Mother's Day Shopping Made Easy

Mother'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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

But I found out that there IS another option! Enter Sears and their "Buy Online, Pick Up in Store" option.

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.

I logged on to Sears.com 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.

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.

Find a great gift for your wife or mom this year at Sears.com/allformom.  They have gifts for all types of moms:

• The Fashionable Mom: Apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty and fragrances
• The Outdoor Mom: Patio decor & furniture, lawn & garden equipment, bikes, swimwear, sandals, luggage, digital cameras and camping gear
• The Fitness-Focused Mom: Activewear, fitness equipment, headphones, juicer/small kitchen appliances.
• Master Chef Mom: Kemore appliances, cookware, plateware, cutlery and more
• The Techie Mom: Smart technology, tablets, cameras, TV’s and more.

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.

DISCLOSURE:  I have partnered with Life of Dad and Sears for this promotion.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Hero of the Week... My Mom

I am going to try a new concept here at Daddy's in Charge and offer you a weekly look at someone I consider to be a hero of the week.  Now heroes exist in many forms; firefighters, police officers, soldiers, and also everyday people who we come across that make our lives easier.  If you have a kid, I am assuming that you do if you read my blog, you might have might have heard of the TV show "Higglytown Heroes".  It was one of my sons favorite shows a few years ago, and every now and then the theme song pops in my head.   Sometimes I catch myself making up some stupid song about the cashier at the local Kohls.  In fact I still call my sons swim teacher Fran the Squirrel.  Anyway, you get the idea, there will be someone during the week that I come across who has affected us in a positive way.

This weeks hero is my mother Bonnie.  Now we didn't get to see her this week, so right off the bat I am changing my own rules, but for a very good reason, today is her BIRTHDAY.  I won't mention how old she is but you probably wouldn't believe me if I did.  My boys don't get to see her that much unfortunately, as she lives about six hours away, but I can tell you that doesn't change their love for her.

On the beach in Florida with Tyler

In Geneseo last Memorial Day

Happy Birthday Mom!  For being the BEST Grandmother in the world, I offer you this week's "Hero of the Week"

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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My Moms

I am fortunate to have so many great ladies in my life and would be remiss to mention them this Mother's Day. My boys are lucky to have them in their lives and each one has shaped them in some way.

My mother Bonnie and Tyler at Memorial Day Parade in Geneseo

My mother-in-law Maxine with Tyler at Kindergarten graduation

Aunt Tracy with Carter on the day he was born

My wife Jennifer, the best mother a boy could have

Each of these Mothers is great in their own way.  My mom is the quintessential grandmother, I only wish the boys could see her more.  Their other grandmother Nanny, who is always there when needed and never hesitates to offer help.  Aunt Tracy is the aunt everyone wishes they had, she has been like a mother to my boys.  And then there is my wife, Jenn, who is the best mother a boy could ever ask for.  She doesn't get to see them as much as she would like, but always makes sure the boys are having fun.  She has sacrificed a lot for us to make sure that we have the life we live, and for that I am truly grateful.

Great Adventure

In Aruba

Lake Como

Montacino

Tyler at around 9 months

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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A Word to Mom

OK moms I have officially had it with you. You think you are so cool with your little heart shaped pancakes and your ability to match your kids socks. Well I am here to say that you are not all that you are cracked up to be. A recent Dadlogic study found that a full 93% of stay at home moms do the weekly grocery shopping. What the lazy other 7% are doing I have no idea, but I will tell you I thank them for staying home.

During a recent visit to the grocery store I found scenes like this all over the parking lot. Since I did not see one man in the store, aside from the guys stocking shelves, I have to assume that women are too lazy to put the shopping cart in their little corral. Nothing gets me more annoyed than having to slalom around these things to find a parking space.

The spaces are for cars not shopping carts. I don't want to see them on the curb and I certainly don't want to see them next to where I finally am able to park my car.

It's utter laziness by you moms. Oh but you can get away with it because you are shopping for little Jimmy and his sister Sally. If they don't get their Poptarts the world will end. Why do they even bother having a little area to park the carts if moms are not going to put the carts there?

See the one cart in this picture, that is mine. My cart is not taking up space in the parking lot and is certainly not bumping into peoples cars. The same Dadlogic study found out that 98% of all the stupid little dents on your vehicle are caused by shopping carts that run astray at the grocery store. That is a pretty high percentage and one the you moms should be ashamed of.



It was raining today and that only makes it worse. Someone has to gather all these carts up and it certainly is not a mom. I know that you are in a hurry to get home and watch The View and bake a pie, but next time you are at the store do us all a favor and instead of buying that shamrock shaped sandwich cutter, take that time to get your cart out of the way.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Mom's (Dad's) Night Out

With the wife sound asleep, too much partying perhaps, the opportunity arose to have a true ladies night out. Why not I thought, any housewife gets tired of slaving over the dishes, the laundry, and rubbing their husbands feet, and I am no different. Now I have not undergone any sort sex change operation or injected myself with any hormones but I am a man and I have needs too.

Part of me felt as if I was on some sort of secret mission to a place where few men get to go, to see what these women do when their men are not around. But the other part of me felt like I would be breaking some sort of secret code of wifehood if I did indeed report on the things that I saw go on last night. I am sure that you have it in your head that these women were crazy, drunk, and foul mouthed drinking tequila and apple martinis, but I am not allowed to tell you that (wink, wink.) What I am allowed to say is it was a completely tame crowd, a somewhat sophisticated evening of intelligent women discussing the economy and what the happenings in Egypt mean for us in the United States.

No one will ever know what truly went on last evening. The secret dies with Liz and I. I will say the moments are etched in my brain and as a man for one night I got to see how the other half lives. I won't break wifecode. I know the truth. For one night and one night only I was a (wo)man.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Hey Mom You Are Making Me Look Bad!

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and with that comes the kids parties at school.  Well obviously I missed out on mom training because Carter came home with a goodie bag with everything from pencils, to bubbles, even slinkies.  The slinky doesn't work like a slinky so at least I didn't come up with that stupid idea.  Anyway what did I send Carter to school with yesterday, an envelope of cards.  Thats it,  just cards.  No cards with candy attached to them, or erasers, which by the way what three year old uses an eraser.  The next time Carter erases something that he has scribbled on the wall will be the first time.  There were no lollipops, or activity books, or bags of popcorn, just a card, one with Iron Man on it though!  My point is that these are things you don't learn in Dad School, moms you are making me look bad!

EVERY OCCASION

Its seems that every time someone at school is celebrating a birthday Carter comes home with some new treat.  I mean aren't WE supposed to get THEM a treat for their birthday?  How was I supposed to know that this was standard protocol.  They NEVER did this when Carter was in daycare.  All of a sudden you change the name to a preschool and all the old rules get thrown out the window.  COME ON!!!   Whatever happened to the old saying "Less is more?"  I guess its time to step up my game with this, the fight is on!  Hey Mom, you know what your kids are getting for Carter's birthday this year?  Ponies for the girls and motorcycles for the boys!  Oh and generic bubbles and a box of stolen Cracker Barrel crayons... game on!

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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