Blog a la Cart

Last night, over a bowl of macaroni and cheese, I lost my shit.

As I sobbed pitifully into my cheesy noodles, James asked Sunny to share with us some things that make her happy. He explained that mommy had a bunch of sad things on her mind, and that hearing some happy things would help me stop crying.

And so, she presented the following, a list that did indeed have me smiling with the brilliant simplicity of it all.

No. 1 Eating hot dogs at the table.
James has never felt so proud. Although, as Kimmy can attest, it’d be more fitting if she said, “Eating hot dogs while standing aimlessly in the middle of the kitchen.” Then she’d really be her father’s daughter.

No. 2 Going to Cape Cod to play at the beach.
Which launched the story of how she’ll be taking a trip to visit my parents all by herself this weekend. Which is true. I think James and I will have a tougher time with her being gone for a weekend than she’ll have being away from us. She is beyond excited. Did you know that she’ll get to drink lemonade anytime she wants because Momar’s house always has juice? Which leads to…

No. 3 Drinking juice when I’m sad always makes me feel better.
Ain’t it the truth? Conveniently, Mama’s found similar solace in her pink, bubbly juice (Hello, Champagne! Or, I should say, Bon Jour!)

No. 4 Listening to Madison Stories.
Madison Stories are a little something James invented. They’re tales about a little three year old girl named Madison, who has a little sister, Courtney, and they live on a farm in Vermont with their two dogs, mommy and daddy, and a flock of chickens. Whenever we need to prep Sunny for a new experience (like her first trip to the dentist or her first trip to visit her grandparents without mommy and daddy), Madison coincidentally embarks on a very comparable adventure. Genius! 10 parenting win points for James!

No. 5 Dancing to Taylor Swift with Courtland and Daddy
James has been staying home with the girls while Donna takes some much needed time off work. And, he’s obsessed with Never Getting Back Together, which means that the girls are now obsessed with rocking out to Taylor Swift. As this 10 seconds of video shows, it is indeed a Happy Thing.

How excited am I for the Von Cart Family Singers? Granted, my role will entail waving my arms around in the background because I can’t carry a tune for the life of me, but I can do a mean “Coo-Coo” like Liesl. Boom!