Life with Dylan

Category: School

  • Open House!

    I remember being a child and getting so excited for Open House. This was the one night that I could really show off all my talents and hard work to my parents on my playing field … my classroom! This year, the theme for Dylan’s Open House was the ocean and all the wonderful creatures who call the ocean their home. Being the little brainchild that he is, Dylan volunteered to help each student with the research for the individual reports. The teacher gave him a list of all the ocean animals and he brought in his books (with pages marked for each student) and shared his wealth of knowledge.

    I have only seen Dylan this excited to go to school a few times. He kept asking me if it was time to go yet. Knowing how much I love the ocean, Dylan was super anxious for me to see all of the wonderful things he had been doing in class. The classroom was completely transformed into an underwater world and I was so amazed at what Mrs. Fratantaro had done with the kids. Orca whales on one wall, jellyfish hanging from the ceiling, starfish and sea urchins lining the ledges, sea otters on another wall … all beautifully made by the students. Oh, and the reports … wow!

    Dylan and his Viper Fish

    Love this painted fish and on the back is a story.

    Handmade with love. A ceramic fish I will treasure always.

    I am so proud of Dylan. I can’t wait for him to bring home all the other things he made!

  • Something Had To Give …

    There come a point in time when you have many so many things going on, deadlines to meet, papers to write, laundry to wash, and as hard as you try to keep all the balls in the air sometimes something has to give. Unfortunately, the ball that I just couldn’t keep in the air was our blog. So, finally someone told me that they have been checking our blog and it still shows Dylan’s birthday from July 2010.

    Once again, I will do a quick recap and try my best to keep up. I promise once school is done in May I will have more time. At least I hope so! In a nutshell, here is what we have been doing:
    DYLAN – excelling at school (2nd grade now), advanced to Wolf Cub Scout, started after-school tennis and science classes, loves reading and of course playing his video games!
    MICHELLE – still working for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, still attending University of Phoenix (BS in Psychology), running a successful business (Shel Cosmetics), single handedly keeping Starbucks in business so I can stay awake on a mere 4 1/2 hours sleep, and of course raising the most wonderful child on God’s planet!

    OK, now for the pictures to get you all caught up …

    Dylan caught a fish!
    Just another summer day at Disneyland …
    First day of school, not a happy camper to get up at 6:30am after sleeping til 9 all summer

    The cutest Anakin Skywalker for Halloween
    Mommy and Dylan self-portrait after Aunt Stephie’s Engagement Party!
    2nd Grade School Picture

  • School’s Out for Summer!

    I can’t believe another school year has come and gone so quickly! My little boy is now officially a 2nd grader and I am so proud of him. Dylan’s reading, penmanship, and math skills are above average and he seems to amaze me every day with his wit and knowledge.

    Dylan receiving his award for reading 4,950 pages during the school year.
    Top Otter Log Reading Award … 
    Proud beyond words!!

  • Big 1st Grader


    I still can’t believe my little baby is all grown up … well at least grown up as much as a six year old can be! I am so lucky to have a child who is so enthusiastic about his homework. Dylan loves reading and math is his favorite subject in school. Reading I understand, but the math, seriously? This must be a ripple effect from me spending the entire summer taking College Algebra I and II. Dylan is doing great in school so far and of course he has become one of the teacher’s favorites. I’m so proud of my little boy!