"Technicolor Tuesday" Debuts - Danger Dad

I thought it might be sort of fun to start a weekly photo feature but somehow I feel I need some sort of snazzy title in order to kick it off.

I am lame. I'm certain my grand total of 5 readers (Hello readers in India!) do not give a collective crap if this new blog feature has a snazzy title.

Anyhoodle, I thought I might call it "Kodak Moment Monday." Or maybe "Film for Friday", although I haven't used actual film in at least 6 years, maybe more. "Photo Friday" might be a little too obvious and simple but it could get the job done. Then there's "Technicolor Tuesday." Not great but works the best.

So, without further adieu... Some pics...



Why we call Danger Dad Danger Dad:

His idea of taking the kids out to play? Take them to the nearest construction site and let them play on the equipment. These pics were sent from his phone. Apparently hard hats are optional.

Older... Wiser... Better...

Happy Birthday, dear Danger Dad.

It's hard to believe that the first birthday I celebrated with you was 18 years ago, in Galveston, Texas, with a long, fun, romantic dinner at our favorite not-there-anymore spot, Candy's. (I was visiting from NYC and we were still trying each other on for size...)

It seems like just yesterday that we celebrated your 26th birthday in our Santa Barbara love-house, that was almost completely furnitureless so we had a lovely dinner, and cake, picnic-style in the middle of the living room.

It didn't seem like too long ago that we partied it up for your 35th with new but dear Atlanta friends and lots of wine and shiny power tools and that kick-butt cake recipe that I found that has since become a Herbert tradition.

And your 40th is still a new memory, with me as big as a house pregnant with twins and your brother flying in from Miami and that amazing and crazy scavenger hunt and surprise party, the Clicquot flowing, an elegant dinner and the showing of that tear-jerking movie of your life...

Happy 43 years to you. You are a fantastic person, husband, friend and papa. I'm so glad you are on this planet. And that you chose me as your life-travel partner.

We love you. :)

Open letter

Running errands is not considered "me" time.

'nuf said.

Mother Superior

Danger Dad barely said it.

“Underachiever.”

Our traveling circus of twin-life had just spied a dad with a single baby in a stroller.

I know DD didn’t mean it as a slam on dad-with-singleton, he meant it as comic relief for me. Since pretty much our first month with our twin kiddos, singleton parents have been known as “Underachievers.” I forget when the term was first coined. Probably after 52 hours with no sleep then getting a phone call from a singleton parent friend who wanted to vent about lack of shut-eye. Underachiever. After all, they ONLY had one baby at a time.

I’ll say it: Sometimes (o.k., most of the time, please accept my apology now) I feel superior to singleton parents. I can't help myself. I’m not bragging that I’m Super Mom or anything, but I do feel that if singleton parents had ANY idea what my day brings they might think twice about their lot in life. I see singleton parents rushing around, looking really stressed and seemingly asking me to understand... I can't. It's different for me. This may be one case in life when a blanket statement can be made:

Twins are harder than single babies. It’s just a fact. At least from 0-18 months.

Case in point: Double breastfeeding. Try it. It’s a frickin’ carnival act. We should have charged money for people to watch.

I'm certainly not discounting all the hard work it takes to be a singleton parent. No way. Parenting is a tough job. Really tough. We all deserve Medals of Valor or Purple Hearts or some such however it's hard to listen to singleton parents talk about being tired, stretched too thin, etc. Please, people. You really have no idea.

That being said, I think that twin toddlers may be easier than singleton toddlers. For one thing, they have an instant play-mate/play-date. I can’t imagine having to schedule play dates on a regular basis or introduce a new baby to a “King-of-the-Hill” toddler that DOES NOT want to share the Mommy.

So when we see singleton parents out DD and I nudge each other and just barely say... "Underachiever.”

We mean it in the nicest way.

Hey twin moms and dads... Do you feel superior? Share your story of superiority…

Danger Dad

Things it seems my husband thinks are appropriate for two-year kiddos:

-A 2x4 stretched between two chairs (a balance beam, of course)

-A 5” table propped up on an ottoman (it's a slide, dummy)

-Power tools. All types.

-Various nuts, bolts and other handyman junk paired with jars and cans.



-Learning about DARTS.







-A 40-year old set of wooden monkey bars. (Held together with 40-year old metal nuts and bolts.)










-A climbing wall. An actual climbing wall. In our basement.






So this is what he got for Father's Day...





Happy Danger Dad Day, sweetie.