Life with Dylan

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  • Wordless Wednesday – All grown up

    A new haircut and he looks years older than he is. Oh, Dylan … don’t grow up so fast.

  • The day Dylan saved the caterpillar

    On a recent visit to the San Diego Zoo my son did the unthinkable – well, at least to a parent. He ran out into the street just as one of those big tour buses was coming up the hill. Why would he do such a thing? He knows better. I knew the bus would slow down, or even stop because they don’t go that fast anyway, so I proceeded to run after him. I know, not smart.

    Before I could grab his arm, he was kneeling down on the ground. What on earth … and then I saw it.

    Of course. The only reason my son would run out in front of a moving vehicle was to save some sort of creature. How he saw it is still a question I can’t answer, but right there in the middle of the pavement was a beautiful caterpillar.

    One who was sure to meet his fate against the tires of the bus if Dylan hadn’t run after him.

    Lucky for us (and the caterpillar) some other people were still in the street by the Polar Bears and the bus had to slow down. Dylan gently picked up the caterpillar and we walked back to the sidewalk. Now that we were all out of harms way it was time to introduce ourselves to this little creature. This was the softest caterpillar I have ever touched and at the moment when Dylan let me hold him, I realized the reason he ran out in the street. 



    Once you hold nature in your hands, you are forever connected and the desire to preserve and protect becomes second nature. 



  • Why Yes, You Can Recycle That!

    Nothing gets under my skin more than people who don’t, or should I say won’t recycle. For one reason or another they say it is too much work. Now I will admit that I make more of an effort to recycle than the average person does, but once you start recycling it just becomes second nature.

    Common excuses I hear are:

    1. I don’t have time
    2. I don’t know what to recycle
    3. The city recycles for me

    Number 3 has got to be my favorite – let someone else do it.  

    Although you can buy a variety of containers for your recycling, they really are not necessary to do the job. Making your own bins to separate paper, plastic, cardboard, cans, bottles, newspapers, etc is quite simple. Rather than use plastic bags, that will just be thrown away, to collect your aluminum cans and plastic bottles try a reusable shopping bag. The handles make it easy to carry them down to your car and to the recycling center.

    I personally do not use paper or plastic bags, but when Dylan’s school stuff came home in a brown paper bag I reused it. The paper bag makes the perfect collecting spot for plastic containers, soup cans, and egg cartons that can be recycled. It only takes a few seconds to rinse out the containers and tear off the can labels.

    Newspapers, magazines, junk mail, cardboard boxes from food – just stack them up – no container needed.

    My recycling wall. 

    Now the city I live in does provide recycling trash cans, so this is where I put my stack of newspapers and other paper products. Cans, bottles, and plastic I take to the recycling center once a month. 

    OK, for those of you who answer with number 3 from above – the city recycles for me. Well, so does my city. However, if you read your cities web page you will probably find something along the lines of what my city’s web page says.

    In compliance with the State-mandated recycling goals, the City contracts with CR&R to transport all City-collected solid waste to a materials recovery facility (MRF) where the waste is sorted. The MRF is uniquely designed to separate and recover recyclable materials from unsorted (commingled) household waste. This process eliminates the need for additional containers and separate collection pick up normally associated with residential recycling programs. Even though residents are not required to separate their recyclable, you are encouraged to seal wet refuse in bags to prevent contamination of newsprint. (from the City of Newport Beach web page)

    As you can see, only the recyclable goods that have not been contaminated can actually be recycled. To save the newspaper, you are asked to seal your wet trash in a plastic bag. 
    Doesn’t using a plastic bag defeat the purpose of recycling?

    Now that I have you thinking about recycling, let’s go one step further. 
    Have you heard of TerraCycle? If not, you have now. TerraCycle is the answer to all things you didn’t think could be recycled. Personal care and beauty product packaging previously just thrown in a landfill can now be recycled through a TerraCycle brigade. So my shampoo bottles, lotion tubes, and makeup containers go in a bin instead of the trash can. Once I have enough to fill a box, I will send them to TerraCycle (free with their prepaid shipping label) and I can have the money donated to a charity of my choice or I can redeem points for products made from the recycled packaging. It’s a win-win situation. The same applies to my bin of GoGo squeeZ applesauce packages. 
    My recycling area is next to my trash can so it doesn’t take any extra effort. I go to the same area with trash and my recycling. The best thing is that I only take out my trash once every two weeks because 90% of what I use can be recycled. 
    Now that you now how easy it is to recycle, that recycling doesn’t cost you any money, and that YES, you can recycle that … I’m giving you a challenge.
    I challenge you to start recycling one new thing during the month of July. If it’s cans and plastic bottles great, but think outside the box and start recycling something that you don’t get money for. After all, the point of recycling isn’t just to get money … we recycle to reduce the impact of landfills on the environment. 
    Are you up for the challenge? What will you start recycling this month?

  • Why you need to keep taking those pictures …

    We all take pictures of our children – it’s what parents do. Birthday parties, holidays, vacations and now with cell phone cameras, there isn’t a reason we can’t snap a picture at any time of the day or night. Sometimes we think we take too many pictures and sometimes our children don’t want us to take their picture.

    Well, the next time your child says No more pictures Mom! – think again.

    Last night I was looking through old pictures on the computer and realized that sometimes a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Sometimes a picture, no matter how many times you have taken the same picture, same pose, same location … is priceless.

    The sign stayed the same, but boy did my son grow up! Not to mention the tress and the plants.

    Yep, he always wants to pose in the tree by the hippos. I won’t be telling him not another picture in the tree anymore.

    This has got to be one of my favorite “then and now” pictures from the San Diego Zoo. Ever since he was a toddler, he asks to eat at the Treetop Cafe – at his table. Yes, he actually believes that this is his table and we always sit here. In all the times we have visited the San Diego Zoo, these are the only two pictures I have of him at his table … now I’m wishing I had taken more.

    So wherever your “picture spot” may be, keep taking those pictures. There is a reason you stop each time to take a picture here – and nothing is more priceless than watching your child grow up in photographs.

  • Wordless Wednesday – I made this

    I hated having to wake him on his second day of summer vacation, but I’m not on vacation until next week. He looked so peaceful sleeping as the morning sun lit up his room.

    No matter how old he gets, I love watching him sleep. 

  • A crash course in vermicomposting

    I will never forget the day Dylan came home from school and said, with bright eyes and a big smile, “Mom, just listen first, ok?” Oh, this can’t be good. I knew this was going to be something I would have to say yes to, but I must admit what he was about to ask me made me cringe a little.


    This past year, the third grade classes started vermicomposting (worms, for those of you who don’t know) in the school garden. I can’t tell you how many times he came home and told me about these little red wigglers that had become his “friends” – and guess what – They need a home for the summer.

    Now we have talked about starting our own worm bin, but mind you talk is all we have done. I don’t have a yard – we live in an apartment.

    Where would these red wigglers go? Would I have to touch them? Would they get out of the bin? Oh my, the thought of little worms crawling all over me flashed before my eyes.

    Well, last week I became the proud owner of a black bin filled with red wigglers. OK, I can do this – it’s just for the summer. The bin sat in my living room for about an hour while I prepared an area on the balcony that would be in full shade because the worms can’t be in direct sunlight.

    Dylan gave me the crash course in how much to feed them (we were also given a scale to weigh the food), when to water t-shirts that cover them (yes, they came with their own spray bottle), and what not to feed them. Citrus fruit is a big no-no, they don’t like too much acid. Oh, and apparently their favorite food is egg shells, coffee grinds and melon rind, so I have a baggie of melon rind in my fridge. 

    It’s been a week now and I will admit that these guys are growing on me. I actually look forward to coming home and checking on them. (Sshhh, don’t tell Dylan.)

    Do you compost? Is it something you would consider doing? I hear worm poop is the liquid gold of fertilizer. 


    Everything has its place in the ecosystem … even worms!




  • Protect the environment and donate your used cell phones

    Dylan will be collecting used cell phones from June 25 through July 10, 2012


    Once his box is full, he will be sending the phones to the fundraising company and they will send him a check for the phones based on their market value price list. Every phone is worth something and every little bit will help him reach his goal of $1,000



    Cell phone facts:

    ·Over
    100 million cell phones are stockpiled in U.S. households creating 50,000 tons
    of potentially hazardous waste.

    ·On
    average Americans replace their cell phones every 12-18 months. An estimated
    130 million cell phones are discarded annually in the U.S. alone.

    ·Cell
    phones contain toxic substances including Arsenic, Antimony, Beryllium,
    Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Nickel and Zinc which leach into soil and groundwater
    and form toxins during incineration which have been associated cancer and a
    range of reproductive, neurological and developmental disorders.

    ·The
    cadmium from a single cell phone is capable of polluting 158,200 gallons of
    water. (That’s 2.4 million 8-ounce sodas!)

  • Goodbye Lonesome George

    You’ve heard it said before … Extinction is forever, Endangered means we still have time … and sadly today this quote has a new meaning to the world.

    Lonesome George passed away today. He was the last Galapagos tortoise of his species.

    Although many breeding attempts were made, the conservation efforts were unsuccessful. Galapagos National Park rangers estimate that Lonesome George was about 100 years old.

    Lonesome George became known as a conservation icon and will always be remembered to me and Dylan as the one we never got to meet. So many other species are critically endangered and need our help. Don’t let them be the last one like Lonesome George.

    Goodbye Lonesome George.

    Photo courtesy of putneymark under the Creative Commons License.

  • Wordless Wednesday – Magnificent Jellies

    The tentacles on these jellyfish reminds me of silly string.

     Photos taken on a recent trip to Aquarium of the Pacific.

  • Sometimes God needs little angels too

    Last week was a rough one for me and for many of the teachers and students at Ensign Intermediate School. Working at a school, you become very close to the students … so close that these students seem to become children of your own. You see them every day and you watch them grow. You share in their triumphs and in their sorrows – and when the unthinkable happens, your cry with them.

    Last week, one of our students, Madison “Maddy” May Boutelle, passed away. She was only 13 years old. Taken away from her friends and family too soon, but I know that God had a reason. Death is hard for adults, so you can only imagine what it must be like for a teenager. The hallways were quieter than usual and the tears came without warning. As a school counselor told me, sometimes it hits you like a tsunami and you have to just go with it.

    I attended the services to celebrate the life of Maddy on Saturday, along with over 1,000 other people, most of which were her classmates. It was a beautiful service, but something I can’t get out of my mind is the church filled with children. Children saying goodbye to their friend. A girl who accepted everyone for who they were and did not judge. A girl who had a smile that could light up a room. As beautiful as this sight was, and I will never forget it, I hope I never have to see it again.

    Something I learned about Maddy was that she always said hello with a smile and hug and goodbye with I love you. I think this is wonderful way to live life.

    I know that life cannot be lived in the what if, but the what if is all I could think about for the latter part of the week. What would I do if something ever happened to Dylan? No parent should ever have to say goodbye to their child. I don’t know when God will need me or when he will need my son, but I do know that I cannot live life in the what ifs. I will say hello with a smile and a hug and I will say goodbye with I love you.

    To all the parents out there – Love your children and cherish every moment you have with them. Hold them a minute longer, a little tighter – even when they start to pull away. Take nothing for granted and live life to the fullest. Take the time to get to know your children and be their friend as well as their parent. Take pictures, lots of pictures.

    Because you never know when God is going to need a little angel to watch over us.