Dad Street

As many of you know by now I’ve been working with TeleNav as one of their Navigator in Chiefs. I genuinely use the app a lot and enthusiastically share it with anyone around me. There are so many great features that’s it’s hard to pinpoint just a few.

It’s rare that I’m not talking about O or Jake in a post and so I thought they could help me with this one as well. Let’s face it- us dads have some issues when it comes to driving. So today I’m going to list out the Top 10 Reasons Dads should Use TeleNav in the eyes of O and Jake. Even though they are 2 and 3 years old, respectively, they totally made this list up and shared every detail of it with me.

So without further ado here goes nothing…Well something…Well actually 10 somethings…

10. TeleNav will talk to you while driving so you don’t have to make stupid jokes just to keep from being bored.
9. You can actually search for ice cream and it will tell you exactly how to get there. We like ice cream.
8. The app will tell you when there’s a red camera light so Mom doesn’t have to get a picture of you in the mail doing 90mph in a 65mph.
7. TeleNav will tell you the cheapest gas around, per octane, so that extra money you save can go directly to what we were talking about in #9.
6. We love cartoons so when you’re tired of looking at the cool Satellite view in the app you can switch to the animated one.
5. Voice activation is an awesome feature so you’re not compelled to type and drive. We’ll thank you when we don’t get in an accident.
4. Live traffic is a cool feature we love so we don’t have to hear you complaining that there shouldn’t be traffic.
3. When Mom asks you to go to the store you can make pretend you’re all grown up and making choices by deciding which “route preference” to take.
2. When we’re on long road trips and have to stop for a potty break you have no more excuses about not knowing where a bathroom is just so you don’t have to stop.

and finally…

1. With the “Shake to go” feature if we’re ever lost we just have to throw ice down your pants and watch you jump. In just a few shakes TeleNav will have us on our way home.

If you want to find out more be sure to visit TeleNav!

Disclosure: I am a member of the TeleNav Navigator in Chief dad panel and was provided compensation to participate. While I have received compensation to participate in the program as with anything that I review the opinions are 100% mine.

Honestly, I’ve never been the most adventurous person when it comes to checking out new places. More so, checking out new places in strange towns. I work some 80 miles from home so while I’m far away from home on a regular basis I pretty much just go to work and then come home. If I’m not bringing lunch to work there’s a handful of regular lunch places I visit. It’s nice because I know exactly where the restaurant is, I know the food, and it’s just easy in the middle of the work day.

Some days I just get an itch to try something new. I know there’s got to be so many good places to eat around me that I just don’t know about. I’ve been using my AT&T Navigator app on my iPhone whenever I’m out driving. When you’re in the car you really don’t want to be fiddling around with an app to try and find what you’re looking for. Especially when you have limited time, like a lunch break, you just want to go. Well the other day I got a craving for some Mexican food. I’m sitting in the parking lot thinking of how many Mexican restaurants I knew around my work.

I knew of one.

So I tapped the microphone icon on the app and spoke into my phone, “Mexican Restaurant”. Up came a list of all the Mexican food restaurants around me. What was cool about the list was that there were stars indicating ratings given by past customers. Before I knew it I was off and on my way to a completely new place. What was even more cool was that I didn’t need to know how to get there. The app gave me turn by turn voice-activated directions.

Growing up on the east coast the kind of Mexican food I ate wasn’t…well let’s just say it was probably more Tex-Mex than actually authentic Mexican food. Ever since moving to California I’ve had the fortunate experience of tasting the real deal. I’m still drawn to the food I ate growing up like Chimichangas. I had to see how this new place stood up to the test. I did wind up having their homemade chips and salsa which was awesome as well. All in all it was an awesome experience visiting a completely new place. It was great knowing that I would have no problem getting there and that there were others who already rated the place.

It’s true that I could have done all this using multiple apps on my phone like Yelp for reviews and then back to AT&T Navigator for the directions. Having it all on one app and using the voice activation feature just made it so much easier for me. It’s like I have my own little personal driving assistant with me wherever I go.

There are so many features to this app that I love. When I’m able to take something simple like an app and use it to help me explore, find new things, and still feel confident about my travel it’s an awesome thing. I happen to like things that just work. For me, something as simple as finding my next new favorite restaurant isn’t so simple but using the AT&T Navigator app is.

The other day I was sitting at work and thinking about the upcoming weekend. I’m always asked around Thursday or Friday…

“So Josh, got any big weekend plans?”

What immediately comes to mind are my failed attempts at waking up late (thanks O and Jake), Safeway, Target, and something fun sprinkled in. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining about weekends. I love weekends! Weekends mean not being at work which directly translates to more time with my wife and children. The problem I’m finding myself in though is what’s called “routine”.

I like to think of myself as a spontaneous person and I suppose in some ways I am. However, in many ways I’m totally not. Mr. Boring!! I don’t consider myself a homebody and love exploring new things. We have taken the kids to quite a few places. O is just 3 and Jake will be 2 in just a couple of weeks. Already, they’ve been to Southern California dozens of times, Maryland a couple of other times, and even to Israel! When we’re home though, we’re home.

This weekend we wanted to buy party supplies for Jake’s upcoming birthday. So we set out to drive to the “normal” mall we always drive to. Although this time my wife suggested we go to a local beach town near us called, Capitola. We’ve been there before but it’s been years.

What a novel idea!! Go somewhere that’s actually new!

Needless to say it was a lot of fun visiting Capitola. We got to see a new community with new stores, new people, new streets, new everything! What was great about it was that we didn’t even have to drive that far from our home. It’s not like we need to plan a week long getaway with planes, trains, and automobiles. We don’t even need to book a hotel. All we need is to get in our car and do something different.

I would imagine a lot of us have towns and communities near our homes that are great to visit. Often times we wind up getting stuck in our normal routines of daily life that we forget there is something new and exciting out there. I also think now is the perfect time to instill the sense of exploration and adventure in O and Jake. Mostly as parents our experiences with our children are new for them but not for us. I love knowing that we get to share new experiences together where we’re all exploring and learning at the same time!

I think some stereotypes are true. In particular the one about guys never needing to ask for directions. I have to admit that I’ve fallen victim to that stereotype on many occasions.

I’m guessing this stereotype started ages ago when men were the hunter gatherer. I suppose this makes sense in many ways. I mean how are you supposed to know where to go to hunt and then actually find your way home unless you had a good understanding of direction and navigation. I suppose back then they used the stars, the sun, trees, footprints, who knows!

Now a day we have signs that tell us which direction we’re going in and roads to take us there. The problem of course is we have a lot of roads and a lot of times the signs are pretty useless. This doesn’t stop us guys from letting the ladies in our lives know that we can still find our way even if we’re a little weak on the hunting side.

The other personal issue for me is there isn’t a whole lot of things I’m actually good at so pretending I actually know where I’m going is one of the few things I have to hold on to. Of course, this does backfire because my wife will quickly tell you I’m no good at taking direction. This leaves me in a predicament if I’m both bad at taking direction and bad at following direction. In fact, if I have no sense of direction I’m pretty sure this leaves me along side Chevy Chase in the movie National Lampoon’s European Vacation where they keep going around the round-a-bout.

Fortunately, I’m not destined to be stuck driving in circles forever. Recently I teamed up with TeleNav and joined their Chief in Navigator Program with four other fine gentleman:

Adam of DadaRocks
Tshaka of Digital Shepherds
John of TheDaddyYoBlog
Ben of BenSpark

I’m a huge fan of not looking like a complete moron and TeleNav helps me do that. Since this Navigation App is installed on my iPhone it’s with me no matter who’s car I’m in.

Translation?

I’ve redeemed myself as the caveman who’s basic instinct of navigation is now intact. As for the hunting part? Well, let’s just say I’m still working on that!

Stay tuned to some upcoming posts where I’ll be sharing my travels with you and fun things (even money saving!) that I’m able to do with my new favorite mobile app!

O, Olivia, 3 year old, Kids Say The Funniest Things

I remember waiting for O to speak her first words. I had always wondered what her voice would sound like. I’d even close my eyes and imagine us in conversation.

Fast forward three years and O is not only speaking but she’s doing so in both english and spanish! Thanks to our full-time Nanny who’s been with us since O was just weeks old, she’s bilingual. There are many benefits to this as I’m told. However, one they don’t tell you about is their ability to say nasty things to you in a foreign language without you knowing.

No hablo español over here.

Okay, so I may not have a problem yet with my 3-year old calling me a baboon in Spanish but there are other things going on. Take for example whenever we travel somewhere. I’m convinced my wife has been secretly feeding her lines. It’s like they spend hours a day in a brightly lit room memorizing things for O to say to me while I’m driving.

Just today we went out for a ride in the car. I was making a gesture with my hand which caused it to leave the steering wheel momentarily. Yes, the other hand was still holding on…O says, “Daddy, we don’t play when we drive!” I swear this was my wife talking! Where does she get this stuff?

That’s not the first time either. She’s come up with all kinds of things and usually it’s when we’re traveling somewhere. It’s like she’s in her carseat in the back just conjuring up juicy little tidbits to shock me with. The worst part is that even though she’s mostly saying reasonable and appropriate things I can’t help but to laugh! I’m sorry but hearing your 3-year old daughter say something serious, especially about you, is hysterical!!

She’s doesn’t discriminate though when it comes to the funny things she says. Especially on longer road trips she’s coming up with all kinds of crazy things! One of these days I’m actually going to write these things down. I’m pretty sure I could have a whole post just dedicated to her sayings. What’s more? Jake isn’t even really talking yet, so it’s going to be real interesting what he comes up with on our next road trip!

What crazy and/or fun things do your kids say when you’re out and about?

Top 10 Reasons To Get TeleNav

My Personal Driving Assistant

Family Getaway Minus The Getaway

I’m Never Going To Be Lost Again!

My 3 Year Old Tells Me How To Drive!

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