Basketball is His Favorite Sport

Carter gets obsessed with a lot of things.

At first it was Star Wars, then Toy Story, then Cars, the Star Wars again, then Legos, then Pokemon, and now it's sports.  Most recently it's been basketball because that is what is readily available on TV.  Before basketball it was football where somehow he became a huge New Orleans Saints fan.  I blame video games for that.

Basketball is all he ever talks about nowadays.  Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony  are his favorite players, while the Oklahoma City Thunder are his favorite team.  Much like his dad, who was a huge Michael Jordan and Chicago Bulls fan, Carter is very much a front runner.  When you are six you never want to see your team lose so naturally you pick teams that always win.  That is why there are so many Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys fans my age, because when I was a kid they were always the two best teams.  We don't realize it, but unless we live in an area that has pro sports teams, we always go for the winners.  So all of you lifelong Yankee, Steelers, Cowboys, Lakers, Celtics fans... you are nothing but a lifelong bandwagoner.

From sun up to sundown, Carter has basketball on the brain.

His birthday is next week and all that he wants is a basketball hoop and a bunch of jerseys, most notably the players mentioned before.  If he isn't checking scores on ESPN, he is playing basketball on the Xbox.  If he isn't playing on the Xbox, he is up in his room playing basketball on his little toy hoop that has been hanging up since before he was born.  And that is where you can see things like this:

For a six year old he has some crazy good skills.  Of course he is good at any sport that he plays right now.  It's something that I saw in him from an early age before he could even walk.

Right now he says that he has no interest in baseball, but I don't buy it.  I never saw this obsession with basketball coming but I am on the lookout to see what's next.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

End of the Little Days

Parenting is a hard job.

Nobody said that it wasn't, but there is nothing that can prepare you for the wave of emotions that you feel at any given moment.  Kids really do keep you on your toes as you just never know what they are going to hit with you with next.  Such was the case this morning.

My oldest Tyler had the ability to grow up slowly.  He liked all the usual little kid things: Cars, Toy Story, Nemo, Mickey Mouse, and of course Legos.  There was a natural progression that I am sure most first kids go through, although he was into Star Wars before most of his friends.  He has grown out most of these things, but still loves to play with Legos.  He has an iPod now and spends a lot of his time texting and Facetiming.  Basically he is growing up into BIG kid.

Which brings me to Carter.

He doesn't wear them on his head all the time

As the younger of the two he has spent most of his childhood trying to keep up with his older brother.  That means what ever Tyler was into, Carter was as well.  Before Carter could even say any letters or numbers he could tell you who every Star Wars character was.  He never really got into shows like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or the Doodlebops; it's almost as if he skipped a few years and graduated right to shows like Phineas and Ferb and The Clone Wars.  While little, I almost feel like he's never been a little kid.

Currently Carter is obsessed with sports, and as a dad while that is great, part of me wishes it didn't happen so early.  He'll be six next month, but sometimes I feel like he is going on 16.  He no longer plays with toys and loves watching sports on TV.  Legos are out; basketball, football, and soccer are his thing now.  He just told me the other day that he doesn't like Mickey Mouse and his character shirts were too small on him (even though they aren't.)

But I always had something to hold onto, until today.

This was one of those moments that kicks you in the gut and tells you that your kids are growing up despite your best efforts to not let them.  Out of the blue Carter decided that he didn't want to wear his little boy underwear anymore.  I was blindsided to say the least.  For the past three years while I could see him getting bigger and moving onto to older kid things, I could always count on one thing, his little Toy Story underwear.  It's almost like they were the only thing that was holding him back from being a big kid.  While he got bigger and bigger I could put those little tiny underwear on him and keep him the little kid that he should be.

Sadly that will no longer be the case.  My little guy is growing up and there is nothing I can do to stop it.  

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Dads Round Table

In case you haven't already noticed, I've gotten myself involved with a new website called Dads Round Table. On top of my own blog and writing for Parent Society and Huffington Post, this new initiative is one that keeps me pretty busy.  I'm excited about this.  The idea behind it was that a bunch of us dads could get together and share our stories and hopefully learn a little bit about this whole parenting business.  I have heard that there is strength in numbers.

Anyway, I am the Creative Director behind this whole process.  What that title means is that I hopefully can put together a bunch of really cool videos to tell a story that we couldn't otherwise tell with words.  It's what I did for a living before I became a stay at home dad, and it's what I hopefully will do when I head back into the work force one day.

To give you a little teaser of what I am trying to come up with I present you with the following:

So there will be much more to come.  I have a lot of video that I have shot of my kids over the years, it's a matter of editing it all down.  It seems that nobody likes to do that but me.

So follow along with me at Dads Round Table. You can also follow us on Twitter or Facebook if that is your thing.  Pull up a chair.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Five Things Moms Say

As I was scrolling my Twitter timeline yesterday I came across an article about "Funny Things Dads Say." I'm always curious to see if other dads sound anything like me. Usually I'm screaming at the top of my lungs for someone to stop hitting their brother or to get down off the chandelier. To my surprise the article was not written by a dad, but by a mom.

Now normally I wouldn't get so sensitive to these sort of things, but this is a place where I happen to be a writer as well. (Check out my latest!!!) I have no problem if someone wants to write a self deprecating piece about what dads say, but to hear it out of the mouth of the opposite sex is something that I am growing tired of.

I understand that women make up the majority of people that read blogs, perhaps you are one of them, and if this was turned around and I wrote a piece about what moms say I might be vilified, regardless of whether it was intended to insult them or not.

Whoops, too late:


Listen, kids run around and inevitably they are going to fall down.  As much as you want to tell them about what is going to happen, they won't truly know until they find out themselves.  It's not so bad to let them get a little boo boo every now and then.


Yeah, thanks for making us out to be the bad guy.


Grab a chair, grab a light bulb, take out the old one, put in the new one.  It's not rocket science.


Your kid is five.  It's embarrassing seeing you hold your kids hand down the slide. Let him go and catch him at the bottom, it's way more fun.  Stop acting like he is going to fall off the playground.  Chances are he won't.


Stop.  Let's wait a few weeks to see what he is into next, before you take up an entire wing in your house with this over sized soon to be lego table.


In typical guy fashion, I can't count.  But at the end of the day, you know that you've said it.  Don't drink any of that White Zinfandel crap.  You might think that you are all classy, but please go for a Cabernet, or a Red Zinfandel, or maybe even a Reisling.  While we are talking about wine, please stop bringing Pinot Grigio as a gift... that's garbage.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Life Without Dad

I don't know how it happened, but somehow my Lego doppleganger got lost.  I am usually very good with these little guys and sometimes treat them nicer than I do my own kids.  Well I clean them off when they get cream cheese or food on them anyway, that is more than I can say about Tyler and Carter.  Needless to say it's been a rough few days around here.  When dad vanishes, things just aren't the same.

Hopefully we can find him soon before, the rest of the house starts to fall apart.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Why My Son Should Be the Next Bachelor

The Bachelor is my favorite show on television.

I always get ribbed by other dads saying that I should get my "Man Card" taken away because of that.  Of course none of them actually watch the show and don't understand the appeal of 25 women fighting over one guy. Ladies, smack some sense into that husband of yours because they might just realize that YOU are pretty darn normal compared what they will witness on television.

So Sean, The Bachelor, is down to his final three women. There are places that you can go to find out who won, but what is the appeal in that? It's usually at this point in the show that I start to wonder who out of these three women will end up being the next Bachelorette.  Yes, I obsess a little too much about this, but I know I am not alone. There are scores millions of guys just like me, it's just that you don't hear from them because I am the one with the blog.

He's got muscles

All of this got me to thinking about how my son would be perfect as the next Bachelor.  Sure he is five, soon to be six, and they probably have some sort of age restriction, but he could just be the perfect guy to star in the next installment.

As you can see Carter is strong.  He is also a very capable swimmer, which will certainly come in handy for the numerous times he will end up in a hot tub or when he is bound to jump off the back of a boat in the Caribbean.  You don't have to worry about him drowning, he is most excellent in the water. In fact he is very athletic and when they need to film him in slow motion, he does like to run around with his shirt off from time to time.  Ladies LOVE that.

He knows how to have fun

He likes to go on carnival rides.  ABC likes to send the Bachelor to an amusement every year, so obviously this is a no-brainer.  I know you are probably thinking that he is a little small, but I assure you that he is almost tall enough to go on a lot of the big kid rides now.  The only rides that scare him are rides like the Haunted Mansion.  But that's perfect because it shows his vulnerability and that obviously makes women swoon.

He likes to travel. If you've seen the Bachelor you know they go all over the world.  Well, Carter is worldly as he's been to a lot foreign countries and only proceeded to cause a scene in a few of them.  All ABC has to do is NOT go to Canada, Germany, Italy, or France.  I assure you he CAN travel to those countries, but it might be best that he doesn't.  Besides he probably has outgrown a lot of those issues, but even if he hasn't, that would make for great TV. Am I right?

He can treat ladies like royalty, sometimes

Most importantly Carter loves the ladies, most of the time. When he isn't telling his mom how ugly she is, he is constantly saying how sexy she is.  In fact he calls me sexy too.  I'm pretty sure it's his ONLY word right now. Imagine what he would do with a group of 25 women. ABC could have a field day with him, and sexiness would be everywhere. To heck with Justin Timberlake, Carter would bring sexy back.

There are some minor issues obviously. He can't read, he can't do math, and he can't drive a car yet.  He still refuses to wipe his own butt and there are very rare times when he wets his bed.  The bachelorettes might have to carry him around from time to time as well. ABC can certainly just edit those parts out.

Ratings gold I tell you.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

A Valentine's Day Apology

I need to apologize in advance of Valentine's Day.

When your kid comes home from school tomorrow and sees that someone in their class ONLY got your kid a card, that was from my son.  I am so sorry that your child did not get a pencil or a bag of plastic crap disguised as toys.  It's nothing against your child, it's just I guess I am a horrible parent.  I know that you took the time to personalize each card and attached that cute little stuffed bear with the cupid wings to it.  That's not me.  It's very thoughtful of you though, but I am not going to compete with you over this sort of thing.  If I did, I assume next year whatever you get my child on Valentine's Day would be even better than this year; perhaps an Xbox or something.

Really looking forward to these

Even though the school said no candy, I really appreciate the fine assortment of ring pops that you got my son.  Oh, and the three dollar Subway gift card will really come in handy.  Don't get me wrong the cute little pink unicorn that you got last year was great until it got thrown in the garbage as soon as my son got home.  The coloring books are really handy in this digital age too.  Maybe on your kids half birthday you can get my son an iPod or something.

All this extra gift giving is really making me question myself as a parent.  Should I be putting more thought into days like Valentine's Day than I do?  Do my kids hate me because while they are getting balsa wood airplanes and a sheet of stickers, they look like fools only handing out the $1.99 Phineas and Ferb cards?  And what do all the other parents think of me?  I must look like a complete moron not buying up all the temporary Scooby Doo tattoos.

So I want to personally apologize to all to go getters out there that are making their kids look like awesome on Valentine's Day.  I would like to say that I will make it up to you come St. Patrick's Day or Easter, but chances are I won't. It's not that I don't like your kid, I just don't like all the junk that they get mine.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Picking up the Essentials

This is a weekend that my kids have been waiting for for almost two years.  We haven't had any significant snowfall since Halloween of 2011.  Tyler has been begging me to make it snow, but of course me not being Mother Nature, it's kind of impossible.  You know the drill, whenever the whether turns, people have to make a mad dash for the stores to pick up a few things.  It always amazes me that people around here don't have snow shovels, or maybe it's just that last years model won't shovel this years snow.  Whatever the case, the lines at Lowes and Home Depot are always filled with people and their shovels.  The grocery stores are the same.  We always run out to grab food like we are going to holed up in our house for about a month.  I see people walking the aisles buying things like crazy and it always seems to be the same things every time. Which leaves me with one question:

It baffles me.  I mean I like to eat it, but is it the official food of every storm?  Enjoy the snow everyone!  And of course enjoy your french toast.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

This Old Lego

Like a lot of men, I like to build things.  Also like a lot of men, I am not one to admit defeat when I can't do something.  A simple project that should take no more than a couple of hours turns into a three day ordeal.  I like perfection, and when it isn't happening, I get frustrated.  Some times I give up and move on to something else, leaving the project to sit half done.  I have a lot of projects like that around my house, just waiting for the finishing touches.  I decided that my last project would be to finish a closet that houses my computer.  My wife had been asking me for a long time to do something with it, but I kept putting it off knowing that it wasn't going to be the easiest thing to do.  I am happy to report that the closet got finished, but it wasn't without a little outside help.

If only they could come to my house and finish all of the things I started.  A man can dream right?

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Top 10 Disney Babes

Over the years Disney movies have produced some of the best looking animated characters on the silver screen.  With over 50 animated features and counting, that leaves a lot of great looking women to be seen.  It's not easy to come up with a Top 10 as there are a bunch of the princess movies that I have yet to see.  As you know, I have boys and as they get older the idea of sitting down and watching something like Snow White just isn't going to happen.  Now I have included Pixar movies and did not include Jessica Rabbit out of fairness to the rest of these fine ladies. I mean seriously she has a great "personality."

10. Bo Peep

There is kind of a sweetness to her, or at least there should be, but if you ever saw Toy Story there is kind of a subtle sexiness to her.  She also has that big hook to keep you in line.  I mean she really gets Woody aroused... get your head out of the gutter, Sheriff Woody!

9. Mirage

It's too bad that jerk Syndrome was in her life; he really brought her down. That doesn't stop the fact she is hot, in a Pixar kind of way.

8. Rapunzel

I fear she might be a little young, but hey she has that hair.  I know that men are suckers for hair, and that is a 'do that you could really get lost in.  Being in that castle for so long, you just know that she is looking to explore.

7. Ariele

Again she is quite young I know, but aren't all these characters young?  Look at the audience of these movies.  I guess it's probably the clam shells, or the flowing red hair, or the fact she wants to be with us... up where we walk, up where we run.  I do like her better with feet though.

6. Pocahontas

I have never actually seen the movie.  I could never get my boys to sit down and watch it.  They are boys after all.  Ever since my son started to study the Iroquois and the Hopi, it got me thinking about her again.  I am a sucker for a lady that knows how to paddle a canoe, and the name alone!

5. Jasmine

Oh Princess Jasmine there is something about your enhanced eyes that makes me weak in the knees.  I know if I was Aladdin I would be rubbing the lamp all night to make the Genie appear.

4. Jane

At first I didn't like her, she seemed way to snobby all dressed up. But as the movie wore on she got a little more wild. If only they would have showed her more in her loin cloth.  It's enough to make any man go ape!

3. Esmeralda

I think it's the dark green eyes and the flowing black hair that make her stand out. Now only if she would perform some sort of witchcraft she might be higher on the list.  She has got to stop hanging out with that Hunchback though.  Although it's kind of like being the hot chick hanging with her fat friends, maybe that is what makes her look better?

2. Belle

She is all class. There is something to be said about a girl that would choose someone like the Beast to be with. She studies, likes the arts, and has a genuine distaste for Gaston.  She really seems like the perfect woman. If someone like Belle would choose this monster, it gives hope to all men out there.

1. Sally

Let's face it, she's a Porsche with tattoos, who happens to be a lawyer. She's from Los Angeles.  She also owns a motel that I am sure you can get by the hour. You just have to get under her hood first.

So who would you choose? 

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

How to Hard Boil an Egg

My son gets in these grooves where he will only eat one thing for breakfast for weeks on end.  In the past its been blueberry waffles, Honey Nut Chex, a bagel, and most recently pancakes. Who knows why he does this, but it does take take the guess work out of what to put in front of him first thing in the morning.

The one thing that is annoying though, is that you never know when he is going to change his mind and pick something else.  I have about four boxes of Eggo waffles sitting in my freezer just waiting for the call.  It got me to thinking, maybe I should head him off at the pass, and try to dictate what his next breakfast choice will be.

This is why I made hard boiled eggs.

If you search for how to make them there are a billion different ways to go about it.  The only constant is that you need to boil water.  That I am sure we can all do, at least most of us anyway.  So how DO you boil an egg?  Just follow these simple steps:

First and foremost you need to have some eggs.  Without this process you, are just going to be boiling water.  I guess you could use it to make pasta, and while we all know that the kids will eat that, mine is not eating pasta for yet another meal.

The second step is crucial.  You need to remove the eggs from the carton and place them in a pot.

Then you need to fill the pot with the coldest water that you can find.  Mine seems to work best when you flip the handle to the right and turn it on.  Cold water will then fill your pot.

Place the pot on the stove and turn the heat on.  Since I have a gas stove I can tell the heat is on by noticing the little blue flame.  If you have an electric one, I assume sparks will start flying and you smell  the burning remnants of last nights dinner.

Timing is the most crucial aspect of this process.  Once your water starts to boil, remove the eggs from  the heat, cover the pot and set your timer for 20 minutes.

Now what you do in this 20 minutes is completely up to you.  You could play with your child, read them a book, or you could do what I do and read up on all of my gossip magazines.  I find it simply amazing that Paula Deen could get us all fat with her recipes, and now try and make us skinny with new recipes.  She is basically stealing money from all of us.

After 20 minutes is up, immediately cool your eggs off with cold water.  Simply repeat the process you did before.

So now we have the moment of truth.  What will the egg be like on the inside?  Will it be all rubbery from cooking too long?  Will it still have a somewhat undone yolk?  Will the yolk be green?

Ladies and gentlemen, a perfectly cooked hard boiled egg that my son will not eat because he is currently on an oatmeal kick.  I have to say that I make the worlds worst oatmeal, so if anyone has any tips for me on that I would greatly appreciate it.

One last important thing, make sure you label your newly hard boiled eggs.  It could get messy if you choose the wrong carton.

How do you hard boil an egg?

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Learning to Skate

I've decided to get into some more video projects on the blog.  After all that is what I was doing with my life before I became a stay at home dad.  I am currently trying out different editing software to find just the right one.  I love making the little lego movies, and while those won't go away any time soon, I thought it would be nice to give you more of a glimpse into my life through the power of video.  Some stories I find can be captured way better visually than they can be through the written word.

Such is the case with ice skating.

I decided this year to enroll the boys in skating lessons at the local rink after years of putting it off.  I don't know what I was waiting for as they really have taken a liking to it.  As for myself, I am still trying to figure out if skating is the best thing for me.

So what do you think?  Is this something that you would like to see around here?  Or is video not your thing? Please drop me a line, and if you want, subscribe to my Youtube channel to get even more great stuff.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

How to Be a Dad

Over the summer you might recall I started a Lego Blogger Series.  Well I kind of ran out of time as summer flew by and I didn't quite get to everyone that I wanted.  Like a of things the blog takes a backseat to life. Now that the winter doldrums are upon us, and my house is somewhat clean, it's time to revisit some of the people that kick butt in the blogging world.

Nobody does it better than the boys at How to Be a Dad.  I don't think they really know how to be a dad, but then again does anyone?  I will say that having read their blog, they have the same struggles as I do, but sometimes they make it look so easy.

Don't forget to check out their amazing blog.  Howtobeadad.com is the gold standard in the "daddy blogger" world.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Cold Weather... Starring Legos

I have to say we have been pretty lucky weather wise these past two winters.  Aside form one snowstorm a week after Sandy hit, we haven't had any meaningful snow since LAST Halloween.  Normally I wouldn't complain as I am the one that goes outside and shovels, but the kids want snow.  It's not like we live in an area that doesn't get any snow, two years ago we got record snowfall.  It was almost TOO much to play in and certainly way too much to go sledding.  I know that we are now in the heart of winter but I can't help but think spring is right around the corner.  All I ask is for a little snow, for the kids sake.

I don't think that is too much to ask for.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

What's in Store?

I don't fully know what is going to happen in 2013.

If I had the answer I probably wouldn't be writing my blog sitting on a giant exercise ball in my basement.  Something tells me I might not even have a blog at all.  One thing I do know is that it's going to be time to start looking to get back into the work force.

My final day full time with James Ford and Jon Fine

Before I was a stay at home dad, I was an Emmy nominated News Photographer for a TV station in New York City.  It was a pretty good job with a lot of cool perks.  I got to see a lot of stuff that the average person never gets to see.  Unfortunately there was a lot of stuff that the average person WOULDN'T want to see either.  For every cool new roller coaster or hot air ballon I got to ride, I also saw my fair share of death.

I can remember one of my first days working in TV news at a station in Elmira, New York.  I was sent to a drowning in a rural town nearby with my (not at the time) wife.  A kid had jumped in the river behind his house with his friends and never resurfaced.  When the firefighters discovered him and pulled him out, it was the first time that I had ever seen a dead body.  You wanted to look away, but it was something you couldn't take your eyes off of.

While it certainly isn't normal to see a lifeless person everyday at work, it seemed all to common.

I can remember walking up to a murder scene in South Carolina once and asking the cops where it happened.  They sent me out in the back of the mans house in some ungodly remote part of the state where surprisingly "nothing like this ever happens." After surveying the scene and getting all the crucial b-roll, I looked down and realized that the dead man was no farther than two feet from where I was standing the whole time. You would think that I would jump, but sadly when you work in TV something like that just seems normal.

I won't get into the time I saw a completely burned body at a fire scene in Newark, NJ.  I think you get the idea by now that there is a lot of crap that you just don't want to see in your life, and unfortunately I saw way too much of it.

So I am not so sure I want to completely get back into what I was doing before.  It's not the same business that I first started out in.  Don't get me wrong there is an excitement level that can't be beat about working in TV News, but there is also way too much crap to deal with.  Chasing ambulances, chasing storms, and chasing those never ending leads... it's always a hurry up and wait.

So, what's in store for 2013? I don't know.  I would think there are better jobs than being a news photographer, but sometimes you get sucked back in.

More to come...

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Wipe Your Own Asses!

I'm throwing in the toilet paper.

Eight long years I have been at it, but today I am resigning my post as the official ass wiper of my kids. Oh there won't be any parades or awards banquets involved, although a ceremonial last flush should be in order I suppose.

I don't know how my kids are going to react to this, I am sure they will probably put up a stink, but it's time.  Sure it's been less and less with Tyler in the past couple of years, but there are those times... well we won't paint the picture completely.  Carter on the other hand has me thinking that he has NEVER wiped his own butt.  He has never made a mess of himself completely, but there will be a day.  A day that most likely I will not be there to see, nor care to.

So all I can do now is sit back and supply them with ample amount of toilet paper and hope that they get the job done. I hope that my eight years of training have suited them well for what nature throws at them, or throws out of them.  Good luck boys... and make sure that you flush the toilet.

Make sure you shoot straight as well

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

2012, The Year of Me

When I first got into blogging I had no intentions of becoming a writer.  A famous stay at home dad with his own TV show maybe, but a writer was definitely NOT in the cards.

Then came 2012.

Up until this past year I was just a silly dad with a sometimes silly blog.  I shared stories that people could relate to.  Sometimes they had a message, sometimes they said nothing.  But then something happened in the past year that changed all that.  Specifically a post titled "My Boys Will be Boob Men."  That post was by far my most read post in the past year and it was the one that put me in the Huffington Post.

What will become of this guy?

I've written a few more entries for them, but find that it's tough to get things past their editors all of the time.  Some posts are just sitting in limbo and I am not sure if they will ever get published.  Oh well.  Then along came an opportunity to write for a newish website called Parent Society.  To say I was honored was an understatement.  Me, now offering advice and ideas to a whole new audience?  It's crazy to even think about.  They do know I sit around and play with Legos all day right?

But the opportunity that I am most thrilled about is the new venture I am in called Dads Round Table.  We started it up in October and since then it has been growing quite nicely.  To be included in this group of dads is awesome.  I have some new ideas up my sleeve for the site, which I am looking forward to, but I have been slow to actually put things together.

But now I am stuck.

I have been in a rut for two months now, with nothing to write about.  All these new exciting opportunities, and here I am with nothing floating around in my brain.  Every time I sit down to write something, I realize that I already wrote the exact same thing last year or the year before.  Life is a lot like my old profession in TV News. It changes from day to day, but it's the same from year to year.

So now I am a writer with nothing to write about.

I'm having a hard time focusing on which project should come first.  Huffington Post brings me the most eyeballs, Parent Society pays me (although not very much), Dads Round Table has a great potential, and then there is my own blog. What will become of this little space on the internet?  I don't want to completely shut this down, but this is not something that is ever going grow into what the others are or possibly could be.

So I am now at a crossroads in my blogging life.  2012 opened a lot of doors for me; it's just a matter of which ones I walk through in 2013.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Lego Gun Control

Say what you will about the tragedy that happened last Friday, but the bottom line is that it was a GUN that killed those poor little kids.  Sure someone could inflict harm with any weapon that they choose, but you just don't hear about mass killings with baseball bats and knives.  Spare me the idea that we should outlaw cars and kinds of other nonsense that people have been coming up with since the day of the shooting.

I don't want to take away someones right to own a gun, but there at least needs to be a conversation about gun control in this country.

It seems I can't go anywhere around here without seeing some mention of a gun in society.  Whether it's in movies or video games they are all too present in front of our kids.  Just yesterday I was checking out some video games for a new Xbox that the kids got for Hanukkah.  I was hard pressed to find a game that didn't have some sort of violence in it.  Video games are not alone, in fact it troubles me that my FAVORITE toy could very well be the largest producer of firearms in the world.

I know that it is up to us parents to control what our kids see and do, and it's not one thing that is a factor in how our kids behave.  It's not the music, it's not the video games, it's not the movies, but it is a combination of everything.  The truth is I have always realized that Lego had a lot of guns in their sets and it did trouble me, but not enough to really do anything about it.  I mean I must have over 300 guns in my house ranging from shotguns, to assault rifles, to pistols, to laser guns, and canons.  It's a lot of weapons.  Fortunately they won't actually kill anyone like the real ones do. 

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

5 Things I Don't Want for Christmas

I am really an easy person to shop for.

Ridiculous I know

I am a guy after all who likes sports and power tools.  I don't build many things, but I have developed a nice collection of power drills and belt sanders.  One day I swear I am going to build the most awesome bookcase to house all of my sports stuff.  I have no place to put it all because I have a wife, a wife that would rather hang up a Sex in the City picture that her brother got her, than see my latest in my Sports Illustrated collection.  One day though, one day!

You want to get me a present?  Get me a gift card to the Syracuse University Bookstore or Lowes.  Let me shop for myself.  With that in mind here are five things to NEVER get me.

1. A visor.  My brother in law got me a Baltimore Orioles visor one year because he heard in passing that I might have been a fan 20 years ago.  A hat would have been nice, but a visor?  I don't know of anyone that has ever worn one and personally I don't get the point.  What is so wrong about covering the entire head? I like hats.  I have about 50 of them (I wear three).

2. Pants.  I hate having to hold up something that is so ugly and have to fake that whole "Pants... they are just what I always wanted" routine.  I love ripping open a box, but when something sucks, faking that I like something so nobody gets their feelings hurt blows.

3.  Anything from a drugstore.  This should be a given.  You obviously put no thought into the gift and were just picking up your allergy medicine when that New York Yankees trinket just screamed that you had to buy it.  I don't want to have to return something to a store where there is nothing that I want to buy myself.  What am I going to do, get my film processed while I am there.

4. Anything that sits on a desk.  I don't have a desk, so this should be pretty self explanatory.  If I did have a desk, I wouldn't want any crap on it.  I have enough clutter in my house and don't want to have clean around anything else that is out in the open.  One thing grows into two, two turns into four, and the next thing you know I have a collection of dolphins in my den. (I don't even have a den)

5. A recipe book. Hell don't buy me a book period.  I have no time to read them, and besides there are these things nowadays called iPads that I can load books onto.  There are also apps that I can access and websites that I can browse that can give me all the latest in culinary exploration.  My cooking consists of macaroni and cheese and chicken.  Find me a book with just those two dishes and I will consider opening your gift.

Bonus.  Don't buy me anything.  Chances are it is going to be the wrong color, size, or team. Don't even try to guess because you are going to be wrong and I am going to have to go to the store anyway to return it. Why don't we just cut out that middle process and go with the cash.

Double Bonus. A bookcase. I told you that I am going to build it myself. Soon.

Of course with all this being said you could just buy me beer this Christmas.  That is something that I would never turn down. Or you could just get something for these guys.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________

Wednesday's Window

I am going to let you in on a little secret... I kind of have a fascination with Legos.  I know that was a pretty shocking revelation but I just had to get that off my chest. Fortunately for me, my boys do too.  So where is the one place that you have to go? Legoland of course.  We have been fortunate to have gone to the one out in California a few times and we absolutely love it.  But we don't have much reason to get out to San Diego much anymore, so lucky for us they built one in Florida.  Since we go to Disney more than most people go to the bathroom it's great to have one so close to Orlando.  It is about a 45 minute drive from Disney and it is well worth the trip.  There aren't a ton of rides and it's not really geared toward the older crowd, but if your kids are like mine, they will love it... especially Miniland.  I hope you enjoy this weeks Wednesday's Window.

We are heading in!

The Capitol

The Mall on Washington

Iwo Jima

One of the eight million mini golf courses in Florida

Florida State Capital

New York Hotel in Las Vegas

Capital Hill, Washington

The White House with the Obamas standing by.

Washington, DC

Tampa, Fl

San Francisco

I believe this is St. Augustine

A smarter man than I built this

The place is amazing.  I tried to sneak out the Space Shuttle, but they wouldn't let me.  

You can see more pictures like this is you follow along on Instagram. 

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

________________________________________