Life with Dylan

Author: Michelle

  • Another Milestone in Life

    grad·u·a·tion (noun) – the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma.


    com·mence·ment (noun) –  the ceremonies or the day for conferring degrees or diplomas.


    I don’t remember my Kindergarten graduation, but know that I had one. I vaguely remember my 6th grade promotion and feeling excited about starting Junior High, yet at the same time worried about changing classrooms and remembering where everything was. 


    Junior High graduation. I was cool. Excited. No longer did I have to say I was in the “blank” grade. Now I was a Freshman. At the time it was great … until I got there and quickly learned I was at the bottom of the bunch. Then a Sophomore. 


    OK, getting better. Now there were people below me. I knew my way around the school and thought this isn’t so bad. Junior year … driving, braces off, had my share of heartache. However, I survived and was ready to hold the coveted title of “Senior”


    High School graduation. I did it. Diploma in hand. I survived the heartache, the tests, the homework, the teachers I didn’t like, the snobby girls, and all that we know as high school. A sense of accomplishment. 


    I was free. Never to do another report (as they are called in high school), no more tests, and no more homework. The world was my oyster to do whatever I pleased. I was not college bound. Didn’t care to be. I wanted to live life.


    Well, after the harsh reality hit I took a few courses at the local Junior College. Not happy. Didn’t know what I wanted to be. What I wanted to do with my life. All I knew was I loved kids and I wanted to be a Mom someday. 


    Flash forward 15 years and I’m a Mom. A single mom. Not quite what I had planned. Happy.


    Flash forward another 5 years. I am now 38 years old with a 5 year old son. Working full-time and raising him the best I can. Haven’t touched a textbook or written a paper (as they are called in college) for almost 20 years. I was a high school graduate … what more did I need?


    I needed to finish college. 
    Not for a job. 
    Not because my parents told me to.
    Not for more pay. 


    But because I wanted to do it. I wanted to be able to tell my son that his Mom was a College Graduate. I wanted that sense of accomplishment and self-worth. To tell my son that no matter what, no matter how hard life is, now matter how many times you feel like giving up … anything is possible.


    Flash forward another 2 1/2 years. Now 23 years since I graduated high school and received that coveted “diploma”. At age 41, I will be walking in a commencement ceremony tomorrow as my family and son witness me receiving not a diploma, but a college degree. 
    Bachelor of Science in Psychology.


    Excited. Yes. 
    Scared. Yes. 


    Am I dreaming? No.
    Will I ever stop learning? No.


    Surreal. Yes. 
    Proud. Yes. 
    Accomplished. Absolutely.

  • Wordless Wednesday – Memorial Day Fun

  • Preserving Memories

    Children grow up so fast and as far as I can tell there is no way to bottle up those little humans we call our children. Our life. Our reason for living. The small hands that once wrapped around our finger. The small toes we once counted to make sure all ten were there. The small bottoms that once fit in our hand.

    Sure, we can take pictures and create scrapbooks … but what about all those cherished pieces of artwork that our children bring home from school? So proud of what their small hands have created. Who has the room to store all of these masterpieces? And if the artwork is packed away in a box, how are we, as mothers, to look at it over and over again?

    The solution is what I have spent the past 4 years and most of today creating. Each time Dylan brought home a wonderful work of art, I took a picture of his creation and filed it away on my computer. Adding descriptions, the date he made it, and what he called the piece of art. Today, I have begun creating a photo book with Kodak Gallery. Starting at only $12 for a 5×7 up to $70 for a 12×14 hard cover book. Can you really put a price on preserving the creative memories of your child’s artwork? I say no. For a mere $35, I have created a personalized 9×10.5 hard cover photo book.

    Don’t lose your child’s masterpieces in a box someplace in the attic. Start creating your personalized photo book today.

    Click here to see what I’ve done so far. Saving a few pages for artwork that will come home the end of June and then I will have the photo book printed. 

  • What a difference a few years makes …

    Tears fill my eyes and Pride fills my heart.

  • Just Another Day at the Zoo

    When I asked Dylan what he wanted to do he excitedly said, San Diego Zoo! Life has been so crazy with work and school that we haven’t had time to visit the animals he loves so much. So it was up early and off to San Diego for the day.

    Dylan has been going to the San Diego Zoo since he was only 9 months old and he can tell you every nook and cranny of this place. If you get lost, he will tell you where to go. If you have a question about an animal, he will give you the answer.

    After walking through the entrance it was business as usual … first stop, the Reptile House. We have seen this Komodo Dragon at least 25 times, but he begged me to take a picture because it was “close up” and the Galapagos Turtles were just too cute. Mommy and baby … but that baby was HUGE!

    Next, he wanted to see the Polar Bears. Now, for those of you who have been to the San Diego Zoo, you know what a hike it is to get to those darn animals … and if you are lucky, you will actually get to see them doing something other than sleeping. I have been begging Dylan to ride the Skyfari for years now and he keeps saying he is afraid because it is so high. Well, this time he decided to take a chance. Maybe it was the bribery that he would have to walk all the way up there, or maybe the thought of getting off right at the Polar Bear exhibit. Whatever it was, I was just happy I didn’t have to walk there!

    Guess what? He loved it!

    …and the Polar Bear wasn’t sleeping!

    Ok, so Dylan is almost 8 years old … but when you are at the San Diego Zoo it is tradition to climb on every statue and take a picture. The life-size book about how the Polar Bears came to live at the zoo was pretty cool too and Dylan stood there turning the pages and reading every word.

    Now it was time to make our way down through the other exhibits. So many animals to see and so little time. Well, we had all day … it was really a matter of how long our feet could walk.

    There is a rock next to the River Otter exhibit that Dylan has been climbing on since he was 2 years old and he always insists on taking a picture here. He climbs up and strikes a pose. Such a goofball! One of these days I should line up all the pictures to see how much he has grown, but if I do that I will realize my little boy is growing up too fast!

    Mommy and Baby Hippo

    Yes, that orange blur is a Tiger!

    They had just fed the Lions and now they are resting.

    Today was an amazing day. I got to spend real quality time with Dylan with no agenda, no place to be, and tons of laughs. I watched him run and play, absorb more information about animals (if that’s even possible), and best of all … I got to hold his hand. It has been so long since Dylan has even wanted to hold my hand when I try to take his hand in mine. But today, today Dylan kept reaching for my hand. Best feeling ever!

    My little chunky monkey is all grown up. Now he plays with the big boys. However, he will still hold my hand, at least for a little while.

  • We Won!

    Dylan is so excited that we won this Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Giveaway from Disney and Glitterful Felt Stories. What a great way to end the week!

    Be sure to check out the Glitterful Felt Stories site for some amazing giveaways and excellent articles on healthy eating, kid friendly crafts, and so much more!

  • Wordless Wednesday – Dylan

  • Scout-O-Rama

    For those of you who purchased a coupon booklet from Dylan, Thank You! He sold enough to attend Scout-O-Rama 2011 and we had the most amazing time. Scout-O-Rama is basically the annual trade show for scouting. Hundreds of booths to see with crafts, games, activities, cooking, and so much more… all run by the boys themselves. Many of the older boys (Boy Scouts) are required to run a booth and teach something to the younger boys (Cub Scouts) to earn merit badges. This year, Scout-O-Rama was held at Oak Canyon Park in Silverado. Beautiful day in the wilderness. Dylan had a blast and earned three more belt loops in the process!

    Just one of the many bridges Dylan walked across …

     Shooting with Grandpa … a guy thing!

    Cool bridge built by the Scout from Saigon!

    He amazed me at his accuracy.

    Dylan earned his Geography Belt Loop at this booth …

    They had the coolest obstacle course, military style, but Dylan did the course so fast that I couldn’t get pictures. You should have seen how fast his little legs went through those tires!

    Dylan did 10 push-ups, no problem!

    And what would a scouting event be without some sort of cart racing?

    Not the finish line, but the ice chests did stop him!

    Last but not least … a watermelon eating contest!

    The perfect way to spend a Saturday with my Wolf Cub.


  • Wordless Wednesday – Worth Every Penny Dylan Had!

  • Who Knew LEGO’s Could Be So Much Fun?

    After learning some fascinating facts about LEGO’s and seeing how LEGO’s are made, Dylan’s mind went into overload!

    All it takes is a visit to the LEGO Factory at Legoland and the imagination of a child takes off. Hours of play using nothing but his hands and his imagination. Three hours of building with these little pieces of plastic resulted in a campfire scene complete with a rainbow tent and animals of all sorts. No instruction booklet needed, he just used his creative abilities.

    Yes, that is a bat on top of the rainbow tent. The odd looking thing in the front? Why a beaver building his dam of course! What else would it be?

    A monkey and an owl in a tree.
    A snake, turtle and skunk family.

    People around the campfire cooking a fish.

    So proud of himself!  I don’t think I could have done this if I tried.