Stop Motion Video... Starring Legos

It really is amazing what you can do on your phone these days.  When you think about it, the fact that you can call someone in China is really mind boggling, but now the phone is so much more than that.  It's a camera, a music player, and I am sure that it will make you coffee in the morning if you ask (there is probably an app for that.) I don't have to tell you what your phone can do, you are probably reading this blog from it as we speak.  I discovered something SO ridiculously awesome the other day.  Take a look.

We'll work out the kinks and see what we can come up with in the future.  The Lego Super Hero Movie Maker might just be the coolest app I have on my phone now.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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What Happened to Dad?

Was there some sort of apocalyptic event that wiped out all the dads from the planet?

It sure seems that way, at least in the eyes of Proctor and Gamble.  To promote themselves for this years upcoming Summer Olympics, it seems their latest tear jerker of a commercial has omitted one thing, dad.  What happened to him we will never know, but one thing is for certain, he is nowhere to be found in this commercial.

I'm not one to normally get bent out of shape over a stupid commercial.  I get it, moms do most of the shopping so companies target them.  They would be stupid not to.  But to run something like this is just wrong.  Don't most kids have TWO parents?

Where the hell is dad?  

Did he go to work, did he die, is he sleeping, is he in his recliner chugging beers while watching sports on TV?  We know one thing while watching this ad, he is not taking his kid to a practice or watching them compete.  That is moms job.

Dad won't be there to wipe away their tears after a tough loss or swoop them over his head after an incredible win.  Mom can handle it, just like she can the cooking, cleaning and whatever else she does around the house to make the family go.

In my family, that's me.  A dad of all people.  I'm shuttling the kids to various activities and coaching them in baseball this spring.  I guess to Proctor and Gamble that doesn't matter.  To the two little ones I do it for, I'm sure it means everything in the world to them.

Don't get me wrong, we all want to thank mom for the amazing job that she does, it really is thankless at times.  While it would be nice to see at least the hint of a dad in this ad, I am not going to plead to the higher ups at Proctor and Gamble to get that done.  As a dad myself I know how important we are in our kids lives.  If I want to see the power of what a dad can do to help his Olympian kid out, I will just watch this:

Thank you mom AND dad.

See? We can be there too when our kids need us the most.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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100,001 A Blog Odyssey

I never thought a number like that was even possible.  100K?  That is out of this world crazy, mind boggling really.  Sure there are sites that get that kind of traffic on a daily basis, but when you are a stay at home dad from New Jersey the thought that there would be so many people that would take time out of their busy lives to visit with me is something that I just can't comprehend.  I am just some guy who has the two coolest kids in the world and a crazy lego obsession.

100,001?

It's amazing what can happen in a little over a years time.

I set out to write the next Great American Blog, but something happened that was even bigger than that.  I found a community, one that I could relate to.  I found friends that I didn't even know existed in all the corners of the planet.  And while my blog didn't explode into a huge money making venture and the movie has yet to be written, I am fine with that.

I have you.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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A Visit to DC... Starring Lego President Obama

We were very fortunate to get away last week for Spring Break and head down to our nations capital.  My wife was there on business so most of the time was spent with me and the boys touring all of the sites.  I love Washington.  It has wide open green spaces, lots of historical places, and none of those skyscrapers that can overwhelm you at times.  There is a lot to see and do and you never know who you are going to run into.

It was one of those moments that i will never forget.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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Puppy Love?

Could it be that my little Tyler has a little girlfriend?  Or at the very least someone that wants to be his girlfriend?  He has never once mentioned anything of the sort to us and it would completely shock me if he did.  Tyler is a sweet little boy with many great qualities that any little girl would love, but he has always been into things like Star Wars and most recently Ninjago, not really things that appeal to the little girl set.

When he got home from school yesterday I went straight for his home work folder like I normally do.  It was empty except for this little handwritten note. I didn't see what it said at first and when I asked him about it, he took it out of my hands and said it was some project they were working on in school and he proceeded to throw it in the garbage.  Maybe I would believe him, but my kids never throw anything in the garbage, especially that quickly.

Did he actually think that I would leave it at that?

I was intrigued to say the least.  My son comes home with a note and I can't read it?  How do I know what this says?  It could be from the teacher right? Sorry buddy, but if you didn't want me to see it, you should have burned it.  After fishing it out of the garbage can I noticed that it did look like a school project but down at the bottom, there it was:

"I love you, your a little puppy dog! Aleah"  

I won't lie to you, for a moment there I was quite proud of the little guy.  Some girl at school named Aleah thought my son was cute enough to say that she loved him.  Maybe it's a little too early to profess her love, but still THAT'S MY BOY!  Maybe my son has all the charm that I lacked with the ladies?  Could this kid really be the big man on campus, something his father never was?  Finally a man in my family that didn't run and hide at the first sight of a girl!  My son, the stud!

Or, maybe not.

It seems as though he is a little too much like me after all.  What do they say about the apple falling from the tree? With a response like that, we might just have to hope Carter can carry on the family name instead.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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It's a Snap

This one would be easy for sure.

I have done a lot of comparisons of the boys, just to see what kind of simple skills they have mastered.  Every single one of them Carter has shown some amazing ability. Whether it was wiggling his nose, his eyebrows, or crossing his eyes he has always seemed to get the better of his older brother Tyler.  The only thing that Tyler could do that Carter couldn't was hula hoop.

Well this next comparison was one that I thought would come easy for Tyler.  Being more than two years older than his younger brother I thought that would give him the advantage.  But I was sadly mistaken.

Hopefully this is something he will figure out later in life, otherwise he is going to have a hard time summoning a waiter, or calling a dog, or worse yet, when he gets to that part in "If your happy and you know it" when he has to snap his fingers; that would be very sad.

Carter on the other hand will have no such issues.  He picked up this skill right away.

So once again Carter shows off his amazing skills.  I swear this boy is destined to do great things in life.  If there is a job that involves wiggling your nose and eyebrows, crossing your eyes, bowling, and snapping your fingers, this boy will be the CEO.  As for Tyler, I just hope these lack of simple life skills don't hold him back at all.  He's pretty amazing too, in his own way.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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The Anthem

It's not too often that you get your own theme song.  I mean seriously, can you announce to people that you have a song?  Well, I do!  Thanks to James at Edudad.com I can rock out all day to my very own song!

When I was in college, there was a band called Sons of Papaya that wrote a song about me.  I happened to run into the drummer in the stairwell one night after a long night of drinking milk and eating cookies.*  He started to repeat my name over and over, and when his band go together they started jamming to my name.  The song "Cabin Fever" was born.  I think its about a guy named John Willey (that's me) who runs into some sort of child predator, but the point of the song isn't the important thing, I HAD A SONG!

And so it happened again, this time because I have a blog and I play with Legos.  Thank you James for this:

I think he has promised a song to everyone he knows so you should definitely go and follow James on Twitter or Facebook.

*It was college, draw your own conclusions

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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The Egg Hunt... Starring Legos

Easter is fast approaching and that can only mean one thing, it's time for our annual Easter egg hunt.  The boys love going out in the back yard to find all of the treats that the Easter Bunny has left behind.  So much so in fact, that when we were given the opportunity to travel for Spring Break before Easter this year, Tyler insisted that we stay home.  He got a sad little face and wondered how the Easter Bunny would find him if we were cooped up in some hotel in Washington DC.  Who are we to shatter the dreams of a seven year old?  I can totally understand his reasoning, especially after last year.

I think we still have left over candy.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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