Tag: life

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized5 Comments

Hello everyone! I’m going to be honest, this was not our best week, my mom hasn’t been well, although it did start off celebratory and fun, with Wyatt’s birthday! I can’t believe my kiddo is 11. Where has time gone?? He was just a teeny tiny peanut when he was born and now he is almost the same size as me!

I mean, look at my hand next to him. Lol. He was 2 lbs 15 oz and 17 inches long. He is a miracle honestly.

We were trying to figure out what to do to celebrate his birthday. It has been so cold and yucky out, and germs have not slowed down out there at all. Wyatt had wanted to go to the Toledo Art Museum, but then I learned that it is closed on Mondays – along with just about every art and history museum. I didn’t know this was universally a thing, but it is. So we owe him a visit to the art museum. We pivoted and headed for the Toledo Zoo instead, and had a great time!

It was a Monday morning, cold, gray, and we pretty much had the entire zoo to ourselves. There were a few animals not on exhibit, and most of the buildings were still shuttered and not open, but that didn’t stop us from having fun.

We saw otters (my favorite there!), elephants (which Wyatt loved because one of them did something that young boys find hilarious), wolves, among other mammals, and went into the aquarium, conservatory, and natural history museum. The reptarium was under construction sadly but that just gives us a reason to go back. The conservatory was so cool – it had reptiles just loose and free in it! We all had to watch where we were going so we didn’t squish any. I also did something purely out of love for Wyatt – I sort of am weirded out by fish, and they had two open aquariums where you could pet a sturgeon and manta rays (or some sort of rays) and Wyatt was not quite tall enough in the wheelchair to do it, so I did it for him and described it and it was super gross, which Wyatt thought was hilarious.

That 80s looking building up there used to be where all of the big cats lived in the 1980s. I remember visiting them there when I was a kid and before zoos became more knowledgeable about habitats and what is appropriate. Now it is used as a restaurant! I swear we could eat in that building even then, while the big cats lived there but I might be misremembering. That was a long time ago!

I mean just check out this photo quality! Lol. I am the second from the left, and my little brother is in the red shorts next to me, and my cousin Brian is the other big kid. Check out the giant thermos jug my Aunt has! Lol.

We spent a few hours at the zoo, then headed home. It was just about time for dinner when we pulled back into our driveway, after having stopped for a family size mac and cheese, which was Wyatt’s request for dinner. And that was that! Wyatt has two little family parties this weekend to celebrate as well.

The rest of my week has been sort of split, with a lot of time being spent doing things for my mom. She has a UTI and it has really affected her mentally and physically. So I have been in contact with lots of staff and being there in person and juggling all that with Wyatt’s school and his appointments. Watching your parents age is really really hard!

And I don’t want to end on that so we will talk about… the book of poetry I just read. It is called A Bit Much, it is so good! I absolutely loved it. So many of the poems resonated with me. You can find the author, Lyndsay Rush, on Instagram as @maryoliversdrunkcousin. Lol. I have been sharing poems from the book with friends all week, like this one I sent my friend Kelly.

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

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized11 Comments

Hello all! February has just been a month. Yuck gray skies, cold, surrounded by illness, we got Covid – we are ready for March and hoping that it holds better things for Michigan and for us. However it did have small happy moments of joy, and those are the things that keep us all going, really, aren’t they? Moments like singing with your child while he shoots a big grin at you, your husband surprising you with your favorite chocolate bar when you are having a bad day, a phone call or a message from a friend that brightens your day. And that is how our month has been, nothing big or exciting but full of these moments. Watching the Olympics all shmooed out on the bed with family and cats and blankets, those few days where the sun peeked out and the skies were actually blue, Wyatt getting excited about the history or art lesson, opening the mailbox to find a letter inside rather than junk mail – you get the idea.

Wyatt’s birthday is Monday! I can’t believe my teeny tiny baby who was literally as big as one of our kittens when he was born is going to be 11. My silly goofy happy boy. He fills our hearts with so much good everything, everyday. We had to postpone his birthday party though unfortunately-everyone around us is sick! Hopefully they will be better by next weekend and we can celebrate with our family. This weekend the three of u will eat the cake we ordered the party, and I will just order another. And we will figure out what we are going to do. Will we brave the weather and go to the zoo? Will we brave the germs and mask up and go somewhere inside? Only time will tell!

Speaking of my Wy-guy, we signed him up for a local little league team! They have a special needs team and kiddo is now all ready to play baseball. My cousin has gloves from when her son played little league and he is also a lefty like Wyatt, so she is giving us one of his old gloves, so that is settled. I was talking to her on the phone yesterday about little league, and she asked if Wyatt had a glove yet. I was so confused. Why would Wyatt need a glove? I am not very sporty guys. Two of Wyatt’s friends from Blackbirds are on the team as well, so it will be nice to all go to the games together.

Wyatt will be having surgery again sometime during the season, but the surgeon has told us his recovery will be nothing like the previous surgery. This one will be just a few days and he won’t have any restrictions. He has to have the metal that they put in him in July taken out. That surgery will be happening at the end of April.

I have been really enjoying exchanging snail mail letters with a few different women around the country, and one woman in the Netherlands. It is always such a happy surprise to find a new letter in the mailbox! (thank you Tina for all of your letters! You have one on the way too) It was nice to sit down yesterday with a cup of tea while Wyatt was painting and write a few letters back. We had finished school and his exercises and I had completed a bunch of household tasks (litter boxes, dishes, etc) and I finally had a semi-quiet moment (there are never completely quiet moments when Wyatt is awake – he is always chattering away like a little squirrel), and it was nice. I have also received little gifts inside my letters, stickers and teas, and I need to get something to send back to everyone in my next letters. I am thinking about starting tea journal! I saw someone with one online and it is so cute. I mean, why shouldn’t I have a journal for everything? Lol. I am an archivist at heart!

I am so ready for spring everyone. Like major spring fever over here. I know that March weather is notorious for faking us out, and it is not spring weather yet – Wyatt was born on the coldest day of the winter that year – but this morning the sun is shining, and the temp is supposed to be 50 degrees and it just feels so close. Temps plunge again after this weekend but at least we have a day or two of warmer weather before it does. I am ready to see flowers and birds and to plant things, and try to tempt toads to our garden, and then for summertime fireflies at night and backyard barbecues and bonfires. I want to walk through a wood and hear the spring peepers, to watch people gather around our little free library again that has been sort of lonely little bastion of books out there in the snow all winter.

Is anyone else feeling spring fever? Or if you are in the southern hemisphere, are you ready for cooler temps?

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

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized22 Comments

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz,  Kathryn at Book Date, and  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone! Just when we thought winter was ending, we got a fresh layer of snow. Sigh. More than the snow, I am ready for the germs everywhere to disappear for the season! Michigan is still at a high level for flu, and it has been holding steady for two months. We actually had to cancel our skating trip because all but two kids are sick! (and knock on wood they stay well!)

Books:

Last week I read two books!

Everyone is Lying to You is a library book I got in one of those blind date with a book things. I absolutely loved it and could not stop reading it.

The Amberglow Candy Store… not as much. It was very sweet (lol) but it read very young. I actually went and looked to see if it was a middle grade book but it is not. It was not a bad read, but I didn’t love it. I do love this cover though!

This week I am not sure what I am reading. I do have a few I am thinking about.

I am also anxiously awaiting a hold I placed on a book of poetry by Lyndsay Rush, who is showing up for me everywhere the last few days. She was on a vlog I watched, she was quoted in the book Everyone is Lying to You, and then she popped up on another person’s Instagram who I follow. I would buy the book but I like to use the library first, plus Billy and I are trying to do a no spend month. Well, we are buying groceries and necessities but nothing just for fun or because we want it. We have a million birthdays this month and want to stay on budget.

Screens:

In between the Olympics, Billy and I watched The Burbs tv show. We both really loved it! Then Friday night we started watching the Netflix series Death by Lightning, which is fabulous. The cast is amazing – Michael Shannon, Nick Offerman, Betty Gilpin, Matthew MacFadyen – so many great actors. It is about James Garfield and his assassin Charles Guiteau, and it begins by saying that these two and their lives have been lost to history. That we have forgotten who they are, and their stories. I feel like I am learning so much, and I want to read the book that the series is based on by Candice Millard called Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President. Billy and I have also talked about taking a road trip out to Garfield’s farm in the spring. I love when a show or a book brings history to life, and sparks a new interest. So far I highly recommend it, although we are only two episodes in out of a four part series. Was Chester A. Arthur also so rough and uncouth? I need to know! Just a note: There is swearing in this trailer.

In-Betweens:

Well, I mentioned we had to cancel our skating trip which was a bummer. I know the kids were excited; it stinks that the majority of the families got sick. We do have another outing coming up in a few weeks, to a maple sugar farm. Orchard?

I don’t have too much else to add! I just did my Friday Coffee Catch Up a few days ago and yesterday we spent catching up on things. I did have a nice chat with Lisa and Cat from Cat’s Wire during our crafternoon, which was a nice break in the day. I didn’t end up crafting at all, since I had a sleeping cat on my lap.

I did post a few times last week:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books for the Armchair Traveler

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

And, I think that is it from me today! I hope that you all stay safe and healthy!

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized25 Comments

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz,  Kathryn at Book Date, and  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone! Last week was yucky week! We all ended up with Covid. It was thankfully mild but we were still all super tired. We are feeling back to normal now though thank goodness!

Books:

While I was sick, I didn’t really feel like reading until I started feeling better. I did enjoy reading through Vivian Swift’s When Wanderers Cease to Roam, which was perfect. It was easy to read through, lots of pictures, and cheery. I am only halfway through it, but the chapters on the spring months were giving me life! About midweek I felt like reading again, and I ended up finishing two books.

I am really enjoying my slow “wander” through Swift’s book. Right now I am using it to get through these last dregs of winter, reading about all the seasons we have to look forward to, but I ended up buying a copy from Pango so that I can revisit it monthly or seasonally when I want to in the future.

The Cater Street Hangman is from a book series I used to read like crazy years and years ago. I often go back to it when I am not feeling well or need a comfort read.

And finally, A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping was delightful!! I absolutely loved it. Also another buy from Pango. I also sell on Pango, and one feature of it is that you can earn Pango bucks. You can either have the money you make sent to your actual bank account, or you can choose to keep it on Pango and use it to buy more books. That is generally what I do.

Screens:

Well, I didn’t read much last week but I did watch television. We watched a lot of Olympics. I have such warm and fuzzy feelings about watching the Olympics with my mom as a little girl. It was always so exciting and such an event, especially when we knew figure skating would be on. We would sit under blankets on the couch with our cups of tea and watch all of the skaters. Such good memories. I wanted to make some of these with Wyatt too, but he wasn’t as interested in figure skating. However, he does like to watch moguls and snowboarding. We are watching everything we can, but those are his favorites. Our kittens like to watch too, which cracks me up. They really like the luge and bobsledding, but Mouse was riveted by snowboarding the other day.

We are also watching the tv show The Burbs, and we are both really enjoying it! It is like the perfect mix of mystery and thriller, as well as a comedy. I need to rewatch the movie again now.

Julia Duffy, who will always be Stephanie from Newhart to me, is on it, and she is my favorite character, but I do also really love Tod, who is played by Mark Proskch, or Colin from What We Do in the Shadows. He was hilarious in that, and plays a similar type character in The Burbs. Justin Kirk is also great in this so far, but again, I also loved him in another show, Weeds.

Last week on my blog, I posted:

In Our Homeschool

Friday Afternoon Coffee Catch Up, Minus the Coffee

Wednesday Morning Coffee (Covid) Catch Up

A Cozy Little Life: A Look at Book Journaling

In-Betweens:

Not too much, since we were sick, and I mainly blogged about everything else in my coffee catch up posts, except Valentine’s Day! Billy and I went for a walk and saw the sunset, with our Starbucks teas in hand, lol, and then we came home and he made us all pancakes with strawberry compote that he made himself, because I had weirdly decided I wanted those for some reason earlier in the week. They were delicious and we all loved them!

The kittens go in for their spay and neuter and surgeries tomorrow morning. I will miss them scampering and stampeding around the house while they are gone, and I will worry as well. My poor babies. It’s always so hard, isn’t it? We had our Blackbirds meeting last week, which was a lot of fun, and then this week our Blackbirds are going to a skating event I arranged. I am nervous about that as well! I want Wyatt to have all the experiences that he can though, so I will muster through it. This skating loop has an ice skating sled, that he can sit on and be pushed. There is also a cabana that we rented, a bonfire, and there is a restaurant that serves pizza. It will be fun although I will be a nervous mama until it is over.

And with that, I hope that all of you have a great day, and do something that makes you smile, even if it is something small!

Wednesday Morning Coffee (Covid) Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized25 Comments

Hello everyone!!! It’s been a minute since I posted here. If you are on my socials at all, then you already know, but that illness that Wyatt had – and passed on to us – was Covid. Ughhh. I started feeling pretty crummy Friday night, and by the time we went to bed, I had an idea that is what it was. When I got up on Saturday morning I took a test and yep, that line showed up. Billy was starting to feel sick too by this point as well.

Billy and I both immediately set up virtual doctor appointments to get on Paxlovid. I know that this is not the choice everyone would take, but we thought since we have Wyatt to take care of and we were all sick at the time, that it would be a good idea to take it. The other time we had Covid, back in like 2021ish, Billy had it in May and then Wyatt and I had it in July. Billy set up in his office when he had it that time and I solo’d it with Wyatt.

Anyway, we were both super tired for like two days, and have Paxlovid mouth which is disgusting. Wyatt rebounded quickly, but as he has a certain level of dependence on us, ended up spending a lot of time watching tv in bed with his parents as we rested. Lol. However, yesterday I felt so much better! The sun was shining, it was warm (40 degrees!), and I threw open the windows a tiny bit to air out the house, and got busy cleaning. I scrubbed down the bedrooms with bleach, washed all the bedding, scrubbed floors, just pretty much went on a crazy deep clean spree. I also decided anything that made me think of winter needed to put away. Winter decor was banished to boxes, and snowy reads put back on the shelves for another time. I moved out books that feel like spring, changed our duvet cover, and by the end of it all, the whole house felt lighter. Fresher. And I felt happier and lighter as well. I saw Mireille posted about vignettes today and I need to pop over and read her post, but that is what I was doing yesterday too. Changing my vignettes. Changing my view, and my mindset.

It is still too early here in Michigan to start seeds, I think, but I think we will give it a try. I feel like if we get some wee plantlings that there is a way we could make a makeshift greenhouse situation on our deck for Wyatt and I to tend. We need to move our thinking forward to spring. As the seasons start to shift, so do we. It is premature to think of spring being here, I live in Michigan after all. Winter could be here until April for goodness sakes. But, I am going to start thinking at least of brighter, longer days. Of more color in the world, not just the blues and grays and whites of winter. We need pink and green, yellow. We need birdsong. I think that if the weather is a little better next week Wyatt and I might take a field trip to the zoo, walk around, go into the butterfly house, watch the otters play.

We have been watching the Olympics a lot around here, and playing with our three cats, little Miso who is like the Nana for our kittens. She follows them around, just sort of watching them. They nuzzle up against her and she sort of makes a face like eww but also allows it. But when I put them in the office for the night (I don’t trust them running around the house at night yet) she sits outside the door for a bit, and in the morning she waits for them to come out, and nose boops them. I had to laugh yesterday, Mouse, our little adventurer and scamp, ran by Miso and play swatted her poofy tail, and then ran off. She was brave, that could have earned her a little hiss but it didn’t.

I haven’t wanted to read much while I have been sick, but I did receive two letters from pen pals which made me smile. Yesterday while Wyatt was painting, I wrote them back. It was so nice to have a cup of tea, and just write out letters that I will send out to two very different places, while my son happily painted next to me. Poor Billy had to go back to work yesterday, but he was working from home so that was better at least.

Today we join the world again. Wyatt goes back to therapy, and I think he will be glad to get out. I know I will be happy! I think we might try to go to the library and pick up our holds as well. And maybe I will stop at Starbucks and grab Wyatt a cookie, and a Medicine Ball for myself. Then we will come home to our house full of animals and Billy and settle in for the evening.

And I think that is it from me today! I don’t know what is in my camera roll, we will find out here together I guess!

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

In Our Homeschool

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized6 Comments

Hello everyone! It has been a while since I have posted about our homeschool studies. It’s not as visual for the blog as it was when he was younger! However, we are still working hard and doing some fun things.

Before Christmas, we finished up the Revolutionary War. I lingered way too long on that topic. I always joke that I spend way too much time on history but I can’t help it – I love history, and it is what my degree is in. That and literature. Wyatt loves history now too, and it cracks me up what he holds on to sometimes. He loved the story of Paul Revere, and loved shouting “The British are coming!”, which Revere actually never did but we talked about actual history and then also, this fictionalized version. He made a lantern with a tealight, and we just had a great time with it.

After Christmas, we moved on to the Lewis and Clark expedition, and westward expansion. This is a whole new adventure and he has been enjoying it. We are about to head down the Oregon Trail, and we are also reading Little House on the Prairie for Language Arts. When we finish that one up, we are going to start The Cabin Faced West, which I have actually not read yet myself!

I mentioned that we are reading Little House on the Prairie. I learned this morning that Friday is Laura’s birthday, so I am planning a few fun celebrations for that, like a mini Pioneer day.

Wyatt and I were both done with modern, abstract artists so I am starting a whole new unit with him in art – architecture! He is already excited over it and we have only been working on it for a week. We needed something new and fresh to liven things up! Wyatt loves houses and building things so it seemed like a good fit.

We started last Saturday with Billy, and talked about foundations, how important they are, the difference between shaky and solid. He got to do a little experiment with both as well, trying to float a foundation and building on it to see the difference. Then he and Billy built a “floating” building, the Sydney Opera House. It was a lot of fun, and he had a blast. We did have to crack up because the non-technical parent (me) bought the supplies and did not pick a large enough “harbor” for our opera house to float in. It more or less rested on the sides of the container. But, he got the idea!

We are using a slew of books for this, but there are a few that I really like.

Architecture According to Pigeons || Mini Architects || The Future Architect’s Handbook || Architecture for Kids

And that is it for now! I have lots of fun things coming up and I am so excited to do with them Wyatt!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized21 Comments

Hello everyone!! I am a winter lover, but now is about the time I am ready for it to be over. Even I can have too much winter, and with how intense winter has been this month – it’s time to call it. Let’s get some warmer weather, some sunshine up in here. I am done wintering, however February in Michigan means more winter. So, we will just keep on keeping on a little bit longer.

I know this weather is affecting such a large part of the U.S. right now too, and I feel for those of you who are not used to it. It’s tough for me and I am a Michigander. I mean, it was 12 degrees yesterday, and I took the kittens to their vaccine appointment without a coat. Just my sweatshirt and hat. I did cover the carrier with my coat though, despite the car being heated with heated seats. The clinic I went to is one that is run by my SIL. It is a high quality, high volume, low cost spay/neuter clinic that does vaccine clinics on Thursdays, also low cost. I just want to talk about how awesome this place is for a minute. The shots for both of the kittens was a total of $60, and I didn’t even have to get out of my car. I called when I got there, the tech came out to grab them in their carrier, took them in, did the things, and brought them back. It was very convenient! We are also getting them spayed and neutered there as well. They have a grant package (a few of them, one for feral cats too) that is called A Family Affair, where if you take in a mom cat and her kittens, the mom is basically $100 for the surgery and shots, and each kitten is $5 for shots and surgery. So, Max and Mouse will be done with everything for about $20 really, once I pay for their tiny cones of shame on top of it. Our friend where we got the kittens is taking in their mom and their sister at the same time, so we can utilize the grant. The clinic does not do full vet care, but for things like this, it is a fantastic value.

On Sunday, we got a lot of snow! Not as much as some places, but a lot for our area. For some reason snow usually misses us! We got about 7-8 inches. We waited until evening to go outside and shovel and snowblow, and Wyatt went out with us. It has always been sort of difficult to get him outside in the snow, but now that we have the deck and ramp, it was so much easier! And, the ramp served another purpose this time- sledding! Wyatt had fun going down a few times than just hanging out throwing snow at his father and I while we worked. It was mega-cold out but he was not ready to go back in. He had a blast!! Although I realized belatedly that this kid does not have boots! It is just not something we need to buy him normally so we used an old pair of his shoes and really thick wool socks. I need to write a note for next winter to buy boots!

This weekend we absolutely have to leave this house. I don’t care if it is the arctic outside. We are getting out and doing something. If it is not too terrible, a city near us is having an Ice Festival, which might be fun. Actually, a few communities near us are having ice sculpting fests with hot chocolate, so we will pick one perhaps and go. I remember going to the one in Plymouth when I was a kid. My family went with my aunt and uncle, and my cousin Brian and I got to ride in the back of their station wagon, in a fold up seat that faced backwards. The 80s were a wild time, weren’t they? My mom and my aunt were like the moms in A Christmas Story, and would bundle us up so much we could hardly move, but we were warm. We were always together, our whole lives. Lots of good time and memories, even when I had to stomp about in moon boots. God I hated those things! I always felt bad for the kids who forgot to bring shoes in the winter, and had to wear those big boots all day during school. I can still hear the sounds of them walking in the classroom or down the hall, the hiss of the radiators, feeling a bit drowsy in the afternoon from the heat and playing on the playground. Scarves and hats and mittens and boots, and now I try not to wear anything out but boots, a hat, and gloves. Wyatt, however, I bundle up like my mom did me, although I always make sure not to zip his chin like my mom did me.

Tonight is pizza Friday and I can’t wait. I am so over planning dinners this week! We made a whole chicken on Sunday since we were all snowed in and not leaving, and then we ate the leftovers as chicken quesadillas the next two days though, so it wasn’t too hard planning them. And honestly, those were the best freaking quesadillas I have ever eaten. It was the first time I ever made them, and they turned out so good. Definitely something we are keeping on the menu for future leftovers.

While I am stuck here in snowy Michigan, one of my besties is over in London, living it up! She is sending me pics of her trip, and it looks awesome. A Wes Anderson exhibit, tea at Harrods, and shopping at Hatchards. I had no idea what that was, but some of you might. It is the oldest bookseller in London, and has been around since 1797. The owner was a publisher and anti-slavery campaigner, and the store holds a Royal Warrant, which means they service the royal family. Pretty cool! And because she loves me, Kelly texted me a photo of a huge Agatha Christie book display and had me pick a book! She said there was no way she could be at the oldest bookstore in London and not get me a book by a British author. I had a minute of blurting out via text different titles before I settled on The Sittaford Mystery.

Which one would you have picked?

And wow I have really rambled, sorry about that!!! I will close with a few random photos, and a wish for you guys to do somethings today that makes you smile! Stay safe and warm my friends!

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized43 Comments

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz,  Kathryn at Book Date, and  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone! I am writing today from inside the Arctic circle, which is now known as Michigan. It has been soo cold here. It is awful. Extreme temperatures are really tough on Wyatt, so we have been inside for most of the past week, and it looks like this week ahead will be more of the same. We are maybe going a little stir crazy!

Books:

Did I tell you I finished Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge? I did, and I miss the ladies chatter already. I need to go find another of their books ASAP. I also finished While the Earth Holds Its Breath. I wasn’t overwowed by it, but it was still a pretty relaxing, calm read.

I have read so far this year four nonfiction books already. Who am I? I do need a break though from it though, and I have two books on deck. I don’t know which one I will end up reading, but I am going to start them both and see which one sticks. I may end up reading them both, who knows? We are stuck inside after all.

Screens:

Billy and I haven’t been watching too much lately! You would think we would be. We have been watching the news a lot more than anything. And the kittens and Miso. They are bringing us happiness in a dark time honestly. Maybe that book “We’ll Prescribe You a Cat” has the right idea. I haven’t read it yet but maybe I will next month. And I know some of you aren’t cat people, so there are other things, dogs, fish, plants. Really just find something that brings you joy right now. Painting, a pen pal. Walks in nature. A good book. A funny movie. Today I think we are going to watch A Night at the Museum with Wyatt. I love that movie and he has not seen it yet. We may end up watching all three this week, who knows? Anyone else have any ideas for kids movies like Paddington, A Night at the Museum, etc, that you really loved?

I did manage to write some posts last week!

Books I Read I in 2025 with Cats on the Cover

Our Cozy Little Life – Wintering

In-Betweens:

We had some really great things happen here last week. When you have a kid with special needs, milestones are often inchstones, and Wyatt was kicking butt last week. He is really coming along in reading, and not just reading but SAYING THE WORD out loud to me. I know this guy is understanding so much more than I realize but the fact that he doesn’t verbalize everything usually makes it really difficult for me to measure how much. Last week though he was just blowing me away with actually reading words out loud to me.

He also took his first steps post surgery last week!!!! It was a lot of work and a few months coming and I am so very proud of him. And he was very proud of himself too, which he should have been. I will post my Instagram reel of it, but I am not sure if it ever works when I do this.

And that is about it from around here. Making cookies, eating cookies, playing with kittens, cuddling Miso, writing our pen pals, homeschool.

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile. I know that I am hoping that the snow (an expected 9 inches here) will have enough a break so that I can run up to Starbucks for my Self-Care Sunday routine of matcha latte with oatmilk and 1 pump of vanilla. We will see though.

And here are some random photos!

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized31 Comments

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz,  Kathryn at Book Date, and  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone!! We made it all the back around to Sunday. Besides the news this week, I had sort of a personally crazy week full of bodily mishaps. Lol. I busted my knee against the car transferring Wyatt from his chair to the car, and it got all huge and bruised for a night, then I got the pneumonia shot which made me all achy for 24 hours, and my arm still hurts! I put that shot off for two years because the first pneumonia shot I got was rough, so I figured this one would be too. However after having the flu followed by pneumonia in my late twenties and remembering how crap that felt, I decided to suck it up for the 24 hours and get it done.

Books:

I am currently reading the newest Royal Street Novel, The Lady on Esplanade. I love New Orleans and I love this series set there for its historic preservation and ghostly vibes. So fun!

I am also slowboating my way through Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge because it is s such a wonderful calm read. I like to read it in small bits when I need uplifting.

Screens:

We finally started the newest season of Stranger Things, and it really is so good, despite all the actors being so much older now! It is cute though when they do flashbacks and they are all just tiny – it is crazy they were so young when the show started! We are close to the end now, maybe just one more episode I think? Then I think we might move on to Yellowjackets again, which we were saving for winter.

As for the blog, I posted only a few times last week.

Mini Book Review: The Bewitching, Dinner for Vampires, and Moon of the Crusted Snow

A Cozy Little Life: Small Things that Make Me Smile

In-Betweens:

It was a crazy week, as I mentioned above. We also started back to homeschool last week, back to physical therapy at the clinic, and had our Blackbirds Kids Club meeting. It is always so hectic getting back to the routine after break!

And I will leave you with just a few photos from the camera roll!

I hope that whatever you do this week, you do something that makes you smile!

Small Things That Make Me Smile

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized29 Comments

So life lately feels heavy, this week in particular. Watching the news breaks my heart and gives me panic attacks and in our world of 24 hour news coverage we can never quite get away from it, unless we make the effort. Put the phone down. Turn off the tv. I find it easy to lose myself in projects, but I don’t always have the time to do those. There are days, like every weekday, when we have homeschool and home therapy and all the other things, and it is so easy to pick up my phone and scroll in those quick in between moments. On those days, I need to rely on small things to lift my spirits. A great cup of coffee or tea. Five minutes with a good book. A long stretch.

There are some small things I am loving lately, that make me smile.

Orange is one thing. Actual oranges to eat – I love peeling one and getting hit with that fresh sharp citrus scent. So much so that I have included orange scents into my shower routine. My body wash is orange scented, and oh my shampoo and conditioner smells so much like driving through an orange grove I just stand in there enveloped in the scent for a few extra minutes. I am using The Earthling Co. shampoo and conditioning bars in Citrus Sun and it does my sun deprived self so much good. I also bought a citrus tinged perfume as well, but it doesn’t quite smack me in the face with an orange scent as much as I want so I am going to keep looking.

Also, waiting on our little orange kitten. Not much longer now!

And while I am waiting for her, I am of course getting all the cuddles from Miso. Billy and my bestie Kelly are trying to talk me into two kittens, but I think that might be hard for Miso. Or easier, if they play with each other and give Miso a break? Ugh. I don’t know. Anyway, Wyatt got a little pop up indoor tent from my dad that turned out to be big enough for Wyatt and I to sort of lay in and read. We like to climb in there and read some of his books for school, and then after that, just hang out for a bit. I love when we are in there and Miso pokes her little head in, like “Hey what are you all doing?” and then saunters in and lays on me, like she does. It is super cozy for all of us, I guess.

Tea is another thing that has been making me smile. Peppermint tea, ginger orange turmeric, lemon ginger, are all flavors that perk me up these days. And if I get a chance to go to Starbucks, I love their Honey Citrus Mint Tea. I feel like I am going to be picking one of those up today, now that I mentioned it. They are just so good!

I am also enjoying winter fruit salad. It has apples, pears, kiwi, clementines or oranges, and pomegrante seeds and I could eat it all day. It just wakes me up!

Finally, one of the books I am reading is a collection of letters between two friends, sent to each other in 1953. It is perfect to just pick up and read a few letters, spend five to ten minutes in their calm little worlds of dogs and rural life.

These are just a few small things that make me smile and pick me up when I need a little pick me up.

I hope that whatever you do today, you find something, no matter how small, to make you smile.