tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71799482670567846732024-02-27T14:53:31.421-05:00Daddy's in Charge?Chronicling the Misadventures of a Stay at Home DadDaddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.comBlogger424125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-75051721567654166942019-01-28T13:14:00.002-05:002019-01-28T13:15:27.346-05:007 Reasons Why I Haven't Written in Over a Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rjabZXEMLlRepFfejlyaWmGCpn8kkPx52BTDJJ4DGj2gNKK5BPHh1Z1GIH-dtJiNzu47HJeh7Vhs9wrqiW-aUNZfzEmai1XepHafYIeODDmyi1cVAxOvfTtZl6og9yRAMUmf_t8G1dru/s1600/IMG_9322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rjabZXEMLlRepFfejlyaWmGCpn8kkPx52BTDJJ4DGj2gNKK5BPHh1Z1GIH-dtJiNzu47HJeh7Vhs9wrqiW-aUNZfzEmai1XepHafYIeODDmyi1cVAxOvfTtZl6og9yRAMUmf_t8G1dru/s320/IMG_9322.JPG" width="550" /></a></div>
<br />
Hi.<br />
<br />
My name is John and I haven't written anything on here in forever. In fact, my last post is almost a year and a half ago and I was shilling for Barilla pasta. To be honest, it seems like longer than that. When I first started writing, everything was new and exciting. But then I started to realize that each year was one big cycle of events. I went from writing every day, to a couple of times a week, to a couple of times a month, to a couple of times a year, to basically a couple of times a decade.<br />
<br />
Here are 7 reasons why it's been so long:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHpjQi8OSQeJE7Dk9MHNfdDK-6F9Q9qACuHvx0Gyv80Rjtlo-LONgSYZn2LuNe8duhsHxRG7wwNMxkGRQxZetUF1W1s5XW-M_5Sv3rZpeqSKxbL7xMzS0ti5OxvN9xGjrVjN07Tw31DXda/s1600/fullsizeoutput_da2a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHpjQi8OSQeJE7Dk9MHNfdDK-6F9Q9qACuHvx0Gyv80Rjtlo-LONgSYZn2LuNe8duhsHxRG7wwNMxkGRQxZetUF1W1s5XW-M_5Sv3rZpeqSKxbL7xMzS0ti5OxvN9xGjrVjN07Tw31DXda/s320/fullsizeoutput_da2a.jpeg" width="250" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CEQSM7EP9W93VMuTdiM5W2uSD8oyUaiaF4hXW6yLNtIzrVx7Aexd2-hYx6GUXpZK7SuGgsEIrbbfxkdpI5DIemMCX1x85y0MqcvnSkrX_D_4YCo7KEaDuDuFVlGY3Mzn61uFy2WePjeN/s1600/fullsizeoutput_da36.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CEQSM7EP9W93VMuTdiM5W2uSD8oyUaiaF4hXW6yLNtIzrVx7Aexd2-hYx6GUXpZK7SuGgsEIrbbfxkdpI5DIemMCX1x85y0MqcvnSkrX_D_4YCo7KEaDuDuFVlGY3Mzn61uFy2WePjeN/s320/fullsizeoutput_da36.jpeg" width="250" /></a></div>
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<b>1. My kids aren't that young anymore. </b><br />
<br />
It was easy to write about them when they were six and three, but they are OLD now. I have a high school freshman and a sixth grader and yeah there are still stories to tell about them, but you really have to dance around some issues so you don't potentially embarrass them. Just because they are getting older doesn't mean that I no longer have to parent them, I just have to be cognizant of what I share about them online. Imagine a 14 going to school and all his friends reading about him going through puberty on my blog? It's not going to happen.<br />
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<b>2. I've found other outlets.</b><br />
<br />
I'm a creative guy at heart, but my background is in video. I spent 10 years in television news before I became a stay at home dad so it's always been easier for me to tell a story visually than through the written word. I hooked up with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and began telling stories about other fathers that I found online. Sharing other people's stories became more important than sharing my own.<br />
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<b>3. Everyone has a parenting blog.</b><br />
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There are about 48,275,622 parenting blogs on the internet. There are just way too many of us competing for the same set of eyes and to be honest, none of us are really that interesting. When you think that you have something new to write about, you then realize that the topic has been written about numerous times before. So I started to slow down.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqu1qoyAZ1C/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by John Willey (@jdubs44)</a> on <time datetime="2018-11-28T17:08:48+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 28, 2018 at 9:08am PST</time></div>
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<b>4. I went back to work.</b><br />
<br />
How could I still be Daddy's in Charge if I am working now? With the kids getting older and the wife starting her own business where she primarily works from home, I was able to head back to my old job working in television news. Right now I am working a few days a week which is great because I need the flexibility in case my wife has meetings or has to travel for business. The priority right now is to see her business grow and support that as much as possible.<br />
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<b>5. I don't read, why should I write?</b><br />
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I like to support my fellow dad bloggers, but I found myself not reading anything that they write. Unless it was a <a href="https://owtk.com/2019/01/photography-tips-for-your-next-royal-caribbean-symphony-of-the-seas-cruise/" target="_blank">travel piece that interested me</a>, the whole parenting space was just something that didn't excite me anymore. Like I said, there are millions of us and I've come to realize that there are just way too many opinions online and I didn't want to be another one that got lost in cyberspace.<br />
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<b>6. I'm too tired.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> Being a parent is exhausting and the last thing that you want to do is sit down at the computer and spend an hour writing. I used to stay up until 2:00 in the morning writing blog posts and analyzing analytics and looking back I can't believe I didn't opt for sleep instead. Or Netflix.<br />
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<b>7. Everything is political nowadays.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> I used to just tell jokes on Twitter and would occasionally appear in the Huffington Post, but now with our tweeter in chief all that has changed. Everyone is political even if you aren't trying to be. You have to pick a side now. Everything is black and white and there is no middle ground. It sucks really. Being online used to be a lifesaver for me and now it's more of a life suck than anything.<br />
<br />
Except for <a href="http://instagram.com/the.lego.dad" target="_blank">Lego Dad</a>. He has it going on.Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-82380282476346247032017-09-14T13:03:00.000-04:002017-09-14T13:03:24.753-04:00A 30 Minute Meal Your Kids Might Eat*I have partnered with <a href="http://barilla.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barilla</a> and Life of Dad for this promotion.<br />
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Now that school is back in session, it's time to get back to our routine. The summer was spent going from barbecue to barbecue, from pizza place to pizza place, and ice cream shop to ice cream shop. There never was a time where we sat down as a family and enjoyed a nice home cooked meal... there just wasn't any time. I know summers are supposed to be for relaxing, but it seemed to be nonstop from start to finish.<br />
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But now that school is back, all that HAS to change and it starts at the dinner table.<br />
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My boys can be picky, but they also have started to get into foods that they haven't eaten in the past. It used to be everything was bland or fried, but now they both seem to enjoy spice a little bit more... except when it comes to pasta. Like most kids, mine could eat pasta with butter for every meal. In fact I would say that the makeup of any child is 35% pasta. Our pantry is one shelf of cereal, one shelf cookies, and four shelves of <a href="http://barilla.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Barilla® </a>pasta. I would say that water boils in my house at least four hours each day.<br />
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Pasta... it's (usually) what's for dinner.<br />
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And lunch.<br />
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But it's time to shake up my pasta game a little bit and start offering my kids something more. I mean, my oldest is a teenager now and I can't send him off into the real world only being able to stomach pasta with butter. Knowing that they are capable of eating something else, I thought I would make them something they would enjoy... hopefully.<br />
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The first order of business when you are cooking for kids is to not over do it. I can't tell you how many times I've spent hours in the kitchen making something delicious only to see them snub their noses at it and end up eating cereal. Why should I put the effort in, when I know that the kids aren't going to enjoy it? So my goal from now on is to spend no more then 30 minutes on any meal, unless I'm using the crock pot where I can pretend that I spent all day cooking.<br />
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30 MINUTES... that's all it takes to satisfy the kids and YOU.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVK7kDYLGPPSVUnWpdf0y77zoeHmy9wF08JldQv5tExlu4K-v69nixtR5O5FBR2LPL8jNVJiC1taZb3sJ-JF8LtimZv1Pi1WI6WMWJJJV11MdGJiH4B_jSZVeaMIxNnojAgDjUFVD-6crI/s550/GPTempDownload.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVK7kDYLGPPSVUnWpdf0y77zoeHmy9wF08JldQv5tExlu4K-v69nixtR5O5FBR2LPL8jNVJiC1taZb3sJ-JF8LtimZv1Pi1WI6WMWJJJV11MdGJiH4B_jSZVeaMIxNnojAgDjUFVD-6crI/s550/GPTempDownload.jpg" /></a></div>
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Obviously this starts with all the basic ingredients: Barilla Mezzi Rigatoni, tomatoes, Barilla Chunky Traditional sauce, and cheese. I'm leaving out a surprise ingredient in case my kids see this recipe and wonder what the heck the green stuff in their food was.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_nza-4vOQFkH6Z_DQdyCTqw1Ehy1vJpmZvZ8musNtrNXvqNTrm2TuWb67XCeo9GyZZAsN0F3zxTJLv_PDkya7r6V2_t81VqBVkPQldCx45AJFIGpVsL9tZjZB6vF_YFoOL5QFZ163BxY/s550/GPTempDownload.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_nza-4vOQFkH6Z_DQdyCTqw1Ehy1vJpmZvZ8musNtrNXvqNTrm2TuWb67XCeo9GyZZAsN0F3zxTJLv_PDkya7r6V2_t81VqBVkPQldCx45AJFIGpVsL9tZjZB6vF_YFoOL5QFZ163BxY/s550/GPTempDownload.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzHd8sHkvMRB1s1H3JpTDlSZFDsy88s_AoEFhsbdFXfAb4DkTR9nUdHL68oOlbgRKBVXNRdRlUOgyY6R9bskztvMa7y_WBSoE0ZVMY0LFGOjX9HeCZQpNBur_CSDMRepHq0Nn9dyyAAT3/s1600/GPTempDownload.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzHd8sHkvMRB1s1H3JpTDlSZFDsy88s_AoEFhsbdFXfAb4DkTR9nUdHL68oOlbgRKBVXNRdRlUOgyY6R9bskztvMa7y_WBSoE0ZVMY0LFGOjX9HeCZQpNBur_CSDMRepHq0Nn9dyyAAT3/s550/GPTempDownload.jpg" /></a></div>
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The first order of business is to boil the water to where it's "al dente." Each box of Barilla pasta is different, so as to avoid mushy or overcooked pasta, please follow the instructions on the box.</div>
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The second step while the pasta is cooking is to cook the chicken. I put a little butter and oil in the pan and seasoned the chicken slightly with salt and pepper. Too much pepper and your kids will hate it.</div>
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Thirdly, we drain the pasta and set aside a plain serving for later.</div>
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Next we add tomatoes and our secret ingredient spinach into the pan that we used to cook the chicken in. </div>
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Next cut up the chicken and add that to the pan. Please make sure that you chicken is cooked all the way through. Consuming undercooked or raw chicken can cause you to become sick... not that I would know of course since I always seem to cook it WAY too much leaving it WAY too dry.</div>
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Add the Barilla Chunky Traditional sauce and coat evenly. Make sure not to use TOO much as you don't want your pasta to drown in the sauce. The sauce and the pasta should work in perfect harmony and too much much of either will detract from your dish.</div>
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Add the pasta and stir it all together. If you notice the green spinach you can add one more step.</div>
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CHEESE... it makes everything taste better, even spinach. </div>
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I decided to pair this dish with a fine 2% milk and yelled to my kids that their food was ready.</div>
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Needless to say, my son decided after one bite that this meal wasn't for him and went for the plain pasta that I set aside and a little the leftover chicken. What can I say? I tried. For me, this was delicious.</div>
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Barilla's classic line comes in 38 different cuts of pasta and 14 varieties of sauce. That leaves you with an endless amount of meal combinations for picky eaters in your house. Barilla offers you stress-free meal combinations perfect for back to school season, and the taste will leave your kids coming back for more... even if it's only pasta with butter. </div>
Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-85247781775576351302017-06-16T11:51:00.001-04:002017-06-16T11:51:51.107-04:00What Age is the Best Age?As we were wrapping up our men's league baseball game the other day, the topic of kids came up which it frequently does. All of us are over 30 and most of us have at least one kid. Some of them have kids that are grown and out of the house and others have had a baby in the past year. We run the gamut when it comes to parenting experience.<br />
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One of the guys was talking about his three year old and I commented about how that was such a fun age. He looked at me like I was an idiot. Apparently dealing with a child that is coming into their own and demanding that they have a say in things is something that I completely forgot about. Sure, I remember the tough times, but with a 10 year old and an almost teenager, I look back and can't help but think that WAS a fun age. The world is new to them and everything is amazing. Ask a 12 year old and all you get out of them is a "ok."<br />
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It got me thinking about what age are kids the best?<br />
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Maybe it's when they are first born and you get that first little smile. The one that tells you that they are totally getting your jokes, or maybe the one that is telling you that their <a href="https://www.pampers.com/en-us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">diaper</a> is full of poop. Either way, is there anything better than a newborn baby?<br />
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One is a good age too. Especially when they start copying you. It makes you realize that a little bit of you is rubbing off on them, and maybe they are paying attention and god forbid... actually starting to idolize you. One was the best age.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh046cvt1Jzpux3Rx0lqQFTY3R6Lcnb0wE_GClSHdnx-SaetwaXw4_zdbJtPFpJ8guklnXx6IofvqU0GTnfV1OEusbmvtp54npVKKNgUTWPzqGygJrwhKAx_e5ukkHO2De1vj5Pcc0mvaDb/s1600/8-01-06+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1190" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh046cvt1Jzpux3Rx0lqQFTY3R6Lcnb0wE_GClSHdnx-SaetwaXw4_zdbJtPFpJ8guklnXx6IofvqU0GTnfV1OEusbmvtp54npVKKNgUTWPzqGygJrwhKAx_e5ukkHO2De1vj5Pcc0mvaDb/s550/8-01-06+005.jpg" /></a></div>
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Maybe two was? I mean, they are much more mobile at that age and they can do so many more things. You don't have to carry them everywhere, but you also have to chase them more. There's good and bad I guess, but two was great.</div>
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But you know what was even better than that? Adding another one to the mix. A three year old and a newborn! That was a great time to be alive. But the lack of sleep and the constant crying, not to mention more <a href="https://www.pampers.com/en-us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">diapers</a> filled with poop... Seeing the older one become a big brother was the best.</div>
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Perhaps my favorite age was when Tyler was four and Carter was one. Carter always had that binky in his mouth. I always thought he looked like a chainsmoker with that thing... boy was he cute. And Tyler? He was really into art and loved to draw. I wouldn't trade those ages for anything.</div>
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Except for maybe when Tyler was five and Carter was two. That was fun. We took them to France that year and bought them shields and swords. They didn't like bad guys and were going to protect us. </div>
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Six and three were fun ages too. Everything was a hoot. As Tyler got smarter each and everyday, Carter got more and more wild. He was a handful, but man, at his cutest he was CUTE. But did he ever have a set of lungs. We were at the height of loving Toy Story at the time and who doesn't love that?</div>
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Seven and four were the best! You could tell that the kids couldn't stand each other, but they couldn't stand NOT BEING around each other either. They have really developed quite a brotherly bond. Tyler was the protector, except the thing he needed to be protected from was his little brother.</div>
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Eight and five were fun ages too. We were still able to dress them in the same outfit as each other and either they didn't notice or they didn't care. Perhaps Tyler cared, but he was too much of a nice kid to let us know. Carter I'm sure screamed the whole car ride up Mt. Washington, but at least he smiled when the camera was rolling. He was sneaky like that. We could travel everywhere with kids that age and everything was still new and exciting. I like that a lot about those ages.</div>
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But I liked nine and six even more. I hadn't taught them how to skip rocks yet, so I thought that there was no better place to do that than under the Post du Gard in Provence. I know it's an awfully long way to go from New Jersey to accomplish such things. But we took a few years off from international travel because Carter was a terror when it came to this sort of thing. He was cute and wonderful and all that, but at six years old he looked to outgrow all that. So yeah, nine and six were really good ages.</div>
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But man... was 10 and 7 awesome! The boys started to get obsessed with sports, especially baseball which is my favorite. We spent the summer watching baseball games on TV and going to games in person. I didn't know if the would have then patience to watch a three hour game in person, but they loved it. Two baseball loving kids... what more could a father ask for?</div>
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At 11 and eight, we bought them a dog. What could be cuter than an 11 and eight year old with a dog. It turns out nothing was. Snowball was the perfect addition to our family and it made this age SO MUCH FUN.</div>
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12 and nine could have been the best ages. You can really start to have adult conversations with Tyler and Carter is still that innocent little boy as much as he tries to come across as a tough guy. He still wanted you to carry him upstairs, but only if his friends aren't around. Tyler was in middle school and started to learn things that you can actually remember. Sixth grade homework is so much easier than second grade homework.</div>
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But then here we are today... and it's the best. 13 and 10. Something tells me that when they are 63 and 60 I will still think those are awesome ages.</div>
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So what age is the best age? As long as I am a dad... all of them.</div>
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Pampers is giving thanks this Father's day to babies for making dad feel exceptionally special. They are honoring dads like myself for doing just that, being a dad. Please join them in tweeting why you are thankful for baby using the hashtag #ThanksBaby.</div>
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**I have partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="https://www.pampers.com/en-us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pampers</a> for this promotion. All the honesty and raw emotion was mine and nobody else's.</div>
Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-91424095388450622172017-06-14T16:40:00.001-04:002017-06-14T16:43:51.471-04:00Who Exactly are These Morning People?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemhStkmAKe7fI7LBv7xKc-6eojLRvJsD1lUjeyOgbY0SG38zrlmAYDcGumESzRfVYNxjZWt559A9PLoHnhF6sYAWxfOIwQ6iKJ1iedc1wUlurpQumM7WzqeoSazz0Pi9zf86Mvv3avyLr/s1600/CoffeeMug2-06.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1100" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemhStkmAKe7fI7LBv7xKc-6eojLRvJsD1lUjeyOgbY0SG38zrlmAYDcGumESzRfVYNxjZWt559A9PLoHnhF6sYAWxfOIwQ6iKJ1iedc1wUlurpQumM7WzqeoSazz0Pi9zf86Mvv3avyLr/s320/CoffeeMug2-06.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have never been a morning person. Which is kind of funny, because for six years my mornings existed while some of you hadn't even gone to sleep yet. I was up BEFORE the guy who made the donuts, garbage men were still sleeping, and the morning newspaper? Well, let's just say news was still being made.<br />
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I don't know what I was thinking taking a job that had me get to work at 2:00 in the morning, but I do know it made me somewhat of a zombie. I had never really drank coffee at all in my life. There was the occasional cup at holiday gatherings, though I was more of a tea guy. Not the kind of tea guy that could tell the difference Earl Grey and Chamomile, but I liked tea way better than coffee.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I still have a mug from when I was a kid</td></tr>
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It probably had something to do with my parents. They drink coffee black and that was something that I was never going to put in my system. If I were to ever drink coffee, it would have to be with cream and sugar. The problem is that I don't think my house had cream OR sugar growing up... so black it was. And not only was it black, it tasted like the worst bitter liquid that anyone on earth could consume. It seemed more like car fuel than human fuel. My parents have gotten better at making coffee, but only because you can disguise the taste with flavorings, something I make sure they have on hand.<br />
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I didn't drink much coffee in college either. It wasn't coffee that got us through late night cramming sessions, it was chicken wings. We would always order from the same place. I don't know what it was about those wings, but looking back about them now, I think some still had feathers on them. Maybe coffee would have been better, but at the time Sal's Sassy Sauce was what fueled us. That or video games.<br />
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I didn't even drink coffee when I first had kids. I know it's hard to believe if you scour social media nowadays, but here I was - a parent that didn't drink coffee. Shoot me if you must, but based on my history with the stuff, or lack there of, coffee was never on my radar. I think what got me through the early stages of parenthood was the fact that my wife did all the overnight feedings. SHE was the one who needed coffee. Before you get all mad at me for not doing my part, she was the one with the boobs that lactated, not me. Besides that was about to change pretty drastically.<br />
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When my son turned four months old, I switched my schedule at work to start working in the early morning (or was it late night?). The change was actually pretty crazy. I had worked that schedule a few times but never on a regular basis so I didn't really know what working that schedule could do to the human body. Long story short, don't ever jump at the chance to work that early in the morning. You become reliant on coffee and if you are anything like me after drinking one cup, you become reliant on a bathroom as well... which was pretty difficult since I didn't work your typical office job. Coffee makes me have to go and it's not easy to do when you have NO WHERE to go. But I never would have been able to get through the day without at least three cups of coffee<br />
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I no longer have that work schedule as I left that job almost seven years ago to be a full time stay at home parent. I'm still not much of a morning person and I never truly understood people who are. I prefer to stay up late watching terrible TV shows than waking up early to do anything. I still drink coffee, but it has to taste good. I'm at the point in my life where nothing goes in my body that I'm going to think is disgusting.<br />
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I have never been really good at making coffee. Perhaps I have the same genes as my parents, so I would always head out to one of those fancy coffee shops. You know, the ones where they draw little pictures in your latte or spice up your cappuccino with one of those cinnamon sticks? We all know what the problem is there though...it's way too expensive.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If I'm not golfing, you can find me in the morning working the garden</td></tr>
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Fortunately you can get the same coffee shop flavor with <a href="https://www.folgerscoffee.com/coffeehouse-blends" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Folgers® Coffeehouse Blend</a> that you can brew right in your own home. Pour it over ice, use a french press, or even cold brew it. You can have the same coffeehouse feel without ever changing out of your pajamas. <a href="https://www.folgerscoffee.com/coffeehouse-blends" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Folgers Coffeehouse Blend</a> is a medium/dark roast designed to start off smooth and finish with a distinct bold flavor. A coffee this versatile might even be able to turn me into a morning person.<br />
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Well... let's not go crazy.<br />
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<i>**I have partnered with <a href="https://www.folgerscoffee.com/coffeehouse-blends" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">J.M. Smucker Smucker</a> and Life of Dad on this <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ShouldBeOnACoffeeMug&src=tyah" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">#ShouldBeOnACoffeeMug</a> campaign. All opinions are my own.</i>Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-76717953517308052812017-05-15T09:00:00.000-04:002017-05-15T09:00:11.248-04:00How DIYZ Helped Me Build a Beer Caddie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTRVm5ItXydeQhpdQsRA_9sJ0ScbNm9_Hic_9P_ABJOic_zCr3PzFCyB3rJcFhZ3t8jMExbd1W2PCnr4ArJjWHn0NRrwX8PtlUWREBuoNneMxwXFC_uY7hnImXz8Mq1AU_KIWHraesE6Z/s1600/fullsizeoutput_8480.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTRVm5ItXydeQhpdQsRA_9sJ0ScbNm9_Hic_9P_ABJOic_zCr3PzFCyB3rJcFhZ3t8jMExbd1W2PCnr4ArJjWHn0NRrwX8PtlUWREBuoNneMxwXFC_uY7hnImXz8Mq1AU_KIWHraesE6Z/s550/fullsizeoutput_8480.jpeg" /></a></div>
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A couple of years ago, my brother gave me a beer caddie for Christmas. Just when you think he doesn't care at all about you, he goes and builds something that you wouldn't expect. Since then, I have taken this beer caddie to every party I go to. Needless to say, my six pack is the envy of every room that I walk in to.<br />
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My neighbor has been eyeing my beer caddie for sometime. He periodically comes over to my house for a beverage or two or three. Sometimes we lose count... we have kids after all and you just need to let loose every now and then. So I thought that since I am pretty handy, I'd make him a beer caddie so he wouldn't have to be jealous of mine any more.<br />
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When my wife and I first bought a house, I went out and bought a bunch of power tools. I had this idea that I would build all of our furniture, our kitchen cabinets, or maybe I would mill our own flooring from trees behind our house. None of that ended up being the case. I've built things, but it never seems to be anything that my house actually needs. It's been a steady stream of half done projects and knick knacks over the past 17 years. But hey... I have power tools that look really nice in my garage and if I ever want to build ANOTHER garage, I'll be all set.<br />
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This time though, all I wanted to build was a <a href="https://diyz.onelink.me/1437118939?pid=Influencer&c=john-willey_beer-caddie&af_dp=diyz%3A%2F%2Fproject%2F71879&af_web_dp=http%3A%2F%2Fdiyz.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">beer caddie</a>. So I opened up my trusty <a href="https://diyz.onelink.me/1437118939?pid=Influencer&c=john-willey_general&af_dp=diyz%3A%2F%2Fhome&af_web_dp=http%3A%2F%2Fdiyz.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DIYZ App</a><span id="goog_1497989502"></span><span id="goog_1497989503"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a> and figured out everything that I needed to build a beer caddie.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnp9chFpt0VmM4bQ4H2fNnohaCtzrPgtGl45Y8tuxCwQTJbodKoJJOttuC1ub6tSXnJFqJPLp3EF5Ux3dTOiDhZDgRjMG1yi9gF1xddG5LGOve0Dl7pP3AhA12avxp4fIy2P_Sn3Tobals/s1600/fullsizeoutput_859e.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnp9chFpt0VmM4bQ4H2fNnohaCtzrPgtGl45Y8tuxCwQTJbodKoJJOttuC1ub6tSXnJFqJPLp3EF5Ux3dTOiDhZDgRjMG1yi9gF1xddG5LGOve0Dl7pP3AhA12avxp4fIy2P_Sn3Tobals/s258/fullsizeoutput_859e.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslo0WGZoKHxTFQvB2790Y9qwcvGRt7-qKbsxPZA9Xn77uHOsFNNUcYzirbdGFZOIB4CBRFRspVnWr5wKdRHbAgk4rmXAEilxw3o9-UNThU6o_TkbIWe8EeilFGCcD9SnNcT5bjaV44On2/s1600/fullsizeoutput_859f.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslo0WGZoKHxTFQvB2790Y9qwcvGRt7-qKbsxPZA9Xn77uHOsFNNUcYzirbdGFZOIB4CBRFRspVnWr5wKdRHbAgk4rmXAEilxw3o9-UNThU6o_TkbIWe8EeilFGCcD9SnNcT5bjaV44On2/s258/fullsizeoutput_859f.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyj94lYDGziYt4ke7Re_dkA2jwpq4SnA1lhqtFt8Y8nUTAe-LIjXYTGN_IVsw4XRn7vpDQGfOMgCnknOjE2x2CBfTO-o7SvZkH7TOD9sgc_jymaRJn-mXK-qBII40e8jy1ersj3GIjOQfI/s1600/fullsizeoutput_859d.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyj94lYDGziYt4ke7Re_dkA2jwpq4SnA1lhqtFt8Y8nUTAe-LIjXYTGN_IVsw4XRn7vpDQGfOMgCnknOjE2x2CBfTO-o7SvZkH7TOD9sgc_jymaRJn-mXK-qBII40e8jy1ersj3GIjOQfI/s258/fullsizeoutput_859d.jpeg" /></a></div>
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The app gives you a list of tools that you will need as well as a list of supplies. While I had most of the tools, the <a href="https://diyz.onelink.me/1437118939?pid=Influencer&c=john-willey_general&af_dp=diyz%3A%2F%2Fhome&af_web_dp=http%3A%2F%2Fdiyz.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DIYZ App</a> works with Amazon to make purchasing any that you need fast and easy. Since I didn't feel it was necessary to buy ones that they had suggested, like a power nailer, I just used what I had a home. I have a lot of extra wood laying around (see half projects above) but I didn't have the type of wood that I wanted. I could have built this beer caddie out of pine, but I wanted to give it a little extra something. While my home center didn't have anything like walnut, I decided this <a href="https://diyz.onelink.me/1437118939?pid=Influencer&c=john-willey_beer-caddie&af_dp=diyz%3A%2F%2Fproject%2F71879&af_web_dp=http%3A%2F%2Fdiyz.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">beer caddie</a> would look nice built out of oak.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTrpTFGr8yLL91rmATix98xpO3Kxg9EfrQ5Er6EamQIG7Cw5zlUS7UXQZoRuN51eQnM0okV8sVlQypwXW2R9EJd308P5STa36GZLtStg9_CBuZL9RizVHqxqnLbMbci-42N8RJWKpeCAl/s1600/fullsizeoutput_859c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTrpTFGr8yLL91rmATix98xpO3Kxg9EfrQ5Er6EamQIG7Cw5zlUS7UXQZoRuN51eQnM0okV8sVlQypwXW2R9EJd308P5STa36GZLtStg9_CBuZL9RizVHqxqnLbMbci-42N8RJWKpeCAl/s250/fullsizeoutput_859c.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZ7zAg4LxVBkxqej4kt1i8OxynIMaS5ofRZh4TkMBfC9XMjplBTCEhXnAHdmXtcfNyRUQhyphenhyphen6H8EN-DwBLpe57r5rl9_aUoeTXPxiKJS_H5-B9E1C3bmX14rk9jY8ZqGxnvkBgzyxSBr9K/s1600/IMG_2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNZ7zAg4LxVBkxqej4kt1i8OxynIMaS5ofRZh4TkMBfC9XMjplBTCEhXnAHdmXtcfNyRUQhyphenhyphen6H8EN-DwBLpe57r5rl9_aUoeTXPxiKJS_H5-B9E1C3bmX14rk9jY8ZqGxnvkBgzyxSBr9K/s250/IMG_2015.JPG" /></a></div>
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I figured that this project would take a couple of hours to build, but what I didn't take into account was my own ineptitude. Once I tried to cut a piece of wood and for some reason the blade of my miter saw split the wood in half and little pieces went flying. Fortunately I listened to the <a href="https://diyz.onelink.me/1437118939?pid=Influencer&c=john-willey_general&af_dp=diyz%3A%2F%2Fhome&af_web_dp=http%3A%2F%2Fdiyz.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DIYZ App</a> and wore safety goggles throughout the process. But the damage was done (not to my eyes) and I had to make ANOTHER trip to the home center. After I built it, I realized that it was really too short to carry bottles (perhaps something I could have modified on my own) so I had to run back AGAIN and buy a handle.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJx3OdMYpDA81IxuGxBIJOWFXACIhBd2p37IrF-Sr4pkbyLNLTYQMzOmuHCyWatP954mW0KxE1YiKjG2VANVmU555oczhTn_e61cX7uGlSNNg-GXiaMlKpwkcMXCs3ptJAxpnk2T8ZW2hR/s1600/fullsizeoutput_8597.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJx3OdMYpDA81IxuGxBIJOWFXACIhBd2p37IrF-Sr4pkbyLNLTYQMzOmuHCyWatP954mW0KxE1YiKjG2VANVmU555oczhTn_e61cX7uGlSNNg-GXiaMlKpwkcMXCs3ptJAxpnk2T8ZW2hR/s150/fullsizeoutput_8597.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiBawHF9A-OvVTEbsliQZKWfv06uZbNGWXdNS9qMpk_mMUoFp-3rUGc_g9ZE3Fcdm9yslmKLXy_7sjsGKl60qvD94lPnhOiIoI-rBnGDmStj-aKSSEzCNf8VJUdJ-BHDGm7LAoPcqJuVF/s1600/fullsizeoutput_8588.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdiBawHF9A-OvVTEbsliQZKWfv06uZbNGWXdNS9qMpk_mMUoFp-3rUGc_g9ZE3Fcdm9yslmKLXy_7sjsGKl60qvD94lPnhOiIoI-rBnGDmStj-aKSSEzCNf8VJUdJ-BHDGm7LAoPcqJuVF/s150/fullsizeoutput_8588.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GJArKljjm6MCcySRZbjA34R08rjYmz8nRqFwK_4Hmhhr0a9Po-BScEN2Xjh0ucq631LniF5ofAZTv9IJQaARxD5SEHWRoQr3P9Ee1otaByrej1-SqDOzmF7_mvFO_PhNdHbVN1q-YbQ_/s1600/fullsizeoutput_8592.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9GJArKljjm6MCcySRZbjA34R08rjYmz8nRqFwK_4Hmhhr0a9Po-BScEN2Xjh0ucq631LniF5ofAZTv9IJQaARxD5SEHWRoQr3P9Ee1otaByrej1-SqDOzmF7_mvFO_PhNdHbVN1q-YbQ_/s150/fullsizeoutput_8592.jpeg" /></a></div>
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The <a href="https://diyz.onelink.me/1437118939?pid=Influencer&c=john-willey_general&af_dp=diyz%3A%2F%2Fhome&af_web_dp=http%3A%2F%2Fdiyz.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DIYZ app</a> could not have been easier to use. With the instructions comes a little video that you can follow along. I used it as a reference point and did most of the building on my own. There was one point where one of the measurements did not add up. But I noticed this before I made my cuts and altered it accordingly.<br />
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So while the project should have taken me a couple of hours to build, I had to run back to the home center three times in order to get things that made the <a href="https://diyz.onelink.me/1437118939?pid=Influencer&c=john-willey_beer-caddie&af_dp=diyz%3A%2F%2Fproject%2F71879&af_web_dp=http%3A%2F%2Fdiyz.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">beer caddie</a> complete. First was for the wood that I split, second was for the handle, and third was for screws to hold the handle in place. I could have avoided these extra trips if I did a little better pre-planning, but I have never been known to do such a thing (see half done projects above). In all it took me parts of two days to complete and really wasn't that hard to do. If you have the basic tools on hand, depending on the type of wood that you use, it's a project that will cost less that $50 and you will have a really nice way to carry a six pack around.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHiGv9Aqrgi0_0E6H25E-DVGizZgLwqLHk3NhfgsXLZ5bJNJoY9oX6wPJnXLCf7TaSA-I3cXezm4MzbQbrYDvFP1x-cIbRYxjstIM9QfbBrgS3uZayOBx3cqZ8CUKkRlvN4t5kMV-TA_TO/s1600/fullsizeoutput_859b.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHiGv9Aqrgi0_0E6H25E-DVGizZgLwqLHk3NhfgsXLZ5bJNJoY9oX6wPJnXLCf7TaSA-I3cXezm4MzbQbrYDvFP1x-cIbRYxjstIM9QfbBrgS3uZayOBx3cqZ8CUKkRlvN4t5kMV-TA_TO/s250/fullsizeoutput_859b.jpeg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWPKMEH29gLXkwecX13rdEleiL8-b8AYJ61sZSA_C07HmnL1Uvwj69xn2ZgGosuHO5piVyHgNZR1F2dD-B3P22UtbHL_4IjBjwGVk5P-VkhTtMcXnwNQgtDOdzjDf3hCRgHSj47CLR6sc/s1600/fullsizeoutput_8599.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWPKMEH29gLXkwecX13rdEleiL8-b8AYJ61sZSA_C07HmnL1Uvwj69xn2ZgGosuHO5piVyHgNZR1F2dD-B3P22UtbHL_4IjBjwGVk5P-VkhTtMcXnwNQgtDOdzjDf3hCRgHSj47CLR6sc/s250/fullsizeoutput_8599.jpeg" /></a></div>
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As for my friend, he now has a beer caddie that will make him the envy of all HIS friends and he will now have to build one for someone else. While he isn't quite as handy as I am, perhaps with the DIYZ App... he won't need to be.<br />
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The DIYZ App is full of projects that you can complete around your home. It has a full library of projects ranging from how to build a beer caddie, to how to change an electrical socket, and even offers tips on how to tile a backsplash. Obviously some projects are more difficult, but you also have the ability to talk with a professional contractor who can guide you through the process. It demonstrates the value of doing it yourself instead of hiring someone who will charge you much more.<br />
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Follow them on <a href="http://facebook.com/diyzapp" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/diyz_app" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="http://instagram.com/diyx_app" target="_blank">Instagram</a> for some really cool DIY projects.<br />
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**Disclosure: This post was sponsored by <a href="https://diyz.onelink.me/1437118939?pid=Influencer&c=john-willey_general&af_dp=diyz%3A%2F%2Fhome&af_web_dp=http%3A%2F%2Fdiyz.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DIYZ App</a>. All opinions are my own.Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-1184075782956219872017-05-02T09:00:00.000-04:002017-05-02T12:04:49.137-04:00I Sleep to... Make Sure My Kids Have Everything<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jKi29cQ-9M4TIdVx2oEM_asUIyXXP9hMOn5OG0IbwuKF3NQHAeEJxbq8I9Fb-S5LgxjlAvGC71mX08I3AgzdiPc_U15TjWc7sHITVtKXRwlNWoIsattU0LkUgoB1H2wMMnoYR09RDXJv/s1600/fullsizeoutput_85ed.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jKi29cQ-9M4TIdVx2oEM_asUIyXXP9hMOn5OG0IbwuKF3NQHAeEJxbq8I9Fb-S5LgxjlAvGC71mX08I3AgzdiPc_U15TjWc7sHITVtKXRwlNWoIsattU0LkUgoB1H2wMMnoYR09RDXJv/s550/fullsizeoutput_85ed.jpeg" /></a></div>
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Or I guess you could say I DON'T sleep to make sure my kids have everything.<br />
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Like most parents, sleep has been an issue since the kids were born. I think that last time I got a full nights rest is the day my oldest son came home from the hospital after being born. Stupid me thought that he slept through the night and of course my wife looked at me like she wanted to kill me. Turns out he was up half the night and I just didn't hear him. I guess I was a pretty sound sleeper.<br />
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But things changed since that day. <br />
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While my wife did get up in the middle of the night more than I did (she was breastfeeding after all), I have had my share of sleep interruptions over the years. The kids always seemed to need something in the middle of the night, whether it's water, they need to pee, or they just need you to be by their side. They are much more independent now, but I think the years of constant waking have really taken it's toll on me.<br />
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There was a point when they were both really little that my wife and I decided that I would take an early morning shift at work. Out of bed at 1:00 am to be at work by 2:00 was probably the worst thing that I ever did to my body. For six years I seemed to function (or not function) on around four hours of sleep per night. It's easy to say that you will go to bed at 7:00 every night, but the reality is I just never could get to sleep before the kids did. Not to mention, in the summer it's just not natural to go to bed before the sun went down.<br />
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Eventually I quit that job to be a stay at home dad. While I would like to say that my sleeping habits improved, they really didn't. I went from getting around four hours of sleep per night to around six; much of that was my own doing though. I would stay up late blogging, watching TV, or folding laundry. The night time was my me time.<br />
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But even that took a toll.<br />
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I'm getting a little better now. As you can probably notice I don't blog as much as I used to, but I still stay up late watching TV. Most of the time though, I fall asleep in the middle of a show and wake up around 2:00 in the morning. I then drag my butt upstairs and plop down on my bed to finish off another crappy night of sleep.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbSz_K3MTsnxo7yCFlqU9HqYuaMTzVgV2lMHmm7qIhl5FtrsVbkJ07-b0VhYK7qVe5OqLsqz-aqyN11PhbFHnAemLSqTzA7ySX3XGdYLBTRJCchOc-b5tPClbUfM0Xvhf52IkGv6l2g2d/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-04-26+at+12.53.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbSz_K3MTsnxo7yCFlqU9HqYuaMTzVgV2lMHmm7qIhl5FtrsVbkJ07-b0VhYK7qVe5OqLsqz-aqyN11PhbFHnAemLSqTzA7ySX3XGdYLBTRJCchOc-b5tPClbUfM0Xvhf52IkGv6l2g2d/s550/Screen+Shot+2017-04-26+at+12.53.50+PM.png" /></a></div>
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It wasn't until I was sent a <a href="http://beautyrest.com/sleeptracker" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beautyrest Sleeptracker</a> monitor that I really started to notice how little sleep I was getting. After downloading the App and taking the 15 minutes to get the product hooked up and connected to my homes WiFi, I could now monitor my sleep, or lack there of. I have tried various wearable devices over the years, but I always found them uncomfortable. Not surprisingly, I could never get a good nights sleep wearing one. The difference with the Beautyrest Sleeptracker monitor is that it includes a sensor that slips between your mattress and frame so you don't even know that it's there. It then connects to your phone over WiFi and monitors how well you sleep that night.<br />
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On a normal day, I have to get up by 7:00 to get the boys ready for school. There is a setting on the Beautyrest Sleeptracker monitor that asks you when you normally wake up. I set it to wake me up between 6:30 and 7:00 and wouldn't you know it woke me up at 6:43. Normally I would probably complain about not getting those extra 17 minutes of sleep, but the product knew when I was coming out of a deep sleep and that 17 minutes of restlessness were not going to do me any good. I shut the alarm off the next day at woke up to another alarm at 7:00. Wouldn't you know, I felt MORE tired that morning than when the product woke me up naturally.<br />
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The interesting part is seeing just how well you slept.<br />
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After telling it that I was waking up, the Beautyrest <a href="http://beautyrest.com/sleeptracker" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sleeptracker</a> monitorwas able to show me exactly the amount of time that I was awake, when I was in a deep sleep, when I was in a light sleep, and when I was in REM sleep.<br />
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It's kind of important to know these numbers to figure out if you got a good nights sleep. The App will tell you things that aren't good for you like electronics or TV before bed and suggest that exercise is good for you. It's like it's your mom, except it can provide insights as to how well you sleep.<br />
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Now that my kids are older and more independent, I guess I could change the "I Sleep to..." to something involving me. I'm not getting any younger and I have come to recognize the importance of a good nights sleep.<br />
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I sleep to make sure I stay healthy FOR my kids.<br />
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For more information on Beautyrest, follow them on <a href="http://facebook.com/beautyrestbeds" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/beautyrest" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and check out their <a href="http://beauty rest.com/sleeptracker" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>.<br />
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*Disclosure: I partnered with <a href="http://beautyrest.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beautyrest</a> and <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> on this promotion. All opinions are my own.Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-14452073447030122752017-02-03T13:54:00.000-05:002017-02-03T13:54:07.283-05:00Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes...My kids used to be such slobs.<br />
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I can't tell you how many times I instituted a "no food in the car" rule only to be over-ruled by two hungry little boys. When you have a minivan, it's not only a car, it's like a moving dumpster full of half eaten french fries and <a href="http://www.cheerios.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cheerios.</a> CHEERIOS EVERYWHERE. Since we've had kids we've always leased our minivan and every time that I have returned our vehicle, I'm reminded about the hundreds of times I told the kids to stop eating in the car. Apparently they never listened.<br />
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We used to have one of those little snack cups that you would fill up with Cheerios or other small snacks where you could get your hand in, but none of the snacks would ever fall out. It went with us everywhere, but eventually we stopped using it. I was actually looking for it the other day, but like a lot of things from when they were little, it's nowhere to be found.<br />
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I used to lament the fact that my kids are getting older. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM9jX7hHe-9v70KSgz2vXG0BR8fg1xCMr0-eRZZdSoN2uxOElOh7zygm2ujvADKnMAyAQVNJMBBM6mJqJnj_6FHxpIzu3IIVGhDSFMSHP6M5oeWRXUOMMkXlaVBlIQl3GEEZ7JmSX5h_4/s1600/IMG_3467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbM9jX7hHe-9v70KSgz2vXG0BR8fg1xCMr0-eRZZdSoN2uxOElOh7zygm2ujvADKnMAyAQVNJMBBM6mJqJnj_6FHxpIzu3IIVGhDSFMSHP6M5oeWRXUOMMkXlaVBlIQl3GEEZ7JmSX5h_4/s550/IMG_3467.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys when I first started this blog</td></tr>
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I struggled everyday as my kids became more and more independent. No longer were they my little babies, they were now fully functioning little men. When I first started here, my oldest Tyler was six years old and scared of spiders. He used to watch Scooby Doo and had this cute little stutter as he tried to find the words he was trying to say. He's now 12 and has a girlfriend. He's as sharp as a tack and no longer has arachnophobia. He watches more adult shows like Modern Family and The Office. His face is starting to break out and he smells. Puberty is starting to set in.<br />
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My youngest Carter was just a baby at the time. When he slept he would curl up into a little ball. He had this raspy voice from screaming so much and he was obsessed with Star Wars. He's now almost 10 and quite possibly the best little athlete I have ever seen. He doesn't curl up when he sleeps anymore but for some reason he's started to sleep with a whole bunch of stuffed animals. His voice isn't as raspy as it used to be, but he still throws tantrums like you wouldn't believe. While Tyler is my little man, Carter is still very much my little boy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqrR7131_Xn_n06ZnHs2fqIAaTSmaGPxApkr5nigTxzVnaa5MTtmCAD804EVTqRyhakcU_Uq-7aSHng6SNXZqwDUyYa7EzOuDbisyp5aMk9rJRjX-H1A1MjJ9Rgmdp0R_xGiu51sGMnPE/s1600/TylerandCarter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqrR7131_Xn_n06ZnHs2fqIAaTSmaGPxApkr5nigTxzVnaa5MTtmCAD804EVTqRyhakcU_Uq-7aSHng6SNXZqwDUyYa7EzOuDbisyp5aMk9rJRjX-H1A1MjJ9Rgmdp0R_xGiu51sGMnPE/s550/TylerandCarter.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boys now... big difference.</td></tr>
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As much as things have changed over the years, there is one thing that hasn't... breakfast. Everyday it's the same thing. I ask the kids what they want and in turn they ask me what do we have. I don't know why they do that, because it's always been the same few choices for the past six years. With everything that we have in our pantry and refrigerator more often than not it comes down to some variety of Cheerios. My kids are creatures of habit and I should know that because I am the same way. I mean who doesn't LOVE a big bowl of Cheerios?<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BQBNUevDyIU/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by John Willey (@jdubs44)</a> on <time datetime="2017-02-02T18:14:11+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Feb 2, 2017 at 10:14am PST</time></div>
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While my kids have changed so has Cheerios. They now have a <a href="http://www.cheerios.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Very Berry Cheerios</a> variety that have a taste of real berries in every bite. Like everything else it seems nowadays, they are also gluten free and contain no artificial flavors or colors. Follow <a href="http://twitter.com/cheerios" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cheerios</a> on Social Media and share your #berrieseverywhere moment with them.<br />
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**<i>I have partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://www.cheerios.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cheerios</a> on this campaign... all opinions are my own unless my wife tells me otherwise.</i>Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-35608519006779479752017-01-23T09:00:00.000-05:002017-01-23T09:00:11.895-05:00Eating Out While Eating InWe've never been the type of family that was afraid to take our kids out to eat. Since my oldest could hold himself up, he has sat at the table with us. My wife and I figured that the sooner he learned how to act while out at a restaurant, the better we all would be in the long run.<br />
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We were perfect parents... then my second son came along.<br />
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He was a nightmare wherever we went. You never knew when he was going to have a meltdown, you never knew what kind of food he wanted to eat, and (back before tablets and iPods) you never knew if we had the right color crayons. Eating out with him was an adventure. In fact, we went to France when he was three and he was so terrible that we vowed to never travel with him again. Even now at nine, he still has his moments.<br />
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We really do like to eat out. I'm not the most adventurous cook and if we want to live on the wild side at least food wise, we have to let someone else do the cooking. Of course eating out too much can get expensive and most of the time the kids don't eat what you put in front of them. Like most parents having a restaurant quality experience at home is something that we would love to do. So we thought that we would bring a steakhouse to OUR house... at least once anyway.<br />
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We have all the fancy linens, candles, and fine(er) china; we just never use them outside of MAYBE Christmas and the odd Valentine's Day when I turn into Bobby Flay for a day. Then I'll spend all day making some romantic meal for my wife and of course the kids end up hating everything. <br />
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The hardest part about all of this is that my kids are getting to the age where when they want food, they want it five minutes ago. They don't want to wait the hour (or two) it might take for the food to cook. Normally I would ply them with goldfish crackers or popcorn to get them through until dinner. But since we were having a fancy dining experience I thought soup would be in order.<br />
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Now normally soup is one of those all day things, but when you have kids, who has all day? Fortunately <a href="http://idahoan.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Idahoan® Premium Steakhouse® Potato Soups</a> makes the whole soup making process VERY easy. All I had to do was pour the contents of the package into water, heat it up, and stir. Within five minutes we had a nice creamy delicious potato soup. You wouldn't think that something that comes out a bag would taste so good, but the soups are made with 100% real Idaho® potatoes and they deliver the flavorful, slow-cooked taste of restaurant quality potato soup. <br />
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All I had to do was dish out the soup and sit down and eat it.<br />
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Unfortunately this was the moment that my wife told me that she was going out to dinner with her sister and that my son was having a sleepover with a friend. So our fancy family night eating in, turned into anything but that.<br />
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At least I tried and didn't waste all day making soup.<br />
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Life of Dad and Idahoan® Premium Steakhouse® Potato Soups are looking to crown the #KingOfSoup. If you think I have what it takes to wear that crown, please follow the hashtag on social media. Also follow Idahoan® Foods on <a href="http://facebook.com/idahoanfoods" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/idahoanfoods" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a href="http://instagram.com/idahoanfoods" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> to show your support.<br />
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<i>**This was a sponsored post for <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://idahoanfoods.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Idahoan® Foods</a>. I was compensated, but all opinions are my own, unless my wife tells me otherwise.</i><br />
<br />Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-2036412130786360652016-08-12T10:27:00.000-04:002016-08-12T10:27:53.802-04:00My Pick for Best Dad Car of 2016Let me first start by saying that I am NOT a car guy.<br />
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When I am looking for a new car, I look at a couple that I think look cool or practical and then I go to the experts and see what they have to say. A quick Google search usually leads me to a few reviews from various sites and then I'm left determining what it is that I actually want out of a vehicle and how much I am willing to pay. I could test drive vehicles, but honestly who has that kind of time on their hands to test drive every car ever made.<br />
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Turns out the people at <a href="http://kbb.com/" target="_blank">Kelley Blue Book</a> do.<br />
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I was sitting in a parking lot with Rich Homan, one of their reviewers, who pointed out that he had driven every single car that was in the lot. I don't know how many cars there were, but there had to be over 300 at the time. Lucky for me that I am in the market for a new car AND I have one of the top car experts at my disposal. I spent the day with Rich as a guest of Kelley Blue Book and he explained to me how he went about reviewing a vehicle. Stuff as basic as adjusting your rear view mirrors to how the car handles the on Southern California's roadways, Rich explained what went into each and every car review and how Kelley Blue Book comes up with their lists like <a href="http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/best-family-cars-2016/2100000263/" target="_blank">The 16 Best Family Cars of 2016</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FrjgKlOBwBp22nJPelDgyf1LjkyTp0AjhUqE_4IDq6VYSNDwJR7qIfotpwa9vVxgo4E5AgeK_MmsyKc4YQvrUlVhqDfF7ESuAB6hbTJ5WuHbHPzP_KTwgfdgxjY1bg34ke6fsy75H9mo/s1600/IMG_4009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FrjgKlOBwBp22nJPelDgyf1LjkyTp0AjhUqE_4IDq6VYSNDwJR7qIfotpwa9vVxgo4E5AgeK_MmsyKc4YQvrUlVhqDfF7ESuAB6hbTJ5WuHbHPzP_KTwgfdgxjY1bg34ke6fsy75H9mo/s550/IMG_4009.JPG" /></a></div>
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I was invited to Kelley Blue Book's Irvine, CA headquarters along with other dad bloggers to help whittle that list down to what I thought was the best "Dad Car" of 2016. Before my trip, I assumed that we would be driving Lambourghinis and Ferraris, but as it turned out we were driving Hondas and Toyotas. The latter two make way more sense from a practical standpoint and as a dad, I am looking for practical when it comes to my car buying decisions.<br />
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To help make our decision on the top car a little easier Kelley Blue Book picked what they thought were the five best cars for dads out of their list of 16. They were:<br />
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<li><a href="http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/16-best-family-cars--2016-honda-civic/2100000219/" target="_blank">Honda Civic</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/16-best-family-cars--2016-kia-optima/2100000234/" target="_blank">Kia Optima</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/16-best-family-cars--2016-subaru-outback/2100000221/" target="_blank">Subaru Outback</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/16-best-family-cars--2016-chevrolet-tahoe/2100000232/" target="_blank">Chevy Tahoe</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/16-best-family-cars--2016-toyota-sienna/2100000228/" target="_blank">Toyota Sienna</a></li>
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I started by reviewing the Toyota Sienna. I admittedly went in with the opinion that I would love this car. I currently drive a minivan and can't see myself driving anything else. They have everything that I need; space, sliding doors, and all the amenities you could ever ask for. I don't understand what everyone's hangups are over minivans. It's a car. I've driven the Sienna before and knew what I was getting myself into. It was roomy, sporty, and everything that my family of four (and a dog) would need. It might be a little more expensive than the smaller sedans, but it seems that the price of the average family vehicle has creeped up over $30,000 which puts the Sienna right in line with everyone else.</div>
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The second car that I reviewed was the Kia Optima. I hated it. I felt too low to the ground, didn't handle as well as the Sienna, and you could feel every bump that we hit. Maybe it's just that I am used to the legroom of the minivan, but the back seat seemed cramped. I envisioned my kids complaining all the time about how they had no room to stretch their legs out. I will only remember the Kia as the vehicle that took me and <a href="http://dadandburied.com/" target="_blank">Dad and Buried</a> to In-N-Out Burger (don't tell anyone else that we went there, OK?)</div>
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The third car that we reviewed was the Chevy Tahoe. I know most dads would think that this was the car that they would go for. It's spacious, it's stylish, and it makes you look like you own the road. You could fit an entire baseball team inside, but who really needs that? While the Tahoe is a beautiful car and everything that I would need, the problem is that it is TOO big. It's not a car that I could fit in my garage and when you live in the northeast, that's an issue. My driving partner Dad and Buried had the same issues living in NYC, street parking would be almost impossible with a vehicle this size. Throw in the sticker price of $48,000 and I just don't know how the average family can own this car.</div>
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The fourth car that we reviewed was the Honda Civic. Much like the Kia the Civic felt small. I'm not sure how this car could be considered a family car except for the sticker price which was considerably lower than all the others. Even if you had smaller kids or a baby for that matter in a rear-facing child seat, the lack of space was hard to get past. When you are a parent, you have to carry an arsenal of supplies and the Civic just doesn't cut it. While it handled well, I just don't know how it would handle the northeast winters. I look at the Civic as a good car BEFORE you have a family, but then you have to graduate to something a little bigger when you have kids.</div>
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The fifth car that we reviewed was the Subaru Outback. When were sitting in the parking lot with Rich Holman, he said that if he had to drive only car for the rest of his life it would be this car. If the Zombie Apocalypse were to happen he could envision himself off roading in this vehicle to escape the devastation. While that's not likely to happen, I can see his point. If I wasn't such a fan of the minivans, THIS would be the type of car that I would get. It's small enough to fit in my garage, yet big enough for the family to stretch out. It has enough storage space in the back, and I can envision piling my bikes on the roof.</div>
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When all was said and done, my choice for best Dad Car of 2016 is the Toyota Sienna, a MINIVAN, But don't just take my word for it. <a href="http://ebb.com/" target="_blank">Visit Kelley Blue Book</a>. They are THE go to resource for all your buying and selling needs.<br />
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<i>**This is sponsored post on behalf of <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://kbb.com/" target="_blank">Kelley Blue Book</a>. I have received compensation, but the opinions are my own. I mean, I picked a minivan for crying out loud.</i></div>
Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-33391192848848836182016-06-16T11:01:00.000-04:002016-06-16T11:01:32.328-04:00To the Man Behind the DoorI know that you are scared. <br />
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You have no idea what is going to happen on the other side of that door. The world as you know it is about to change. You think life is moving pretty fast now, but as soon as those doors open up, it's going to get exponentially faster.<br />
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I know why you are crying.<br />
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You aren't sure if you are ready for this. Trust me, nobody really is. The door that sits in front of you is like a portal to the unknown. It's a whole different universe; filled with sleepless nights and hours upon hours of worry. You will worry if you are good enough. You will worry if you are doing enough. You will worry that you worry too much.<br />
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I know what you can expect because I sat in that same seat.<br />
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I was you. I was the guy that really wasn't into your wife's pregnancy that much. I was the type that needed it to be over and have the baby arrive before I showed any sort of emotion. Nothing was real until I heard a tiny baby cry and the doctors yell out, "It's a boy!" That's when it hit me; it was no longer just about me.<br />
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I know what you are feeling.<br />
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What if I'm not a good dad? What if I yell a lot? What if the baby cries? What if they hate sports? What if they hate me? All of that will happen and more. There will be so many emotions that hit you as a parent that you didn't even know you had. You will cry when your baby takes his first steps, you will cry when your baby scores their first soccer goal, you will cry when you drop off your baby for the last day of preschool. The point is, you will cry all the time.<br />
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And that's OK.<br />
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I will leave you with one bit of advice before I leave. None of us really have any idea what we are doing. None of us are experts. We're all in the same boat. Just go through those doors and be there. Be there for your kid. When they need you... BE THERE.<br />
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Go through those doors and thank your baby for the man you are about to become.<br />
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This Father's Day <a href="http://pampers.com/en-us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pampers</a> celebrates the incredible feeling little ones bring to the hearts of dads through unconditional love. On Father's Day as well as every day Pampers is giving thanks to babies for making dad feel exceptionally special and empowering him to discover new roles through fatherhood. Pampers is honoring dads for all that they do. Please join them in tweeting why you are most thankful for baby using the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ThanksBaby&src=tyah" target="_blank">#ThanksBaby</a>.</div>
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You can find Pampers on the web at <a href="http://pampers.com/en-us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pampers.com</a> or on <a href="http://facebook.com/pampers" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/pampers" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</div>
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<i><b>DISCLOSURE:</b> I partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://pampers.com/en-us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pampers</a> on this promotion.</i></div>
Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-16688801254197699432016-06-09T09:00:00.000-04:002016-06-13T11:51:25.408-04:00Somewhere a Garden GrowsI've come to realize something as I've gotten older; I can build things with the best of them, but I can't grow things to save my life. If I had to rely on my gardening skills to feed my family, we'd all be dead in about a week's time. I'm a big fan of the grocery store though where I can walk in, pick up some produce, then go home and cook it. I've never had the patience to wait for MONTHS while food grew in my back yard.<br />
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My parents are gardeners. <br />
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Since I was little they have always had a garden. Some years the garden grew great, others not so well. When you are growing your own food you really have to rely on Mother Nature for everything. Too much rain and your crops won't grow, too little rain and your crops won't grow either, throw in some pests like squirrels and rabbits and you wonder how any of us have any food to eat.<br />
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My kids love the idea of having a garden. We used to go to my parents house every Memorial Day weekend to help them get their garden growing, then come back at the end of the summer and be amazed at how much everything grew. The garden even got them to start eating vegetables... well some anyway.<br />
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I've tried my hand at gardening on my back deck. I ran into a few problems with that though. I had so little space that the only thing I could grow was cherry tomatoes and peppers... neither of which we really eat. Also I would always forget to water everything leaving everything a dead rotting mess. If I am going to actually try my hand at gardening, I need to go bigger. The problem is that my yard really wasn't big enough to do so.<br />
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Fortunately (but not fortunately) my kid's playset rotted to the ground last year and that opened up some space for us to finally put a garden in.<br />
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I figured something like this would cost around $500 after all was said and done, but just think... my vegetables would be worth way more than that. I can't tell you how many trips to <a href="http://www.lowes.com/l/fathers-day-gift-ideas.html?int_cmp=Home:A2:Tools:Pct_Off:FW19_40_Off_Tools_Gift_For_Dad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lowe's</a> I made. I seriously lost count because as I was building my raised garden I would think about something else that I wanted to add to it. </div>
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After I built the boxes, of course I had to fill them with dirt. After I filled them with dirt, I had to build a fence to keep out the animals. After I built a fence, I had to construct a gate. After I constructed a gate, I had to add irrigation. Needless to say I spent more time at <a href="http://www.lowes.com/l/fathers-day-gift-ideas.html?int_cmp=Home:A2:Tools:Pct_Off:FW19_40_Off_Tools_Gift_For_Dad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lowe's</a> looking for supplies than I did at home actually building this thing. But why not spend time there? It's like a toy department for grown ups, and with Father's Day coming up, <a href="http://www.lowes.com/l/fathers-day-gift-ideas.html?int_cmp=Home:A2:Tools:Pct_Off:FW19_40_Off_Tools_Gift_For_Dad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">perhaps I can come up with some gift ideas.</a></div>
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I actually built the gate out of our kids' old play-set and it's probably the thing I like most about our garden. I'm thinking about creating an accent wall in our house with wood now, it looks very cool.</div>
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I'd like to say that my kids jumped in and helped me build this thing, but they didn't. I'm not quite ready for them to be using the power tools that were necessary to build this, but I'm sure that time will come. They did however help me plant the garden, which was the point of this whole thing anyway. For me, the process of building this wasn't about spending time with my kids... it was about building something that we could share together later on.</div>
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So it's not quite my parents garden, but it IS our garden. We might not grow enough vegetables to last us the winter like they do, or even grow anything at all. But maybe one day my kids will bring THEIR kids to my house to help me plant it. </div>
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Whether anything survives after that point we will have to wait and find out.</div>
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What are you growing your garden?</div>
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To find out more about Lowes and their #DadTime campaign, visit Lowe's on the web</div>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://lowes.com/">Lowes.com</a></li>
<li>Lowe's on <a href="http://facebook.com/lowes" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
<li>Lowe's on <a href="http://twitter.com/lowes" target="_blank">Twitter</a></li>
<li>Lowe's on <a href="http://instagram.com/loweshomeimprovement" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li>
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<b>DISCLOSURE:</b> <i>I have partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://lowes.com/" target="_blank">Lowe's</a> on this promotion.</i></div>
Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-51699372312591892592016-05-17T15:34:00.000-04:002016-05-17T15:34:25.589-04:00I am the King of Rest, But That's Not a Good ThingA solid sleep schedule is something that I gave up a long time ago.<br />
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As soon as we gave birth to our first son, I pretty much gave up on my health and well being to focus on his. For years I had been working at a job where I didn't have a set shift. The only constant were my days off, but my schedule would change from day to day. There were times that I would work at 3:00 in the morning and others where I would work at 3:00 in the afternoon. With a newborn and a wife that works we decided that we needed consistency. We couldn't go week to week with an unknown schedule and try to juggle childcare around it.<br />
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I approached my bosses about me working the early morning shift.<br />
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I began working steadily at 2:00 in the morning shortly thereafter. The idea being that I would be home around 11:00 to take our son from our nanny who would be there in the morning while my wife went to work. The timing worked great and our son wouldn't be stuck being raised by other people. The only problem was I was tired ALL THE TIME. My first son was not a very good sleeper so getting him to take naps when I got home didn't always happen. That left me exhausted and miserable.<br />
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I thought at first that the early morning shifts would allow me to spend time with my family in the evenings, and they did... until 9:00 when I had to force myself to go to bed. Once in bed, I would usually toss and turn and fall asleep seemingly right before my alarm went off at 1:00. I'd drag myself out of bed and spend the next eight hours at work in a semi-conscious state. I'm not going to lie, there were a lot of times that I fell asleep at work and in some pretty bad places.<br />
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I remember one time I was sent to the river to capture beauty shots for our live television show. I can honestly say that I set the camera up and fell asleep for the next two hours. I would have my equipment all rigged up so that nobody could steal it without waking me up. All of us who worked the morning shift had our little hacks that got us through the day.<br />
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Two years after our son was born, we had another kid and sleep was basically something that I would do when I died. I was able to manage OK with my first, but with two I was falling asleep everywhere. Afternoons with two kids at home meant me falling asleep on the floor with them playing around me. I was really of no use them. I would take them to the park and the same thing would happen. Something had to give.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgML9-YCpzREI734EMBhJk83OpAdnrmuFoOuBCG0r8W40qXFLJtab1VzQPPmZgDNYjyQaNX6oyQAc7LHsUSdjlS_bOY-MP1TH1iqNMd62WcxeAWOcFofl21qiNvT1CDcTktBkqKNhL9C9Ec/s1600/IMG_3049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgML9-YCpzREI734EMBhJk83OpAdnrmuFoOuBCG0r8W40qXFLJtab1VzQPPmZgDNYjyQaNX6oyQAc7LHsUSdjlS_bOY-MP1TH1iqNMd62WcxeAWOcFofl21qiNvT1CDcTktBkqKNhL9C9Ec/s550/IMG_3049.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Falling asleep at the park was probably not the safest thing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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That's when I became a stay at home dad.<br />
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It's been a lot better since that decision, but if you have kids you seem to get tired all the time regardless of how much sleep you got the night before. I swear nowadays I could sleep for 24 hours, but be physically and emotionally exhausted after spending even an hour with my kids. I don't know what they do to our bodies, but they seem to drain the life out of us. Now I get catnaps wherever I can.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1OoqEx1BngxAdbB3VPaHL2EOVUxl4g-uiwd6MqA9E-ifKWVybCcHG0HQ2NKgKaJhr9AN-3FdVR_dv_Fx8du4GM9ehn85gDfFFq78J4h_1uadLi4kKGAV9QN_twYD7rrT6M_af0xjUIji/s1600/IMG_2978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ1OoqEx1BngxAdbB3VPaHL2EOVUxl4g-uiwd6MqA9E-ifKWVybCcHG0HQ2NKgKaJhr9AN-3FdVR_dv_Fx8du4GM9ehn85gDfFFq78J4h_1uadLi4kKGAV9QN_twYD7rrT6M_af0xjUIji/s550/IMG_2978.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It could be before my son's football game</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXoO0SbMrrnw4GS6l9BEqF1rX_1Aja4ZyoDVDLoLZHT1eEjUNCRv0rjjNkvTA6cBL-WQ3PaKuVJSQKGzWaCgBMMKmmkZW9utq8einKW7YvxaYFgmmOr2P6IXeSWJ046AASNFQXVoNK73U/s1600/IMG_3033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXoO0SbMrrnw4GS6l9BEqF1rX_1Aja4ZyoDVDLoLZHT1eEjUNCRv0rjjNkvTA6cBL-WQ3PaKuVJSQKGzWaCgBMMKmmkZW9utq8einKW7YvxaYFgmmOr2P6IXeSWJ046AASNFQXVoNK73U/s550/IMG_3033.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or between innings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The one thing I have learned in the past 11 years of being a parent is that if you have the chance to get some zzz's DO IT. My in-laws are great at this sort of thing and learned this years ago. They have an amazing ability to be having a conversation and two minutes later be sound asleep. I'm afraid to ride in a car with them as I never know if they are going to doze off at a red light. Movies, shows, roller coasters... you name it, they have slept there. I am well on my to doing this as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbVk2b89hfJ0f9xkjVFmYtHgXY-_fuFDBo3QdNztWkjPcCLOR_hBx-rC5tdgHqMs3suNACcFHSLRBd_RZIikbcWhr9aQheiRa0QoF9JcDq4YQeG4PDHNZS8qpR0BdI2vauI9Kw6Rzp5LS/s1600/IMG_3042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFbVk2b89hfJ0f9xkjVFmYtHgXY-_fuFDBo3QdNztWkjPcCLOR_hBx-rC5tdgHqMs3suNACcFHSLRBd_RZIikbcWhr9aQheiRa0QoF9JcDq4YQeG4PDHNZS8qpR0BdI2vauI9Kw6Rzp5LS/s550/IMG_3042.jpg" /></a></div>
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The worst thing about all of this is that the kids have started to pick up some bad habits too. We have never really been that strict about bedtimes especially as they get older. What used to be 9:00 has turned into whenever, as long as they are in bed at some point. They do need to know that healthy sleep is a lifestyle choice. Much like a healthy diet and exercise are important, so too are good sleeping habits. Everything in their lives are powered by sleep. Those meltdowns they have... go away with a good nights sleep. Illnesses... a little rest is sometimes the best cure. Feeling stressed... take a nap (ha!)<br />
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All good sleep starts with a good PLACE to sleep. While all these little naps you're taking at the park or the ball fields are fine, in the long run you need to focus on good bedtime routine and that starts at your mattress. <a href="http://restonic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Restonic</a> wants you to know that they are in the business supporting the dreams of the people that sleep on their mattresses. Every <a href="http://restonic.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Restonic</a> mattress is handmade with better quality materials and greater attention to detail than their competitors.<br />
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Now you have a chance to win a mattress yourself!<br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="8ce1458f50" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/8ce1458f50/" id="rcwidget_n49seme5" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIR7TmISXP2EKkkxgn-ENj3qiNoXDPrcOW1G977qPnfHlqayPirUW4Wdzm32xfvG0crAgboP4zkDiS_7uc7c-z3WbIzbXPv3_Ez9sYuLyb-qFtG6_xsb01WMN9NhGGk5KSlJmPkgTqls9/s1600/y0jbhEzjLrYBCaV-SMk2SV_4PXPdH-LoXHIC7e_bW1U1J88XKnuUx95h6CKdHrNvLGKAijw8u6alnpPe-oQO1fxJLb1P6-jw7I_92T5eKV74J8-bNpKssEBatJA7YOYLEdVn67B9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIR7TmISXP2EKkkxgn-ENj3qiNoXDPrcOW1G977qPnfHlqayPirUW4Wdzm32xfvG0crAgboP4zkDiS_7uc7c-z3WbIzbXPv3_Ez9sYuLyb-qFtG6_xsb01WMN9NhGGk5KSlJmPkgTqls9/s550/y0jbhEzjLrYBCaV-SMk2SV_4PXPdH-LoXHIC7e_bW1U1J88XKnuUx95h6CKdHrNvLGKAijw8u6alnpPe-oQO1fxJLb1P6-jw7I_92T5eKV74J8-bNpKssEBatJA7YOYLEdVn67B9.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>DISCLOSURE:</b> <i>I have partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://restonic.com/" target="_blank">Restonic</a> for this promotion. All opinions are my own unless my wife tells me otherwise.</i></div>
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-88639501408715778432016-05-03T11:29:00.000-04:002016-05-03T11:29:06.026-04:00Mother's Day Shopping Made EasyMother's Day is always one of those days that seem to jump up on you. It's the same time every year, but you always seem to forget about it until the last second. I think it has to do with the fact that you think it can't be May already because Christmas seemed like just yesterday. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPlaFtpdT5-D2kt3VbC48kxXLsBWYwJPukjqIEENFr5fsIek0fTBzuk_9Sx2W0S3mrK7ScA5j1zbi6jXH25hMK463YofWSayWNH1WdMJEpeDAiSLsdBR9O3YcbV2d30ti_U8UTPBdre9C/s1600/IMG_0209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPlaFtpdT5-D2kt3VbC48kxXLsBWYwJPukjqIEENFr5fsIek0fTBzuk_9Sx2W0S3mrK7ScA5j1zbi6jXH25hMK463YofWSayWNH1WdMJEpeDAiSLsdBR9O3YcbV2d30ti_U8UTPBdre9C/s320/IMG_0209.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I've been pretty good in the past with getting my wife something that she would enjoy. I usually make her a photo album of the previous year and write a poem around it, trying the best I can to match the photos with the words. It's not always easy, and the pressure starts to mount as Mother's Day fast approaches. Some years I wait until the last possible day to finish it and I end up paying a ridiculous fee to have the whole thing expedited.<br />
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This year I got it done early... or so I think. The book has yet to arrive and as Mother's Day gets nearer I will start to sweat it out. I wish there was a way that I could order it online and then pick it up on my own later that day. But alas, creativity takes a while.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKDhsT0XupGTid6krg10QHQCIHbtHrwDVOhDaguWtBsXIzTWBtjkmTXwTP9E6QsU9WWwKHGor_HKlbM8Sbz7rHcycsu4fEyNWmtL8WKLLYSzM-oMAIBbl2euKk4lm9WfqEEavYaZNJOMJ/s1600/IMG_2561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHKDhsT0XupGTid6krg10QHQCIHbtHrwDVOhDaguWtBsXIzTWBtjkmTXwTP9E6QsU9WWwKHGor_HKlbM8Sbz7rHcycsu4fEyNWmtL8WKLLYSzM-oMAIBbl2euKk4lm9WfqEEavYaZNJOMJ/s320/IMG_2561.JPG" width="240" /></a>I am a big fan of online shopping, but I also don't like waiting for things to arrive. Sometimes I will keep refreshing a web page to see if my items have shipped. And then when they are shipped, I refresh the page again to see the item's progress. It's so annoying. Two whole days for something that I really wanted that instant? It might as well be a lifetime. I wonder where my kids get their impatience from.<br />
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I know that I am not alone in waiting until that last minute. According to my own personal polls, 93% of all men wait until the morning of Mother's Day to get their wives and mothers a gift. Have you ever seen the card aisle at the drug store on the morning of Mother's Day? It's a bunch of sad looking men trying to figure out how to make "Get Well Soon" cards sound like they were meant for Mother's Day.<br />
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But I found out that there IS another option! Enter <a href="http://bit.ly/1qY2H6T" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sears</a> and their "Buy Online, Pick Up in Store" option. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXKH0rgIC6BorlmyDIgnfBbTJi4RjmhluQ-Cq3lNRkP7E-CaZQNWFQKaogAc1E28c0HrmI4_LYBbTGPYmt5j0lJZQuaZ5ew93U0R_RkZ7W33lYZXRe55IoChCT2dJaJ5mbpiZ8lbdJz7i/s1600/IMG_2870.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXKH0rgIC6BorlmyDIgnfBbTJi4RjmhluQ-Cq3lNRkP7E-CaZQNWFQKaogAc1E28c0HrmI4_LYBbTGPYmt5j0lJZQuaZ5ew93U0R_RkZ7W33lYZXRe55IoChCT2dJaJ5mbpiZ8lbdJz7i/s550/IMG_2870.PNG" /></a></div>
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My wife is a hard working woman who travels often. She has a carry-on suitcase that she uses, but it's just big enough that sometimes it's NOT a carry-on, so she needs a slightly smaller suitcase so she doesn't have to check anything at the airport. When you are constantly flying to a different city for a meeting, the last thing you want to be doing is waiting at baggage claim for you luggage to arrive, or worse have the airline lose your bag and you have to go to a meeting in your yoga pants.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwazXEZzgXgjy3GfAO0FfpAWIthzOdmHjLT4kPe-2c0sCxdtzbWlVxC52ed7VDSFxQnoOYxOg9zKhzceTEKvHJG1Sj_Tv-yA87eQ2gl1QLZd3Bk451EWdxKLlbfWarU3YsaoJJsla-Pcah/s1600/IMG_2888.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwazXEZzgXgjy3GfAO0FfpAWIthzOdmHjLT4kPe-2c0sCxdtzbWlVxC52ed7VDSFxQnoOYxOg9zKhzceTEKvHJG1Sj_Tv-yA87eQ2gl1QLZd3Bk451EWdxKLlbfWarU3YsaoJJsla-Pcah/s320/IMG_2888.PNG" width="229" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqmuNspNee01JDy7dUVFCtEiKkbq42DoiSFT2uJLNgIjet4SKMkGekn4lfvTs4A8qFOeiyDbknxmtpbNMFBdB7AWJM7b3peLwwl0UycC1SMMHAl0JF4tLJU5gX7b6opdoQ1WjgAxZeeG1/s1600/IMG_2874.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqmuNspNee01JDy7dUVFCtEiKkbq42DoiSFT2uJLNgIjet4SKMkGekn4lfvTs4A8qFOeiyDbknxmtpbNMFBdB7AWJM7b3peLwwl0UycC1SMMHAl0JF4tLJU5gX7b6opdoQ1WjgAxZeeG1/s320/IMG_2874.PNG" width="193" /></a></div>
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I logged on to <a href="http://bit.ly/1qY2H6T" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sears.com</a> to see if they had what I was looking for and fortunately they did. I had a few different stores that I could choose from. Being from New Jersey, every town has it's own mall. You can't go more than 10 miles without finding a Sears around here. I picked the store that had the suitcase in stock and when I checked out I chose the In Store Pickup option. I went out to run some errands and waited for Sears to text me to let me know that the item was ready. When it was, I headed to the store and logged into their mobile app.<br />
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I pulled into my own VIP parking spot and let Sears know through the app that I was outside waiting and the clock was ticking. Within two minutes a man walked outside with my wife's new suitcase and I was on my way. It's a perfect service when you have the kids in tow and the last thing you want to do is interrupt their 53rd viewing of some stupid YouTube video to walk inside a store. This couldn't be easier. And bonus for you, if you use the service between May 3rd and May 7th, you are automatically entered to win a $5000 Sears gift card. That is a lot of luggage.<br />
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Find a great gift for your wife or mom this year at <a href="http://bit.ly/1qY2H6T" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sears.com/allformom</a>. They have gifts for all types of moms:<br />
<ul>
<li><i>The Fashionable Mom</i>: Apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty and fragrances</li>
<li><i>The Outdoor Mom</i>: Patio decor & furniture, lawn & garden equipment, bikes, swimwear, sandals, luggage, digital cameras and camping gear</li>
<li><i>The Fitness-Focused Mom</i>: Activewear, fitness equipment, headphones, juicer/small kitchen appliances.</li>
<li><i>Master Chef Mom</i>: Kemore appliances, cookware, plateware, cutlery and more</li>
<li><i>The Techie Mom</i>: Smart technology, tablets, cameras, TV’s and more.</li>
</ul>
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It's nice to be done shopping now and not have to wait for something to arrive in the mail. The pressure is off now... I just hope my wife likes her gift.<br />
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<i><b>DISCLOSURE</b>: I have partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://bit.ly/1qY2H6T" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sears</a> for this promotion.</i></div>
Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-18857136851583780652016-04-04T10:29:00.000-04:002016-04-04T10:29:16.487-04:00The Road Always Leads to Somewhere<b>Disclosure:</b> <i>I have partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://www.kia.com/us/en/home" target="_blank">Kia</a> for this promotion.</i><br />
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"Is this a road?" My wife asked?<br />
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"I'm not sure," I replied. "The GPS says it is so I'm going with it."<br />
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In the back of my mind I thought this was some kind of joke and that this "road" was leading us to somewhere that would certainly lead to our death. I've seen these roads before. They are usually named after the one legged hillbilly with the moonshine still and the collection of shotguns that lives at the end of it. Only this time we were in rural Cornwall in Southwest England.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><br />
</span> <span style="text-align: left;">The roads in England had been tight up to that point; mainly wide enough for two cars to slowly pass each other, but this road wasn't even wide enough for our ONE car. The thicket of shrubbery was scratching at the side our vehicle and with every passing mile I could only think that I should have purchased insurance on our rental car. I had been on some harrowing roads in Italy and France, but these were unlike anything that I have ever seen.</span><br />
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“Be careful going around that corner,” my wife warned.<br />
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“Which one?” I wondered. “The whole road is one big corner.”<br />
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Not having seen a car in what seemed like an hour, I really began to wonder where the hell we were going and why nobody else was following us. Looking at the map, you could see that there was a town somewhere ahead and the Celtic Sea was no more than a stones throw from our car window. The only problem though was that we couldn’t see it.<br />
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When we are in a new place, we are not ones to take the highway. We didn’t travel to Cornwall to see a road like we could at home. The idea is to explore; to see the sights that you would never get to see otherwise. Here were were on a road that seemed like it would do just that, but the road was so small and the shrubs were so high that our lasting memory was of the road ahead of us and the bushes above us swallowing our little vehicle.<br />
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We didn’t regret taking the road to nowhere because in the end every road leads to somewhere. Sometimes in order to see things that you wouldn’t normally see, you have to go places that people don’t normally go. In our case, the payoff was huge.<br />
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Not every road is going to lead you some place amazing, so you might as well make the ride there as comfortable as possible. The <a href="http://www.kia.com/us/en/home" target="_blank">Kia Sportage</a> is the type of vehicle that is small enough to fit on the tiniest of roads, but also large enough to make the ride to your destination one that you will enjoy. Wherever the road leads you, ride there in style.<br />
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I was fortunate to ride around Washington DC in a Kia during the Dad 2.0 Summit. I love what they are doing to celebrate dads as everyday heroes.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="309" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1VoahXZDi0g" width="550"></iframe><br />Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-27903904048025624222016-03-08T15:14:00.000-05:002016-03-08T15:15:19.311-05:00If Only I had a Smarter Car<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGb4eehObJf-lj_DqiMSN6IjKDAIAoy2ymyhZq0FSxLr5RNmhuzCBDyHB-ckfxxu4hPMsiSk1Fg2Pmw248OaMz-JwU9Fs3Zs3FlZ94Xe6_G_ENzMGe0OWibAYmZLPZn_xt-ZMYxLCjxtn4/s1600/Scan+2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGb4eehObJf-lj_DqiMSN6IjKDAIAoy2ymyhZq0FSxLr5RNmhuzCBDyHB-ckfxxu4hPMsiSk1Fg2Pmw248OaMz-JwU9Fs3Zs3FlZ94Xe6_G_ENzMGe0OWibAYmZLPZn_xt-ZMYxLCjxtn4/s550/Scan+2_2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure how this car was supposed to make it to Long Island</td></tr>
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I'm not sure where we were, but I do know that we were far from home. I could sense something was wrong with my car, but not being a mechanic, I wasn't sure exactly. The check engine light had been on for the past 100 miles and the engine temperature gauge was entering the dangerous zone. I'm not quite sure what would happen to my car, but not being anywhere familiar, my buddy Sal and I had no choice but to press on.<br />
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My friend Joe was turning 21 that night in Long Island and there was no way that we were going to miss it. Here we were though somewhere in New Jersey with a car that was seriously overheating with no idea how much longer it would last. It was one of those things where we would just take it mile by mile and hope for the best. <br />
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I have two fears when driving; that my car will break down in the middle of nowhere or it will break down in the middle of a city. We weren't in the middle of Kansas and with New York City on the horizon, my second fear was likely to come true. We approached the toll plaza to the George Washington Bridge when everything that could happen, did. Smoke began billowing out of the air vents and from underneath the hood. My car was going to explode and leave me and my buddy dead in the middle of the George Washington Bridge... in rush hour traffic no less.<br />
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I was about to be THAT car that shut down a lane of traffic causing a backup on the busiest thoroughfare in the Tri-State Area. Fortunately though my car didn't explode and we managed to make our way to the Bronx. This was not the 2015 South Bronx, but rather the 1996 version where two flannel wearing Upstate New Yorkers were completely out of their element in more ways than one. We managed to find a garage, or so it looked like a garage, it was most likely a chop shop where they took stolen cars, chopped them up, and sold off the parts. It wasn't the ideal place to stop, but we had no choice.<br />
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A big burly black man approached our car with an equally big bucket of water. He lifted the hood of the car and emptied the contents of the bucket on the overheated engine. After a few minutes when all the steam dissipated and the engine cooled, he filled up our radiator with water and we were on our way. I don't know if we tipped the guy or not, but I didn't want to spend any more time in this part of town so we got back on the highway as fast as we could.<br />
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We ended up making it to Long Island where we found out one of the engine hoses had a leak and needed to be replaced. I'm still amazed that we made it to our destination and didn't end up dying somewhere along the way. Looking back I have no idea how we made it without cell phones or some other communication device.<br />
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I can't help but think how this situation would have been different had I had a device like the <a href="https://www.hum.com/" target="_blank">Hum by Verizon</a>. It's a small speaker that sits on your visor that connects you to an operator at the touch of a button. You can get things like roadside assistance, emergency assistance, and they can locate your car if it's stolen. Fortunately I haven't had to use any of those yet, but for a low monthly cost, it's good to know that it's there. It also comes with an on-board diagnostic reader so you will always know what is going with your car. It will send maintenance reminders to your connected phone, so you never have wonder when it's time to bring your car to the garage. The Hum makes every car smarter and safer.<br />
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It's also perfect for your kids car if they decide to take a road trip to Long Island.<br />
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<br />
Hum by Verizon has been kind enough to offer one of their units in a giveaway. Please enter below.<br />
<br />
<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="c02e8f5f7" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c02e8f5f7/" id="rcwidget_vsm59db4" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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I was supplied a Hum by Verizon, all opinions are my own.<br />
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script><br />Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-30631335074580429432016-02-25T13:50:00.000-05:002016-02-25T13:50:57.575-05:00The Day the Lights Went Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm not exactly sure how long the Christmas lights have been hanging around my son's door. Since he got his own room after his brother was born in March of 2007, I have to assume that they have been hanging there since sometime around Christmas of that year. Aside from a couple of times when we moved burned out light bulbs around, the lights haven't been turned off or unplugged for over eight years.<br />
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Every day I would walk by his room and get a little smile on my face as it brought me back to that sweet little boy that moved into his "Mickey Mouse" room. He was so into music that I painted piano keys on the wall. He was into Buzz Lightyear, Star Wars, Cars, and all the typical things a three year old boy would love.<br />
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His likes have changed through the years. He's not so much into Disney things anymore (though he loves GOING TO Disney), music isn't his passion, Star Wars is still cool, but not in the "I want to be Anakin Skywalker" type of way. All of that has been replaced by baseball. Some of the old stuff still remains, but only because we are too lazy to go about remodeling his bedroom. He could probably use a new bed. The one he is in now is made with crappy particle board and one of the drawers underneath his bed fell apart a couple of years ago. There is a chair in there that has never been used and books pile up with no place to go.<br />
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While he has changed and some of the room has changed, the lights on the outside remained constant. <br />
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Eight years they have brought me back to the past. A time that as I get older, I long for more and more. I was just thinking this morning that my younger son no longer runs into my bedroom in the middle of the night. He used to wake up and go to the bathroom and then jump right beside me. It sucked at the time, but it sucks now that it doesn't happen anymore.<br />
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Half of the lights around my son's door shut off the other day.<br />
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Normally I would have gone in and tried to fix them. Just like replacing batteries in toys that they no longer use, I realized that perhaps it's time to move on. As much as I would like my kids to stay young forever, it's not going to happen. I can't fix that. Who knows, maybe we will hang a new set of lights around his door, but the glow will never be the same.Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-88810388964870574732016-02-23T14:28:00.000-05:002016-02-23T14:28:15.711-05:00He was a...<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I never lived the dreams of the prom kings and the drama queens, I'd like to think the best of me is still hiding up my sleeve." - John Mayer</blockquote>
Have you ever thought about your own legacy? What is it that you will be remembered by? How <i>DO</i> you want to be remembered? I've never really given it much thought myself. I'm just a simple guy with two kids, a wife, and a dog.<br />
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A lot of how you will be remembered depends on when your story ends. If you wrote my obituary when I was 10, it would have to have said that I was a pretty good bowler, that I loved sports, and that I spent too much time watching TV. I hadn't really made an impact on anyone as of yet, except maybe my parents who I'm sure thought I was the cutest kid alive.<br />
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By the time that I graduated college I had made a little mark on society, but still nothing stood out. There were no research papers where I cured cancer, I didn't found a non-profit organization to help the less fortunate, and I certainly didn't start any sort of business that created much needed jobs for my home area of Upstate New York. I DID score the game winning basket in a high school basketball game against Mount Morris and I DID help my dorm win the Intramural title in my junior year of college, but is that something that I really want to be known for?<br />
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I couldn't really answer that question until I had a family.<br />
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It's nice to be known as a pretty decent bowler and a solid high school basketball player, but those are nothing compared to being known as a good husband and a good father. If my life is a multi-chapter book, chapter one ends when I was 25. Sure I had some really good moments, but in the movie version of my life, they would get about two minutes of screen time. The story of my life really takes off after I met my wife and our two kids came into the world.<br />
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But is that what I am going to be known for? Being a good dad and a good husband? If I died today, I would be happy if that's how my story ended. But I'm 42 years old and my story is still being written. I could come up with a cure for cancer, I could create that non-profit, or I could build a company and create those jobs. Who knows? The one thing that I do know is that I don't want to be handed my life story and be left thinking, "That's it?" I don't want to wake up in 30 years and wonder where my life went, I need to wake up tomorrow and figure out where it's going.<br />
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<b>He was a...</b> who knows? The next chapter starts right now.<br />
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This post was inspired by a keynote speech from <a href="http://bradmeltzer.com/" target="_blank">Brad Meltzer</a> at the <a href="http://www.dad2summit.com/" target="_blank">Dad2Summit</a> that I recently attended in Washington, DC. I went into the conference thinking about what's next and while I didn't come out with any definitive answers, there are lightbulbs going off on top of my head. Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-10800905330787292482016-02-04T09:00:00.000-05:002016-02-04T10:18:56.988-05:00I've Got Friends in Snowy PlacesBy all accounts this was going to be the storm of the century, well this season's storm of the century anyway. Bread was bought, milk was procured, and the eggs were purchased; all we had to do was sit and wait for the storm to hit. <br />
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This winter hasn't been a very harsh one here in the northeast. We've set record highs left and right and it was 72 degrees ON CHRISTMAS EVE. While my wife loves that kind of weather, the kids and I were longing for some snow to fall. Up until last weekend, we had none... but that was about to change.<br />
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My oldest son Tyler swears that his favorite season is winter. I'm not so sure that I believe him because he's always asking when baseball season starts. My other son Carter seems to be indifferent about the cold weather; he will play any sport in any type of weather. However it always seems like we play basketball outside when the temperature is the coldest. As for myself, having grown up in Western New York, I've always had an affinity towards the cold. Like a lot of men my age and older I can vividly remember walking uphill five miles in the snow to get to school and I liked it.<br />
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We don't get as much snow as I used to get when I was a kid. Back then in Western New York a lot depended on which way the wind blew. You could get four feet, while your neighbor a mile away might not even realize that it snowed. When I was younger, the snow would fall before Halloween and last until Mother's Day. Now it snows, then it melts, then it snows, and melts again. I'm under the feeling that if it's going to be cold outside, it might as well be snowing.<br />
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And last weekend it snowed... did it ever snow.<br />
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Twelve inches may seem like a lot, but at this point we were only half way through the storm. It would go on snowing for another 12 hours and the storm would dump 21 inches of snow all together. I'm not one to let the snow finish falling before I get out and clear my driveway. I would much rather clear our seven inches three times than the entire 21 inches as once. I'm tough, but not "clear 21 inches at once" tough.</div>
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I was sent a pack of lozenges by the folks at <a href="http://www.fishermansfriend.com/en-us/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fisherman's Friend</a> and asked to take an EPIC picture. I didn't want to fake a winter scene like <a href="http://www.lifeofdad.com/blog_post.php?pid=24469" target="_blank">Patrick Quinn</a> did, pretend to know what snow is, like <a href="http://www.therockfather.com/lifestyle/food/item/4214-braving-the-wicked-winter-of-northern-illinois-with-an-axe-and-a-friend" target="_blank">James Zahn</a>, or never leave the house like <a href="http://www.thirstydaddy.com/2016/01/26/fishermans-friend-the-winter-essential/" target="_blank">The Thirsty Daddy</a>. Much like Chris <a href="http://www.dadncharge.com/2016/01/getting-by-winter-with-little-help-from.html" target="_blank">Burnholdt,</a> this Winter Storm Jonas (can we stop naming these storms please) was the perfect opportunity to get out and show how tough I was.</div>
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I like to call this one "The First of Many." This was about 10:00 am and the plows had barely been through our neighborhood (which is another story). The snow was really falling at this point; probably two inches an hour at least. I think one of my kids was still asleep and the other was at a sleepover party in the neighborhood. I didn't need to get out of my driveway, but I'm a guy with a snowblower... I HAD to get out of my driveway. By the way, I took this photo myself (#SELFIE!)<br />
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The only problem with getting so much snow at once was that it made it almost impossible to sled in. We had to really wait until the next next day before we could get out and play in it.<br />
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Sadly, it's only a week and a half later and all the snow has melted... but there might be more on the horizon! Better go get bread, milk, and eggs... and <a href="http://www.fishermansfriend.com/en-us/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fisherman's Friend</a> Lozenges.<br />
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<a href="http://www.fishermansfriend.com/en-us/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fisherman’s Friend</a> throat lozenges are the toughest on the market, originally formulated in 1865 for deep-sea fishermen from Fleetwood, England. And they are now perfect for a dad who shovels snow in New Jersey. It's good to have friends in snowy places.<br />
<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-6078392273971213842015-12-04T10:41:00.000-05:002015-12-04T16:07:50.791-05:00Kindness is ContagiousIt seems like the only news we hear nowadays is bad news.<br />
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With terror attacks in Paris, wars raging in the Middle East, and mass shootings in California, it's hard to realize that there is a lot of good in this world as well. We don't celebrate the random acts of kindness like we do the random acts of terror, but perhaps we should. </div>
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Good news is boring.</div>
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As a news guy I've always worked under the "If it bleeds, it leads" mantra. Watch the news and there is always a murder or a fire as the top story. It's never about the guy that held the door for the little old lady at the mall. If you go by what's in the paper or on the nightly news you would think that nothing good ever happens. But it does.</div>
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The world is filled with good people. Some times it just takes a little kick for people to realize that. For every person filled with hate there are literally MILLIONS of people who are filled with good. But some times we forget that.<br />
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Last weekend I was in my hometown of Geneseo, NY driving around looking at all the old sights like I do every time I visit my parents. I stopped in Cricket's Coffee Company on Main Street and bought a $50 gift certificate. I told the two workers behind the counter, Mike and Jordan, that I didn't want to use it; I wanted THEM to use it. I asked them if they could buy people coffee as they came in. Thanks to them I was able to spread a little holiday cheer in my home town.<br />
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I got a message from the coffee house later in the day telling me that thanks to my random act of kindness people began paying it forward and they ended up serving $100 of gifted coffee that day. If that's not proof that kindness is contagious, I'm not sure what is. You never know what one good deed will lead to until you do it.<br />
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I decided not to stop there. When I got home I went to the nearest Toys "R" Us and bought a $50 gift card. I asked Caroline if she would find someone who could use it a little more than I could. After looking at me like I was nuts, she of course said she would find someone buying Christmas presents for their kids. I don't know what happened after I left or who she gave the card to, but I like to think that that person paid it forward as well. Maybe they didn't buy someone else a $50 gift card, but perhaps they did a little something like holding the door for a little old lady.<br />
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Perhaps we don't celebrate the random acts of kindness like we should because they are happening all around us. We seem to focus on the bad, but forget to realize that people are inherently good. People don't do nice things to draw attention to themselves or to gain praise, they just do it and hope others do it as well.<br />
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I've partnered with <a href="http://howkindofyou.com/" target="_blank">KIND Snacks</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lifeofdad/" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> to draw attention to people doing kind things. Their <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23kindawesome&src=tyah" target="_blank">#kindawesome</a> campaign spreads kindness by celebrating kind acts. KIND has been on a mission since day one to inspire kindness and their hope is that it resonates with parents as they try to instill kindness in their kids. <br />
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It's important now more than ever we teach our kids the RIGHT thing, the KIND thing. If you know of someone doing something nice and would like to reward them, hit me up on my <a href="http://facebook.com/daddysincharge" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> and let me know.<br />
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*I've partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/kindsnacks" target="_blank">KIND Snacks</a> for this promotion. Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-72191356355571250982015-11-24T10:45:00.001-05:002015-11-24T10:45:11.594-05:00My Teams Stink, But I'll Smack Talk Anyway<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I haven't had much success with my sports teams lately. In fact my college football team is so bad (and has been for 15 years) they just fired their head coach... again. My basketball team had one of their worst seasons last year and look to be equally as bad this year. <a href="http://smack-apparel.hostedbywebstore.com/Syracuse-National-Communist-Athletic-Association/dp/B00UJVSZLG?class=quickView&field_availability=-2&field_browse=11119174011&id=Syracuse+National+Communist+Athletic+Association&ie=UTF8&refinementHistory=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Cbrand_name%2Ccolor_map%2Csize_name&searchNodeID=11119174011&searchPage=1&searchRank=salesrank&searchSize=12" target="_blank">The head coach is going to serve a nine game suspension</a>, the team is loaded with freshman, and they had a bunch of scholarships taken away.<br />
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It's really been a disaster for me, because it seems all of my friends have teams that are doing well. One guy is a Patriots fan who won't shut up about it, another is an obnoxious Yankee fan who claims he's been that way his entire life, and another is a Rutgers fan for some odd reason. Fortunately none of us root for Duke, <a href="http://smack-apparel.hostedbywebstore.com/Syracuse-Orange-Fans-Dont-T-Shirt/dp/B00S04B8G8?class=quickView&field_availability=-2&field_browse=11119174011&id=Syracuse+Orange+Fans+Dont+T-Shirt&ie=UTF8&refinementHistory=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Cbrand_name%2Ccolor_map%2Csize_name&searchNodeID=11119174011&searchPage=1&searchRank=salesrank&searchSize=12" target="_blank">so we can all agree how much we hate them</a>.<br />
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Sports are funny though. It doesn't matter how bad your team is, you are going to defend them to the grave. Unless of course you are anything like my eight year old son, who seems to have a new favorite team every week. I'll admit that I have jumped around with my fandom in sports like baseball and NBA basketball. But there is one thing I will never waiver on, my love for the Syracuse Orange.<br />
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I grew up in Western New York and while they weren't my favorite team, they were in my top two. When I decided to go to Syracuse for college that all changed. Gone were my allegiances to Nebraska football and North Carolina basketball (can you say FRONTRUNNER?) I was now solely an Orange fan. After graduation my love for all things Syracuse only grew.<br />
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There are four days that stand out in my life... the day I married my wife, the days that my kids were born, and the day that Syracuse basketball won the 2003 National Title. My wife isn't so certain that they should be placed in this order. She seems to think that my basketball team winning was a way bigger deal than marrying her. After all she says, getting married isn't a once in a lifetime thing like Syracuse winning a national championship.<br />
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That's the kind of smack talk that I like; subtle, but direct. Talking smack with my friends turns into the same conversation every time. The Yankee fan always gets ragged on for buying championships, the Patriot fan hears about conspiracies and cheating, and the Rutgers fan... well, you can say pretty much anything to a Rutgers fan because they stink.<br />
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I'm always wearing a Syracuse shirt, hat, or hoodie which should be enough to talk smack with, but now there is another way... by wearing your fandom! <a href="http://smackapparel.com/" target="_blank">Smack Apparel</a> makes doing that easy. They make T-shirts for sports fans who love to talk smack and want the world to know it. It's not a Lexus with a bow on top, but what better gift can you get your smack talker this holiday season? When they open up their gifts and see a Smack Apparel shirt it won't end up in the crappy presents pile. They will put the shirt on and talk smack the rest of the day.<br />
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I'm going to get my kids a couple of shirts this holiday out of their <a href="http://smack-apparel.hostedbywebstore.com/InfantToddler/b/10734779011?ie=UTF8&title=Infant%2FToddler" target="_blank">rookie wear collection</a>... I just have to figure out which team they are actually rooting for. Sadly it's not my Syracuse Orange.<br />
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<a href="http://smackapparel.com/" target="_blank">Smack Apparel</a> is offering free shipping on direct website orders from now until December 31st. They are running a Black Friday/ Cyber Monday special where you can get 25% off your order. Follow Smack Apparel on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SmackApparel/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/smackapparel" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://instagram.com/smackapparel/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> to continue the smack talking conversation.</div>
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**This is a sponsored post for Smack Apparel. I was compensated, but they didn't tell me to root for Syracuse in any way. My diploma did that.</div>
<br />Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-3322166390054734082015-09-14T09:00:00.001-04:002015-09-14T09:00:58.237-04:00The Filth Never EndsThis is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of <a href="http://izea.it/l4nVl" rel="nofollow">Maytag</a> for <a href="https://izea.com/" rel="nofollow">IZEA</a>. All opinions are 100% mine.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScB_cEKPm_JtldVhKUS7sNRx4CVTyCkA9K2c2k-Wn0fsQDhlh9x7vVtQ17nH53tY7KO-bH-_8GYh4X5yAVfyNP5dDlV1cU0N77tfuQjyXVKb3I43Wh_RYrXfPNBXFaXgbMo76icyY8jUs/s1600/IMG_4179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScB_cEKPm_JtldVhKUS7sNRx4CVTyCkA9K2c2k-Wn0fsQDhlh9x7vVtQ17nH53tY7KO-bH-_8GYh4X5yAVfyNP5dDlV1cU0N77tfuQjyXVKb3I43Wh_RYrXfPNBXFaXgbMo76icyY8jUs/s250/IMG_4179.JPG" /></a></div>My kids are filthy. They are like little dirt balls with feet. I can’t tell you how hard it is sometimes to get stains out of the baseball uniforms. If your kids are anything like mine they slide for absolutely no reason at all. I send my kids to their games with clean uniforms and before the game even starts they have grass stains everywhere and have decided to dump red Gatorade all over their white pants. Who, by the way, decided that white pants should be a thing that kids should wear to play baseball games? I’m thinking brown pants or even green pants would be a much better option.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh829sMIzDSj5X94iKTmKJrc3y8RF7lPaM11vvUGnh7WIOeB1tvRl45x8GIm7Z4YIKmFEvjgIxbs8NVGhQZGCz-A8GIx0tAT5Xr340n1pC64arsFFlcVsy-RonTuTdskOB5LQbOmf1yysT_/s1600/IMG_8264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh829sMIzDSj5X94iKTmKJrc3y8RF7lPaM11vvUGnh7WIOeB1tvRl45x8GIm7Z4YIKmFEvjgIxbs8NVGhQZGCz-A8GIx0tAT5Xr340n1pC64arsFFlcVsy-RonTuTdskOB5LQbOmf1yysT_/s250/IMG_8264.JPG" /></a>I like that my kids play sports, but sometimes I can’t help but cringe when they fall to the ground or slide into second base. When they stand up and I see the stain on their knees I know how hard it’s going to be to get them back to their next game with a clean uniform. I probably should just give up, but I can’t let my kids be the filthiest kids on the ball field. That would be a direct reflection on me as the primary launderer in my house.<br />
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One time my son sat in green gum. I’m not even 100% sure how he did it because nobody on the team was chewing green gum. But add the gum to the grass stain and the post game I-Cee stain and I thought for sure that I would have to buy him a new uniform. I struggled with those stains and it took me a couple of washings, but ultimately I came out victorious<br />
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<a href="http://izea.it/l4nVk" rel="nofollow">Maytag laundry</a><br />
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<a href="http://izea.it/l4nVm" rel="nofollow">Filthiest Plays of the Week</a><br />
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Sometimes I like to play a game with the other parents to see which kid has the cleanest uniform. Of course they have no idea that I am playing this game in my own head and that I win every single week. I’m good at the laundry (except for my wife’s stuff that needs to be washed at seven different temperatures and on various speeds) but I hate it. Laundry is something that never ends. It’s like digging a hole to China. You can dig and dig and dig, but you know that you are never going to get there. You can do load upon load of laundry, but it’s never going to get done. Inevitably there is one pile that sits in the corner of your bedroom just taunting you.<br />
<div style="color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"></div>Of course playing baseball was just one of many ways that my kids got filthy this summer. Among the others were:<br />
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<ul><li style="color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Wiffle Ball</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Kick ball</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Anything with a ball apparently</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Running in the yard. I swear I've never feet that black before.</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Building sandcastles at the beach</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Eating ices. Has there ever been a time where red ices didn't end up on your kids clothes?</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">Pretty sure my kids could get dirty in a pool</li>
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<div style="color: black; font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><img alt="undefined" class="iz-blog-image-1d4" src="https://d2w079qmvzh0vc.cloudfront.net/opportunities/1444/blog_images/cropped_e58afef2-9fe7-4ea1-870d-cd4238b146e6.png" style="color: #333333; font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;" /></div><br />
I know my kids aren’t alone in the filth department. What about your kids? Share pictures of them on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #MyFilthiestPlay for a chance to win weekly prizes plus a trip to the World Series plus a Maytag Top Load Washer and Dryer pair. I could certainly use a new washer and this one seems like it could do the trick.<br />
<img alt="undefined" class="iz-blog-image-1d5" src="https://d2w079qmvzh0vc.cloudfront.net/opportunities/1445/blog_images/cropped_8900eb12-c5de-421a-a931-5976ad04c388.png" style="color: #333333; font-family: sans-serif, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.6;" /><br />
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<a href="http://izea.it/l4nVl" rel="nofollow"><img alt="Visit Sponsors Site" border="0" src="http://izea.com/views/775412" style="border: none; width: auto !important;" /></a>Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-63891469722376647662015-07-16T12:55:00.002-04:002015-07-16T13:07:29.514-04:00How a Bike Brought our Family Closer Together #KINDMilesMatter<b>Disclosure:</b> <i>I have partnered with Life of Dad and KIND for this promotion.</i><br />
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Like most families we are always on the go. Unfortunately it always seems to be in different directions. With a busy wife and two kids involved in different activities the family walk has turned into just me and the dog. Even when we are all together, one kid wanted to ride his bike, the other wanted to ride his scooter, the dog wanted to stop and sniff every mailbox, and the walk was just a pain.<br />
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That is until my youngest son learned how to ride a bike. <br />
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He had no interest in riding a bike until a few weeks ago. He was perfectly content with riding his scooter around the neighborhood even though most of his friends knew how to ride a bike years ago. I have always dreaded teaching my kids to ride a bike; I just don't have the patience that it takes. I look at a kid and wonder why it's so hard for them to get it. I mean there's a phrase "like riding a bike" for a reason. But I was tired of having my kids going in separate directions all the time so it was time for him to finally learn.<br />
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Moments after declaring he was riding home he crashed into a parked car... But I think we've made great progress.<br />
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Now that we all knew how to ride bikes it was time to get moving... and get moving we did. At first we only rode our bikes around the neighborhood. We live in a pretty quiet street with not much traffic. It's perfect for riding our bikes around, but after a while it gets boring. Fortunately for us we had planned a trip to my parents house in upstate New York and it's the perfect place to go for LONG bike rides.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8irDD8VnWbZc9ELAbcsleq_fbnkS6GpGcP9H-hpQlQ2Cs3NG9kICPstOQsvy_V5oUr8raf-PCnnF1kvFRA82klOrYIcldNsEI4ZWdgujgdndyq7HwY05TuywdAr3O5qL6lVOuGhfLuJJz/s1600/IMG_8837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8irDD8VnWbZc9ELAbcsleq_fbnkS6GpGcP9H-hpQlQ2Cs3NG9kICPstOQsvy_V5oUr8raf-PCnnF1kvFRA82klOrYIcldNsEI4ZWdgujgdndyq7HwY05TuywdAr3O5qL6lVOuGhfLuJJz/s550/IMG_8837.JPG" /></a></div>
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Our first ride was four miles. It was a pretty flat trip but it was a good start. The next day my son Tyler decided that he wanted to go FARTHER so farther we went NINE MILES IN TOTAL. But we weren't done there. I took him on a trip around my old hometown of Geneseo, New York and we biked on the same streets that I used to ride when I was a kid.<br />
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/4wqIJSNw0f/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_top">A photo posted by @jdubs44</a> on <time datetime="2015-07-05T15:56:45+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jul 5, 2015 at 8:56am PDT</time></div>
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<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>We rode 12 miles that day. I have never ridden 12 miles in my life, and here my son Tyler did it at only 10 years old. It's really unbelievable to think about.<br />
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Of course my younger son, who just learned how to ride, did not want to be upstaged by his older. He decided that he wanted to go on a long ride himself. So we did.<br />
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<a href="https://instagram.com/p/4uAEr-Nw31/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_top">A photo posted by @jdubs44</a> on <time datetime="2015-07-04T15:10:48+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jul 4, 2015 at 8:10am PDT</time></div>
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<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>We rode seven miles that day. Seven miles for a kid that just learned how to ride a bike two weeks ago is amazing. Of course I had to stress out every time that he swerved into the middle of the road or veered off into the shoulder, but since there was no traffic it wasn't too much of an issue.<br />
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Not all of our journeys involved our bikes though. There were plenty of hikes as well. When you are in Upstate New York there are plenty of places that you can go and find some amazing scenery.<br />
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A photo posted by @jdubs44 on <time datetime="2015-07-07T20:14:22+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jul 7, 2015 at 1:14pm PDT</time></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAROP8BrgESwiRs8ajGsHYXGIFFsHO1JC-6A44LPFOwMWiD1jn4Win6ev7aXZ407A6GGrM1c2JHaOajFQlutU0Z-X6sytjwMcJmx8rUXGBxAQA3YAUWXMfuD8dBQxKtvgOV8vQe4G-leJ-/s1600/IMG_8958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAROP8BrgESwiRs8ajGsHYXGIFFsHO1JC-6A44LPFOwMWiD1jn4Win6ev7aXZ407A6GGrM1c2JHaOajFQlutU0Z-X6sytjwMcJmx8rUXGBxAQA3YAUWXMfuD8dBQxKtvgOV8vQe4G-leJ-/s550/IMG_8958.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Letchworth State Park</td></tr>
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I shared all of this because I have partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" rel="nofollow">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://kindsnacks.com/" rel="nofollow">KIND Snack Bars</a> who were nice enough to donate a box of KIND Bars for every mile that I moved this summer with my family. It started off slow as it was only me and the dog who ever wanted to get out for a walk, but once my kids got on those bikes, the miles started adding up. Thanks to this campaign, KIND will be donating 54 boxes of KIND Snack Bars to my son's elementary school all because I spent time getting exercise with my kids. What a deal!<br />
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KIND turned out to be the perfect snack for those long bike rides as well. While they weren't the most strenuous of rides (The kids are only 10 and 8, so we won't be doing the Tour de France anytime soon) nothing beat a KIND bar to help us fulfill our hunger afterwards.<br />
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If you aren't familiar with KIND bars, since its founding in 2004, KIND has been on a mission to make the world a little kinder one snack and act at a time. All award-winning KIND snacks are made from delicious, wholesome ingredients and are gluten free and non GMO. KIND currently offers six different snack lines including: <b>KIND® Fruit & Nut</b> and <b>KIND® PLUS</b>, two lines of delicious whole nut & fruit bars; <b>KIND® Nuts & Spices</b>, a line of whole nut & spice bars that naturally have only 5g of sugar or less; <b>KIND Healthy Grains®</b> Clusters made from five super grains; <b>KIND Healthy Grains®</b> Bars, a line of crunchy and chewy granola bars; and <b>STRONG & KIND®</b>, a line of savory-flavored bars featuring 10g of protein.<br />
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KIND has partnered with Made to Matter - <a href="http://www.target.com/c/made-to-matter/-/N-558sz" rel="nofollow">Handpicked by Target</a>, a program in which Target has selected brands that have supported three distinct pillars (unique collaborative partnerships, innovation, social responsibility) in an effort to offer their consumers better-for-you and better-for-the-world products.<br />
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What do you say? Let's get out with the family and get moving this summer!Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-51575985569485915362015-06-23T09:00:00.000-04:002015-06-23T09:00:01.209-04:00My Son's First Car<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My son is turning 11 (?!) in a couple of weeks and we have already started to talk about getting him his first car. I know it sounds strange to think about something that he won't use for another six years, but these kids grow up fast and before you now it he will be a 17 year old kid driving himself to high school. The thought of those two things makes me want to cry, but life just doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.<br />
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The reason that we have been discussing his first car is because my wife has been talking about getting a new car herself. The timing seems to be about right. She owns the car for the next six years and then we hand it down to our son when he is ready to drive. You might think we are spoiling our kids, but even I was handed down a car to use when I was young. He will have to pay for things like insurance and gas, but a six year old car that will hopefully still be in good shape will be his, assuming he wants it. And what teen ager looking for a little freedom wouldn't?<br />
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I can remember my first car. My parents used to drive nothing but K Cars. I think my dad said it was because they were easy to fix and the parts were cheap. After we got rid of our green Chevy Nova and our Ford Station Wagons with the rear fold out seats, it was nothing but K Cars for the next 10 years. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ain't she a beauty?</td></tr>
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So that's what I ended up with when I got older. It was this beauty of a wagon with the paneling and also a grey sedan. Shockingly I have no pictures of that vehicle whatsoever... who would? This wasn't the coolest car, but when you are 18 does it really matter? It had wheels and when it wasn't in the shop it got me from point A to point B. A babe magnet it was not, but it was a conversation piece. There's a sense of freedom you get by having a car, even one as ugly as this one.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only picture of the two together, what a moment.</td></tr>
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The first car that I ever bought myself was a Dodge Neon. They no longer made the K Car at that time, and this seemed like the next best option. It was cheap and it was red. It lasted about seven years until the brakes went and the floor started to leak every time that it rained. It stunk like mildew because it never seemed to dry out. My wife and I bought a Volkswagen Jetta after we got married. I was so sick of driving the Neon that I would take the Jetta work every chance that I got. It was fun to drive.</div>
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A couple of years ago when my niece was old enough to drive and needed a car we gave her our old Jetta. At that point we had bought a new car and instead of getting rid of it, we handed it down to her. It needed a little bit of work, but for a first car it's been great for her. Not surprisingly 13 years after we bought it, it still runs.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the day we took Carter home from the hospital</td></tr>
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Perhaps my favorite car that we have owned was the first car that we had as a family, a Honda Pilot. We brought both of our kids home from the hospital after they were born in this car. At the time neither of us were ready to get a minivan, but our thoughts on that have changed. We are now a minivan family.</div>
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So I don't know what kind of car we are going to get my wife and in turn my son. My wife kind of wants a two door convertible, but I just don't think that's practical and I can't send my son to school driving a nicer car than I would be. Part of me just wants to go and find a 25 year old K car and force him to drive around in that, but my son is way cooler than I was at his age and that wouldn't be fair.</div>
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Of course with any vehicle we need to think about safety first. When my son is ready to drive we will have to stress to him that auto accidents are the number one killer of teens in America. They account for over 5000 deaths annually and the summer period between Memorial Day and Labor Day are often referred to as the deadliest 100 days for teen drivers.</div>
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Michelin wants us to know that of the 2.2 million accidents that occur with inexperienced drivers annually, 12% are caused by tire related issues. Driving on under inflated tires or tires with low tread depth can lead to safety issues on the roadways. Fortunately accidents due to improperly maintained tires can be preventable. By checking your tire pressure monthly and knowing how to judge your tread depth, Michelin knows they can reduce the yearly number of accidents caused by tire related issues.</div>
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So what was your #FirstCarMoment? I assume it was as ugly as mine was?</div>
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<b>Disclosure:</b> I have partnered with <a href="http://lifeofdad.com/" rel="" target="_blank">Life of Dad</a> and <a href="http://www.michelinman.com/US/en/homepage.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Michelin</a> for this promotion. I have received compensation for my participation, but my first car memories are my own.</div>
<br />Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-13687294014694641712015-06-17T13:42:00.000-04:002015-06-17T13:50:51.361-04:00What I Want For Father's Day... Part Three<i>**I was compensated by JCPenney for this post. All thoughts are my own unless my wife tells me otherwise. #JCPStyleByMyKid #Ad**</i><br />
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This week I have been telling you what I want for Father's Day. It's all about <a href="http://www.daddysincharge.com/2015/06/what-i-want-for-fathers-day-part-one.html" target="_blank">gadgets</a> and <a href="http://www.daddysincharge.com/2015/06/what-i-want-for-fathers-day-part-two.html" target="_blank">clothes</a>. I kind of would like some really good beer too, but that's not something that you can send your kids to the store and get. Kids in a liquor store is kind of sad. So we will stick to gadgets and clothing.<br />
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The other day <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_VXdXfmJ4o" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">I went shopping with my son at JCPenney</a> to have him pick up and outfit for me for Father's Day. The shopping experience could not have gone any easier; he was totally into it and so was I. There were some limitations that I put in place. I couldn't get anything that would make me look fat, and I couldn't get anything that would make me look stupid. He struck out on the first two attempts, but he hit one out of the park on the third one.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://instagram.com/p/4B9wN_Nw67/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">I let my son pick out my Father's Day outfit at @jcpenney the moose antlers were free. #JCPStyleByMyKid #ad</a></p><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by @jdubs44 on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-06-17T12:43:57+00:00">Jun 17, 2015 at 5:43am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><br />
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Maybe we didn't go crazy shopping like we could have, but my son knows that I will only wear certain things, moose antlers being one of them. If you want to get in on the #JCPStyleByMyKid fun just enter the contest below for your chance to win $50 from JCPenney. Then <a href="http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/dept.jump?id=dept20023830026&redirectTerm=father%27s+day" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">go online and get you shopping done</a> or head on down to the mall where you and your kid can pick out an outfit for you (or dad.)</div><br />
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="c02e8f5f6" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c02e8f5f6/" id="rcwidget_mswbwwft" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
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Thanks to JCPenney for sponsoring this whole collection of posts.<br />
<script src="//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script>Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7179948267056784673.post-56507024426056819972015-06-17T09:00:00.000-04:002015-06-24T11:05:30.974-04:00Daddy's 7 Summer Road Trip Essentials<i>This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FuelTheLove #CollectiveBias</i><br />
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I am NOT a car guy.<br />
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Sadly this is one area that I will not be able to pass along my expertise down to my kids. When they get older I will teach them how to change a tire, but for the most part I will tell them to have roadside assistance on speed dial. <br />
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My dad isn't really a car guy either, but he always changed his own oil. I remember him being under the hood of the car, draining out the old oil, replacing the filter, and filling the car back up. It looked messy. There was always a piece of cardboard with a huge oil stain and a bucket with old dirty oil. I have no idea what he did with that bucket; he could have dumped it in the woods for all I know. <br />
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Changing my own oil was something that never interested me.<br />
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A lot of it comes down to time and convenience. I want to instill in my kids that their time has a value. If you change your own oil, the oil costs around $20, the filter around $5, and then you have to find a place to dump the old oil. So before you even begin the process you are $25 in. Throw in how long it is going to take you and it's well over $30. There are places like the Automotive Care Center at Walmart that change your oil for you cheaper than that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've never seen my son so happy to get an oil change</td></tr>
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Don't tell the dealership that we leased our car through, but I have been putting off getting my oil changed for a while. I treat cars like I do my teeth. Unless something is noticeably wrong with it, I won't take it to the shop/dentist to get it fixed. Who has that kind of time to wait around? But with summer here and knowing that we had a few road trips coming up, it was time to take the car down to Walmart because I knew I could drop the car off and pick up a few essentials along the way.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My garage doesn't have all of this</td></tr>
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I've taken my cars to other quick service places, but the difference here is that I could drop the car off and go get some shopping done. Everywhere else I have to sit in the waiting room and read a year old People Magazine. My son happened to be off school that day, so I let him help me figure out everything that we might need.</div>
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As we said good bye to our car we decided to hit the store to pick up a few things that we just HAD to have; or at least HE had to have.</div>
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<b>First</b> and foremost you have to have candy. Nothing helps a kid sit still in a six hour car ride more than a box of candy. Fortunately there was a big bin of candy right outside of the automotive center.</div>
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<b>Second</b>, you have to have games. You can never have enough games. I've made the mistake in the past of not bringing along any games. Just when you think your kid only wants to play on his iPod, they yell out that they are bored and want to play a game. Have you ever been on Interstate 81 north of Scranton and all of a sudden your kid wants to play a game that you don't have? Good luck finding a place to get one.</div>
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<b>Third</b>, you NEED toys. I'm not sure how many toys we need, but it seems that we never have enough. Grandma has plenty of toys at her house, but why would the kids play with them, when they can play with all new ones?<br />
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<b>Fourth</b>, SNACKS. I'm not sure I need to explain this one, but they always need snacks. The need for snacks is compounded the moment that you pull out of your driveway. You need every variety of snacks that they make. DON'T SKIMP ON SNACKS.</div>
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<b>Fifth</b>, you need highlighters. No idea why this is the case but apparently my youngest, along with everyone else in his class at school, is obsessed with highlighters.</div>
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<b>Sixth</b>, you need movies. My kids haven't watched a movie in our car since we bought it, but I know that the moment that we forget to bring a movie along they will want to watch one. Six hours in a car goes much faster when the kids are quiet with their headphones on.<br />
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<b>Seventh</b> and probably most importantly, is playing cards. I have no idea how to play this game, but I know that we have spent too much money on these things. We've all had our obsessions in life and right now my son's obsession is this game. </div>
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Once we were satisfied with our road trip essentials we headed back to the Automotive Care Center where our car was waiting for us. It couldn't have been easier. Probably the most essential thing you need for a road trip is an engine that is running right. Had I changed my own oil, I probably wouldn't have tightened all the nuts and bolts and my car would have leaked all over New Jersey. Thanks to the folks at Walmart and their <a href="http://cbi.as/a5ef" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pennzoil</a> products I know that won't be the case. Their conventional motor oil will make my car run smoother and with less friction than other motor oils. Let's face kids in a car is more than enough friction for any parent.<br />
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So you can save money for your road trip essentials, Walmart is rolling back prices all summer long. From now until September 9th, you can save four dollars off both Pennzoil High Mileage ($35.88) and Platinum Full Synthetic ($45.88) oil changes. That's quite a savings considering their already low prices.<br />
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With that savings I will be able to buy ANOTHER pack of playing cards and that deserves a thumbs up!<br />
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So where are you going this summer and what will you be taking along?Daddy's in Charge?http://www.blogger.com/profile/04798934647553198219noreply@blogger.com0