Deirdre, Author at JDaniel4s Mom

Deirdre Smith writes/owns JDaniel4’s Mom. After twenty years as a elementary school and technology resource teacher in Northern Virginia, she became a stay at home mom in upstate South Carolina. Her blog features ways she and her 5 year old are exploring learning, crafting, creating healthy meals and living life to its fullest. Deirdre can also be found on twitter as @jdaniel4smom and on her blog's FB page. You can also check her out on Google+.

What Are Your Christmas Morning Traditions?

December 8, 2011 By Deirdre

I love holiday traditions. One of the ones I remember from my childhood is opening presents on Christmas morning as a family. Presents would be distributed into piles. My mom, two sisters, and I would each take a turn opening one of our presents. It was great to get to see what others were opening as well as have everyone watching me when it was my turn.

This year for the very first time JDaniel will be able to get out of bed Christmas morning and head downstairs to the Christmas tree all by himself. I am a little nervous about what might happen to the presents under the tree.

JDaniel climbed out of his crib only two or three times while it was in his sleeping place and that was when he was nearing his third birthday. I know many of you have children that climbed out of bed much early than that! Given that he stayed in his crib and that we didn’t need the crib for another child it seemed to be a good place for him to stay. He slept well in there and we slept well while he was in there. We all did great sleeping in the crib years. (Most of the time.)

The move to a bed without sides has changed everything. It has to lead to visits to our room during the night. I have awakened to a set of eyes staring at me at all hours of the night. Recently I found him sleeping on the floor at the end of our bed with our comforter pulled all around him.

Things have started moving around during the night at our house too. Pillows from the couch in the guest room, towels from the hall bathroom, and toys from around his room have all been found in his bed in the morning.

With Christmas just around the corner I have started having visions of Christmas presents appearing in his bedroom unwrapped and already played with. Thoughts of finding him curled up under the Christmas tree with his arms around gifts have also begun to appear along with dreams of finding his sleeping with his Christmas stocking on his foot and the contents of the stocking strewn all over his bedroom floor.

Many of you have been through this for years and are veterans of Christmas morning. I need your help to calm my mind and draw plans for successfully opening presents together on Christmas day!

How do you keep a three-year-old from getting up and beginning Christmas without you?

What are your Christmas morning traditions?

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Explaining How Santa Isn’t Everywhere to JDaniel

December 7, 2011 By Deirdre

Last year I tried to avoid emphasizing the Santa part of the holidays and really tried to focus on it being Jesus’ birthday. My sister Michelle told me that it would be impossible. “Santa is everywhere!” she said and she was right.

JDaniel became convinced of Santa after a visit to BiLo.

This year I have been presented with a new Santa dilemma. It is a dilemma that many parents around the world have probably had to deal with.

Let me share with you a conversation JDaniel and I recently had about Santa while hanging Christmas ornaments.

Me:
“Would you like to go see Santa at the Roper Mountain Christmas Festival?”

JDaniel:
“ Mom, Santa has a house in Arkansas. He can’t be at Roper Mountain.”

Me:
“We did see Santa’s house in Arkansas when we explored the little town at the bottom of Mount Magazine.”

JDaniel:
“It was surrounded by all those decorated trees remember!”

Me:
“Yes, I remember. You noticed that Santa had a back door and front door to his house.”

JDaniel:
“Are you saying he can be in both places? Is he like God?”

Me:
“No, Santa isn’t like God. Remember Santa was a man.”

JDaniel:
“Mom, he is like God really. He is everywhere just like God.”

Me:
“God is everywhere but, Santa isn’t able to be. He has to have helpers work for him in places he can’t be.”

JDaniel:
“So where is he? Is he in Arkansas or South Carolina?”

Me:
“It is hard to tell. His helpers looks just like him.”

JDaniel:
“Okay!”

Me:
“So, do you want to go see him?”

JDaniel:
“Well, Nathan ( The four-year-old that lives next door) is going to write him for me. I guess I don’t need to see him anywhere.”

We may run into Santa while we are out and about but, apparently, JDaniel isn’t interested in seeking him out. He seems content to know he is somewhere in this world.

This post is linked to Alphabe Thursday on Mrs. Matlock and Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop!

Pausing Life for a Moment- My 3 Little Ducks

December 6, 2011 By Deirdre

I loved reading MyLittle 3 Ducks maybe it is because I was one of three little ducks a long time ago. It maybe that Dana takes amazing pictures and write wonderful prose to go with them. I love getting to see glimpse into the wonderful family she is raising with her husband when I stop by. I know you will too.

When the amazing JDaniel4’s Mom asked me if I would like to write a post for her Pause life for a moment series of course I said yes! When I sat down to write the post for her I thought…

Do I pause for life?

What if something happens while I’m paused?

That was back in October.

Since then amazing things have happened that have helped me understand myself better.

Understand why I have to always be moving.

Understand why reading a book to myself or to my kiddos has always been so painful.

Understand why my writing never flows and my spelling is always awful.

I now know Dyslexia plays a huge part in all of those things and starting the process of overcoming it has changed my life and my family’s life.

Now I am able to…

Sit.

Sit with my kiddos and read to them.

Sit and listen to them read.

Sit and do crafts with them.

Sit with my husband and enjoy our time together.

Before October I never understood how precious time was.

JDaniel4’s Mom asking me to write this post came at the perfect time. Trying to write this post before I got help was painful and made me realize I never pause.

Did I even want to?

And did that make me a bad mom? (Of course not!)

Sitting down to write this post after I got help made me realize just how far I have come.

Now my answer would YES! Bring on the pause!

Pausing Life for a moment is such a gift and I am so grateful that I can now see that.

I had no idea Dana was working through this when I invited her to guest post, but I know Someone who must have placed her on my heart. I am so happy I listened to His still small voice.

Moments Captured- JDaniel at Age 3 and a Half

December 5, 2011 By Deirdre

Alison of Mama Wants This and Galit of These Little Waves are hosting a wonderful link-up called Moments Captured. This is what they asked us to do capture a moment or someone you love in words and pictures and share them.

I really loved this idea. When I first read about it last week, I knew exactly which picture I wanted to use. I had just taken it during our family reunion at Mount Magazine.

It was such fun to select the words that describe JDaniel at three and a half.

They will have their link-up open all week. I would love to see what you come up with.

Reminder: My Giving Others Christmas Challenge link is open and will be open all month. I hope you will think about joining it. All you have to do is find a way to give others Christmas and share what you have done in a post.

Giving Others Christmas Challenge and Muffin Tin Sunday

December 4, 2011 By Deirdre

There are so many in need during this Christmas season. I am hoping you will join me in giving to others in your community or beyond this holiday season.

Each week I will feature a way my family is giving to our community during the month of December. I am hoping each of you will take the time to not only give to your community, but to write a blog post about it. If you do, I would love for you to link it up below and include a link to this post or this badge.

My posts will go on Sundays, but feel free to share your giving post any day of the week that works for you. The link up will be available during the rest of the month of December and will appear on every Giving Others Christmas post.

Week One of Giving at Our House- The Mitten Tree

JDaniel’s preschool has a mitten tree set up in the lobby. We took in two pairs of mittens for the tree. At first there weren’t many mittens or gloves, but the tree is slowly getting covered.

In honor of giving mittens JDaniel had a crescent apple pie with icing in his muffin tin this week. He also had ham and cheese sandwiches on picks Two Bears Farm sent us, red grapes and green pickles.

I think the picks kind of look like Christmas tree toppers on the sandwich stacks. JDaniel loved have tiny sandwiches on sticks. His only concern was that one sandwich might not have cheese, but we found it tucked in a fold of ham. Whew!

I truly hope you will join me in giving others Christmas!

This post is linked to Muffin Tin Monday!

Read.Explore.Learn.- Joey and Jet in Space

December 2, 2011 By Deirdre

Welcome to Read.Explore.Learn.! This meme was designed to be a place for you to share the learning opportunities, crafts, field trips, and other activities you have done this week that tie into children’s books. I look forward to seeing the ways you have learned with and explored books.

Steps:

- Link your activity below.

- Please place the Read.Explore.Learn. badge on your post or create a link back to this meme.

- Please try to visit at least three of the other people that have placed links below and leave a comment. I will visit each of you and leave a kind comment.

- If you are not linking up an activity and are just visiting, please try to stop by a few of the links below.

My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

JDaniel loves to have me read Joey and Jet in Space by James Yang to him. It doesn’t contain many words, but it is filled with amazing pictures.

Joey and Jet start the book floating in space exploring together. Jet sees his bone floating by and chases it. Joey is visiting with a boy in a floating space room and doesn’t see him disappear.

Joey spends most of the book asking spacecraft, robots, and satellites if they have seen his dog. He doesn’t seem to be anywhere.

Finally, he hears the squeak of his dog and heads towards it. Hooray! He finds Jet and just in time for Mom to call over a satellite to them to tell them it is lunchtime.

When you get to see them with Joey’s mom, you find that they have been playing in his room the whole time. The whole story is just in Joey’s imagination.

What did we do?

Created a Mosaic

I bought the My First Sticky Mosaics: Transportation for JDaniel to do on the plane trip we took for Thanksgiving. He wasn’t that interested in doing it on the plane but enjoyed working on the rocket mosaic when we got home.

Rocket Launching

JDaniel made this plastic cup rocket in science class at preschool. We have spent a lot of time at home launching it over and over again.

Supplies

Paper Rocket

Two Rubber Bands

Two Plastic Cups

Directions:

1. Color picture of a paper rocket.

2. Place Four Slits in one of the plastic cups. Each pair of slits will be across from the other.

3. Tie a knot at the end of a piece of rubber band thread it through the first slit.

4. Pull the rubber band across the cup and place the slit on the other side of the cup.

5. Tie a knot in the band.

6. Repeat steps 3-5 with the remaining band.

7. Place the cup with the rocket and rubber band on top of the plain cup and push down.

8. Watch your rocket fly.

Why Deciding to Sleep at the Airport was a Bad Idea!

December 1, 2011 By Deirdre

When flew home from your family reunion on Saturday, we had a layover in Chicago. We had done the same thing when we headed to the reunion last Tuesday. In fact we had to take a shuttle from one terminal to another on Saturday just as we had last Tuesday.
When we boarded the shuttle on Saturday, JDaniel was really upset. He clung to my side and said, “If you get on this bus, you have to sleep at the airport!” I pointed out that it wasn’t the shuttle that forced us too sleep there and that everything would be okay.Thank goodness it was.
What had happened on Tuesday?
Last Tuesday we tried to make to our family reunion in Arkansas knowing that our flight in Chicago might leave without us due to a short layover time. The ticket agent in South Carolina where we live said all the flights were booked for Wednesday and if we didn’t leave on Tuesday we won’t make it to Arkansas for Thanksgiving. We decided to take the risk.
Our flight left South Carolina an hour and a half late. That meant the connecting flight left forty minutes before we landed.
After talking to an airline employee at the help desk, my husband decided we would stay at the airport instead of looking for a hotel. My husband said it couldn’t be that bad and that is what the employee said he would do.
Here are things that made it bad:
We were sent to a very busy gate area to wait for our flight out the next morning that turned out not to be the right place.
Christmas music was turned on at midnight. It played over all the other airport noises.
The air temperature is set at chilly at night.
We were reminded all night long to remember not to bring in bottles containing more than 3 ounces.
The cleaning lady assigned to our area vacuumed under the benches we were trying to sleep on and then said, “ I’m sorry!”
The television monitors replayed the Republican debate until after midnight.
A flight left for Mexico City from the gate right beside the one our three year old was sleeping in and passengers were be invited to get on the plane by sections.
Bright lights shone down on us.
A security lady decided to chat with the cleaning lady in Russian.
The rain that delayed your flight continued pound on the windows.
The thin blanket the airline gave us was better than nothing, but I did try steal a corner of my three year olds lovey and he tugged it back. My husband “borrowed” JDaniel’s teddy to use as a pillow and got away with it.
The Starbucks across from your gate opened at 4:00 a.m. to be ready for the red eye flight from San Diego to arrive at 4:30 a.m.

We hope that we never have to stay in an airport overnight again.
Have you ever spent the night at an airport?

This post is linked to Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop!

Delightfully Living in the Clouds

November 30, 2011 By Deirdre

We spent Thanksgiving at Mount Magazine State Park in Arkansas. Each family was assigned a cabin overlooking the valley below to stay in.

When I looked out the glass doors that lead to the deck our first morning there, here is what I saw. It truly looked like we would be walking on clouds if we stepped a few yards away from the cabin.

When I looked just to the left of our cabin, this glorious sight came into view. The clouds truly looked like they were glowing in the early morning light.

Looking back off the deck an hour later the sky continued to lighten up and the clouds appeared to have lost some of their puffiness. If you look carefully at the back of the picture, you can see the flat top of a neighboring ridge.

As the day went on the clouds lifted off from their perch over the valley and took flight. There were strong winds that pushed them away and kept my hair fluttering around me as I took this shot.

Even as the sky became a deeper blue the clouds stayed with us. The wind died down some and the day became warmer.

By the time we started our walk to the Mount Magazine Lodge for Thanksgiving dinner, we could look across the landscape. Our cabin is on the left-hand side of the picture.

JDaniel loved searching out bugs and other wildlife under this now vivid blue sky as we walked. We came across a dozen flying grasshoppers on our way to lunch as well as a walking stick.

Mount Magazine was a truly wonderful place to hold our family reunion over the Thanksgiving holiday. I have more pictures I will share with you later as well as the adventure we had sleeping in the airport on our way to Mount Magazine. It will be up tomorrow.

This post is linked to Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday and several Wordful Wednesday link-ups!

Pause Life for a Moment-Katydid and Kid

November 29, 2011 By Deirdre

I have been reading Katydid and Kid since I started blogging. I love her honest and heartwarming posts about family, her wonderful reviews, and fantastic giveaways. I am so honored to have her visiting here today.

Hi! I’m Kathleen from Katydid and Kid, and I’m flattered to have been asked by JDaniel4’s Mom to share my thoughts on her Pause Life for a Moment feature. As mama to two boys, aged 3 and 5 months, I certainly wish their was an actual “pause” button for my time with them; not just because they grow up so fast, but because there are times when I feel like things are spinning out of control and I need to slow down or stop.

When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I try my hardest to practice mindfulness. Following my breath, paying attention to the moment (whether good or bad), and really making an effort to participate in life helps things slow down and give me a sense of calm.

Breathing in the delicious, fleeting scent of a baby,

or delighting the joy of a preschooler

seems to make time stand still and make me forget about everything except for that moment.

Practicing mindful living sounds easy, but it’s one of the hardest things in the world; allowing your thoughts to arise and gently letting go of them is a lot more difficult than it sounds, particularly in the thick of parenting wee ones.

But when all things fail, pull out the camera!
>
Now that’s a great way to pause time. And a way to enjoy capturing a moment.