You need to use setTimeout() as it is fired once on the other hand setInterval() is triggered until clear interval is called.
Live Demo
$('#FormsPageID table tr:nth-child(12) td:nth-child(2) div span span input')
.on('focus', function(){
var $this = $(this);
if($this.val() == '4/11/2013'){
setTimeout(function(){
$this.val('4/11/2013');
}, 3000);
}
}).on('blur', function(){
var $this = $(this);
if($this.val() == ''){
setTimeout(function(){
$this.val('4/11/2013');
}, 3000);
}
});
setTimeout
The setTimeout() method calls a function or evaluates an expression
after a specified number of milliseconds.
setInterval
The setInterval() method calls a function or evaluates an expression
at specified intervals (in milliseconds).
The setInterval() method will continue calling the function until
clearInterval() is called, or the window is closed.