Tag: mental health

Hello January and 2026!

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized26 Comments

Happy New Year everyone!! It’s a fresh new year out there, full of first sips of coffee to be had, new books to flip through, blank journals to scribble in.

The past few years, my word of the year has been “community”. I wanted to build a bigger community for myself, for Wyatt, for our family. And I feel like I have really done that! Through new blogging friends, our Scout/Blackbirds group, new friendships here, church, and all of our relationships built at our favorite destinations, I feel like we have a nice little community out there for us. As a very shy person, this was actually difficult for me. I had to push past my nerves and learn to find my voice. To engage with other people, to initiate. Sometimes this can be very scary for me, and it is easier for me to stay in my nice cocoon of comfort at home. Which if it was just me, that might be ok. But it is not just me. I mean, Billy is able to do all this for himself, and he is an extremely outgoing and extroverted person so he does, but as Wyatt’s parent at home and the parent who spends the most time with him, I can’t keep him in this cocoon. He needs to do things, experience things, have friends, see all he can. So, I made it my goal to make sure that happens, even if it gave me butterflies. And the more I did it, the easier it became for me. And so this year, my word is “connection”. I want to connect more deeply with what we are doing. I can move past the nerves now, and really experience what we are doing, and who we are with.

I also want to reconnect with nature. This is a part of my life that has been neglected for a few years. Billy and I used to be out in the woods all the time, and that is one area that we haven’t quite figured out yet, accessibility for Wyatt. I did find a front wheel that we can add and remove from his wheelchair and I am going to try to apply for a grant for it this year, but until then, it is tough unless it is paved. But, now with our new deck and ramp in the yard, we can turn our yard into an outdoors area that is accessible right here. Billy is putting in a pond this spring, and we are laying pavers in part of the yard to place wheelchair accessible raised garden beds, and a space for his outdoor toys. Billy and I are also hoping to get some flowers in this year. I dream of adding trees but I have been saying that for years now. Maybe this will be the year!

2025 had it’s challenges – the biggest one being Wyatt’s surgery, which all of you know about it if you read here regularly. That was a difficult time, and I honestly didn’t know before the surgery how we would make it through. And then it happened, and the support we received from people blew me away. We had neighbors send meals for days, friends drop by with food or sending gifts in the mail to make Wyatt’s days easier (and mine), grandparents who stepped in when Billy had to go to back to work and spent the entire day with Wyatt and I, helping me through the hard stuff. Cards and e-cards, comments of support here on the blog. There was just so much love and kindness and encouragement. And that was honestly my biggest takeaway from 2025. Not the hard stuff, but the love.

And we did do some really great, fun things too last year. Wyatt was on a bowling league, and went to music camp. It was a year of bookstores, and dragons. Of milestones – Wyatt turned 10, Billy and I turned 50, and our marriage turned 25. I got my mom’s insurance and medical help all settled, and I know that she is safe and taken care of where she is. It was a year where I found the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, and the perfect lipstick color.

This year, one thing I want to do is keep reconnecting with myself as well. Somewhere in parenthood I lost a bit of me, which I think is normal. You live for your child. But there are places I can still be me, Erin, not “Wyatt’s mom”, which is what I am known as most of the time when I go places. I used to love getting cute outfits together, and now that I am no longer in my 30s (wahhh) and just didn’t bother much in my 40s, I want to reclaim that part of me now. Maybe not on an everyday basis, but I want to find my style now. One that works for my lifestyle but also is more than a tshirt and yoga pants on the daily. I’ve been on that quest for a while, and I have steps one and two conquered, now I am on to the harder part.

I also joined a movement from Little Truths Studio, the Analog Life Project. I’ve been listening and reading a lot about this new move back to life before all social media all the time. Like life in the 90s, the early 2000s, when we had access to the internet and social media but it wasn’t what it is now. I don’t want to give up social media and the internet, I believe it is important for access to all sorts of things, but I want to reclaim that space. I don’t want it to be a place I retreat to in order to doomscroll because I am bored or need to decompress or whatever. I want to put that energy or lack of energy in some cases, into other things. My journaling, reading, game nights, art nights, daydreaming. Puzzles and crafts. Learning to draw and paint. Pen pals and snail mail. I just don’t want to aimlessly scroll anymore. I also did a crazy thing and bought a book that is written in French. Do I speak French? No. Do I read French? No. I took French in high school, I took Latin for four years, and I took Russian in college, and I have always been pretty good at picking up languages when I try them. So, this will be something I do to decompress. Slowly, slowly translating this book. It might take me a very long time but I will do it!

I am also attempting two different reading challenges this year. The Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Book’d Out, and the Books in Translation challenge hosted by Jennifer at Introverted Reader. I think I can manage probably the smallest level of each. Maybe more! We will see. I am excited about both. I am already working on a memoir for the Nonfiction Challenge, Dinner for Vampires by Bethany Joy Lenz.

And that is it from me this morning my friends. I will leave you with some random photos, and as always, I hope that you do something today that makes you smile!

Saturday Morning Coffee Catch Up – Homeschooling and Other Things

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized7 Comments

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

Hello everyone!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Very Personal Post -May is Mental Health Awareness Month

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn metal health, Uncategorized12 Comments

Hey guys. I am always very upfront in this space about my own struggles with anxiety, and I wanted to share a very personal and serious post again (two days in a row!) I know so many people who struggle and while we all walk different paths and have different journeys and solutions it is always good to know that we are not alone in feeling this way.

2023 was very rough for me. Wyatt had a difficult year medically, and so did I. The medication I was taking to help me with anxiety ended up landing me in the hospital, and after that I was too nervous to take anything else, which ended up being NOT the best thing for me. I continued to feel worse and worse everyday, for months and months on end. I struggled to stay present in my life. I was doing all the things I needed to do, but minus the “me” if that makes sense.

I started therapy in the fall which was helpful, but that therapist was not the perfect therapist for me. In fact, she even told me at one point that she didn’t think she could help me and didn’t seem interested in scheduling new appointments. So, I stopped the visits and went back to trying to manage on my own, which was not great.

At the beginning of the year, a friend told me that her wish for us was for us to feel better this year, and control our anxiety even if that meant taking medicine. And I decided I was going to take the reins again. I tried a new, different therapist and this time, the therapist and I clicked. During my first visit she asked me though what goals I had for myself, and where I fit in in my own life. What I did for me, just me. And quite frankly, I didn’t have answers for any of this. No goals for myself. None. And as for what I did for me, the answer was the same. Nothing. Put that way, in plain sight, admitting it to myself, was eye-opening and sort of scary. My therapist began working with me on reframing my thoughts, and opening my mind up to more forward thinking about the future., to unstick my brain from where it was. She had me write a list of 101 things to do be see and experience, which I started but still have to finish – that is a lot of stuff! She encouraged me to make a journal of my victories, even tiny ones, everyday. And she told me a few very important things in a way that stuck with me and made sense to my brain.

  • That my brain is just a recording and playback device, and I need to tell it no brain, that scenario is not the only one. It might have happened that way once before, but there is more than one way this can play out.
  • My mind thinks it knows what will happen, but it doesn’t – since it hasn’t happened yet.
  • Finally, that I spend time thinking about the worst case scenario, and I need to give equal time to thinking about the best case scenario and then the most likely scenario.

These three things and telling myself to think about this when I get anxious, helped immensely. It is weird, but I don’t know everything that is going to happen even though apparently my brain thinks it does. Hmm. Lol.

That particular therapist was amazing, and I randomly found her just by going to my insurance’s app and choosing an appointment with someone. Her first name is Grace, so that is why I picked her over the others that were available. It seemed like a nice safe name, a reassuring one. I was led in the right direction because she changed my world.

I also decided to try medicine one more time. This time, my doctor and I had a very good conversation about my apprehensions and she ended up prescribing a medication that was a life-saver. She told me that all of her patients who have anxiety love it, and I was pretty skeptical. But, I told myself I was doing this, and I was all in this time. I was giving this a real try for me and for my family. When I first started the meds, I was so tired. I slept for two days. (I started on a weekend so that Billy would be home since it was a new medicine). I wanted to quit, but I didn’t. The next four days I was tired, but not to the point where I slept for two days straight. I was functioning but I did give Wyatt and I the week off of school and let him watch lots of tv, which I don’t really do. I felt super guilty but Billy told me to think of it like I was physically ill and to give myself…grace. So I listened and kept going. By the end of the week, I was no longer sleepy tired, and every day I felt better and better. I began to feel like myself again. Now, a few months in, I feel like I am back to me. I still have anxiety, obviously, but it doesn’t eat away at me constantly. I had reached a point where I turned to Billy one day and said “I can no longer live like this, and I don’t know what to do.” I knew I had to take control so that I could be the person I needed to be for him, for Wyatt – and for me. I always leave myself out of the equation, and that is one thing I have been slowly trying to do.

I went to a luncheon at Wyatt’s clinic for moms of special needs kids the other day. It was a fun afternoon away, but one thing that stuck with me was something the social worker told us all to do. She said she knows our lives are different and hard and we may not have lots of time for ourselves, but that we needed to find a few minutes everyday that are just for us. She suggested making a box that we can pull out with some items in it that comfort us and bring us some joy, and encouraged us to make time that way. Just a few minutes, somewhere in our day, for us. And lately I have been trying to make this time, these box moments although I am not doing that yet. I am taking the time to paint my nails fun colors every week. I also now have a morning and nightly ritual to take care of me, and that is my skin care routine. It may sound so weird, but self-care for me was super basic. Like if I could squeeze the time in, I would do it. Now, I am prioritizing more than a ten minute shower. Every morning and every night, I am washing my face, and now I have a whole routine I do. In the mornings, I cleanse and tone and apply hyaluronic acid and add my moisturizer and spf. At night, it changes but it also has multiple steps. And it is so helpful to my mental health. Actually yesterday, the next morning after spending time at the hospital with Wyatt, I asked Billy if he could stay with Wyatt so I could do my morning routine, even though I knew he was leaving for work. At first he said no, he had to go to work, and I started to cry. Don’t judge him too harshly though, it was a rough time for us both emotionally and we were trying to cope in our own ways. Him through work and me reaching out for my time too. I just wanted him to stay an extra ten minutes so that I didn’t need to worry Wyatt was going to vomit while I was out of the room, but his mind was elsewhere. Once he thought about it for more than ten seconds he was instantly apologetic and went and got me a towel and told me to take a shower and do my thing, that it was ok. He could be late.

So all of these things combined are helping me, in addition to my faith and church and the support I have been given from my family and friends . You all know who you are! This is my journey and I really hope that if you are out there struggling and feeling sort of hopeless, that you are not alone. I hope that you will find the path that makes you feel well again and brings you out of the fear and darkness, and I know how very hard and scary that can be, both to live that way and to take steps forward. If you feel you are ready to take that step but are unsure of where to go, talk to your doctor. Talk to someone close. Talk to a therapist. Find someone that clicks. And keep trying and don’t give up. Remember your brain does not know everything even when it is telling you it has all the answers.

A Vulnerable Coffee Catch Up

On By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP, metal health31 Comments

Hi everyone. I want to share what I have been going through the past two weeks, but first, if talking about mental health or anxiety is triggering for you, then please skip this post. I would hate to cause anyone any negativity.

So. Where I have been. Three weeks ago I was feeling good – blood pressure fantastic, mild anxiety left over from Wyatt’s surgeries but nothing terrible, my weight is good, and had A+ blood work according to my doctor. However, at that wellness visit we decided to increase my Prozac by just ten milligrams. I had been taking 10mg Prozac for years, and we thought since I was having some mild anxiety we would increase it. The doctor said it still was considered a very low dose, etc. Then things when to absolute hell.

My anxiety and fear grew with every single day. I was struggling to not just lay in bed, I wanted to hide from my own brain and thoughts. It took all of my strength to get up everyday and care for myself and Wyatt, which I absolutely did. I did the bare minimum, fed us, made sure we were safe, went to appointments, but nothing extra and for sure nothing exciting or enriching. In addition to my anxiety growing – like I was afraid to eat or walk around for fear I would have a stroke – my blood pressure just kept climbing as well. I have had essential hypertension since I was 24, it is just inherited and I am very good at tracking my blood pressure and keeping a log. However, no matter what my doctor was increasing my blood pressure meds by, it was not controlling it. By Good Friday, I was feeling out of my mind, and when Billy came home from work, I drove myself to the ER. I told them I was having constant panic attacks and that my blood pressure was insane. They monitored me for about an hour, prescribed an extra pill, told me that I was actually fine and not going to die, which I was absolutely positive I was going to and gave me some good information about my current blood pressure to help me through. I wrote that kind doctor’s words down and kept them with me.

My doctor contacted me the next day, saying that she had gotten my ER notes and was going to have the nurse manager call me the following Monday to help me find an appointment to follow up. At my follow up, my blood pressure was still high. After we talked a bit about what was going on, we realized that I had been fine up until she increased my Prozac. She thinks that there is a very good chance that the increased dose triggered a reaction in my body, like a less severe version of serotonin syndrome, which in extreme cases can be fatal. Even if it was not serotonin syndrome, Prozac is a drug that when you first start taking it or have an increase in dose, it can actually INCREASE fear and anxiety for a few weeks. So just something to realize and pay attention to. I think due to my small dose and dose increase it wasn’t as severe as it could have been. However, unfortunately for me, I have a whole lot of anxiety tied up with my blood pressure anyway, as a result of my month in the hospital while pregnant with Wyatt for pre-eclampsia, which probably exacerbated the whole situation on top of things. Yay me. So, my doctor came up with a new plan. We dropped the Prozac back down to 10mg, since I can’t simply just stop taking it completely just like that, and she put me on an entirely different blood pressure medicine. And Xanax, the lowest dose for a short time until I get through this time of transition. I am not super comfortable with that last one, but I do need it right now and don’t plan on taking it longer than I need to. I will take magnesium instead, when the time comes. She told me that it is going to take a little bit to get things (blood pressure) back to normal again, and to not expect it to be back to where it was (110/75!) in just three days. I am impatient to get back there though, so I have to fight that inclination and disappointment as well, and believe that I will get better, but it will be a process.

As for my anxiety, well, right now that is pretty good. I think that once the excess Prozac has left my system finally, I will be much better. And as for the jump scare of taking my own blood pressure, Billy and I team up. He takes it, doesn’t tell me what it is, and records it for me. He knows the parameters that our doctor gave for it, and also knows how to contact her if needed.

Mental health is such a fragile thing, sometimes. Medication can be good, but also, we need to pay attention to what our bodies are telling us. Sometimes they work and sometimes we have reactions. I never read side effects because I am a person who will automatically get them if I read them, but if I take something and feel weird, I contact the doctor and let them decide. I was nervous to write this post, so many people don’t believe in medication for mental health and look down on those who take it, think they are weak. I don’t feel that way. Your body chemicals can be out whack anywhere – brain, cholesterol, hormones, heart, what have you, and it is important to take care of yourself, and if taking a medication can help and doesn’t hurt you, then so be it. But also, if you do take something and know something is wrong, do not be afraid to bring it up to your doctor. I also think you should be able to have an open, trusting relationship with your doctor. My doctor is wonderful, she listens to me, considers what I am saying, allays my fears, and is very responsive to emails – all things that I need in a doctor.

It has been a wild few months for our family and homeschool has suffered, I haven’t been as available to my mother as I need to be, but I am managing that guilt as well. I need to take care of myself so that I can get better and get back to my normal life. I am thankfully very very blessed with supportive family and friends who are helping me through these times and hopefully I will be back to my normal self soon.

Consider this my PSA for the month! Lol. Take care of yourselves, no matter what that looks like for you!