JDaniel Moments Archives

Snow Day Fun for Kids

February 12, 2014 By Deirdre

Two weeks ago we got 1/2 inch of snow and JDaniel was thrilled. I shared how much he enjoyed that snowfall in a post called A Little Snow Equals Big Joy.Yesterday the first of two snowstorms arrived and dumped 4 inches on snow. We had such fun playing on our snow day.JDaniel sat in my lap as I sat on a kitchen chair staring into the backyard. (He barely fits there.) “This is just beautiful!” he whispered. The swirls of tiny flakes laid a layer of snow frosting on the deck furniture and over the grass. The snowflakes streaming past the outdoor light on the deck cast tiny shadows across the layer of snow on the deck’s floor. JDaniel was right it was a really beautiful snow day.
When the sun had finally risen and we were both dressed in warm layers, we headed outside. I had some snow activities that I wanted us to try and JDaniel had activities he wanted to do too.

Snow Day Fun for Kids - Painting Sight Words in the Snow

Painting words is a lot of fun!

I wanted to try painting sight words with water mixed with food coloring. JDaniel tried writing a few I had placed on an index card and one he decided that he really needed to practice on a plastic table from our deck. We probably should have done this activity on the ground. The table didn’t have a lot of room on the top of it to paint on.

Snow Day Fun for Kids - Painting Sight Words in the Snow - Writing the Letter I

Next, we headed to the side of our yard to start rolling snowballs into the three sections of a snowman. (This is one of my favorite snow day activities.) The snow was super sticky so our small snowballs quickly became rounds big enough to use for a snowman. We rolled and smoothed the rough sections and repeated the process until they were just right.

Giving the snowman a face by painting was really fun!

JDaniel tried drawing a face and buttons on the snowman with the dye with water paint. It made him kind of look a little gruesome. We ended up covering up the painted areas with fresh snow and redoing his face. I had brought out some lids and a carrot. JDaniel scrounged up some sticks. We used the lids for eyes and the carrot for his nose. JDaniel used the stick to give the snowman antlers and arms. I am not sure why he needed antlers, but they sure ended up being cute.

Our final activity was a snowball fight. The snow was really ideal for making snowball as I mentioned earlier. The only draw back was they solidified pretty quickly. That made them a little hard on the human targets they were thrown at. We had fun dodging them though.

Have you had snow recently?

Deirdre Smith writes/owns JDaniel4’s Mom. After twenty years as an 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 her blog’s FB page. You can also check her out on Google+.

{Outdoor Fun} Into the Puddles We Go

July 16, 2013 By Deirdre

I joked with JDaniel when we started this trail in Conestee Park that it looked like we would be walking the plank. He laughed and commented that we weren’t pirates and that there weren’t any alligators. Thank goodness there weren’t alligators.

As you can see in the picture above there was water covering some of the trails. We had had several days of rain and apparently it didn’t have any place to go. It wasn’t more than a few inches deep so I thought that we would be fine if we continue hiking. (If this were a movie instead of a blog post, you would hear some ominous music being played.)

After walking a short ways, we came to an overlook. There were all sorts of plants and may have been some animals. The water was super muddy so we couldn’t look below the surface. It is hard to see the sign, but it shows how the water has moved over time from a wide river with a few side waterways to a narrow river with fewer still waterways. Truly it looks like there is less water there than there has been in the years past on the sign. It didn’t look that way to us when we picked up the trail to finish our hike. In fact, it looked like water was taking over every piece of land that it could.

We noticed that after a there was a lot of water lapping at the planks on the trail. (The planks should have been a dead giveaway that this trail gets wet often. ) I am not huge in walking through puddles I tend to walk around them, but as a boy mom, I thought I should do a boy mom thing and join my son in the watery walk.If you look carefully you will see that the planks are actually under the water just before they make a turn. Yes, the planks are submerged. I told JDaniel we could continue walking if he stayed on the planks. I wasn’t sure how deep the water was on the sides of the planks. JDaniel offered to find out for me, but I discouraged him.

It turned out we didn’t need to step off of the planks. The planks just became more and more covered by water. Seriously inches of water. My shoes started to squeak and water started squirting out of the spaces between my shoelaces.“This is so much fun!” JDaniel declared. I am so thankful that he was walking in front of me and didn’t see my body language as he made that statement. I was trying to have fun and not complain. This was fun in a way!

I would love to say that the rest of the path was dry, but it was a lot of what we had already walked through. We walked into, over and around puddles on the rest of the trail. JDaniel was in dirt covered, sneaker squishing heaven.

It has continued to rain here for the last eight days or so. JDaniel has been asking to go back to see what the trail looks like now. I have suggested that we wait to see what the trail looks like after a few days of Carolina heat beating down on it. Until then he will have an amazing tale of outdoor fun!

I will always remember that into the puddles I went. I think my shoes will too.

Memories Captured: Do You Know Where You Are Going To?

June 12, 2013 By Deirdre

Two wonderful ladies Galit and Alison host a wonderful link up called Memories Captured. I have participated in it before. Most of my posts have featured a point in JDaniel’s life I wanted to remember. This time the post is a little different. The post below captures where we as a family are right now. I want to capture these moments and remember them. They aren’t easy moments to live, but they are moments that are challenging us to grow, trust, and believe in each other.

Do you know where you’re going to?Do you like the things that life is showing you?Where are you going to? Do you know?-excerpt from Theme Mahogany by Michael Masser and Gerald Goffin

Sometimes you think you know where you are going. You can look at the next few months or years and see how they will be unfolding. Day after day the basic events of the day stay the same. There is something wonderfully comfortable about that.

Sometimes you have no idea where you are going to. Life shifts from its predicable pattern and routine to something totally unexpected. This may be fun and exciting for some you . Others of us may find it scary or unsettling.

It happens in an instant. You may wake up to what looks like a “normal” day with you on the computer editing a blog post, your son at his work table drawing a picture of jellyfish and your husband at his job of twenty years. Suddenly the garage door opens and change follows your husband’s car into the garage.

Change of this kind has shifted the life of my family in the last month and has hit many families in the last six or seven years. One day you have job and a mere twelve hours later you don’t.

Just as JDaniel crossed a bridge along a hiking trail we were on a few weeks ago we find ourselves at a split in the path of our lives. We may wish we could continue on the path, but we are being given the opportunity to step onto the beginning of a new trail. The first trail looks like a fine place to walk, but it isn’t the one the sign is pointing out that you to follow.

Standing with our toes edging over the beginning of the new trail we are left with many questions.

What town will be living in? Where will my husband find a job? Where can I find a job? Where will JDaniel start kindergarten in the fall?

We honestly haven’t any answers to those questions. We know we have faith that God will be with us on this journey on the new trail. He has challenged me to not pray for a miracle that would allow us to stay right where we are. (Though I would rejoice if this were His plan.) My prayers instead need to be focused on the fact that I have no idea where we are going, but that I need Him to help me keep my heart is open to His plan.

Just as JDaniel had to pause to look for signs along the new hiking trail we walked a few weeks ago, we find ourselves looking for the painted trail markers on our new path that will help guide us on this journey. We are pausing to pray often that signs will come quickly guiding us know where we need to be.

It isn’t easy to be patient and scan the horizon for small glimpses of where we might be going to. We are trying to enjoy the time we have this summer as a family. We are using the time we have to bond together through hikes and various other activities we love to do in and around the amazing town we live in.

How about you? Do you know where you are going to? Do you know what life is showing you?

This post is linked a wonderful link up called Memories Captured and Alphabe Thursday.

Opening the Door to Playing in the Snow

February 21, 2013 By Deirdre

Last Saturday we took JDaniel to a puppet show called Glow Tales. All of the puppets and much of the stage glowed. It was really very cool. The theater was kept most dark so the black light could do it work. As we left the theater, we walked into a world that looked just as magical and pretend as the one we had just been apart of. The cars in the parking lot were covered in a light dusting of snow. Snow swirled around us just as if someone shaken up a snow globe containing our town and just righted it. Maybe just enough snow for playing in the snow.

The snow wasn’t deep and it really barely covered the grass. The street in front of the theater was clear and damp. We doubted that much snow would be in our yard when we got home.

Playing in the Snow

Much to our surprise we had about two inches of snow in our neighborhood. That isn’t much for many of you, but for us it is a lot. We haven’t had more than a few flakes fall in two years. JDaniel has been praying for snow since late November and was sure that God has some how missed his petitions for snow.

I had to convince him to come inside and change into warmer clothes when we pulled into our driveway. Thankfully my sister Kate lives in NY and sends us snow items like boots, gloves, and hats. I dug them out of the hall closet and had JDaniel put them on.

Then I had to dig my snow things out. It took forever to find my snow boots and gloves. They were piled in a closet behind two years worth of other clothes and stuff.

When we headed outside for some time playing in the snow, I asked JDaniel what he wanted to do. I was worried the sun would come out and melt the snow before we got to things he really wanted to do.

The first thing on his list was to make a snow angel just like the Cat in the Hat. There was barely enough snow to move around with his arms and legs, but he was thrilled to be getting to make one. I just loved watching flap his arms playing in the snow.

The second thing on the list was to have a snowball fight. JDaniel really wanted one with his dad, but my husband has been having back problems and doesn’t bend over or throw well. I don’t throw well, but I was up for the challenge of dodging JDaniel’s balls of snow. Chasing him around the yard and trying to tag him with snowball was a lot of fun too.

The snow barely lasted until the following morning and it was totally gone by the time we came home from church. I am so glad we took time for playing in the snow for few hours in the snow on Saturday. Maybe we will be opening the door to more snow in early March. A very special boy has a birthday then and I am sure he would love for God to give him snow as a present.

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

Accidentally Creating a Star? Star Craft

May 23, 2012 By Deirdre

More and more often JDaniel leaves me awestruck at the thoughts that he is thinking as he creates. Last week we decided to craft and instead of planning the craft for him I asked him to tell me what items he wanted me to take off the craft shelf.

Getting the Star Craft Supplies

He wanted glitter glue, construction paper, and star shaped cookie cutters so, I grabbed each item and headed to the kitchen table. After the items were set out, he took his seat. I didn’t know that he had a plan, but apparently, he did.

Starting the Star Craft

It took no time for him to place a cookie cutter on the paper and start to trace the inside of it with glitter glue. The glitter glue didn’t appear to be working so, I was asked to loosen the top. The top really didn’t need to be loosened. He discovered that fact when the glue oozed all of the insides of the paper.

Spreading the glitter glue

“Help!”

“Help!” he said. “This is not working the way it is supposed to,” he announced.

After screwing the top back on and spreading the blog around the star with a plastic fork, he started the project again with a new piece of paper.

The cap still didn’t seem to be working so, I pried the dried glue off the top. I had noticed the dried glue and had mentioned it, but it had been declared not a problem by JDaniel.

Now when he tried to trace the inside of the star with the glue it flowed easily. He traced the inside of the star loosely. There didn’t seem to be a focus on dragging the glue closely along each edge and each corner of the cookie on some of the stars he made. Other stars were made with close attention paid to their creation.

Tracing around the cookie cutter

Describing His Creation

“Can you tell me about what you are creating?” I asked as unjudgementally as possible. There had to be a reason for the two techniques being used that I just wasn’t wrapping my brain around.

“Mama, some of these are stars and others are constellations!” JDaniel declared. He clarified further by telling me that constellations are not closed up and you have to look carefully to see the picture.

“That makes a lot of sense,” I replied.

“What should be done with them now?” I asked JDaniel.

“At least one should go in my room,” he announced, “ I want to see if it will glow in the dark like a real star.”

I wonder if that was his plan all along or was it just a creative plan that accidentally created a star or constellation.

I guess only he really knows.

This post is linked to Alphabe Thursday!

Zillions of Reasons To Thank His Teachers

May 16, 2012 By Deirdre

Last fall JDaniel went to preschool for the very first time. He was excited about getting to go to school. Selecting a backpack and getting new sneakers had him anticipating how wonderful school would be.

The reality of actually getting in the car and going to the school was hard. Walking into the classroom unassisted was a challenge somedays. Making the change from being home with me to being with others for a few hours was not in his plans he would tell me. He in fact told me that he wanted quit preschool more than once this year.

Making new friends was hard too. Thankfully he had best friend in his class! Unfortunately he didn’t think he needed to have any other friends. One was plenty he thought.

We talked through his fears and challenges to change. We prayed before school about how things would go at school. We read books about people that had learned to like school.

Despite everything I did, it was the teachers that JDaniel had this year that made this change from home to school really work for him.

So, I want to take a moment to thank Mrs. D and Mrs. G for all they did for my guy this year.

Ladies-

I brought to you a little lamb who was afraid to join your flock. You shepherded him into your classroom each day with love and welcoming words.

Lamb Handprint

When he needed to face the fact that he couldn’t always sit beside his best friend, you helped him find new friends to sit with. It was hard to have his best friend want to make new friends and sit somewhere else during snack and work time, but you helped him overcome the challenge.

Face Collage

You encouraged him to explore new concepts and express himself in new ways. JDaniel isn’t very big on coloring but he did make wonderful drawings of sea creatures and other things with you.

Drawing of an Octopus, a Squid, and a Cuttlefish

Going from two days to three next year may be a challenge for us just as starting school was this year, but ladies you have helped him learn how to leave the nest. JDaniel will have the experiences he had this year at school to look back on and remember. We will be able to talk about how he overcame his shyness and made new friends. He will be able to tell me about how he learned to share his thoughts at circle time after months of your patient encouragement.

Three Eggs in a Nest

My husband, son and I will always be thankful for all you have done for us!

Thanksgiving Placemat

Love,

JDaniel4’s Mom

This post is linked to Alphabe Thursday , Memories Captured and Pour Your Heart Out!

Yes, My Son is Wearing Red Boots and a Construction Hat!

May 9, 2012 By Deirdre

Yes, the little boy on the stepstool with the construction hat and red boots is my son! He picked out his outfit all by himself.

The red boots are his go-to footwear! He loves them! Summer, fall, winter, spring are all perfect seasons to wear them. He wears them to school, playgrounds, and special events like visiting train exhibits. Thankfully his feet don’t grow that quickly. Thankfully he wears them on the wrong feet which he says helps them fit better.!

Everywhere we go, people, comment on them. He has been told that he is a trendsetter and all boy! He just shrugs his shoulder at the comments almost to say that he knew that already.

Yes, My Son is Wearing Red Boots and a Construction Hat!

The construction hat had a purpose too. You see the men that set up the trains had to reconstruct the setup just the way it was in their clubhouse in North Carolina. The hat honors the hard work that it took to build it.

The step stool is a visit the train display necessity. When you are not tall enough to see the display on your own, you have to bring a stepstool. The lady at the welcome counter commented that Daniel remembers to bring it every year.

This is our third year going to the train display when it is set up in May in a local community center. This is the second year that the complete outfit and step stool have appeared there.

Some people might have done a double-take as they watch my son walking across the parking lot with his boots and hat carrying his stepstool. As his mom, I know this is just what is needed to truly enjoy the exhibit.

During our tour of the exhibit, I might have needed to hold the hat because it fell over his eyes when he leaned down to push one of the red buttons that made one of the buildings light up or one of the machines move. By the time we got ready to leave it was back on his head though. You have left the exhibit dressed the way you came.

If you are the mom or dad or grandparent, you have probably taken a little girl dressed in a princess gown to the grocery store or a boy dressed in a fireman’s suit to school. You may have even taken a child dressed as Buzz Lightyear to the nursery at church.

As you entered each of those places, you may have gotten a few double takes as I did at the train exhibit, but I bet you also got a lot of knowing smiles from people who have done the same thing.

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

{Mother’s Day Craft} -His Fingerprints Are Everywhere

May 8, 2012 By Deirdre

His fingerprints are everywhere. When you look at the television screen or computer monitor, you will find JDaniel’s fingerprints. They were all over the walls until they were painted last week. I try to keep up with them, but as soon as I wash them away they return.

I can track his fingerprints around the house. They leave tell tale signs of his travels during the day. His hands are out touching everything as he walks along the hall and climbs the stairs.

There are fingerprint smudges on inside the passenger side window in the back of the car. They have been left behind after pointing out something exciting he has seen that he needed to put his finger on while he was telling me about it.

Despite putting down newspaper before doing a craft there are fingerprints made of glue, paint or glitter are left when his project is done all over the kitchen table.

For some reason there are yogurt and other food smudges that appear on the kitchen table too. Could it be that he still tries to eat with his fingers?

I know that I can’t leave these fingerprints where they are. As I mentioned above they are quickly replaced with new ones as soon as I clean them. Without cleaning them up and wiping them away they would quickly cover every surface of our house. The walls would no longer be antique white. Table would have mountains of crafting materials and food developing in the places that JDaniel sits beside. The doors crusted with finger carried substances and the windows would become opaque.

There is a small part of me that realizes that down the line there will be no small fingerprints left behind. . He will reach a stage where is eats more neatly and crafts more carefully. (Maybe?) I hope he will still have things he want to point out from windows, but he may stop pointing his finger at them through the window.

JDaniel decorated the mat in the frame below with his fingerprints. The mat surrounds a wonderful poem about fingerprints. This Mother’s Day themed poem was a wonderful reminder to me to pause to enjoy the messy fingerprints I keep finding around the house while I can.

These four year old fingerprints are a reminder of the joy he finds in eating, creating, touching his environment and pointing out wonderful things he sees.

What does the poem say?

My dirty little fingerprint I’ve left on every wall

And on the drawers and tabletops, I’ve really marked them all

But here are some that won’t rub off, I’m giving them to you

Because I’m thankful to have a nana that just likes you!

What has been your favorite Mother’s Day gift to give or receive?

Spring is… Allergies

March 28, 2012 By Deirdre

What do you think of when you think of spring?

Blooming trees

Flowers pushing through to display their glory

Warm days filled with playing outdoors

Riding bikes down streets filled with black plastic bags filled with newly cut grass clippings

Lemonade out on your porch

Digging in dirt to plant a garden

Sweat-filled brows and dirt-covered jeans

For many of you, the visions you have of spring resemble the glimpse of spring moments I listed above. Spring is the time of year when your family spends tons of time outside exploring, working, and playing.

For my family spring are a time of ever dripping noses, rashes caused by topical allergies, and itching eyes.

For my family, spring means checking the pollen count level that is sent to me in a daily e-mail. If it is a high pollen day, the medicines JDaniel takes at night during most of the year are taken in the morning so, he can play outside during recess at school or attend a birthday party outside.

For my family, spring means long socks worn under lightweight pants to prevent the skin on his ankles and legs from having a rash.

For my family, spring means skipping playgroups if the host of the week chooses to host playgroups at a local park.

For my family, it means playing for a short time in the early evening when the pollen count has dropped.

For my family, it means exploring the library for new books, the children’s museum for new exhibits, and exploring the play equipment at an indoor playground.

For my family, it means doing loads of crafts, playing loads of games, and playing with a load of construction equipment in JDaniel’s room.

I hope spring will change for us. JDaniel’s allergies have lessened a little this year. Maybe someday he will be able to play a spring sport, work in a local community garden and not fear the green that coats the world outside in the spring.

Until then we wait for mid-summer when the things he is allergic to diminish and the green haze fades.

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

Please Save My Star Wars Pajamas For My Children

March 7, 2012 By Deirdre

For Christmas JDaniel received a pair of Star Wars pajamas from my sister Kate. He absolutely loves them. There have been a few nights that he has insisted that they be taken out of the wash pile so that he can wear them. They stayed in the wash pile and we had to find a pair that was almost as nice due to the fact that they had breakfast from that morning spread down the front of them. JDaniel really wasn’t happy about it but, he was willing to compromise after some calming conversation with me. I was the one calmly chatting.

This pair of pajamas has to be packed if we go away for the weekend and are his preferred clothing for the daytime too. He has only worn them all day if they are stayed clean at breakfast and he was too sick to leave the house up to this point.

They are only three months old and they are covered with pilly bumps and are starting to grow too short due to constant washing and drying.

Last week as we drove around town gathering things for his birthday parties he asked if I would save them for his children.

Here is how the conversation went:

JDaniel: Mom, will you save my Star Wars pajamas for my children to wear when the get big enough.

Me: Sure, we can save them.

JDaniel: I really think they will like them.

Me: How many children are you going to have?

JDaniel: As many as God decides to give me.

I know I was talking to you about pajamas but, I couldn’t have been more excited by his answer. We have been talking about handing things over to God and letting him send us His answer. I love that JDaniel is growing in His understanding of God.

I will keep my promise and set aside his Star Wars pajamas in a special box that already holds the outfit he wore home for the hospital and few other baby clothes that I would love to pass on to grandchildren someday.

I don’t know that JDaniel’s future wife and children will think about these pieces of memorabilia. I hope that they will appreciate that they were important to JDaniel or me. The Star Wars pajamas will probably be the most loved and most worn out thing the box. I have a feeling they won’t be the only pair of Star Wars pajamas in there. tTis pair will need to be replaced soon and JDaniel may want every pair he ever has saved.

Do you have a box of special things you are storing or have stored for your grandchildren?

This post is linked to Alphabe Thursday. It is P week.

If you can and are interested in doing so, I would love for you to visit The Creative Moms List on Circle of Moms and vote for me. ( You can vote daily.)