Sending Sunshine

*I did not come up with this idea on my own.  Once again, I saw it on Pinterest, but then I modified it.

I have a friend who is going through a hard time right now, so I wanted to do something to cheer her up.  I saw the idea of "sending sunshine" on Pinterest and thought it looked like a fun and relatively inexpensive idea.  The actual task is not hard:  I found yellow things and put them in the box.  But, it was fun keeping my eyes peeled for yellow things and relating them to my friend.  I also had an Amazon gift box that was blue on the outside and yellow on the inside and it was the perfect size.  In the end, here's what it looked like and here's what I did:

The blue box has yellow post-it notes that say, "I know you've been feeling blue lately, so I'm sending you some beautiful sunshine to cheer you!  Smile!"

 

Then when you open the box, this is what you see:

 

And here's what inside: 

 

A box of tea with a note that says, "Sip some tea and think of me." ($2.00)

A box of lemonade with a note that says, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." ($2.50)

A glow stick with that says, "When life gets dark, make you're own light."  ($1.00)

Earrings from our local farmer's market ($2.00)

Sunflower wine stopper with a note that says, "Have some wine and unwind (and even whine if you want!) ($3.00)

Travel wallet ($2.00)

Juicy Fruit ($1.00)

Starburst  ($1.00)

Burt's Bees Chapstick  ($2.50)

Nail Polish ($1.00)

A scented candle called "Day's End" ($3.00)

 

Overall, around $20.00 for this fun package (if I estimated correctly.)  The great thing about this gift idea is that it can be modified to fit whomever, but the idea is still the same.  Give peanut M&Ms and Butterfingers if the person is more of a chocoholic.  (I didn't want the chocolate to melt since I am mailing this.)  I definitely plan on doing this again.  It was fun to have the girls help me too.  This could also work with other colors too, depending on the situation (perhaps red for Valentine's Day or "Orange you glad its..." or maybe even green things related to money."  The ideas are up to you and your creativity! 

Getting Crafty with Maps!

I don't consider myself to artistic, but I do consider myself to be creative and crafty (and clever, if I don't say so myself.)  So lately I've been getting crafty with old maps that I found while cleaning out the van. These maps had been in the side door pocket since my grandparents owned the van.  One of the maps was a 1985 map of Ohio, so I didn't really feel bad using them.  But let me back up a minute.  This all started because I wanted to make a thank you gift for the secretary at my school who has 4 sons living in 3 different states.  She is close to her children even though they are now grown and scattered all over the country.  After some thought, I came up with this idea:

 

First I had to borrow a road atlas to cut the states.  (Thanks, Sarah!)  I painted a canvas and then mod podged the three states in which her sons live.  Then on the hearts I wrote "Far apart, but close in heart."  This was so fun that it got me thinking of other things I could make (and it made me start looking for other maps!) 

 

This is a gift for my cousin.  I cut out the states from which she and her husband were born, as well as the state they met, and now the state that they live in and have had their children in.  I added "He" "She"  "Us" and "We" respectively.

And finally, I've gone a little crazy and made a ton of bookmarks from maps!  I had fun coming up with clever sayings that relate reading to taking a trip.  These are just a sample:

 

It has been so fun to be creative and I can't wait to make more.  I have a few other ideas swimming around in my head.  I'll make custom orders if people are interested!  :)  I'm loving the summer and the fact that I have time and energy to make things again!  And I love making them for others.  Hopefully this will inspire others to get crafty as well!

Possible Blog Titles

Since I'm planning to write/blog more (writing to me means fiction, where as blogging is me ranting and rambling) I thought about possible titles for this blog besides "The Waisanen Family" because, let's be honest, I'm the only one that writes here and although I'd love to have a super-awesome, organized, visually stunning blog, with pictures and activities and recipes, I'm not there yet.  In the meantime, I could change the name of the blog to better reflect what this blog is all about.  So here are some possible titles, as well as their pros and cons in no particular order:

1.  "This Blog Will Offend You"
Pros:
This is not because I think I'm an offensive person.  I don't usually swear (unless I've had a few or it's been a really bad day.)  I like this title because I will have stated upfront that I could possibly say something that you may not like or agree with.  If I want to be perfectly honest and frank about topics (mostly about parenting, but you know, other things too) I may write something that you don't like because you don't agree with me.  And that's ok.  I just wanted you to know that you may be offend.  And as long as we can still be friends, great!
Cons:
I don't like being negative.  And don't like it when people are mad at me.  I can say some really snarky things when I'm annoyed and I don't want this to become a place to complain so this title may not work. 

2.  "Two Sides of Every Coin"
Pros:
From the moment I became a parent I realized quickly that there are two sides to every decision that we make.  Breast feeding vs. bottle feeding.  Crying it out vs. co-sleeping/comforting every time the child wakes up.  Making your own baby food vs. store bought.  The list goes on and on and on.  And every parent is extremely passionate about their decision on each of these matters.  I still lie in bed trying to sort through every possible outcome in my head, worrying about if I am making the right parenting decision about something.  But, as I've realized more and more, there are two very different (often opposite) sides of each situation, but that doesn't mean that one is right and one is wrong.  They are just different.  And they probably have their own pros and cons lists to them.  So I'd like to write about both sides of the issues that I facing, because I think it's important to be open minded and understanding about other people's situations and circumstances.

Cons:
This requires me to write diligently and I'm not too great at that right now.  I also don't want this to become a forum for debate where people become heated and angry.  Again, I'm not a negative person and I don't like it when people get riled up about things.  Plus, that is not my primary purpose of the blog, so I guess this title won't work.  But, it's an interesting prompt that I could use for a few posts down the line...

3.  Emusings
Pros:  This is the combination of my name and "amusing."  I created this little gem years ago (I even played around with fonts and possibly trademarking it.)  I like this title because I think it reflection of myself.  I like to think that I have a good sense of humor.  I also like the reference to "musings" which means contemplation or reflection which is the point of the blog. (But then again, if I wanted to make that reference should it be spelled "Emmusings"?)

Cons:  I hate it when things are spelled wrong just to be funny.  (Please Kwik Trip - what the heck?)  And I have actually used "Emusing Creations" as my seller's permit name (or on the back of some cards and Shutterfly items I've made.)  So it's kind of like my "brand." 

So, we'll see actually takes.  I would like to revamp my blog with cool tabs for various categories of stuff, but again, that takes time and effort.  In the meantime, thanks for reading this (whatever it's called.)

Little Nudges, Tiny Steps, and Leaps of Faith

It's been an extremely long time since I've blogged or written anything more than e-mails to parents (which aren't that fun to write.)  But, I know that the only way to be a writer is to write. To write often.  And to write without editing oneself.  Because even as I write I'm thinking about how it should sound and how it could sound better, etc, etc, etc rather than just letting the words fall on the page like raindrops falling on the sidewalk. 

So here's what I've been thinking...  The past few weeks/months I've been pleasantly surprised by receiving royalty/consignment checks in the mail for my book.  Now, to be fair, these books have been out in bookstores for months (years) but it seems that all of a sudden, I'm getting paid.  Don't get too excited - these are not large amounts by any means.  But, I'm not going to complain about unexpected money. 

In addition to money in the mail (which is always fun) I received a letter from the Highlights Foundation about writing workshops that they hold in Honesdale, PA.  While I wasn't exactly invited to attend with all expenses paid (I wish!) it was cool that because of my experience with Highlights, I was somehow put on a list to receive this information about all of the awesome writing workshops with serious authors at a beautiful barn in Pennsylvania.  (Kind of like Walden Pond.) 

Most recently (as in, a few days ago) I received another e-mail from Highlights replying to a few ideas I submitted a long time ago (probably last summer.)  They are interested in possibly buying a few of my activities - provided I make some adjustments, corrections, and resubmissions.  Again, nothing for real yet, but they are interested and gave me positive feedback (heck - any feedback at all is great!) 

All of these things feel like tiny nudges that perhaps I should be doing something else with my career.  This year has been one of the most difficult and trying years of my professional career and personal life.  I have questioned whether I am cut out to be a teacher these days.  Things have changed so much since I was last in the classroom.  Having two kiddos is exhausting, but having a full-time job AND two kids is even more exhausting.  Compounding the problem is the fact that middle school behavior and toddler/preschool behavior are exactly the same.  The only difference between age 2 and age 12 is the number 1.  Seriously.  I deal with sassy behavior at school and then sassy behavior at home and I'm just done. 

So I look at all of these little these things that have been happening with my writing and I think, "Well, is this God's way of nudging me in this direction?"  Because I'm not that good with reading signs from God.  Little nudges are hard to decipher.  It's too bad God doesn't use gigantic signs like he used to in the Old Testament.  I couldn't miss a talking, burning bush or a giant hand writing on the wall.  I'm also not good with taking risks.  I'm just not a risk taker.  I don't like risks.  I don't like not knowing what's going to come next.  I don't like having things not planned.  Sometimes when people start whole new careers they literally quit their previous job and take a leap of faith that their new job will work out.  I don't know if I can do that. 

Perhaps I'll just start with tiny steps.  After June 11 I will no longer be employed (my teaching contract was only a one year thing.)  I will continue to look for teaching positions in the upper elementary grades, but in the meantime I plan on writing and resubmitting and applying for a scholarship for the Highlights Foundation workshop.  There's also a contest in Guideposts magazine that I'm considering.  And I plan to write.  And write.  And take small baby steps and watch out for other little nudges that God gives me.  Because even in the tiny steps and little nudges, I have faith that things will work out they way they are suppose to.

Seriously, Cinderella!

It's been a long time since I've blogged, but we're finally, FINALLY getting over being sick.  We're still not sleeping, but think that's my life for the next few years.  Oh well - this blog isn't about that.  This blog entry is about writing - my writing in particular.  I need to do more of it actually.  And I need to share it with others.  Why?  Because I can get valuable feedback to learn what works and what doesn't.  Of course I love to hear how great things are, but more importantly, I need to hear what works and what doesn't.  I really want to publish another book (it's quite addicting) but I don't have anything finished that I feel is even worthy of considering.  And I have lots of ideas - I just don't take the time to fully develop them. 

So this piece, titled "Seriously, Cinderella" is one of the very first writings I did last summer when I kicked off this whole "being a writer" thing.  The idea just came to me and I literally just stopped what I was doing and sat down and wrote it out.  When Andy came home from work that I day I could barely contain myself because I was so excited about it and thought it was amazing.  Of course I read it way too fast and Andy thought it was good, but he was in the middle of making dinner and didn't really have time to be overly excited about it.  And in any case, what was this piece of writing for?  What was I going to do with it?

I shared it with my writer's club, which was fun.  And they enjoyed it.  So I kept editing and revising it to make it better.  (The ending had me stuck for quite awhile.)  I thought about the narrator's perspective and added a few more details about each girl to make the story more complete.  I had other people read it too, for other opinions.  And then I submitted the piece to a few different  magazines for consideration.  And then I waited to hear back.

And I was rejected.  :)  Not a single place accepted it.  Not that I was really surprised, because it doesn't really fit any sort of genre.  But I was sort of bummed, because I thought it was good.  My dreams of being published were slightly diminished.  But then I thought, so what?  I can still have it "published" - all that means is that I share it with others and have them read it.  So here it is on my blog for you to enjoy. 

After you read it, let me know what you think.  I want to know if you "get it."  ;)

So, without any more ado - I present:  "Seriously, Cinderella"

Dear Diary,

                I’ll tell you one thing, diary, at my school, Castle High, the drama has already started in finding a date to the prom.  This year’s theme is something ridiculous like “Happily Ever After.”  And people are going crazy trying to find dates!  I mean, even Stephanie the biggest bookworm in the school has a date!  To be fair, Stephanie is rather beautiful in an unassuming way, but she spends most of the time with her nose in a book or practicing French, so even though most guys want to date her, she’s too oblivious to even know she’s being sought after.  Not that I’m jealous or anything because have you seen her boyfriend?  He’s HUGE and the star wrestler for our high school wrestling team, but he can barely use a fork or spoon in the cafeteria.  I think I’ve only heard him grunt his answers in class when called on.  Plus he’s got a full grown beard – and he’s only in the tenth grade!  They say his nickname is “Beast.” 

                Then there’s Janet.  She has so much crap piled in her locker, it’s starting to attract mice; I think I’ve seen her talking to them, but who knows. She doesn’t have too many friends and her step-sisters aren’t exactly the nicest people in the world.  But she lucked out finding her man. Actually, her man found her.  It happened after the homecoming girls’ basketball game.  She dropped her stinky, sweaty, hot-off-her-foot shoe right in front of the rival team’s fan bus and the star player from their varsity team picked it up with his bare hands and gave it back to her with this ridiculous grin on his face like he just found the holy grail or something.  I wanted to barf, but it could have been due to the smell of diesel and sweat as the rest of us, all gross from the game and upset from our dismal defeat, stared at her in the parking lot.  Of course Janet and Daniel are now dating even though they live in different cities.  At least Daniel can drive (he finally passed his driver’s test) so he won’t have to take the bus anymore.  I hear Janet has a midnight curfew and that her step-mother is not happy if she’s late.

                And of course there’s Marybelle.  She’s practically narcoleptic and falls asleep in every class!  I have no idea why any of our teachers haven’t caught on to this yet, but she manages to get away with it.  Well, one day she fell asleep in history class (which isn’t that weird since half the class is asleep at any given moment because Mr. Kingly is sooooo boring) when  - BAM!  Marybelle fell out of her chair!  No joke!  She hadn’t fully awaken from her last class – home ec, where I think they were using sewing machines of all things – and was so out of it that she fell asleep before Mr. Kingly even began his lecture.  She landed with a huge thud on the floor and everyone jumped up and surrounded her.  When she came to, she locked eyes with Martin (who has eyes like a basset hound) who started shouting that he was certified in CPR (which is kind of silly since we all are as it was required in health class) and to stand back because he might need to perform mouth to mouth.  Gross.  Please.  I don’t if it was due to head injury or just blurred vision, but Marybelle, who couldn’t resist those puppy dog eyes,  then announced that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen and they have been inseparable ever since.  A pair of star-cross-eyed lovers.

                Even Audrey has a boyfriend, which is hard to imagine since she spends most of her time with seven short, nerdy guys from the stage crew who spend more time sweeping and hanging out in dark theatres than in the daylight.  And she’s not even dating one of them!  Nope!  She managed to snag the only straight guy in the drama club who plays the leading man in almost every play.  Apparently there was an incident involving food poisoning in the cafeteria – something about bad fruit.  I don’t know why anyone would eat cafeteria food anyway.  One of those lunch ladies is seriously creepy looking and I wouldn’t trust her with my food.  Anyway…Audrey ate some, got really sick, and had to be hospitalized.  Henry – the drama club stud – was in the hospital himself, not as a patient, but as a volunteer (yeah, he’s that perfect.)  He was said to have been feeding her applesauce when she groggily muttered, “I love you,” (or it could have been “Who are you?”  Hard to tell with all the meds she was on.)  And that was it: love at first bite.

                Seriously, diary, I’m over this lovey-dovey stuff. It’s time to get serious.  Does society think that I’m sitting around here waiting for Prince Charming to come and rescue me like I’m some Bambi-eyed princess?  Those girls may get the guy in the end, but then what?  They live “happily for right now” until they find someone more interesting?  And then the drama repeats itself.  Lame.  That’s why I don’t want to be the nice girl.  I’m more interested in who’s spiking the punch or spiking a volleyball than who’s hooking up with whom.  Don’t get me wrong, diary.  I’m going to prom.  But while those girls will be wearing their pastel ball gowns, I’ve picked out a slammin’ slinky, sequined black dress (that almost looks like scales) that shows off the dragon tattoo on my shoulder blade.   And who needs a date when I’ve got my iPhone that when asked, “Siri, who’s the hottest, coolest chick at Castle High” always replies, “You.  Obviously.”  Gotta go - I have some chemistry homework to finish.  We’re doing some wicked cool labs in class right now.  Later!

-Meredith

Ressurrection Eggs

 

I will admit that I enjoy going a bit over the top with holidays.  I like to eat themed food and make fun crafts and decorate according to the season.  But - I do believe in celebrating holidays for what they truly mean.  Especially holidays such as Christmas and Easter.  And as wonderful and essential as the Easter story is to the Christian faith, it is extremely difficult to explain to young children.  Disucssing death is hard enough - but then adding ressurrection is even more confusing (even to adults!)  Not to mention the whole gruesome manner in which Jesus died - not exactly rated G material.  So, last year I tried to come with with a simplified version of the Easter story that I could used to help Lucy understand why we were really celebrating Easter (not just hunting for eggs and candy.)  I created Ressurrection Eggs.  Now again, I know that this is not an orginial idea - you can find similar things all over Pinterest - but I started with just 6 eggs for now and plan to expand my set as Lucy and Hattie grow and mature. 

 

I used 6 plastic Easter Eggs (different colored and numbered)

1 egg containter to hold the eggs

A children's Bible to use as a guide to read the Easter Story

 

Egg 1:  I started with Palm Sunday, so in egg number one I put a palm leaf I made out of paper.  You could use a fake leaf, an actual palm piece, or something else that represents the palm branches waved at Jesus on Palm Sunday.  Make sure you have enough palm branches for each child to have one.  Have your child shout, "Hosanna!  Hosanna!  Hosanna in the highest!" as they wave their palm branches.

Egg 2:  In this egg I put a cracker or small piece of bread to represent the Passover meal (or communion.)  I wait to put the crackers in the egg until right before we plan to open the egg, so that they don't get gross.  Again, be sure to include enough pieces of cracker/bread for each child (or have extra nearby) so that they all can participate.  Have your child say, "We remember you, Jesus" as you eat the cracker/bread.

Egg 3: In this egg I included a small thorn and a small paper with a prayer to represent Jesus and his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane.  Have your child say, "We are sorry, Jesus" to represent asking for forgiveness. 

Egg 4:  In this egg I put a mini cross.  Have your child say, "Thank you, Jesus" as they hold the cross.

Egg 5:  This egg contains a rock to represent the rock rolled to close the tomb of Jesus.  Have your child say, "It is finished" and roll the rock across the floor. 

Egg 6:  This egg is empty to represent the empty tomb!  Have your children shout, "He has Risen!  Alleulia!  He has risen indeed!"

 

There are other ideas you could include as your expand your set:

 

A nail with red paint



A die to represent when the guards cast lots for Jesus' clothes.

3 dimes to represent the 30 pieces of silver Judas was paid for betraying Jesus. 

Again, there are plenty of ideas out there on Pinterest, but I just started with the basics (and easier to explain/less offensive pieces first.) 

 

 

Lucy loved this last year and I'm excited to bring it out again this year as she is older and can understand even more about the amazing grace we have been given.  I'm excited to introduce this tradition to Hattie (who was a little too young for this last year.) We are bombarded with candy, presents, decorations, and all sorts of other distractions that can make us forget why we are celebrating in the first place. I hope this helps your family celebrate the true reason for Easter in your home.  Happy Easter!

 

 

Crafternoons at the FDL Public Library

Hello!  Have I mentioned how much I love my public library?  I love the children's section and storytime and I love that you can rent movies free for a week.  But I especially love Crafternoons at the Library!  Once a month the library hosts an afternoon craft session.  Last December I made a wreath out of book pages.  Today I made coasters out of Scrabble tiles.  So fun!  The crafts are different each month and the best part - they are free!  All you have to do is register to attend!  I love it!  Each craft only takes a couple hours at the most and all the supplies are provided.  Today I made these three coasters in about and hour and fifteen minutes.  Just enough time to get out of the house and do something fun for me - by myself!  I had a ton of fun making these, although I probably won't be making more, as I like my Scrabble game and I'm not willing to use the salvage the pieces yet.  Apparently this craft is super popular on Pinterest right now, so Scrabble tiles are a bit hard to find.  In my third coaster you can see that I was running out of letters (this was after everyone at the event had already made two coasters each) so I had to use a W as an M.  It works.  :)  Hope this inspires you to do a bit of crafting of your own.  Oh - and next month the library is making decorative (indoor) birdhouses out of old children's books!  I'm excited!

 

P.S.  Turns out - Hattie must have had an actual stomach virus this time, because Lucy woke up sick this morning.  No actual puke, just dry heaves and a fever.  She's doing ok, but has already taken 2 naps - which definitely means she's sick!  On the plus side, she has enjoyed watching "Gnomeo and Juliet" about 100 times today.  I guess there has to be some perks about being sick.  The bad news - our St. Patrick's Day Party (tomorrow) has been cancelled.  Oh well.  Such is life.  We'll be ok!  Thanks to all of you who shared love and encouragement from the last post.  I'm doing fine.  Things always seem worse when I'm overtired.  But I appreciate all the love!  Thank you!