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JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

Sensory Tubs Stress Me Out!

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I yearn when I see sensory tubs on sites like Counting Coconuts and Totally Tots to create them for JDaniel. The moms add all kinds of wonderful thematic objects for their children to explore to household items like rice, sand or dry beans. There are Easter and spring related tubs all over the learning blogs right now.

JDaniel loves to dig and explore. He would love to find hidden objects in a bin I thought when I first discovered them. I decided I really had to make him one so I did.

I gathered rice and a few object to hide in the bin. Following the directions about sensory bin play I placed a tablecloth under the bin and declared to JDaniel that his was the area the rice would need to stay in. It was okay if it came out of the bin, but it needed to stay on the cloth. The other moms said this would keep the mess in one area.

Someone forgot to mention that my son would think it was fun to see how faraway the rice could get from the tablecloth before his mom announced it was time to put the bin away. The activity wasn’t supposed to be stress out mom and it get rid of the bin it was supposed to be enjoy exploring it.

I decided I needed to rethink this idea. Maybe larger objects would be better. I wouldn’t be stressed out about all the rice I kept finding all over the kitchen for days and JDaniel would get to take part in this wonderful learning opportunity that children across the web seemed to enjoy.

Before I could plan a bin, JDaniel got a hold of birdseed I had placed in a plastic tub with some vases while cleaning out the space under the kitchen sink. He had a wonderful time with the birdseed. It went everywhere including into the vases. Pouring is a basic life skill. He was learning something I thought as I scrubbed under the sink trying to ignore the pinging of the birdseed across the tile floor. I was reminded when I finished under the sink that sweeping is a life skill I will continue to get a lot of practice at.

I finally planned a tub using noodles in the bin and some scoops and construction equipment. He loves construction equipment! I decided noodles were big enough objects to find and clean up. JDaniel played with it a little. He didn’t really get interested in it until his friend Bryce came over and decided he liked it. Maybe playing in tubs just isn’t his thing.

This has led me to an epiphany. I want to be a relaxed mom that doesn’t break into a sweat when I find rice, birdseed and noodles all over the kitchen, but I probably am not that mom. Sensory tubs just stress me out.

I am going to keeping trying to work on this quirk in my personality. It may require playing classical music in the background while sipping on a tall glass of sweet tea to do it, but I do want to be able to have JDaniel enjoy super messy activities and not worry about the clean up.

This link is connect to Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday. It is Alphabet Soup Week.
 

Tissue Box Challenge Begins April 17th

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Do you have tissue boxes sitting in cabinets waiting to be reused and recycled? The Activity Mom and I have wonderful opportunity of for you to celebrate Earth Day, create something with your children using tissue boxes and win a prize. We are calling it the Tissue Box Challenge.
How does it work?
  • Reuse a tissue box to create something fun with your children.
  • Create a post about your creation that includes a link to the Tissue Box Challenge or the challenge badge.

Tissue Box Challenge

  • Share your post on the Tissue Box Challenge linkup between April 17th –April 22nd.
  • Our wonderful judge Maggy Woodley of Red Ted Art will select a first, second and third prize winners.

 

What are the prizes?

The first prize winner will receive a learning kit from Time for Tots.

The second and third prize winners will win book collections from Tiger Tales Books.

 
We can’t wait to see what you create!
 

Savoring Early Spring Before Pollen

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I lay on the lush green grass in our yard

With my three year old leaning against my legs

Soaking in the sunlight

Staring at up at the white fluffy clouds

Each viewing different images in our imagination

One sees a dragon

One sees a seahorse

Both sure that their answer is true

We savor this moment in early March

When we can spend moments together outside

In a world just coming alive

Soon we will be cloistered inside

Away from the pollen that will coat

The outside world blooming with life

To be outside would lead to suffering and despair

My small son would have watery red eyes

His nose would drip endlessly and bumpy red rashes would cover his skin

While inside we will treat the side effects of the outside world

Remembering the joys of laying outside in the sun

Watching fluffy white clouds float by

Hoping that by summer we will have relief.

JDaniel has had allergic reactions to pollen and several other spring related things outside since he was a baby. He takes medicine and has nebulizer to help him through the spring and early summer. We do spend time outside on low pollen days. It is just hard to have to tell him that there are days we just can’t play outside. Those are the days we go to the library, invite friends over to play, go to the children’s museum, and pretend play at home.

We are hoping that he outgrows these allergies.

 
This post is linked to Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop. The prompt is a poem about hope.
 
 

Muffin Tin Monday- Saint Patrick Needs Fruit

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Saint Patrick is weary from chasing all those snakes out of Ireland. His eyes are bulging from lack of sleep. His hair is need of a red dye job. It has gone turkey colored beige due to the snake removal stress. Pat’s lips are chapped from having to outside in the chilly night air searching under rocks for the slithery animals Ireland no longer wants.

What Saint Patrick needs are a great fruit salad and a wonderful night’s sleep!

JDaniel really wanted a turkey sandwich to go with his fruit salad in his muffin tin. Turkey doesn’t make the most attractive hair, but St. Patrick and JDaniel both got turkey anyway.

Saint Patrick also got a reward for the hard work he did in the form of Sweet Hearts. JDaniel gets them for peeing in the potty and Patrick got them for snake removal.

 
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Very Valued Neighbor Takes The Cake

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Last Saturday was JDaniel’s third birthday. I asked him what he wanted to do for the day. Did he want to go to the children’s museum or a bouncy place? Was the library where he wanted to go? He announced he wanted to stay home and have the little boy next door come to play.

I got on the phone and called next door to see if Bryce was available to play. Bryce was more than available his mom told me. She would slip his shoes on and send him across the driveway as soon as she hung up the phone.

No sooner had I told JDaniel that Bryce was coming over than the doorbell rang. Both boys were running around the living room before I could close the front door.

They had the best time exploring all the birthday toys JDaniel had received. They laughed and talked silly baby talk like Ming Ming from the Wonder Pets in JDaniel’s new indoor tent. We played a Curious George Memory game and a fishing game together. The two boys had a wonderful morning pretending to drive construction vehicles all over JDaniel’s room.

Right before lunch time I announced that Bryce was going to have to go home for lunch. He is a super picky eater and doesn’t like anything I have at my house to eat. “Well, I could just eat chocolate cake for lunch,” he informed me. Bryce had been at JDaniel’s birthday party on Friday morning and had eaten only chocolate birthday cake for lunch.

I informed him that chocolate cake would make a good snack after JDaniel took a nap. He quickly asked if he could come back for that. “That would be fine,” I told him.

Bryce headed home after I called his mom and told her that he was heading back across the driveway to wait for JDaniel’s nap to end.

At about four o’clock I got a phone call from Bryce’s dad. “You won’t believe this,” he said, “Bryce took a nap today right after lunch. (Bryce usually refuses naps.) He says that earns him chocolate cake at your house. Is that true?”

“It sure does!” I informed him. “JDaniel is just waking up from his nap and he wants cake too. I would love serve them both cake,” I replied.

We are so blessed to have Bryce right across the driveway. He and JDaniel have the best time playing together and eating chocolate cake.

 
This post is linked to Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday and The Writing Workshop. 
 

Pause Life For A Moment- My Take

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Pause Life for a Moment
 
Have you ever had a moment when you wanted to pause life for a moment and rethink your response to an event or a person? Has life ever caused you pause due to illness or traffic or a family situation? Have you ever paused your life to step out of the hustle and bustle to pray or meditate or just rest?

 

 I will be hosting a wonderful series of guest posts about Pausing Life for a Moment. Each guest poster will have their own take on what that phrase means to them. I am so excited that they will be sharing their thoughts and lives with you. Each has had an impact on this blog in one way or another. I will be sharing a little bit about how they have changed my life and the life of the blog above their posts each week.

Before they share their thoughts, I thought I would start the series off with mine.

Last week was my turn to host playgroup. I haven’t hosted in several months. There are eleven moms in playgroup now. It is usually several months until there is a need to volunteer your house for a group time.

Each week we RSVP on a discussion board as to whether we will be able to make playgroup that week. It can really vary from week to week as to how many moms and toddlers you have at your house.

On Sunday night I checked to see how many people had RSVPed that they were planning to come to playgroup. Seven moms had indicated that they were coming and three hadn’t decided whether they were coming or not. Monday morning at eight o’clock the same numbers appeared on the discussion board.

I started to panic about the amount of food I had prepared for the moms. Each week the host provides a snack for the moms. The children all bring a bag lunch filled with foods their moms know they will eat. I had a pot of vegetarian chili simmering and had planned to make cornbread. This just didn’t see like enough for 7-10 moms.

I quickly vacuumed the living room floor one last time and fled to the grocery store down the street. Literally it took me five minutes to get there from my house. JDaniel was happy to jump in the car and go to the store. He loves the free cookies they give away in the bakery.

Once the cookie had been obtained, I quickly grabbed a package of slice and bake cookies, some raw veggies, a container of dip, and two bags of tortilla chips. I was in and out of the store in less than fifteen minutes.

When I got home, I still had thirty minutes before the moms could start arriving. Moms of toddlers or the moms of toddlers in our group tend to be at least twenty minutes late.

I glanced at the answering machine as I dumped the tortilla chips in a bowl. It showed that there was a new message that had been left. After throwing the empty chip bag in the trash, I pushed the listen button on the machine. It was a message from one of the moms. “Some of us have decided to go to a park today. It really looks like it is going to be pretty. If no one shows up at your house and you want to meet us that would be great.”

I hit the button again and relistened to the message. It didn’t seem to make sense. Why were people going to a park instead of coming to my house? I checked the discussion board for the playgroup again to see if it held any answers to my question. There wasn’t an answer. There was just clarification as to how many moms I now had coming to my house. The number of moms now RSVPing yes was five. There was also the invite for all the moms to meet at the park as an alternative.

At first I was livid! Why had I just rushed off to the store? If I had stayed home and received the phone call I would have know I had more than enough for the moms coming.

When the other moms started to arrive, they questioned what was happening to. Why were they being asked to choose where to spend their morning instead of just going to playgroup at one location?

As we started to play upstairs in JDaniel’s room and try to give all our children lunch at the same time, my house suddenly felt a little crowded. What would I have done with all those moms and five other children?

I stopped and paused life for moment. I looked at situation unfolding in my house. The decision made by some of the moms to go to the park had been a blessing. God had sent the right number of moms and children to my house. I needed set my ego aside and realize this wasn’t about me. It was about moms getting to break cornbread together and watch our children learn to play together. It was about getting to enjoy each of the moms that had come and get to interact with each child. I never would have been able to do that with thirteen more people at my house.

I didn’t write this post to have any of you comment that the park initiating mom was horribly insensitive. This isn’t a poor JDaniel4’s Mom post. This isn’t a post written have you think I am now mad at these moms for choosing to be somewhere else. I am not mad instead I am grateful. This is post written to share with you what I learned when I paused life for a moment and looked at it through His eyes.

I like His view much better.

 

 
 

 

How Has The Blog Changed In A Year?

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This time last year JDaniel4’ Mom was in a totally different place than it is this year. Just has JDaniel has grown and learned new things since he turned two this time last year the blog has done that too.

When I started the blog, I really hadn’t spent time exploring other blogs and setting measurable goals for its success. I just started blogging to build community with other people. I wrote to a weekly theme because as a teacher I had taught to one. Posts were about great deals I found of the web, lessons I was learning as a mom, finger plays, craft, recipes, and anything else that came into my mind. This time last year the blog was nine months old and I was still in blogging niche limbo.

I did finally find a couple of memes to join. I visited everyone that linked to each of them. Visiting people’s blog would draw traffic I had read so I visited. Most of JDaniel’s naptime was spent visiting.

After awhile I sought a group that I could interact with and grow as a writer by being a part of it. Thank goodness I came across posts linked to Jenny Matlock’s Alphabe-Thursday, The Writer’s Workshop and a few other writing workshop type memes. I joined them and it has really changed what I post about each week. It has encouraged me as a writer. I have learned by reading others wonderful posts.

It has also allowed me more time to write. Knowing the Matlockians and other great blogging friends will stop by has me less panicked about whether people will stop to read what I have written.

I am not a big time blogger with tons of comments and amazing stats. Thank goodness! It would take me forever to respond to all those comments.

I do have the best set of commenters in blogdom! Many have been with me since the beginning cheering me on. You really are the best!

I couldn’t end this post without mentioning the wonderful societies that I have discovered in the past year. The blog has grown due to lessons the bloggers in the have taught me. I hesitate to list them for fear that one of you may comment that they haven’t really done that for me. You can view them on the left hand side of the blog.

I will mention the Mom Loop Community on BlogFrog. When I was asked to be a co-community leader at Mom Loop last spring, it totally changed the way I viewed my blog. I really try and think about Mom Loop when I make decisions about the blog. Being a positive and contributing member of the leadership team is really important to me. I really don’t want people scratch their heads and wonder how I ended up getting to work with the rest of the amazing bloggers that are on the team.

There is no question in my mind why each of the other leaders was selected to be a part of team. Have I told you why I was asked to be a part of it? It is because of you. My main asset is the ability to meet and stay blogging friends with amazing people. Actually I said that wrong. It is your ability to stay friends with a blogger who is still growing and evolving. The community support you share with me on my blog and I try to give on yours is my best blogging attribute.

JDaniel4’s Mom is still evolving. There are fewer giveaways and reviews. I don’t post deals any more. I have moved all crafts and most learning activities to Read.Explore.Learn. the reading meme I started last fall. Great Post of the Week appeared on Saturdays for seven months and has disappeared. It may return.

There are several exciting things coming up. I will be sharing the blog with several amazing guest posters who have agreed to be part of a series starting next week called Pausing Life for a Moment. Each hosts an amazing blog. I am so excited that they will be sharing their thoughts with you. Another virtual event for April is in the planning stages for Earth Day. I hope you will join the Tissue Box Challenge.

I am not sure where the next year will take the blog. I do hope you will stay with me and see where it goes.

Is there anything you miss from last year?

This post is the answer to the Writing Workshop prompt- What were you blogging about last year at this time? What has changed?

 
 
 

Until There Was You

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Being an aunt is one of my very favorite things to be. I just love my nieces and nephews. They were for a long time my surrogate children. I was the last of my sisters to get married and the last to start a family. My sister’s children were the children I loved to spoil, sent cards to, bragged about, and displayed pictures of on my desk at work.

For the longest time there was just Jason to spoil and love. My sister Michelle was the first get married and start a family. We all spoiled him and loved on him. There were three years between the births of her first son and her second son. Jason was the center of our family gathering and celebrations.

When he was about two we all met in Charlottesville, VA around Thanksgiving. We walked around the Lawn (the grassy located behind the main building on campus) following Jason around. Where he wandered we wandered. A man walked up to my mom after we had been strolling a few minutes and commented that there really needed to be another little one added to the mix. It looked so funny to him to have five adults trailing behind one small boy.

It took another year for my sister to have her second son and two years for my sister Kate to start her family. As each new child joined the family, they were loved on and spoiled almost as much as Jason had been.

It wasn’t until my sister Kate had her son Charlie that my sister Michelle got to experience deep aunt love. She told me that it had taken root when she had arrived to help with Charlie shortly after he was born. It was profound and taken a special place in her heart.

Michelle had thought it had happened to me due to the fact that I didn’t have children. I remember her telling me she had always thought it was a little odd that I loved Jason so much. Looking down at little Charlie in his isolette had instantly created in her that special connection that you are blessed to can with your sibling’s children.

It wasn’t until JDaniel was born that I got to experience a mother’s love for her child. I am so thankful that I learned about aunt love first. My sister’s children helped prepare me for the magical love that I have for JDaniel.

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

Muffin Tin Monday- Lunch by George

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In honor of President’s Day JDaniel had a George Washington lunch. Allegedly George Washington chopped down a cherry tree as a young boy. It was fun to try and come up with foods that had cherries or would relate to George’s tree experience.

The first items in the tin are turkey sandwiches. George probably hunted for turkeys on his various properties. I haven’t read anywhere that they were a particular favorite of his. I do know that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national symbol of our country. JDaniel has made the turkey sandwich his personal favorite for lunch.

The second cup contains broccoli trees and cherry tomatoes for dipping in the blue cheese dipping sauce. I mentioned the fact that George likes to chop down trees or is remembered for chopping down a tree. JDaniel has a special fondness for trees but, didn’t want anything to do with these. He ate all the tomatoes and the dip though.

The third cup contains cherry jello. It came out a little soupy this time. I am not sure what I did wrong, but it had enough clumps it that JDaniel thought it looked like jello and wanted to eat it.

The last cup on the second row contains JDaniel’s favorite part of the meal. I made biscuits and put cherry filling over one for him. I guess you could call it a cherry biscuit cake. It disappeared as soon as the tin hit the table so, I guess you could call it the disappearing cherry biscuit cake.

 

What is your favorite cherry related food?

 

Sunday Sleeping Lead to Silently Listening to My Husband and Son

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On Sunday afternoon I decided to take a nap when JDaniel did. My sinuses were driving me crazy and I has sneezed or coughed during most of church that morning.

I must have been in a hard sleep. I totally missed JDaniel’s screams for mama that fill the house when he wakes up from his nap. (He hasn’t figured out that he can get out of bed yet. He just sits there and screams for me until I come.) What did cause me to wake up was the pounding of feet down the steps and sounds of his voice coming from the kitchen.

I glanced up and noticed that my husband had closed the bedroom door so I could sleep without interruption . No one outside the door would know that I was awake. If I lay quietly without making a sound, I would be able to have a few more moments of quiet time to myself.

Then I felt my first bodily betrayal. I sneezed. I tried to quiet the sneeze by sneezing into my pillow. Yes, that was gross idea. I silently slid over to my husband’s pillow and listened for the sound of little feet to come to the bedroom door. There was silence.

It is strange to lay there in quiet of the bedroom and hear all the noises of a toddler as he moves around the house. After JDaniel inhaled a snack, I heard a loud crash in the living room. Oh! The trains were now dumped out all over the floor. I knew that wood on wood sound when I heard it.

Then there was a patter of feet to the bedroom door. He must have listened at the door and not heard anything because there was another patter of feet away from the door a few second later.

A second crash came from the living room. This time there were squeaks and groans along with the bang. The toy basket must have been dumped out too. Stuffer animals with squeakers, toy instruments and other assorted toys were now spilled out next to the trains. The idea of this growing mess was hard to fathom. I was sure my husband had come downstairs with him. Where had he gone? There weren’t any exchanges of conversation about needing to clean up before mom saw this mess or inquires as to what was going on. Just silence and then loud crashes filled the air.

I didn’t hear my husband’s voice until the phone rang. I heard a shuffling of penny loafers to the phone and a conversation with his friend Jeff begin. I was glad to know he was still downstairs.

It was at that moment my body decided to betray me a second time. It told me in very certain terms that I needed to get up and use the restroom or I was going to need to change the sheets soon.

I quietly tiptoed to the bathroom and used the toilet. Then I tried to flush quietly, but you really can’t flush quietly.

As I left the bathroom, the knob on the bedroom door started to jiggle and shake. A voice from the other side of the door demanded that I help open the bedroom door. “I need you!” the voice exclaimed.

I did what every mom would do. I opened the door and let my son rush in.

It was so worth it to have him rush into my arms and say, “I missed you.”

I asked if dad had done a good job getting him up and giving him snack. “He was great!” he said. I was please to hear that. “But I really missed you!” he continued.

It is great my husband took care of getting JDaniel up from his nap. It was great to get some quiet time to just lie in bed. More than anything it was great to be missed.

This post is linked to Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday and The Writer’s Workshop.
 
 
 
 

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