Life with Dylan

Category: OC Register

  • Do you buy a gift for your child’s teacher?

    Yes, it’s that time of year again. The holidays are upon us and that means buying gifts for the people that are special in our lives.

    Teachers are probably the most important people in our children’s lives – besides parents that is.

    But what do you buy a teacher? How much do you spend?

    Do you make the gifts?

    Do you buy for the aides and the office staff too?

    I recently compiled a list of gift ideas for teachers as part of the OC Moms Gift Guide. Some you can make at home and others are under $15. Take a look and leave a comment on the article.

    Do you have a favorite gift that you give teachers at Christmas?

  • Help Local Schools by Recycling

    File Photo – The Orange County Register

    If you are anything like me, you want to help your child’s school – but writing a check for $100 just isn’t in the budget. Sure, you can buy a magazine subscription from the school fundraiser – but do you really need another magazine delivered to your home?

    After doing some research I found that many local schools, including my son’s school, have community recycling days. Cans, plastic bottles, newspapers … some even have plain old paper recycling (the junk mail and envelopes from bills)

    You can read my article from The Orange County Register on OC Moms website. There are some great ways you can help local schools raise money for science, art, school gardens, and so much more!

  • Why Veterans Day is Special To Me

    Many people think of Veterans Day as just another day that schools and banks are closed. An extra day to sleep in and get some things done around the house … but how many people does this day mean something more to? How many families are affected by this day on a personal level?

    While I was growing inside my mother’s womb, my father was fighting a war in Vietnam.

    This week Dylan has to write a report, A Veteran’s Story, and interview someone he knew that fought for our country. He interviewed his grandpa and learned about life as Sargeant in the United States Marine Corps.

    Explaining what a veteran is to a child can be difficult, depending on the age of the child, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to teach Dylan more about the men and women who fought and are still fighting for our freedom. Along with his report, we visited the Lyon Air Museum where he got a first hand look at the military history of our country.

    We took this opportunity to share our experience with the readers of The Orange County Register and OC Moms with an article about how you can teach your children about Veterans Day too.

    Do you have a special family member that you honor on Veterans Day?

    If so, take a minute and say Thank You today and let them know how much you appreciate them.

  • Did You See That Tail Fluke?

    What another surfer was almost swallowed by a whale off the California coast?

    Hey, did you see that guy in his kayak that almost got toppled over by the blue whale?

    Oh, and don’t forget about the blue whale that came so close to a boat in Dana Point that passengers got an eye-to-eye view.

    MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

    Yes, it seems that everywhere we turn someone is having a close encounter with these magnificent creatures of the ocean. I recently wrote an article for OC Moms about whale watching and now I want to go on another trip. Read my article and find out where you can go whale watching along with some great tips for taking the family out for the day on a whale watching cruise.

    ‘Thar she blows …

  • Our Day at Centennial Farm

    This past weekend I decided to not work and spend some quality time with Dylan. Since funds are tight, I was looking for something fun to do that wouldn’t cost a lot of money. The Orange County Register has a great listing on Saturdays called Cheap and Fun Things To Do Today in the OC so I took a look and saw Centennial Farm. We haven’t been there in a long time, so I thought this would be the perfect thing for us to do. Dylan thought so too. We spent almost 2 hours here and spent no money. The perfect Saturday!

    Centennial Farm is part of the Orange County Fairgrounds and many people don’t know it’s even there. This is a real working farm. School groups can come here and learn about what products come from the animals, watch and learn how to milk a cow, and see an amazing garden! The farm is open to the public at no cost, of course donations are always appreciated.

    No farm is complete without a red barn!

    Inside the barn we learned all about pigs and cows. What type of food we get from the animals and what kinds of products are made from the the animals. Did you know that crayons are made with byproducts from pigs? I sure didn’t!

    Everyone knows that dairy products come from cows, but Dylan found it interesting to see what parts of the cow different meat came from. He also learned about the various types of cows and how only certain cows are used for milk. I didn’t have the heart to tell him where veal came from.
    I don’t like veal, so I  figured it was ok – since we won’t be having veal anytime soon.

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  • I’m in Print Today!

    Today may be just another Tuesday for most of you, but not for me and Dylan. Today an article I wrote for OC Moms made it in print. Page 3 of the Life section in today’s Orange County Register you can find my article about tips for visiting the Irvine Park Railroad Pumpkin Patch.

    When I showed Dylan the newspaper this morning he said, “My Mom is famous!” Well, not famous honey … more like accomplished  and recognized. Either way, it’s a big day in our house.

    If you don’t get the paper, you can still read the article online.