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JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

Search Results for: label/Alphabe Thursday

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?

Do Dust Bunnies Hatch?

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I talk about dust bunnies a lot with JDaniel as we remove them from our house. They seem to gather frequently behind tables and under furniture in our home.

One day while riding in the car JDaniel started asking questions about dust bunnies.

JDaniel: Where do the bunnies come from?

Me: Well, they form when dead skin, hair and other things gather close to each other on the floor.

JDaniel: No, how are they born? Do they hatch?

Me: Hatch? Sweet boy, they aren’t birds they don’t hatch.

JDaniel: Do they have moms and dads like I do?

Me: No, they don’t have parents?

JDaniel: Why? I do.

Me: Yes, you do. They aren’t real bunnies. If they were real bunnies, they would have parents.

JDaniel: Mom, they are real. I can see them.

Me: That’s true. I can see them too.

JDaniel: How do they grow?

Me: They move closer to other dust and it sort of attaches to them.

JDaniel: No, what do they eat.

Me: I don’t think they have mouths to eat.

JDaniel: Sure, they do.

Me: I guess there could be dust carrots.

JDaniel: I only like cooked carrots. Do dust bunnies like cooked carrots?

Me: I haven’t really noticed. I guess they would like them cooked.

JDaniel: Can I feed them some of mine?

Me: I don’t think we should feed them or they will start to grow larger and larger.

JDaniel: Are you sure they don’t hatch?

Me: Yes, I am sure they don’t hatch.

Disclaimer: I couldn’t remember the conversation word for word so, I added words that I felt I needed to. Most of it came straight from our conversation.

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

It’s in his genes

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JDaniel is a happy mix of both my husband’s and my genes.

    This is a picture of my father in-law holding JDaniel who is looking at a picture of my husband.
JDaniel looks like his dad. When I look at pictures of this toddler years, my husband looks just like him. My husband looks just like his dad. I joke that I may not live to see JDaniel3 in his eighties, but I know what he will look like.
My husband prefers to read non-fiction books. I read all kinds of books. JDaniel loves to look at and be read books that are based in real things. Fairy tales are not his favorite. He loves books about construction equipment and robots right now. Although if you give him a good book with rhymes and rhythms in it. He will look at it over and over again repeating what he remembers from the book.

We all love to be outside. Our family does a lot of yard work and playing outside. JDaniel can’t get enough of it. We spend time inside during allergy season, but once that passes we are outside a lot.

We all like to put things together. JDaniel has unfortunately inherited my let’s try to put it together without a manual and then get frustrated when it doesn’t work out genes. Maybe he can learn from my husband how to read manuals.

JDaniel has inherited mixed up sleep and awake time genes. He has my husband’s night owl genes along with my early bird genes. I am still hoping the early bird and night owl genes will become recessive. If that happens, he may finally sleep ten hours straight. I have heard it is possible in the teen years for the sleep genes to change.

JDaniel has inherited my auditory learning genes. He talks through what he is learning and needs clarification of by talking about it all the time. It drives my husband crazy. It is like oral processing in stereo. JDaniel has things he is talking about and I have things to share too. Despite the fact I try to filter at least 70% of what I am thinking .There are times he has to seek refuge in the bonus room where JDaniel’s 90% of what he is thinking can be silenced for a few moments. ( JDaniel keeps the 10% of thought s related to trouble he is going to seek to himself)

We are amazed as we watch JDaniel growing older as to how much of who he is comes from his DNA. The same DNA he inherited from us. I laugh at the things that come from my husband and my husband laughs at what comes from me.

JDaniel is his own person, but he has a lot us in him.

What  genes did you pass to your children?

 
 

Faithful Shield Gets Frequent Dents

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The shield of faith is described in the Bible as a part of the armor of God. It covered you from head to toe and protected you from attack. I always pictured the armor as a beautiful metal plate with intricate designs maybe studded with bronze. It was perfect in its construction and immaculate in it appearance.
My pastor recently gave a sermon on the shield of faith and described it as being filled with the dents of life. The dents and dinks had occurred during events in our everyday life when our faith was tested or we had not had trusted with faith in God.

As I sat there in the pew, I began to think about what had caused the dents in my shield. The times I tried to live my life on my terms and had ignored red flags placed to warn me of wrong decisions being made.

Being a mom has added dents to the shield multiple times in the last three years. I rush through the day sending up pleas and pleading prayers when things got challenging with my strong willed son instead of leaning on God’s promises or even taking time to listen to the answers to them.

During three year old tantrums, I feel my stomach knot up and I try to remain calm. The outward appearance of calm isn’t usually carried inside to the tense feeling I get when I want to handle them with grace and words that I don’t what to come back to haunt me.

I am going to be making a considerable effort to take the time to work on my faith in the coming weeks. Raising a three year old is hard. There are many more dents that will be appearing in my shield in the future. I do hope that I can hold fast to want I believe. A three year old or life in general can wear you down and lead you make decisions that you wish you hadn’t in moment of frustration or doubt.

When I look back at each of the dents in my shield, I don’t want to cling to the frustrations or failures that they might represent. I do want to look at them and see how God looked out for me and carried me through them.

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

What is parenthood teaching you?

 

Allergy Boys Indoor Entertainment Exchange

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Lisa of Two Bears Farm and I were talking about our “allergy boys”. Cort one of Lisa’s three sons has allergies similar to JDaniel. Cort has to spend a lot of time inside during the spring and has needed to get the allergy tests done just like my little guy. We thought it would be fun to put together an “Allergy Boys” exchange for them. Each would get a box of fun things to explore and play with on days when they need to be inside. Both boys would rather be outside, but it is not always possible.
JDaniel and I had fun putting a box together for Cort. Cort is almost two and so I tried to get things he could do on this own as well as things he could do with his mom and older brother. I hoped he would also share them with his twin brother.
We got the following:
Foam Dots
The dots could be used to create patterns, sort by colors, used to leap from spot to spot, or stuck to the wall of the bathtub when wet to give them bathtub pox.
Magnetic Alphabet Letters in a Puzzle
I thought they could be used to practice letters or find matching letters on the Thomas the Train placemat we also included.
A Fire Truck Craft Kit
JDaniel loves fire trucks I hoped Cort would like making one.
A Sound Wand
This could be used as a marching baton, to practice rolling, or to shake and whirl to make noise.
Water Balls
These balls are designed to be played with in water. I thought he could try to make baskets in the tub or sink with them.
Robot Stickers
They are such fun to stick on things. Hopefully in just mom approved locations
Purple Metal Box
Things can be hidden the box and clues given as to what is under the box lid.
Books
Two board books that were favorites of JDaniel when he was two.
A Purple Silicone Egg Mold
I found it at Hobby Lobby for 90% off. Lisa and I are both Muffin Tin Moms. I stuck in the box more for her that for Cort.
JDaniel has loved exploring his box from Two Bears Farm. Here are a few pictures of things he has played with so far:
JDaniel loves giving the creatures from his haircut kit crew cuts.

JDaniel loved sticking the facial features in a mango. He spend what seemed like an hour trying different eyes, noses, mouths, and horns in each of the holes I put in the mango.
 
 

What other indoor activities would you suggest for our “allergy boys”?
This post is linked to Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday. It is “E” week.

 
 
 
 

Communicating Clear Ideas About Mother’s Day

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I was so excited when my first Mother’s Day arrived. I had only been a mom for three months and I was totally into being JDaniel’s mom. Although my husband helped out when he was home, I had decided  I needed to do as much a possible on my own. For all I was and was doing I thought Mother’s Day should be a celebration of me.

JDaniel slept very little at night. He seemed to want to nurse all night and sleep all day. So, I was up almost all night and tried to sleep when he sleep during the day.

Diapers were quickly filled and changed due to all the nursing.

He loved to be sung too. I sang him every church hymn, show tune, and children’s song I could think off.

He had gas a lot so; I patted his back for hours.

I was making tons of mistakes as a first time mom. During spare moments I read articles online with my husband at my side to try to weed through the good and bad advice.

Mother’s Day

My mom lived in the same town we did and I knew we were going to need to celebrate her motherhood along with my own. I made arrangements to go a Chinese restaurant, because she wanted Chinese food. I asked her about the best time to take her and she mentioned lunch time would be great.

It turned out to be a bad time for JDaniel. He wanted to be held the whole time we were at the restaurant by only his mama. He won’t let my husband or my mom hold him at all. After that was established as the way it was going to be, they went for multiple visits to the buffet and relished the great selection of foods they were eating.

What was I doing? Well, I sat in a vinyl booth holding the strong willed yet lovable baby that had allowed me to become a mama waiting for my husband to return with my lunch. Then I tried to eat while my son stared up at me with his bright blue eyes plotting when to cry next. The thought that was flying through my head was why wasn’t enjoying Mother’s Day as much as my husband and mom seemed to be.

During the car ride home, I felt frustrated and slightly bent of shape. Mother’s Day didn’t seemed be about me. In fact it seemed to be about every mom except me.

Far From the Perfect Gift

I did get a Mother’s Day gift from my husband and JDaniel that was supposed to show me that I was special. Instead of making me feel cherished it added to my frustration. My wonderful husband decided I needed an electric toothbrush for Mother’s Day. It would save me time and effort. He loved his and decided I would love one too.

It was a wonderful thought. It just didn’t go over well.

Gaining Perspective and Questions

By the end of the day I was sending frantic prayers to God. I desperately wanted to enjoy the final moments of Mother’s Day and not dwell on my perceived disappointments.

In the quiet hours before midnight holding JDaniel in my arms and trying get him to go to sleep I received an answer. It came in a series of questions to ask myself.

What did I expect from Mother’s Day?

Had a shared my expectations with my husband?

Beyond taking my mom to lunch had I shown her that she was cherished?

Did my husband have a gift ideas shared with him so that he would have an idea of what I would like?

Had I shown appreciation for the gift he had selected?

Didn’t having a perfect yet ornery baby in my forties make everyday Mother’s Day?

I went to sleep that night pondering these questions along with praying for JDaniel to sleep.

Second Year Better Than the First

The following Mother’s Day I did a much better job of communicating with my husband about Mother’s Day. Somehow knowing that I had shared what I wanted and hoped for made it a much better day.

How do you handle Mother’s Day at your house?

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

 
  



Bunnies Rescuing a Giraffe and Old Movies

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 Rescue Bunnies by Doreen Cronin and Scott Menchin is JDaniel’s new favorite book. It is about a Newbie bunny and her field test to become a rescue bunny. Newbie and her team are sent out to save a giraffe that has become stuck in the mud in hyena country and desperately needs help. Due to the fact that the bunnies are going to hyena country, Newbie is told that they may have a code red situation. In a code red it is time to evacuate and leave the giraffe behind.
You can probably guess what happens. Yes, they issue a code red, but Newbie won’t leave the giraffe behind. She ties herself to the giraffe and the other bunnies have no choice, but to save both of them.
Throughout the story various rescue bunnies utter lines from old movies. I thought it would be fun to see if you recognized any of these old movie lines.
Please list the lines and the movies that you remember in your comment. I will list the answers on Saturday.

 

Here we go:
1.“I am serious…and don’t call me Shirley.”

2.“You can’t handle the truth!”

3.“Nothing is going to hurt you tonight. Not on my watch.”

4.“You had me at hello.”

5.“Snap out of it.”

6.“I’m King of the World”

7.“Here’s looking at you,kid.”

Do you remember any of these?

 

 

Today is “B” day on Mrs. Matlock’s Alphabe Thursday.

 

 

Better Than Aladdin’s Wishes

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One evening as the day drew to an end a mother sat with her son on his bed telling him an ancient tale about a boy named Aladdin.

“Aladdin,” she said to him, “was a young boy who was sent to search for a magic lamp in a dark and eerie cave. Once he found the lamp he realized that the man who had taken him to the cave was going to take the lovely jeweled lamp away from him. Aladdin knew that this special lamp maybe magic and he wanted the magic for himself so, he found a way to keep the lamp for himself.”

“Was it magic?” asked his mom.

“It was magic. Aladdin discovered that it contained a genie while trying to clean the lamp. In a puff of smoke the genie was released from the lamp,” his mother replied.

“What did the genie want?” the boy wanted to know.

“The genie was grateful to be free from the lamp and gave the boy three wishes. He could ask for anything and it would be his,” his mother told him.

“What did he wish for?” the boy asked.

“First he wished for food to eat. He and his mother didn’t have a lot of food. Next he wished gold plates and they were sold by his mom to get money for their family. Finally he wished to be with the one he would love and he married a wonderful princess,” his mom answered.

“I’m not tired. Can I have one more story?” the boy asked looking up at his mother with hopeful eyes.

“Yes, I have an even better story about someone who gave people more than three wishes that would be gone in a short time,” the mother said wrapping her arms around her son to cuddle him close.

“What was his name?” the boy wanted to know.

“We call him God. Remember how we pray to him at meal times and in the morning to start the day?” the mother asked him.

“Yes, we have to thank him for the things he is doing in our day and we can ask him for things too,” the boy responded.

“Well, God has told us in the Bible that we can ask him for things whenever we need them. He didn’t say that we could only ask for three wishes like Aladdin did,” the mother explained.

“He doesn’t answer every prayer the way we want him to the way the genie did,” the boy said adamantly.

“No, he doesn’t answer every prayer the way we want him to, but he does hear our prayers,” he mother answered slowing leaning her son back until his head hit the pillow.

“Thank goodness! If God were like the genie in Aladdin, we might end up with things that we wouldn’t want in a short time or things that we would want to change later. God seems to know what we need and when we need it,” the mother stated pulling the blue blanket her son favored up to his slowing dropping chin.

“Right now I think God thinks it would be best if I got a puppy,” the boy announced.

“Let’s pray about it,” his mother said slowing standing up and walking to the door of her son’s room silently praising God that a puppy hadn’t just appeared at the foot of her son’s bed.

This post is linked to Mrs. Matlocks’ Alphabe Thursday. It is “A” week.
 
 

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.
 

Zillions of Toys in Bed

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Do your children sleep with zillions of toys in bed? Until last fall JDaniel had never had anything in his bed. I was afraid he would lose his pacie in the night and not be able to find it under toys and blankets.

Last fall he asked for a blanket to be added to his crib. He noticed that we had one on our bed and wanted one too. A blanket sounded like a great idea.

I brought JDaniel a Build-A- Bear teddy bear back from the Type A Conference last fall. He really loved Teddy and asked if he could have him in his crib at night. That was fine. Two objects in bed weren’t too many.

Over time more and more things seemed to appear in his crib. It was getting really crowded in there. I cleared everything out one afternoon and let JDaniel place six things back in. He chose his Pillow Pet, two blankets, and three stuffed animals.

Months went by and those six items remained in his crib. He didn’t take any away or add to their number.

Right before he turned three at the beginning of March JDaniel moved to a twin bed. We moved all his lovies to the big bed. Every now and then a new toy or blanket or pillow would appear and we would narrow the number back down to six.

Just last week we started hearing JDaniel’s bedroom door open and close along with footsteps in his room after he had been put to bed. The walking around never seemed to go on for long. By the time we got up stairs to check on him, he was in bed again.

In the morning I noticed that some of the animals in his bed had changed and that there were now books in his bed.

I asked him about how they got there and if he was walking around his room at night.

“Yes,” he said.

“Isn’t it dark in here when you are walking around?” I questioned

“Well, I turn on the light so I can see,” he replied.

“Then what happens?” I asked.

“Well, I get what I want, turn off the light and go right to sleep,” he said.

“Why do you open the door?” I inquired.

“I want to make sure you are not looking,” he answered.

We are in such trouble. I can just see him waiting up and trying to go get a midnight snack.

What mischief are or were your children up to at night?

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

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