To the Lady in Aisle 12

You don't know me, but I sure as heck know who you are.

I was walking through the grocery store picking up all kinds of food that my kids won't eat and will most likely rot in my refrigerator in the next week.  Judging by your mountain of organic and all natural foods in your cart, you were most likely doing the same.  I had just picked up three dozen eggs and was heading to find the rice and that's when you came into my life.

I was checking Facebook and Twitter like I always do, not really paying attention to where I was going but in the middle of aisle 12, you moved out of the way for me.  I can't even begin to tell you what that act of selflessness means to me.  I could have crashed right into and and cracked my eggs, but instead I was able to find the right kind of rice completely unscathed.  It's people like you that make this world a better place.

This picture has nothing to do with this post

While I am at it, I would like to thank the lady on the airplane that will one day give up her seat so I can sit across the aisle from my family.  My wife does all the work on the plane with the kids, but because of you, I can sleep near them with my headphones on.  Perhaps it will make it easier when one of the kids needs to go to the bathroom just as the plane is starting to touchdown.

I would also like to thank the guy at the post office that is going to pick up my pen that I dropped.  The fact that I won't have bend down and pick it up myself is something that I will forever be grateful for.  I would hate for that to be the moment when my back goes out, so you saved me from a lifetime of chronic back pains and I can't thank you enough.

There are others as well.

To the guy that will hold the door for me as I am half a mile across the parking lot I say, God bless you.  I probably should walk a little faster and since you are holding the door, I will.  I don't know how you see me all the way over by the Friendly's but I am so thankful that you do.  The fact that there is an automatic door right next to the door that you are holding means nothing to me.  You sir are a gentleman.

To the people writing open letters to strangers I salute you.  You will probably never meet that person again and they will go completely unnoticed because nobody else knows who the heck they are, but who cares.  Your letters give us all a sense that there are nice people in this world.  Or at the very least your letters let us know that you can't just offer up a simple "Thank you" to someone and be done with it.

Who exactly are we trying to draw attention to?

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Disney… Still the One

They probably won't remember this trip, but we will

My kids are spoiled rotten.

They have been to Disney World more that most kids have ever been on vacation period.  We started them young; Tyler was around four months old and Carter was around three months at his first visit.  I'm not going to get into the whole nonsense about how our kids would never remember such a trip so why would we do such a thing.  Do we really think that an eight year old or a 10 year is going to look back some day when they are 50 and think so highly of the trip that they took to Disney 40 years prior?

Of course they aren't.

The trips when they were young were for their selfish parents who really enjoyed seeing the kids interact with the characters when they still gave a crap.  The excited looks from a three year old are way more amazing than they are from a nine year old who really hasn't watched anything Disney in the past couple of years.  He's probably excited, but he was more so five years ago.

But I digress, remember I wasn't going to go there.

I thought we hit a spell a couple of years ago where the boys could really care less about Disney.  Turns out it wasn't the case.  They had just outgrown certain things like TV shows and all of their toys, but as far as the parks were concerned, they still very much wanted to go.

Disney has been evolving for us.  The kids are getting bigger so they can go on more rides like Space Mountain and Splash Mountain and we don't need to go on rides like the highly overrated Goofy's Barnstormer anymore.  More and more of the rides in Hollywood Studios are accessible now and we don't have to go to any of the Disney Junior shows.  We used to have to sneak off and go on a lot of the rides by ourselves, but now we can ride most as a family. And that is pretty cool.

The excitement of the parks has changed over the years.  It's not so much about seeing the characters anymore as it is trading pins and finding Hidden Mickeys.  A lot of what we used to do, we no longer need to do because it just doesn't appeal to the boys anymore.  But there is so much more that does.

I don't know how long Disney will remain a part of our lives, but right now it's still the one.  

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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What was Dad 2.0?

The full meaning of Dad 2.0 (the annual dad conference held this year in New Orleans) didn't hit me until the morning after I arrived home.  I had a feeling going in that this would be a very beneficial event for my blog, my website, and for me as a dad.  I thought that maybe I would make some connections, meet up with the right people, and hopefully that would then turn into some sort of future relationships with brands, most notably Lego.

Image courtesy DesignerDaddy.com no idea who the lady is

While all of that was my initial my initial focus and something that I will have to wait and see on, when I got my first friend request on Facebook from someone who I met at the conference the next morning it really hit me.  This was a event that was so much more than I thought I was going to.  It wasn't about relationships with brands, or getting to know the RIGHT people.  It was about relationships with the people that were there. Namely the other dads.

I'd known some of these guys for a long time and had only met a few of them in person.  I met Aaron Gouveia and Jeff Bogle in Las Vegas, my wife and Lance Somerfeld's wife went to college together, and I first met Oren Miller at a Stay at Home Dads Convention in Washington DC.  Everyone else, I have only known them by looking at pictures of them online or reading their blogs.

That's not to say I didn't know them at all.  Far from it.  You get to know a lot about a person when they pour their heart and soul into a blog post every single day.  I had an emotional attachment to a lot of these guys, it's just that I had never met them in person.  My wife jokes that everyone that I have ever met online isn't real.  I couldn't possibly develop a connection with someone without ever actually talking to them face to face. That couldn't be farther from the truth. I didn't know these guys, but I knew them.

Ever have a reunion with people that you've never met?  Ever walk into a room of strangers and know every single person there?

THAT to me was Dad 2.0.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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The Touchdown Dance

Congratualtions, you just scored a touchdown!

Now what?  Personally I don't care for the over the top celebrations you see nowadays. The way I see it, you should act like you've been there and and that you are coming back for more.  When you start dancing you are making the moment about you, and not the ten other guys that helped to get you there.

It's something I've stressed with my kids… but it's not easy.

Carter is by all accounts the best player on his flag football scoring 15 touchdowns and being a threat to go the distance every time he touched the ball.  But what did he do when he scored?  He gave the ball to the ref.      

While I don't care for it, the touchdown dance has been around as long people have been scoring touchdowns.  Whether it's the Ickey Shuffle, the Lambeau Leap, or something stupid that Terrell Owens comes up with, players have been celebrating the score in some very unique ways.

What is your Touchdown dance?

StubHub wants you to share yours with them by entering their StubHub Touchdown Dance Contest.  All you have to do is post a video of you doing your dance on Vine, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube using the hashtag #StubHubTD.  One lucky winner will win a trip to next years Big Game in Arizona. There is no purchase necessary to enter and the contest runs through February 3rd. Dance away.

Since I don't dance, here is Carters.  He's just never allowed to do it in a game.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of StubHub.  All opinions and expressions are my own

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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How to Store Legos… for easy access

If your family is anything like mine, your kids got MORE Legos for Christmas.  Just when I thought that my kids were done playing with them, along comes The Hobbit and my house is a complete mess once again.

I don't think that I have ever had a clean dining room table in the nine years that I have lived in my current home.  A dining room is one of those things we look for when we are buying a house with the idea that we will have family dinners there every night.  What we really want the room for is a place to dump everything that we don't use anymore so the rest of our house isn't a complete disaster. THAT is where we play with Legos.

I have vowed to get that room in order though.  Not because I want to eat in there, but because it houses the nicest furniture that we own and I would like to see it.  It's kind of crazy that we have this beautiful dining room set, and it's covered in Lego body parts.  I clean that room every now and then when I know that we are getting a new batch of Legos.  Usually around the holidays and birthdays I clear out space so we can go through the motions all over again.

So what happens to the Legos.

For the most part they get shoved in plastic bins and get put away in the closets in the basement never to be heard from again.  I am starting to run out of room and am thinking about adding an extension on my home just to house the hundreds upon hundreds of mini-figures that I own.  I guess I could stop buying Legos, but where is the fun in that?

Let's be honest though, once the Legos go into a bin in the closet they get forgotten about.  Nobody wants to take out one of those bins and dump it onto the floor because it's just too much of a hassle to clean up again. You can't play with them in the bin because you can't spread them out to find all the pieces that you are looking for.  It's such a pain.

When we go to my moms house she lays a blanket on the floor and then dumps a bucket of Legos in the middle of it for the boys to play on.  It's actually quite ingenious of her and it keeps the mess at bay. BUT its not the easiest thing to pack up at the end of the day and you can't really carry it anywhere so it hasn't been something that we have used at our house.  I of course would need about 17 king sized blankets to store them all in.

I recently found a product that I absolutely love and it solves a lot of our Lego cleanup problem and gives us easy access to play with them in the future.  It's called Lay-n-Go.  It takes a lot of what my mom was doing with her blanket idea but perfects it.  Lay-n-Go does exactly what it sounds like it should do.  You can lay it on the ground and spread it out giving you a giant mat to play on, or you can pull the draw strings together and turn it into a bag that you can go somewhere else with.

It really makes the whole playing with Legos thing that much more enjoyable, because at the end of the day you can clean up your mess in a matter of seconds and take the bag wherever you want to go.

The only problem with the product is that there isn't one big enough to store ALL of my Legos in.  Of course there probably isn't anything that could do that anyway.  The five foot wide LARGE one that I used was very capable of holding a lot of Legos.  Probably as many Legos as the average person owns, but my house is anything but average.

The fine people at Lay-n-Go were kind enough to let me use one of their products to try out.  They have also been so generous to offer you the chance at owning one as well.  Their Lite one is perfect for building a set on or carrying a bunch of action figures around, all you have to do is enter for your chance to win below.

For more of their products, please check out their website layngo.com or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Even though I was supplied with a Lay-n-Go bag all opinions about this product are my own because it's a great.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Timber!

It's my least favorite time of the year.

The house seems so barren now and not quite as cozy as it was the previous month. The sun shines through the living room window a little brighter now, but the nighttime darkness is what I focus on. The warm glow has been replaced by the emptiness of the outside world.

It will be 11 months until we get that all back, but how much are we going to lose in the process?  How much of the boys innocence and belief in magic will wane in the coming year.  I can already see it, the looks of wonder and the huge smiles are being replaced by looks of indifference and non-caring grins. The truth is it all peaked a few years ago and now we just hold on to what's left.

Will they even care next year?

So down it comes. Packed in the basement for another year having no idea what lies ahead. Farewell oh Christmas Tree… such pleasure do you bring me.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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What Color is Santa Claus?

Not surprisingly a TV anchor put her foot her mouth by telling the world to just accept the fact that Santa Claus is white.

There are obviously some that will believe her and say that she is right.  Myself I have never seen a Santa at the mall that was anything other than caucasion, but that doesn't mean that I don't think that Santa could be any other race.  It's really a stupid thing to say to tell someone what they should or should not believe.

Some might think one way, and others might think another way.  As for my kids, their thinking is entirely different.

Whatever color your Santa is, Merry Christmas.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Jeans For the Modern Man… Starring Legos

I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about fashion.

I will put on a pair of jeans and wear them for weeks on end without washing them.  I know it sounds disgusting, but I like the feel of dirty well worn jeans more than I do a pair that has spent time in dryer somewhere.  Honestly, as soon as you wash a pair of jeans it takes a couple of days of wearing them until they feel "right" again.

Certainly I am not alone and since I do the laundry in my house, I can make that decision.  If my wife did the laundry, perhaps my jeans would be clean all of the time and none of them would fit.

Lee jeans may be the pants I'm looking for

I have tried all different brands of jeans… Old Navy, Levis, Wrangler, and now Lee.  I am admittedly cheap when it comes to buying a pair.  For years I would only buy Old Navy jeans because they only cost $19.99.  I was never concerned about how they looked (my wife hated them) or how long they lasted.  They would usually fall off of me and be torn to shreds in less than a years time.  All of them are now covered house paint because I wouldn't want ruin a good pair.

So I have been on the look out for a new brand.  Admittedly there are few styles that fit.  I have bigger thighs and a small butt so all of these straight leg kinds are out.  Nobody I know wears skinny jeans and I hope to never meet a man that does.  Relaxed fit is my jean of choice, but not the tapered leg variety because once again my wife does get her say every now and then.  What is the phrase, "If you look good in jeans your wife won't be so mean?" Something like that.

I was approached by Lee Jeans to give their pants a try.  I was a little skeptical at first because I automatically flashed back to elementary school and my first thought was that people were going to come up and "brand" me.  It's all I could think of.  I would walk around and people would come up to me and poke my Lee Jeans with the sound of a branding iron.  I only assume that you get that reference.

But I was also intrigued.  Maybe I was being to harsh in my assessment of the old brand thing and Lee Jeans would be just the pair of pants I would want to wear.

The Lee Modern Series might just be the style of jeans that I am looking for, but the truth is I won't know for sure for some time.  I need to wear them without washing them for a few more weeks.  I'll keep you posted.

Lee was kind enough to offer me a couple of pairs of jeans to try out in exchange for this post. Now they want to give you the opportunity to try them out for yourself.  They are being kind enough to give away any one item of your choice from Lee.com.  All you have to do is enter below.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Lee compensated me for this post, but all opinions are my own unless my wife tells me otherwise

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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The Last First

I'm usually pretty good with milestones.

I'm not one to get choked up every time that my kids accomplish something for the first time.  Most of them just happen so quickly that you really don't have time to react.  I can remember vividly when Tyler rolled over for the first time, it was over nine years ago now.  I can also remember when Carter took his first steps six years ago this March.  Those firsts were great.  But I've noticed something though as my kids get older.

While the first firsts were met with excitement, it's the last firsts that leave me with sadness.

This smile is changing forever

Every time that Tyler passed a milestone I knew that it wouldn't be the last time that it happened.  With a younger brother we would be going through the same thing a couple of years later. As Carter gets older though it's beginning to hit me that certain things just aren't going to happen ever again.

Carter is about to lose his two front teeth.

When it happened to Tyler, I did feel like he was getting older but nothing like I am feeling with Carter. Maybe it would be different if there was a third kid, but there isn't going to be a third kid.  Every time something happens to Carter, it's going to be the last time it happens in our family.

There will be a lot more last firsts - girlfriends, college, getting married, having kids of their own - I just don't know that I am ready for them quite yet.    

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Giving Away Old Memories and Starting New Ones

My basement doesn't look like this anymore

There has been a lot of stuff just taking up space in my house for a few years.

Bins of old clothes, old broken toys, and a lot of stuff that can just be considered junk at this point have been sitting idle in my storage room for a long time.  One of the realities as a parent is that your kids are not getting any younger and as much as I try to hold on to pieces of the past, we aren't going backwards.

I started to run out of space.

As much as I would love to see Carter wear his 3T clothes one more time, it's time to move on.  And Tyler's old stuffed animals haven't been played with in seemingly forever; perhaps they would be better suited with someone else.

I don't know why it's taken me so long to get this done.  Perhaps part of me is just not ready to turn the page on this chapter of our lives.  If I hold on to the memories of the past, maybe the future won't arrive so soon?  I don't think anyone is ready to have their kids grow up, especially me.

I got rid of seven giant garbage bags full of clothes the other day and I have a mound of perfectly good toys just waiting to find an owner.  The truth is I will miss all of those things, but it's time to start making new memories.

Now that my storage room has space, I won't have to go through this again for another couple of years.

It's not an easy thing to do.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Standing By...

The kids are getting bigger, and it kind of sucks.

It's a sad reality as a parent when your kids start to outgrow some of their stuff.  I have a basement full of old toys that they used to play with that now just sits idle in hopes that they play with them once again.  The truth is they probably won't. There are other things that are occupying their time now, big kid things.  But the toys in the basement are there - standing by - just in case.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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My Syracuse Fandom and Target NCAA Giveaway

When it comes to NCAA obsessions in my house, there is only one... Syracuse Orange Basketball.

I am a graduate of Syracuse but my fandom for the school started way before I stepped foot on the campus.  When Keith Smart hit the jumper to beat SU in 1987, that was probably the single worst moment of my life up until that point. I know what you are thinking, that I am probably taking it a bit too far, but this is Syracuse we are talking about, not Stony Brook.

My buddy Chris and I with SU legend John Wallace

When Syracuse won the national title in 2003, that day ranks up in the top 10 moments of my life.  My wife thinks that I would put it higher than my wedding day, and as she says unlike weddings SU winning a national title in basketball only happens once in a lifetime. BURN!

With their move to the ACC this year, there are high hopes for the team. Of course there are always high hopes from me as I pick them to win every year.  It's called being a fan right?

Why am I telling you all of this?

Well I was asked to let you know that Target has teamed up with Dove Men+Care, AXE, Degree Men, and the NCAA to help guys keep smelling fresh.  You are asked to put your skills to the test and play the "Save your season" QB Challenge for a chance to win and Xbox One.

Also at Target you will receive a $5 gift card when you buy any three participatingDove Men+ Care, AXE or Degree Men products from now until 11/9.  Just because your team may stink (mine won't) doesn't mean that you have to.  Don't forget to join @resourcefulmom for a Twitter party on 11/4 at 8:00PM using the hashtag #TargetNCAA.

Also here is your chance to win $20 from Target (US only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was compensated for this post but all opinions about Syracuse being the best basketball team on Earth are my own.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Create 2 Destroy and the Power of Outdoor Play

It's been many years since my boys last played with Play-Doh.

Honestly, if you are like me, its fun to play with OUTSIDE but never indoors.  The little balls of dough always dried up and made a mess of of the floor.  I swear it's the only thing worse than crumbs in my eyes.  I made the mistake when the kids were really little to let them have at it in the kitchen, but as a parent you live and learn.  Take that stuff outside and save me the aggravation of having to sweep the floors more than I already do.

I had almost given up on the product.  My boys no longer showed an interest in it, partly from me NOT wanting them to play with it and partly that they were getting older and into a lot of other things.  In fact I just threw out a complete set the other day so I could make room in a closet for my wife's Pumpkin Puree obsession.  She eats so much pumpkin she has actually started to turn a little shade of orange.

Enter Crayola.

The folks at Crayola wanted to know if I would take part in a little competition amongst some other bloggers making videos on Instagram showcasing their new Create 2 Destroy product line.  Me, not one to stand in the way of showcasing my kids, agreed right away.  When the box came in the mail the kids were actually excited (perhaps they weren't done playing with these sort of things after all.)  So outside we went.  They promise that the Morphix dough won't crumble and scatter all over my kitchen, but I wasn't taking ANY chances.  This is strictly an OUTSIDE toy regardless of what is promised.

My kids had a little trouble with the molds of the cars and trees in the Dino Destruction Metropolitan Mayhem, but overall they enjoyed just creating bombs that they could fling at each other.  Perhaps the set wasn't designed to cause World War 3, but when you get two competitive little boys that's what happens. And since we were OUTSIDE who was I to stand in the way of a good time?

This was the video that we came up with:

Now I need your help.  The contest is officially underway so I need you to go and vote for me right HERE.  It's very easy.  Follow the steps to vote for videos and find my name "Daddy's in Charge" not the "Dad in Charge" one (unless you think his is better than mine).  But as you know, I am a professional at this sort of thing. This process is NOT easy to accomplish from a mobile phone and a desktop is recommended.

AND!!!!

You guys have a chance to make your own videos with the product as well.  All you have to do is follow @Crayola on Instagram and include your kids descriptive story line in the caption/ video description.  Also make sure that you use the hashtag #Create2Destroy in the description as well.  The winning video storyline will be featured on the 2014 Product Box. HOW COOL IS THAT?

AND!!!

You can win your own Create 2 Destroy set by entering the contest below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was supplied a set by Crayola and was compensated for my time and this post.  All opinions are mine except when told by my wife what to think otherwise.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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5 Rules for People on Scooters

First of all I want to apologize to all the scooter riding people in the world.  I have no idea why you are riding the scooter or the circumstances that put you there. I can only assume that you no longer have full use of your legs or you just like riding around in a scooter.

With that being said, there are some simple rules that you need to follow to make sure your ride is a pleasurable one for you and for me.

1. You do not own the road.  Just because you are riding around in the four wheel vehicle does not give you the right to run people over.  Lets pretend for a second that you HAVE full use of your legs.  Would you go around weaving through people and push them out of the way.  No you would not.  You are on the same walkway as I am, we are equal.

Scooters are EVERYWHERE at Disney

2. If you can, shut that beep OFF! How about you act like a human for a change and not rely on the stupid beep sound to let people know that you are backing up. When I walk backwards I don't yell, "Beep, Beep, Beep," I say a simple excuse me and go about my way. The beeps are for big trucks that can't see everything behind them. Clearly you can turn your head and see that I am standing there.

3. You are not entitled to anything. Call me heartless, but we are waiting in the same line.  You can sit behind me.  A scooter does not give you the right to get at the head of every line.  Some of us are standing.  Wait your turn.

4. Do not offer rides to my kids.  I don't want them getting the idea that this is a way that they should be getting around.  Your legs don't work and my kids legs do (except when I tell them that we need to walk somewhere).

5. Do not abuse the use of the scooter. I am not a fan of scooters as I think that too many people abuse them.  Obviously there are those that completely rely on them for any sort of mobility, BUT we all know that there are those people that use them way more than they should. Being large is NOT an excuse to ride one in my eyes.  Perhaps walking, or trying to, would be better for you.

It's simple really, a four wheel vehicle should not turn you into a complete moron.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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At the Movies

My kids love going to the movies.

I remember when Tyler was two and my wife took him to his first movie, it was Barnyard.  Every parent gets a little nervous about taking their kids to the movies for the first time.  Are they going to sit still for that long?  Are they going to be THAT kid and put up a fuss for the entire movie?  Will that make you THAT parent that has to drag a kid kicking and screaming out of a crowded movie theater?

Fortunately for us our kids have not been like that.

We always arm them with the biggest tub of popcorn possible and make sure that we get free refills whenever we can.  Of course I end up eating way more popcorn than I probably should, but we don't go to the movies everyday so I can justify it.  We also throw in a little candy, so any possible meltdown happens AFTER the movie is over.

The movie experience has evolved for us over the years.  It used to be that we would only take the kids to animated features like Toy Story, Cars, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.  Now the kids are into movies like Iron Man and Captain America.  It really has made going to the movies that much more enjoyable for ALL of us.  As much as the G rated movies are cute, sometimes you just need that thrilling action of the PG-13 ones. Now that they like going to those, I don't have to go to the movies by myself to get that fix.

Now that the fall movie season is kicking off with the long awaited release of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, to get us all in the mood, my friends at MovieTickets.com are giving away $50 in movie tickets and a DVD of the first Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.  All you have to do is enter the giveaway below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit MovieTickets.com for tickets, trailers, and news on upcoming releases.  You can follow MovieTickets.com on Facebook and on Twitter.

*Daddy's in Charge was compensated for this giveaway... not that I had an opinion, but all of them are my own unless my wife tells me otherwise.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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A Man in a Van... The Toyota Sienna

I'm not a car guy at all.

I look under the hood and it's all foreign to me.  I know how to put gas in the car, maybe add a little oil, and put air in the tires.  But that's it.  When I go to buy a car there are a few things that I want: a loud sound system, automatic doors, and the ability to carry a lot of stuff. You can only get that with one vehicle; a minivan.

I was obviously never into minivans before I had kids, why would you? I had nothing to haul and no kids to tote around.  I would have been laughed at.  Instead I drove a Dodge Neon. It was fine; it had wheels and got me to where I needed to go.

Then we had kids.

Not wanting to fully jump into the suburban lifestyle just yet, my wife and I bought a Honda Pilot.  I think every couple buys an SUV first then eventually gets smart and buys a minivan, at least that's what we did.  Our second car was a Honda Odyssey.  It was great.  There was an entertainment system for the kids, satellite radio for me and the wife, and the ability to load as much stuff from Home Depot as I wanted.

Our second van, which is our current car, was a Chrysler Town and Country.  We would have liked to stay with the Odyssey, but the price was too much and we got a great deal on the T&C.  I'm not thrilled with my current car.  It seems that they engine light has been on since the day we got it.  Even after numerous trips to the dealer the light still glows.  I don't want to waste my time sitting waiting for a car to get fixed, when it doesn't get fixed.  Needless to say, when our current lease is up we'll be shopping for a new van.

Enter the Toyota Sienna.

I hadn't given the Sienna much thought.  Truth be told when we first looked at vans five and a half years ago I wasn't thrilled with the car.  My sister in law drove them and she loved them.  But she always had a dent in her rear bumper.  Maybe I couldn't get past that, but the Sienna was always a car that was just meh to me. But that has changed.

Photo by Shawn Parkin

I was recently invited by Toyota out to Las Vegas to check out the new and improved Toyota Sienna.  At first glance I liked what I saw.  Clearly this isn't the same vehicle that we test drove almost six years ago and there are no dents to be found in the rear bumper like my sister in laws old car. This car was sharp.

I know what you are thinking, its a van.  Men want bells and whistles and they want speed.  There are places that you can go to find out all the specs of each individual model, I'm not going to get into that here.  All I needed was somewhere to plug in my phone and have easy access to the radio.  Both of which it has.  My only concern was the lack of a USB connection in the second row of seats in the model that we test drove.  And you want speed?  What better place to test that out than Las Vegas Motor Speedway?

Photo by Shawn Parkin

I had never raced cars before outside of Pole Position and most assuredly I had never raced minivans.  This was an experience that was all new.  I am not going to lie, there were times that I thought the van was going to flip over going around some of the turns, but it didn't.  The van is NOT a race car and it's not a car that I am going to race in ever again, but it did handle fantastically.  While I was scared for my life at certain times I didn't die, and what more could you ask for from a minivan?

The car is spacious too.  It's probably the only time that I am ever going to be in a minivan with three other grown men, but we had leg room to spare.  Driving around the streets of Las Vegas you could tell that people weren't looking at us because we were some weird group of dads driving a minivan, they were all gawking at the look of it.  The only thing hotter than Las Vegas in August, is a TOYOTA SIENNA in Las Vegas in August. (I wasn't paid to say that)

I've seen a lot of Siennas driving around my neighborhood, but they are the older models.  There is a look and feel to the latest edition that's hard to describe.  It actually seems like the kind of car that I would get even if I didn't have kids.  But don't tell anyone that I said that.  It's has enough room for me and the family, and I can still go to Home Depot and load up all the supplies that I think I need to build something. I might just build a garage for my new Toyota Sienna.

*I was flown to Las Vegas by Toyota, put up in a fancy hotel and was fed very well.  That being said, all of the above opinions are my own

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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No Story is the Best Story

It seems that everyone has a story about where and what they were doing when the attacks of September 11th happened.

I don't have a story.

Had I been working my normal shift at a television news station in New York City, I would have been directly in the chaos. My schedule was changed to 3:00 pm a week earlier to accommodate the primary elections that were taking place that day.

Truth be told, I was asleep when the attacks began.

It seems to me that everyone was directly effected by this tragedy. If you didn't know someone who died, you certainly knew someone who knew someone. I'm not going to pretend that I knew anyone or that I helped out in any way that day. I was in front of the TV, much like the rest of the world.

Things could have been different, I could have been on a live remote in lower Manhattan like my colleagues were, or I could have taken the day off and was visiting the Towers, but I wasn't.

Our station lost someone who worked in the Towers; I didn't know who he was until that day. Only one friend of mine had people she knew intimately who perished when the Towers collapsed.

I could have been at work just like the thousands of people who died that day, but I wasn't. I never made it in.

For a journalist I don't have much of a story to tell about that day. BUT perhaps I'm lucky that I don't.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Back to School at Dick's

Back to school soon!

My boys still have another week and a half before school starts.  It starts late here in New Jersey this year due to the Jewish Holidays that fall in the first week of September.  Normally we would head back right after Labor Day and this week I would be scrambling to get all of their supplies.  But I can put that off until next week when all the cool folders have been taken and my boys are left with plain blue and yellow ones.

It's the same thing every year.

One thing I have not put off buying is all of their new sports gear.  Like most kids they outgrow all of their stuff after one season and I am left to head to the sporting goods store to buy all the essentials.  This fall was no different.  Carter is now playing football and of course you want to be safe.  Two things that are mandatory in flag football are a mouth piece and a cup.

His cup runneth over

I never wore a cup when I was a kid playing sports.  I found them too restricting and uncomfortable.  Fortunately I never had an incident in either football or baseball.  Perhaps I was lucky in that regard, but not so lucky when it came to tennis. I should have had a cup then (oh the pain!)

But now that I have boys of my own we need to protect the family lineage, so off to Dick's Sporting Goods we went.  If you have never been to a place like Dick's you are really missing out.  I remember as a kid my first visit there and thinking how it totally put our local Swain Ski and Sports to shame.  The place was huge.  If you couldn't find what you were looking for, the sport probably didn't exist in the first place.

Buying a cup for your kid is a little weird.

You don't want to buy one that is too small and it won't protect them, but you don't want to buy one that is too big and have it be completely uncomfortable. Now I am not going to get into how well endowed my son is, let's just say the cup was not the smallest one there and he is now fully protected.  Thanks to Dick's my son will help carry on the Willey family name!

Of course you can get more than just sporting goods. They have a ton of backpacks (which I have way too many of) clothes, and everyones favorite disappearing item SOCKS.  Just click on the link and buy as many as you want. Be sure to check out the Backpack Selector to find the exact fit for you.

Dick's was kind enough to offer a $25 off coupon code to one of my lucky readers!  Just follow the simple instructions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


*This is a post sponsored by Dick's. I was compensated, all opinions are my own.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Around the World in 17 Days

It's been a crazy past couple of weeks to say the least.

It started with a plane ride TO France and ended with a plane ride FROM Las Vegas. From seeing old world Provence towns to the very modern and glitzy Sin City. Two distinctly different places, but two absolutely amazing experiences. Each I will talk about much more in the future.

Sometimes I really need to slap myself to realize how lucky I am in life. Not only do I get to visit these amazing places but I have an amazing family to share it with. As my kids favorite T-shirts say... Life is Good.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Somewhere Down There

Somewhere down there is a dad shoving a piece of toast in his mouth, kissing his family goodbye, and rushing out the door hoping to make the 7:29 train into the city and his job in finance.

Somewhere down there is mom knee deep in laundry with a newborn crying in the living room after being woken up by the neighbors barking dog.

Somewhere down there is a dad driving his rig across country on his eighth day on the road... kids at home wondering when daddy's coming home.

Somewhere down there is a mom at a sales conference wishing she was anywhere but in the windowless meeting room in yet another generic hotel.

Somewhere down there is a dad plowing a field, hoping for rain... But not too much like last year.

Somewhere down there is a mom pulling a stolen car over having one eye on her police issued revolver and the other on the noticeably drunk man in the drivers seat.

Somewhere down there is a dad driving a bus full of kids on his second of three jobs, needed to support his three kids and his wife who is expecting their fourth in the fall.

Somewhere down there is a mom interviewing the local Sheriff for the six o'clock news about a child predator who is stalking kids at local playground.

Somewhere down there is a dad who just lost his architect job wondering where the money for his mortgage and college tuition for his daughter is going to come from.

Somewhere down there is a mom cutting yet another persons hair, struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over her kids head.

Somewhere down there is a dad being deployed overseas for the next seven months, not sure if he will ever see his family again.

Somewhere down there is a mom working at a bowling alley spraying disinfectant into a pair of shoes not knowing how she will stay awake for her second job later that night.

EVERYWHERE down there are parents doing what they need to do to make sure their kids have the best life possible.
Somewhere up HERE I'm applauding each and every single one of you.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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