all doing?

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP14 Comments

Good morning everyone! (or afternoon or evening or whenever you are reading this) It’s a chilly morning today although it is supposed to warm up – finally! I have my delicious cup of coffee sitting next to me on one side, and Wyatt on the other, and it is a good morning, despite having to get up early and get blood work done.

Hmm where to begin? Let’s start with the best news of all – my new niece is here! She was born Saturday afternoon and is 6 lbs 9 oz, and 19.5 inches long. She was born so fast that the staff was surprised and the doctor never even made it! They thought it would be hours before she arrived – she showed them, and made her arrival after an hour after her parents arrived. I get to meet her today, maybe. I am can’t wait!!! We decorated their house for their welcome home, and delivered flowers to Mermaid Girl, who was excited but also missing her mom and dad. My brother was of course exposed to Covid right before little girl made her arrival so he is being super cautious. Or, as Billy says, covering up photographic evidence that he shaved his beard off after a shaving incident. Lol.

However, before Baby E’s arrival, we had many other adventures! On Thursday morning Wyatt and I went to the Henry Ford Museum to visit the Scooby Doo exhibit!! I was so excited. More than Wyatt, honestly. Scooby was my absolute favorite growing up and I still love it. Ghosts and dogs and mysteries? I guess I have been the same my whole life! Anyway, the exhibit was really fun. It was set up with a mystery to solve but Wyatt was not interested in that part, he just wanted to explore all the fun and interactive displays, which is fine. We saw bookcases and pianos with secret compartments that revealed themselves when you pushed the right book or played the right tune, and Wyatt got to act as a behind the scenes villain! They had an area where one side of the wall was a suit of armor, and the other side had buttons and levers that would activate the armor, rattling it or causing its eyes to glow. You could also make a disembodied laugh happen and flying ghosts. My child absolutely loved this. You could see people on the other side via a camera feed and surprise them! Wyatt had a blast.

There were other interactive displays as well, and then a whole play restaurant which Wyatt also enjoyed. He made pizzas and sandwiches and Scooby Sundaes. And I saw a toy doll house that I would have loved as a kid – how did I miss that when I was growing up? Maybe it is new.

Then of course Friday was St. Patrick’s Day! We spent the day listening to the Irish Rovers, the Pogues, and Van Morrison, read some books, and created some fun nature art. We had “leprechaun” bread (pistachio pudding bread), Lucky Charms treats, and then for dinner Irish beef stew over mashed potatoes. It was all delicious! Wyatt enjoyed the Lucky Charms treats the best – and the leftover marshmallows. Later that evening Billy and I watched Wolfwalkers, which is part of an Irish Folklore trilogy and it was excellent. I am thinking about doing a big review of the trilogy.

So it has been an exciting few days! Lots to do and see, and a new family member even!!

This week Wyatt and I both have lots of appointments which stinks. I hate weeks like that. But at least the weather is supposed to be nicer which will make things easier.

I was going to include our homeschool journey from last week in this post, but I feel like I have blathered on quite enough for this morning, so I will do that later on this week instead. Enjoy your day everyone!

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized10 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP15 Comments

Happy day everybody! I am so grateful for coffee this morning. Yesterday was ROUGH – physically for Wyatt, emotionally for me. I fell into bed and just passed out last night, as did my kiddo.

Wyatt started the morning early, with physical therapy. Then we came home, he ate breakfast, we read a little, then he took a quick disco nap before we moved on to his next appointment – the dentist. My poor boyo had a cavity! The dentist gave us a few options, and we went with pulling the tooth since it is a baby tooth and would be a faster process for Wyatt to go through. Because Wyatt has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, there were a few extra hoops we had to jump through first. We needed medical clearance from one of Wyatt’s doctors and I spent last week nailing that down. Then after we had that we were able to schedule the extraction. The OG date they gave us was all the way in March but they had obviously underestimated my persistence in getting his form finished and the procedure done and over with.The dentist, who we absolutely love, the office staff and dental assistants and dentist, all are amazing, especially with kids with different needs. They had initially proposed strapping him to a board for the procedure which gave me a lot of anxiety. I knew he would hate that more than having his tooth actually pulled. In the end though they just had a bunch of staff members on hand for the shots in case it was needed (it wasn’t) then for the extraction the dentist did his job while the dental assistant and I held Wyatt still. He was excellent, although he did start shrieking and crying for about five minutes. We got to the car and I about collapsed from the emotion of it all. I hate watching him go through things like that. I think all parents do! He was still a bit sniffly, and since he refused to keep the gauze in his mouth, a little oozy too. I let him play with my phone all the way home (a treat he never ever gets to do) and that kept him busy and happier. (Thanks to my friend Kelly for that suggestion!) We had many friends and family sending us prayers and good vibes and I was appreciative of them all!

The staff were all charmed by little charmer. He was so happy and silly before the procedure, because that is Wyatt.

When we came home I discovered the front door to our house wide open. Not cracked, not ajar, wide open. I realized that in my anxiety I probably just never shut it when we left. Yay me. I need to carry Wyatt from the house to the car, and he is an armful these days! I more than likely carried him out, and then we just left, being in hyper-focused mode. But I didn’t want to just take him in after the house was open all that time! I listen to true crime ! So I locked Wyatt in my car, grabbed the gardening scissors off the porch, and entered the house, ready for anything! Miso had been sleeping on the couch and she woke up and stretched, so my first concern was immediately alleviated. Miso was ok. Phew. So then I searched the whole house and closets, including the basement, and when I felt it was all clear, went and got kiddo. Thank goodness for small houses! I didn’t have much to search and there are not many places to hide! We could go in and relax and have ice cream and nap and not worry about Michael Myers surprising us.

So yesterday was an adventure! We had a much better adventure last week. After occupational therapy last Thursday I decided the rainy gray day needed something special. So we went on a surprise, spur of the moment field trip to the Henry Ford Museum. I have a membership and it is so close to where we go for therapy so I was like, why not go for a bit?

I wanted to climb inside that cozy little geodisic dome and read. It was just so comfy looking! I refrained somehow though. We saw the chair Lincoln was in when he was shot, and George Washington’s special camp bed. Then Wyatt always loves the airplanes so we spent most of our time there. We had a really good time and I was glad that we changed up the day.

And we finally got some snow! Charles my squirrel friend was sort of amazed! I think it was his first snow.

I did not have time to do my homeschool recap yesterday so look for it tomorrow. I am excited to show you what we did – especially our artist of the week. Can you guess who it was?

How are you all doing this morning? What is in your cup? Has your week started off well?

Mini-Getaway!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Michigan15 Comments

This weekend we took a short little mini-getaway to West Michigan. I wanted a trip where we could really unwind and relax and be absolutely lazy if we wanted. We are not beach people, so a beach trip wouldn’t be that fun for us. So, I looked for something different – and found a farm.

Just a two hour drive from us, this tiny house looked adorable on Airbnb – and was even better in person! However, we did have a few stops before we got there.

Our adventure kicked off with lunch at Virtue Cider in Fennville. I love Virtue Cider, and was so excited to take an adult field trip (plus one child) to their ciderie. It was spendy but I loved it, and I have wanted to go for a long time. I ordered the Briard cider with a turkey and havarti sandwich, Billy enjoyed the ham and gruyere with a glass of Abeille, and Wyatt was happy with a grilled cheese and water. I knew I was going to buy a bottle of one that was difficult to buy at home, so I opted for the Lapinette. (You guys know I love rabbits!)

Afterward we still had some time before we could check in at the tiny house on the farm, so we stopped at a local creamery called Evergreen Lane. They make all the cheeses in their creamery, right there, from their own goats and then locally sourced milk from dairies. We ended buying the Lily Rose, and then a sampler that had Noella, Poet’s Tomme, and a cheddar. After splurging on cheese, we stopped by a field of poppies! A local blueberry farmer planted 4 acres in honor of his son, a soldier who didn’t return home. We were there a bit late in the season to see the full effect but we still were struck by the sentiment and in awe of the flowers that were still in bloom.

It was starting to get dark from an incoming rainstorm, so we hit the road again – next stop the tiny home!

We pulled in and the rain was just coming down like crazy! We raced up the garden path and up the few stairs and burst in to the shelter. And instantly fell in love with our little home for the weekend! I threw open the curtains, including those for the skylight, and we lay on the bed just listening and watching the rain come down. This for some reason had a huge impact on kiddo. He talked about it all weekend, the rain on the skylight. It is always surprising to me what kids hold on to. After an hour, the rain stopped and we had a furry visitor at the door!

What a sweet and handsome ambassador to welcome us!! Three dogs actually live on the property which is a working farm, and they were all so friendly. This dog, Skye, was our little companion much of the weekend.

We just chilled out for the rest of the night, playing games and reading, and when Wyatt fell asleep, Billy and I tiptoed outside to watch the fireflies, drink our cider, and eat our cheese. The cheese was very good, although maybe a bit stronger than we are used to. Very earthy. We both thought the Lily Rose was the best of the bunch.

It was so peaceful and beautiful, looking out at the meadow, listening to most of the world start to settle down around us, while some creatures were just getting started, like the fireflies and the trilling tree frogs.

I could have sat out there all night but eventually we had to turn in. And the bed! Seriously comfortable and it smelled so good! It was the best night of sleep any of us have had for a long time.

And that is it for day one! (Don’t worry there will only be one more, mostly photos!)

Kindergarten Graduation, Oceans, and Mermaids

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn homeschooling9 Comments

These two wild and crazy kindergartners graduated last week! Next year, first grade! We had a small little family gathering, pizza, cake, and gifts for these hard workers. They have learned and grown so much this past year! In addition to their normal curriculum, we have studied over 28 animals, five different plants, three countries, one state, had a Nordic Christmas, and learned about some fascinating people, like Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Goodall, and Martin Luther King Jr. I also made these little memory books and t-shirts for the kids.

But this doesn’t mean our learning is over! Homeschooling, the summer edition, has commenced. We finished up our oceans study with a fun day devoted to mermaids!

We started with some blue hair. The kids were excited, even though Wyatt looks sort of not happy in this photo. Lol. My mom and I added some to our hair too, but you couldn’t see it in mine unfortunately. My niece decided we were all different types of mermaids – I was a moon mermaid, Wyatt a river mermaid, Dino Girl was an arctic mermaid, and my mom a lake mermaid. I think these were perfect choices for us.

Once we were ready for the sea with our blue hair, we switched on Luca, and started with our art project. It was extremely messy but very fun, and I love the way they turned out!

One little mermaid got so covered in paint that he had to borrow his mermaid cousin’s clothing until the paint dried on his own. (She had spare clothes at my mom’s house where we were – apparently I did not think of this) It was worth all the mess though, I think they look so cool! It was actually pretty easy too. I cut out a free template that I printed out of a mermaid and taped it to watercolor paper. Then the kids used finger paint to swirl the paint like water over the entire thing. We used five different shades of blue and green! Once the paintings dried almost to completion I peeled the mermaid template off. I didn’t want the paint completely dry since I had to cover up the area where the tape was, and I used the still sort of wet paint to fill in those blank spots. Next time I will roll the tape and put it underneath. You can see where the kids were overzealous and got paint under the mermaid template, but I think that is ok. It keeps them unique! I also had picked up some ocean art kits from Michael’s Craft store and let the kids play with those while they just created and watched the movie.

We finished up our mermaid celebration with mermaid floats and story time! Just lemonade, sparkling flavored water, and a little rainbow sherbet to make these magical drinks! (the recipe is from The Fairy Food Cookbook – I just changed the name from Rainbow Float to Mermaid) The kids absolutely loved them. They loved the whole day really! It was a great time, and a fun way to end our unit on the ocean!

What a great way to start summer! Next month is all about Italy and I can’t wait.