Life with Dylan

Category: Quality Time

  • A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away …

    What better way to introduce Dylan to the fine art of live performances than to take him to play put on by children in our community through the Arts and Learning Program … and the theme of Star Wars was a sure bet to get him interested. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – The Musical Edition. The perfect mother/son date night. Dylan prepared himself by wearing his Yoda t-shirt and Jedi Academy sweatshirt. So cute! Of course the waiting to get in was a test of his patience, but I knew to go early for the pre-play extras.

    The play was good, but it was the before part that really got Dylan excited! Real live Star Wars characters … walking around and taking pictures with the kids. They even had droids, very cool if I do say so myself. We could not take pictures inside, but the ones from before the play are priceless!

    Cool Car Mom!

    The Droids (fully remote controlled)
    C-3PO

    Planning their next move …

    Storm Trooper

    Boba Fett

    Darth Vader

    All characters are volunteers from the 501st Legion and the Rebel Legion who have made their costumes themselves. Darth Vader told me he had over $5,000 invested in his costume. They were amazing!

    I was able to locate this picture through a promotional site for the play so you can see the actors, all ranging from age 5-13 … some are natural born Broadway talents!

  • 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 …

  • How Much Is Too Much?

    After school sports and clubs, Cub Scouts, homework, reading, chores … when do you say enough is enough? Do mom’s really have time for all this, or is it just because I am a single mom who works full time that I find this all a little crazy? Sure, we want our kids to be well rounded and participate in a variety of activities to find out what they really like, but when do they actually have time to be a kid? Dylan has tennis on Wednesday after school, Science Club on Thursday after school, Cub Scout activities and badges to earn, and about 40 minutes of homework plus a minimum 30 minutes of reading each night. I feel bad making him do chores and clean up his toys all the time because then he would have no time to play outside, watch TV, or play his video games. Now I know that TV and video games are not a priority, but the poor kid has been in school all day and then comes home to do more work. Kids need an outlet just like adults do.

    Almost every time he asks the kids next door to play they say they can’t play. Their mom has them in so many different activities (Art class, Music lessons, Singing lessons, Soccer, Running Club, and who knows what else) that these kids have no time to just PLAY. Is playing a thing of the past? Am I a bad mom because I don’t sign Dylan up for everything under the sun?

    I let him choose what he wants to do and he likes the activities he does. Cub Scouts is something that he enjoys with me and his Grandpa and the after school activities are teaching him new things and sportsmanship. We spend time on weekends doing art projects at home, puzzles, and he enjoys cooking and baking with me. So why sign him up for another class to learn art when I can do it with him and spend quality time together?

  • Sleep is Overrated

    If I count the sleepless nights during pregnancy, it has been 8 years since I have had a full nights sleep. By a full night I mean more than 5 or 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I can remember being so excited when Dylan was a toddler and strong enough to open the refrigerator. I could fill a sippy cup with milk and he could get it when he woke up then crawl back in bed with me; I was good for at least another 30 minutes. Then he was old enough to use the remote and he could turn on the Disney channel and watch cartoons; this gave me almost another hour of sleep. Dylan is now 7 years old. He is fully capable of getting himself something to drink, a cereal bar to tide him over, watch some cartoons, play with Lego’s, or even play the Wii … so I am left wondering, Why must he always wake me up at 7am on a Saturday?

    Does he not realize that we do not have to go to work or school today? Or that I was up past 1 am working on homework or marketing projects for Shel Cosmetics? I only get about 5 hours of sleep during the week, so I treasure my weekends when I have the option to sleep until at least 8 am. Yes, I said option. As I sit here watching Dylan play Donkey Kong on the Wii I am reminded of what I seem to always complain about. Quality time with my son. Having me in the room watching him play, commenting every now and then on his game playing skills, and congratulating him when he beats a level is important to my son. I had 30+ years to sleep in on the weekends and soon it will be me trying to get him up when he is a teenager. So considering the limited amount of time that I have with my son before he is grown up and off to college … I can do without sleep.

    Besides, what other excuse would I have to order my Vanilla Macadamia Nut coffee in bulk direct from Hawaii? Quality time with my son and great Hawaiian coffee, Yes … sleep is definitely overrated!