Life with Dylan

Category: laughter

  • Dylan’s Perfect Day

    Take a child who loves LEGO’s more than video games and who eats and sleeps Star Wars … put the two together and you have one very happy boy named Dylan.

    Imagine his delight when I told him that Mom wasn’t doing any homework today, that instead we were renewing our annual passes and spending the day at Legoland. Wow, I do believe I just became the World’s Best Mom! Dylan has been seeing commercials for months about the Star Wars Mini Land coming soon to Legoland and he has been begging to go see it. What an amazing day. Words can’t even describe the things we saw today. From the spectacular sandcastle we saw as we entered the park, to the LEGO murals, to the life size Star Wars characters, and of course the amazing LEGO creations made by the Master Builders depicting scenes from the Star Wars movies … WOW, what a day!

    Yes, these murals are made from LEGO’s!
     

    The LEGO’s were even in the trees!

    Like I said, words can’t even describe…
    And what would a trip to Legoland be without a casual drive through the city? Learning all the rules of the road so he can get his drivers license.

    Last but not least … a priceless portrait of my Jedi!

    And that was Dylan’s Perfect Day!

  • Longing for Childhood

    As I sit on the floor surrounded by bills that need to be paid, piles of receipts for my tax return that I have yet to file, laundry that needs to be folded, and a term paper that needs to be written I find myself wanting to cry. Then I catch a glimpse of Dylan out of the corner of my eye. He is sitting at the table drawing a comic strip about a marshmallow. The marshmallow who is about to become a s’more over a campfire. Suddenly I find myself laughing and listening to him tell me what will happen next.

    Why are we all in such a hurry to grow up? To be independent and free from our parents? Oh, how I remember counting the days until I was 18 and could move out on my own. Freedom. Nobody to tell me what to do or when I had to be home. Now that I am a ‘grown up’ I realize that I also have nobody to cook for me, do my laundry, clean my living room, wash my dishes, buy my food, or pay the bills to keep the television and lights on so I can watch my favorite shows.

    I find myself longing for childhood and the carefree days of playing with friends. Not a care in the world except for what game I would play at recess or wondering what my Mom packed in my lunch box.

    Take time to be child with your child. Forget about the dishes and the laundry for just one day. Sit on the floor and build LEGO’s, color a picture, go to the park and toss a ball, play a mindless video game, watch Tom and Jerry, whatever makes you feel carefree and childlike. If I can do this just one day a week maybe, just maybe I won’t be longing for childhood so much and the responsibilities of adulthood won’t seem so undesirable.

    So again I ask, why are we all in such a hurry to grow up?

  • The Ultimate LEGO Experience

    Today was the first day of the 3-day Grand Opening Celebration of the new LEGO Store in South Coast Plaza. What better reason is there to take Dylan out of school early than to give him the ultimate LEGO experience? I took the day off work today to relax and free myself from stress, so why not let loose and have some fun! Oh my, I think I was almost as excited as Dylan was. The new LEGO Store is located on the lower level in Carousel Court on the Rainforest Cafe wing.

    Before you go into the LEGO Store, be sure to stop by the Master Builder area located right next to the carousel and help build an 8 foot tall Yoda from LEGO’s. There is a Yoda already built that stands about 2 feet tall so the kids can see what the finished product will look like. Stations are set up with friendly LEGO employees to help.

    Each brick you build is 4 x 4 and is equal to one normal size LEGO. You can choose from tan, brown, or green bricks … or make one of each like Dylan did!

    Once you have built your bricks, you give them to the LEGO Master Builder and he places them where they need to go.

    Dylan getting a high-5 as he hands his bricks to the LEGO Master Builder

    Now, off to the LEGO Store so we can get Dylan’s certificate. Yes, you get an official Master Builder Certificate of Achievement for helping out. (While supplies last)

    What a great way to get people into the store right? We spent almost an hour in the store looking at all the displays and deciding what LEGO’s to purchase! Using our VIP card, we were able to earn double points and get a FREE LEGO Universe online game. Dylan was overcome with excitement. Just look at all those LEGO’s!

    Also, the first 300 people to visit the store on Saturday, March 12th can receive these Limited Edition Collectible Mini Figures with any $35 purchase.

    In the words of Dylan, today was the “Ultimate LEGO Experience” and a day with my son I will always remember.

    What is your favorite LEGO memory?

  • The simple things …

    Today was Dylan’s day and somehow it turned out to be one of the best days I have had in a long time. Nothing really planned out, just a few errands to run and then play at the park. Our day started at GameStop because Dylan saw a commercial on television that said you could bring in your DS and Pokemon Platinum game and get a free mystery Pokemon downloaded to your game. This made him happy. Then off to the Scouting store to buy a bigger shirt and some patches we needed. Nothing too exciting. Next it was off to the park to play a little football. Yes, I said football. Believe it or not, I have a pretty good arm and even surprised my Dad that I knew how to hold a football properly.

    Practicing his form
    Seconds before he threw the ball down … Touchdown!

    Listening to Dylan give play by plays and instructing me what to do was hilarious. I told him he should try playing football and he said no because they get tackled. So I suggested he try Quarterback since they don’t get tackled as much. He still said no. He just wants to play for fun. Fine with me because I don’t want to watch my baby being tackled. As we got in the car to leave he said, “Mom, that was awesome!” Totally made my day. Today was such a beautiful day too … perfect for tossing the ball around.

    Next it was off to Downtown Disney for a visit to the LEGO Store. Dylan realized he needed a few things to complete what he has been working on. Good thing Grandma and Grandpa were with us because his eyes were bigger than his wallet.

    The infamous Death Star, a mere $399

    No, Dylan did not get the Death Star! Although, he has been asking for this for two years now with the same enthusiasm … if he keeps it up, Santa just might bring it to him one year. What made this trip to the LEGO Store so special is Dylan had his new wallet and was ready to spend his coveted $12. Today we also joined the LEGO VIP Club and now earn points toward every purchase made in the store or online.

    Creating with his new Legos

    While Dylan was searching the store for his purchases I was mentioning to my Mom that I couldn’t believe they had not opened a Lego store at South Coast Plaza. Ironically, when we got home and I was online registering our new VIP card I did a search for store locations … and guess what? Next week (March 11-13) is the Grand Opening of the LEGO Store at South Coast Plaza! Some really cool events will be going on during the Grand Opening, including an opportunity for kids to help a Lego Master Builder build an 8 foot tall Yoda out of LEGO’s that will be displayed in the store. This is definitely going on our calender!

    Take the time to enjoy the simple things in life. 

    When was the last time you enjoyed the simple things with your child?

  • My Inspiration

    As much as I love my life with Dylan, there are those days when I feel like the world is crumbling around me. I am not perfect. I can offer advice and help others, but I cannot always take the advice or help from those who want to help me. Last night I went to a meeting with a group of women, my friends, the members of Divine Perceptions. Aside from helping each other with our businesses, we help each other grow into better, stronger women.

    So just when my world was crumbling around me and I felt I could not catch me breath, these women reminded me of how strong I am. We are all human and we all get down sometimes. However, we all have something or someone who inspires us to keep going.

    Because this meeting went well past Dylan’s bedtime, he spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa. The house was so quiet this morning. While we should not live our lives for someone else, but rather live our lives for ourselves, the quiet of the house when I woke up reminded me of what my inspiration is to keep moving forward. I realized that it does not matter how much money I make, how successful my business is, or how many friends I have. What matters is how I live my life and that I live my life with positive thoughts and actions.

    To do this, I look to my inspiration …

  • Our Christmas Card Photo Shoot

    This year we decided to go with a photo card and who better to take the pictures than our favorite Aunt Stephanie.
    Forget the perfectly posed portrait, we like candid, laughing, this is who we are pictures!
    No Dylan, don’t smile, don’t do funny faces, don’t make bunny ears behind Mommy’s head … yep, threw those rules out the window and had a blast just being us!

    And here is what we got …

     For some reason, I adore this picture. Maybe because the expression on his face that I love so much was finally captured on film.
     He may be 60+ pounds, but he will always be my baby!

    And here is the completed project …