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JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

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+.

Trying to guide so, he will thrive!

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“To create a little flower is the labor of ages.”- William Blake

We planted sunflowers in a shallow plastic container so that it would be easy to see the roots form.

We moved the two small thriving plants to a bigger container so that they would grow. They had narrow stems, but seemed to be growing and reaching for the sun.

We moved them one last time into the ground. They continued to reach for the sun. They grew leaves and a small flowers.

These are the flowers a week ago.

We watered them everyday. When they started to get top heavy and droop, we provided stakes to give the support.

The taller flower still developed a crack in its stem. We taped the crack and hoped it would be okay.

Both plants withered in the Carolina sun. Both slowly lost their petals.

I took this picture on Tuesday.

They won’t be displaying their glory.

We will try growing sunflowers again. This time we will plant them directly in the soil.

I hope they will grow deep roots there. Hopefully they will grow thick enough stems to support the flowers they will grow.

The wilting flowers remind of dreams I have for JDaniel.

I so want JDaniel to have deep roots. I want him to be fed nutritionally, spiritually, and emotionally things that will help him grow towards the Son and thrive.

Each day I look back at the events from the day before. I reflect on the lessons I have learned as a mom. Sometimes I need to set aside gardening tools that are not working. Sometimes I need to prune areas that will prevent him from thriving. Sometimes I can sit pack and take in the glories of his growth.

This post linked to Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop!

Just Guys at Home (Mom is away!)

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Mama’s going to a conference called Type A!

While she is gone, we will do things the guy way!

The dishes will go in the sink after meals and there they will stay.

We will spread out all the toys and leave them out instead of putting them away.

Mom left turkey sandwiches for lunch but, I think we should go to Chick Fil-A.

Skipping nap time will be good. It can’t hurt to ask and see what Dad will say.

Mom likes routine, but dad may let the schedule sway.

Guys need variety in their lives. We really like it that way.

Have fun Mom while you are away!

Today is Guy’s Day!

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

This post is linked to Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday!

Disclaimer: I am only going to a small part of the Type A Parent Conference in Asheville. I will be leaving tonight and be back tomorrow night.  The section I am going to will have hands on workshops! I am so excited about learning new things about blogging and spending time with amazing bloggers.

Pause Life for a Moment- Love Makes Family

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Lauren of Love Makes Family is a new mom with a very dear and adorable little boy adopted from Ethiopian. I started following her blog just as she and her husband were finding out they were going to be parents. She has a easy flowing writing style that allow her to weave words around her amazing pictures..  I love to read updates on her life and learn from the her about the joy of being a mom.
Pause Life for a Moment

Hi, I’m Lauren from “Love Makes a Family.” I am so thankful for this opportunity to be a guest here at JDaniel4’s Mom.

In my short 27 years of life I have learned that it comes in seasons. There are seasons of prosperity and seasons when you look at the bills and your bank account and the numbers just aren’t working in your favor. There are seasons of joy and seasons of mourning. There are seasons of rest and seasons when you feel like one of those hamsters running just as fast as his little legs can carry him to keep that wheel spinning. I have found myself in that season lately and it’s caused me to be more intentional about pausing my life for a moment… because sometimes a moment is all you get!

In the past two years my husband and I have picked up our life with everything we built in one city and moved four hours south. We started over from scratch… new jobs, graduate school, new church, new home. In fact the only things that remained the same were the fact that we were still married to each other, our two cars, and our two cats. As soon as we arrived in the area we hit the ground running. The moving van hadn’t even arrived before I started working. John started a new job in full time ministry and seminary within a week and we were moving into a new home. We hadn’t even had a chance to get remotely settled before life took off at warp speed. I felt scatter brained, overwhelmed and exhausted for months. Wouldn’t you know that during the first few months of our transition God would call us to adopt a little boy from Ethiopia?

John at his new job.

There were all kinds of good reasons why we shouldn’t. The timing was awful. We needed to get settled. John was so busy with school. We didn’t have the money. But there was one reason we should: it was God’s plan for us and it became clear His plan was right there and then. So we put in our application and started the process. So now added to our already crazy lives was a mountain of paperwork, home study visits, adoption education, and fundraising planning and events. I was barely treading water.

Filling out more adoption paperwork

One day I just stopped everything. I felt like I was on the verge of a breakdown. So I took the day to pray and think about all the “stuff” in my life. I got a pen and paper and wrote it all down. Then I went through and circled everything that was a priority and crossed the rest out. If it wasn’t something that I had to do then it was off the list. I looked at what I had left and put it in order of priority.

Here’s what I ended up with:

1. Cultivating my relationship with Christ

2. Cultivating my marriage

3. Bringing our son home (adoption paperwork, fundraising, prayer)

4. Youth ministry (especially with the teen girls)

5. My job

I realized that the thing that I cared the least about and the thing that was the least important to me was the very thing I spent the most hours a week doing. So I went to my boss at the end of the week (after talking and praying with my husband) and I gave notice. Six weeks later I worked my last day. Again, there were plenty of reasons why this was a bad idea. After all, we needed the money to bring our son home. But God showed his blessing on this by providing every cent we needed for our adoption and for daily life.

The next several months were just as busy, but less stressful. Within 11 months of my last day at work we pulled into our driveway with our brand new five month old son. That was four months ago.

I believe that a large part of why God led me to quit my job so far in advance to motherhood was that it gave me the time to cultivate my relationship with God,and to actively pray for my son. It allowed my husband and I time together to just be the two of us. It allowed me to prepare as much as possible for motherhood so I didn’t walk straight into it completely stressed out.

The days are busier than ever now. Added to everything else in our lives is our little boy (who just started crawling), and my new blog design business. But, I’ve found a couple practical ways to pause for a moment and take a time out…

I always pray and worship while I rock my son to sleep. I do this for each nap and at bed time. I will start by praying for him and our day and then I sing worship songs to my Savior. My son loves the singing as it soothes him to sleep, and I am able to connect with my God while loving on my son. It’s refreshing and nourishing to my soul.

The second thing I do is always take the first 15-20 minutes of his naptime for myself. The temptation to run around and get chores and such done is strong. But, I need the time to pause. So I don’t answer my phone or return calls, I don’t do any work, I don’t do dishes or laundry… I do something I want to do. That may be just sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in silence. I might read a book or my Bible. I might blog or read other blogs. The important thing is that I am relaxing and not worrying about anything for just a bit. I get to do this twice a day and it makes a world of difference.

The last but most important thing I would share from my daily life is that I have found morning time with the Lord to be crucial. It sets the tone for the whole day. I know many mothers wake up before their children to get alone with God, but I need the sleep far too much! Instead, we get up when our son does and make the coffee and his bottle. He snuggles in bed with us for a good 30 minutes before we head out to the living room. At that time I get his toys out and he plays on the floor while I sit nearby on the couch with my coffee, Bible, and journal. I read a chapter of whatever book of the Bible I’m in and then I write my observations and how I can apply the truth I’ve learned to my life in my journal. Then I get out a small list I keep and pray. This puts me in the right frame of mind for my day. I am encouraged and motivated to be a Godly wife and mother. I am nourished and fed to spend the rest of the day pouring out… and by giving the day to God I am able to keep the hamster wheel spinning for one more day.

Please take a moment and visit Poppie Lane. You will be so glad that you did!

What do you do in your quiet moments?

 
 

Muffin Tin Monday- A Trip to a Farmer’s Market

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This is the last in a series on trips to special markets to explore new foods. Next week’s Muffin Tin Monday meal will be based on a book called Yankee Doodle.
The months of July and August will be reader’s choice. I am calling this series Serving Lunch with JDaniel4’s Mom. You will have an opportunity to suggest recipes I should try to use in the next week’s muffin tin. I will be selecting a couple recipes each week to feature in a muffin tin. If it is a recipe on your blog, I will be linking back to your recipe.  You may want to start scouring your cookbooks or your blog for recipes.
 This is the farmer’s market in downtown Greenville


After purchasing some peaches, we found this wonderful booth that sold pasta, sauces, and pizza dough. We bought a ball of whole wheat pizza dough. Everything they had for sale looked wonderful

 Here are our purchases. I love that one of the peaches came with a leaf still attached.

 JDaniel enjoyed having his own small bowl of dough to work with.

My crust rolling skills are very limited. The pizza came out more hat shaped than circular. It tasted wonderful. We used three kinds of cheeses and leftover shredded pork loin.

 JDaniel decided that we really needed to make a fruit pizza too. He started talking about creating one on the way back from the farmers market. It worked out well. We added blueberries and the peaches we purchased to the crust. I brushed the fruit with honey halfway through the baking process.

Here is his lunch. He had regular pizza, ranch dip for the carrots, fruit pizza, peas and carrots. Everything disappeared.
 
This post is linked to Muffin Tin Monday.
 

What fruits and vegetables are in season where you are?

 

Father’s Day Sunday

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8:00

Dad combs my cowlicks down and makes sure I look great for church.

8:15

We drive in my dad’s big car to church. I am not supposed to kick the leather seats, but sometimes I do it anyway.

8:35

Mom gets me out of the car and we start into church. Mom reaches out to hold my hand and I reach out for my dad’s. I love it when we are all holding hands.

11:00

Mom teaches my Sunday school class. Both she and I watch for the door to see if dad has arrived to pick us up.

11:25

Dad and I head to the living room to play so, lunch can be made. I love to help my mom cook lunch. Dad thinks mom can do it by herself on Sundays.

11:50

Dad takes me to the bathroom to wash my hands before lunch. Mom sometimes forgets hand washing. Dad never forgets.

1:30

Dad takes me upstairs to my room for nap time. If I ask him nicely, I bet I can get him to sleep in the extra twin bed in my room. Dad loves to take Sunday naps anyway.

3:30

I usually wake up before my dad. Sometimes I sneak out of bed and leave him in my room.

3:35

I will ask my mom for a snack. If my dad comes downstairs before I am finished, he will try to sneak some of my snack. I will need to eat it quickly.

3:45-5:45

Dad will work on paperwork, have a bible study time, and work in the yard. I love it when he does yard work. I can help with that. If he is going to work on paperwork, I will go get my bag of junk mail and work on paperwork too.

5:45

We have dinner after saying grace. I always thank God for my food. Today I will thank God for my dad too.

6:45

Dad will load the dishwasher and I will supervise. I would love to climb up on the dishwasher door so that I can look into the sink better, but my dad won’t let me. I have to stand on a stepstool to watch the process.

7:00

My mom and dad will play hide and seek with me or chase me around or play with my trucks. They say I have too much energy left and won’t go to sleep without some exercise.

8:30

Mom will take me to bed. Dad will come up and put my blanket on me. He is the one that knows how to do it right.
8:45

Dad will come and check on me. If I start talking to him, he will sit on my bed and we will have wonderful chat about the day.

9:15

Mom has already come to check on me. It will be my dad’s turn to check one last time before I go to sleep.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Father’s Day and my mom does too.

 
 

Mom Loop Displaying Independence Link Up on July 4th

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“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”

 

Denis Waitley

 

How are you children displaying independence?
 
Are they trying to do more and more things on their own?
 
Are they scaling trees in your yard or learning to tie their own shoes?
 
What are they trying to do by themselves without help?

On July 4th the moms of Mom Loop would love for you to link up posts on your children displaying their independence. Your post could be all words or pictures or a mixture of both.

You can post your link on any of the blogs listed below. We would love for you to display this button or link to any of our blogs on your post.

 


                                                                       
                                                                 

 

 

Blog Hosts are the following:
 
The Activity Mom, June Clever Nirvana, Milk and Cuddles and Quirky Momma along with me.
We are all co-community leaders of Mom Loop!
 
 
 Hope to see you there!
 

 

Instructions Needed the Right Tools to Follow

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So, I bought a wading pool for JDaniel and his friends to play in when they come over for playgroup. The directions that came in the box suggested that the pool could be blown up in 10-20 minutes by two adults.

Playgroup would arrive at my house on Monday so, on Friday I tried blowing up one section of the pool for 10 minutes and got very little of the pool inflated. I was left huffing and puffing.

I then tried using a bicycle pump to inflate the pool but, found that the nozzle won’t fit in the air hole of the pump.

Finally I called my next door neighbor to see if she had a pump that would work. She checked with her teenage son and he offered to pump up the pool using their air compressor.

Guess what? When you use an air compressor, the pool can be inflated in less than 10 minutes. I guess the directions were right if you have the right tools to make them work.

You might need the right boots to fill the pool too.

 
 
This post is linked to Mrs. Matlocks’ Alphabe Thursday. 
 
 

Have you ever has a set of directions that were difficult for you to follow?

Pause Life for a Moment- Bungalow ’56

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I first came across Bunaglow ‘56 on Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday link up. I loved her photos, her sense of humor and her joy of life. Since then I have found her on many blog lists, I guess that there are many who adore her. I hope you will be joining the throng of people that love her just as I have.

Please stop by her blog and share your thoughts on her wonderful post.

Pause Life for a Moment
Life Will Get Busier
Grandma with my trio, the day Youngest was born.

You know, they always said, “Life will get busier.”

Who were “they” you’re wondering?
Grandmas, aunties, middle aged women in the produce aisle.
Pretty much all the I women I knew who had older children.
And as I would haul the car seat (with Youngest in it) out of the vehicle while dropping off Eldest at school and Middlest at Playschool, I would mumble to myself that they mustn’t have known what they were talking about.Or at the very least, just didn’t remember what life was like with little ones.
How could anyone be busier than a mom with three little kids?
My life was chaos.
Busier?
It wasn’t possible.
Fast forward eight years, and here I sit with an almost 16 year old, an eleven year old and an eight year old.
Life is busy.
Every day seems to be busier than the last.

How could this be?

I no longer have to tie shoes or pour milk into sippy cups.
No one is clamoring at my leg to read a story or calling me to wipe a bum.
Yet I feel as though life has taken off and I’m in a race I didn’t train for.
As I pondered this hamster’s wheel I seem to be on.
I realized life seems more busy now, because it has grown outside the four walls of our Bungalow.
No longer is the busyness contained.
My children now have lives of their own.
Soccer tournaments in a city five hours away.
Piano lessons to be driven to.
Swimming lessons.
Conditioning.
Meeting up with friends.
Birthday parties.
The calendar is filled with their activities,
and The Agronomist and I share taxi duty.
I know… an old cliche.
But oh so very true.
With all the coming and going I didn’t like how our home was becoming

a weigh station where everyone dropped their things ate and slept.
I needed to do something.
They needed to stay home with me.
Homeschooling was sounding better and better.
I had always loved the little house on the prairie series.
Possibly moving to a remote Elk farm might do the trick.
But somehow I knew I might not be able to do this democratically.
So I decided to work within the parameters of our current
life.
I haven’t mastered it quite yet.
But slowly I am realizing it is in the art of grabbing the moments.

Moments can be found if you look for them.
A cup of tea as they unwind from school.
Watching a Mythbusters together before supper.
Reading a chapter of Harry Potter out loud to her even though she can read it herself.
Saying yes to cooking some cupcakes even if it is awfully close to bedtime.
I’m holding on to the moments and trying to find opportunities for more.
Because I know these busy days will be over in another eight short years.
Instead I am trying to pause life for a moment several times each day,so that rather than feeling like I’m in a race I am ill prepared for,
I can walk the course instead…
and enjoy the scenery with my family.
xoxo,

Muffin Tin Monday- A Visit to a Hispanic Market

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This week we are continue our visits to local ethnic markets. The stop this week was to a Hispanic market right here in town. It was a small store that carried groceries on one side on the store and dresses for First Communion on the other.
JDaniel had a great time exploring and selecting items to try this week.

He selected corn chips with lime, churro mix, peach nectar, and a chicken soup mix with some guidance from me.
I was a little worried he would want to help make the churros so, I made them during naptime. The idea of having him close to boiling oil made me very nervous. He partially woke up during the process. I was glad he slipped back to sleep so I could finish frying the churros and take care of the boiling oil.

He ended up with  peach nectar (not pictured), carrots with salsa, chicken soup, lime flavored corn chips, lima beans, and a few churros. I was suprise that he ate the lima beans first. I was not surpised that he headed for the churros second.
JDaniel loved the peach nectar and asked if we could get it again.
What is your favorite Hispanic food?

 
 
 
 

Read.Explore.Learn- My Big Boy Bed

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Welcome to week two of The Read. Explore. Learn Challenge! 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-in to children’s books. I look forward to seeing ways you have learned with and explored books.Remember each post counts as an entry in the challenge.

Steps:

  • Link your activity below.

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

    Read.Explore.Learn badge

  • 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:
Read.Explore.Learn badge
My Big Boy Bed by Eve Bunting is one of the books JDaniel added to our library sack last week. It is the wonderful tale of a little boy who is moved to a big boy bed when he has a new baby brother.
Mom goes out of her way to make the new bed a wonderful home for sleep. She buys special sheets and a new quilt for the bed along with a special book called The Little Fat Book of Fire Trucks for bedtime reading.
There are several benefits to sleeping in a big boy bed covered in this sleepy time tale. One you can jump on your bed. (JDaniel isn’t allowed to jump on his.) Two you can hide under the bed and pretend to be a dog. (JDaniel loves to pretend he is a worm dog. What is a worm dog? He is a dog that has worms as pets.) Three there is more room for toys, books and blankets. (JDaniel has billions of toys in bed now.) Four you can get out of bed whenever you want that is until your parents hear you and make you get back in bed.
JDaniel thought this book was hilarious. I bet your newly transitioned big boy or girl bed sleeper will too.

What did we do? Decorating A Clock 

JDaniel has a new found freedom now that he sleeps in a big boy bed. He loves to get up early and check on JDaniel3 and I to see if are awake. It would be wonderful he he woke up at 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning, but most mornings in is earlier than that.
I thought it would be a good idea to give him a time reference that we would place beside his clock in the morning. (Yes, he has a manual clock in his room.)
Before would decorate my clock he had to draw a robot on a plate.

When he finally agreed to work on the clock plate, he would only write my name. I was impressed that part of the scribble looks like an M.

He woke up and started calling for me at 6:15 this morning. I don’t know if the clock reference made a difference or not.

‘

This post is linked to Feed Me Books Friday, Link and Learn,  We Play and It’s Play .

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