The Halfway Point

Today we can start officially counting down the days until the boys go back to school.  We just passed the halfway point from the time school let out in June until they head back in September.  I refuse to give in and take them back to school shopping though, as that's just admitting that the summer is almost over, and who would ever want to admit that.

We have so much left to do this summer.

When the kids were younger, we seemed to never have plans on the weekends. But as they got older more of our time is spent at the baseball fields, soccer fields, and football fields.  We've been to the beach once this summer and we froze our butts off.  We've been to the water park twice, but the boys are in that in between stage where they are two big for the kid slides but too small for the grown up ones.  It's almost like someone just wants us to have a horrible summer.

Except we still have a vacation coming up at the end of the summer. I came up with this ambitious idea of driving the boys to Chicago to watch some baseball games and meet up with my wife who will be there on business.  From Chicago we head to Boston, Nantucket, and Cape Cod and then the summer is OVER as the boys head back to school two days after we get home. (Carter will most certainly enjoy that.)

But there is one other trip we are taking that we are really excited about.  Thanks to the fine folks at the Tri-State Ford dealers, we are heading to Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame to attend this years induction ceremonies.  I will be spending the next few days talking about our trip and bringing you behind the scenes access to all of this years inductees, including former New York Giant and current TV personality Michael Strahan.  Make sure you are following me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and follow the #DaddysFordJourney hashtag for all the stuff you WON'T find on any of the major news outlets.

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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10 Essential Rules for the Summer Road Trip

There is a sense of romance about the open road.  A full tank of gas and nothing but the highway in front of you.  The problem is that it doesn't always work out that way... especially if you are a parent. I used to love going on car rides.  Now with two kids who do nothing but ask, "How much longer?" you just want to get to your destination.  You pick a destination for a reason; because the destination is way better than anything on the journey getting there.

I've learned a few things in the last ten years of being a parent and one of them is about how to survive the summer road trip.  It's not about having games or puzzles or an iPod... it's about everything else.  Head over to the  TRUSTED CHOICE BLOG to find out everything you need to know in order to survive your next cross country road trip.

CLICK HERE

Don't let these kids get the better of you

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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My Son is a Melon Head

"If you eat too much of that, you are going to turn into a melon."

We as parents are guilty of saying some pretty stupid things.  How many times have you threatened the cops on your kids, or tried to get them to behave at a restaurant by saying that the manager was watching, as if the manager of a restaurant actually has some sort of power, and the ability to make your child behave.  If he did, I am bringing that guy to my house to get my kids in line.  That's the best we can come up with?  The manager?  Personally I would be more scared of the guy in the kitchen that you don't see, like the dishwasher.  Anyway, you get my point, we ALL say some strange things to our kids and a lot of it is used as a last resort, when all else fails.

I caught myself using the line about the police coming last night.  Carter was in one of those crying fits and just would not shut up.  Instead of saying that the police were going to get him though, I said that they were going to take me away, I certainly could have used the break.  Of course it didn't work and I was stuck with a screaming four year old for another twenty minutes until he forgot about what he was crying about in the first place.  I think at this point my kids are terrified of the police, and would never harm a fly or steal anything in their lives, so I guess that some good has probably come from it.  Of course, that being said, police are now bad guys coming to haul people off to jail.

Lego jail can be a hard cruel place

I don't know why I said that Carter was going to turn into a melon.  I just wanted him to eat the rest of his food.  Its not like melon is a bad thing, but when you put a plate of food in front of somebody, you would rather them eat some of everything, not all of one thing.  Of course Carter wasn't going to turn into a melon, but what does he know, he very well could.  Maybe the idea would trigger something in his brain to start focusing on his other food.

He likes melons... so does daddy;)

In the end though, Carter kept on eating the melon and you know what happened, nothing.  He didn't turn into a melon.  Just like the cops have never come to our house and the manager of the Applebees could care less that my son is causing a scene.  When all is said and done, we are basically lying to our kids and if we keep doing that you know what is going to happen, our noses are going to grow just like Pinocchios.

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John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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