My twins drove their Playschool car off our deck. They went out of my sight for a few moments and the next thing I knew, they were down the four steps off the deck and in the back yard crying. Thankfully they weren’t hurt at all because the car protected them. I’ll never admit it though, and will deny it to anyone who asks. I’m normally a pretty attentive parent, so of course the one minute I let my boys out of my sight, they took off and made me look like a terrible parent.

This post originally appeared at https://www.fatherly.com/play/toddler-cornhole-race/ Toddler Cornhole Race’ is a fast-paced, kid-friendly version of every adult’s favorite backyard BBQ game that blends a running race with tossing bean bags. As any parent who’s ever tried to play Cornhole with kids around knows, it’s not easy. Toddlers immediately gravitate to the bags, grab them off the boards in the middle of the game, and drop them into the holes. It tends to disrupt the play, to say the least.

It took some time for me to process the news that Anthony Bourdain took his own life. I found out about it while sitting at a cafe in Porto, Portugal; a trip I had immediately turned to Bourdain’s shows for ideas and inspiration. My normal trip research begins with viewing any episodes of his shows in the locale. To me, he was a true inspiring figure as someone who championed the idea of traveling, rather than just touring.

This post originally appeared on TheBump Most parents are afraid to travel with toddlers. The parents we know thought we were completely insane for taking our one-year-old twins on a two-week international trip. My wife and I did the unthinkable and proved them wrong and not only survived, but had a great time. I’m here to tell other parents that yes, they can do it too. We had some drizzle, some bumpy seas, and a few tantrums at dinner, but our cruise around Norway turned out to be the perfect vacation for us with our one-year-old twins.

Chaos Engineering is taking over the world. Chaos Engineering provides a valuable framework and methodology to help teams better understand their complex systems and the behavior of them during real world events. It strives to help improve user experiences by validating assumptions about resiliency and detecting failures in systems before users experience these problems during a real issue. I love showing teams how to begin instituting Chaos Engineering in their organizations, but I tend to see the same problems repeated often.

This post originally appeared at https://www.fatherly.com/play/game-easiest-way-keep-toddlers-engaged-play/ ‘Toy Drop’ is a game I inadvertently discovered when my twin toddlers saw me picking up their toys and dropping them in a box ⏤ and then volunteered to help out. They were too young to actually clean up their own toys upon request, but their natural impulse to mimic kicked in and before I knew it, they started grabbing and dropping everything in sight.

Since my twin boys turned one-year-old, I’ve felt we should lose the pacifiers for them. Though our boys were never what I’d consider addicted to them, I wanted to wean them off before they got too attached. I was worried that usage of them would lead the boys to dental problems, ear issues, and becoming weird older kids who still used pacifiers. I was ready to ditch them, but my wife had other plans.

Portugal is one of the hottest destinations in the world right now and poised to get more popular. Thanks to an incredible shoreline, delicious food right from the sea, friendly locals, and still affordable prices for tourists, it’s no wonder more and more tourists are choosing Portugal for vacations. It’s not just for jet-setters and beach-going nightclubbers, though. With awesome food, a delightful local wine cuisine, and plenty of affordable and family friendly accommodations often in charming historical houses right in the center of cities, Portugal is perfect for families too.

This post originally appeared at https://www.fatherly.com/gear/hape-pound-tap-xylophone/ As a kid, I grew up with music. Whether it was my dad’s trippy ’70s prog rock or my mom’s Abba and show tunes, the stereo was always on in our house. The minute I was allowed to play an instrument, I signed up ⏤ first for the clarinet and eventually, once marching band started, the saxophone. My younger sister did as well, although she wisely chose the more stationary xylophone (a much better deal when it comes to marching across the field).

I’ve worked in Newark for nearly seven years, but nothing has brought me closer to the city than running through it. Working there, I’ve seen much of the city through lunches, happy hours, and even volunteer events. I’ve been there many times for hockey games. While each of these connected me a bit more to the city, it’s only through running that I’ve really started to form a bond. Ive long felt that running is the best way to experience a city, especially a new one.