Blog a la Cart

Ice Castle // 2015

We had a fun, busy weekend. Even though we’re still buried in snow, the longer days and the anticipation of spring seem to be shaking people out of their homes, including us Carts. On Friday evening, we watched “The Sound of Music” for the first time as a family, and man, I’m now dreaming of a trip to Austria with FGM Geraldine as our tour guide (She grew up in Vienna, which blew the girls’ minds – “It’s just so BEAUTIFUL there!”) And we’re now singing the soundtrack ad naseum.

We then had a breakfast date with sweet Jack, an indoor pool party at the YMCA (where Sunny did not emerge from the pool from the moment she jumped in until the moment the party ended. Full mermaid transformation is in the works), dinner in the Williams’ dining halls in celebration of the founder’s 300th birthday, complete with gold leafed cake, fireworks, and a Darlingside concert, then brunch chez Cart, an impromptu trip to an ice castle, and a violin jam session between Sunny and Auyon (the mandolin/violin/tambourine player in Darlingside). I got some time to myself to prep our seed-planting schedule for Cartwheel Farm Veggie Garden 2015, and James nearly finished creating a built-in closet in Courtland’s old nursery. Productive. Fun. It left me feeling very satisfied indeed – despite a cold and Daylight Savings that derailed my Monday morning routine.

Below are some images from our Ice Castle adventure with Kaki’s FGPs and their daughters. We piled in their minivan and had a grand adventure. The ice slide was definitely the highlight. How I adore that our girls get to grow up side by side…

10/52

“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.”

I want to freeze these bed-headed faces in time to pull out on days when I need to be reminded of innocence and simplicity.

Sunny: My Kindergartener.
Kaki: My Preschooler.

More details about The 52 Project here. To view all the portraits in the series visit here.

Currently Gawking

Things around ye ol’ Interwebs that caught my eye this week:

Postpartum: The Musical. Truth in advertising, y’all.
I have suction cups attached to my nipples, squeezing milk out of my rock-hard boobs.  I fear nothing.

“I’m sorry to all the mothers I worked with”
I wish I had known five years ago, as a young, childless manager, that mothers are the people you need on your team. 

But as a counterpoint…
We teach women they can do everything men can do, but society has been slower on the flip-side: We haven’t taught — or expected — that men do everything women do.

Ice hockey on sea water. No really. (Auntie Kimmy’s summer home)

I think about this quite a bit with my girls.
I think it can be hard for people — especially women and girls — to speak up for what they need from adults, professionals, their peers. This is a skill, and it should be coveted.

So, I’m not telling my kids to be good anymore. Kind, thoughtful, sensitive to others, yes. But just as kind, sensitive and thoughtful about their own needs. Maybe we can swap Be good with …

Be smart.
Take up space.
Ask for what you need.
Use your voice.
Louder and more than once if you need to.
Ask questions.
Be smart.
Trust yourself.
You matter.

Slumber Party

On Friday evening, Kaki’s FGPs hosted the Carts for a family slumber party. The kids read stories, brushed teeth, and cozied up in sleeping bags on the floor of the living room so that we parents could stay up into the later hours of the evening drinking wine, playing Cards Against Humanity, and recreating (under new and kid-focused conditions) the early years of our friendship without having to fret about bed time routines or operating a vehicle.

True fun for the whole family.

The girls delighted in their inaugural sleep over and getting an extended playdate with Brie Brie. In fact, I captured a ridiculous video (mostly audio so that I wouldn’t disrupt the action) of Sunny coordinating potty-time for the three girls pictured above, complete with a group inspection of one’s poop and claims of sweaty vaginas. We are clearly very comfortable and open about biology, bodies, and their functions chez Cart, and thus sharing that comfort with friends. Lucky Brie!

After such a successful pilot, I see many more family-focused sleepovers in our future.

Currently Playing

While driving in the car the other day, this song came on the radio. Upon its completion, Courtland exclaimed, “Mommy, that is the most beautiful song. Play it again. Please!”

And it is truly something special. I can’t stop listening to it, especially because it’s touched my preschooler’s heart so.

And the video! And the dancing! And swoon swoon swoon!

Last night, the four of danced dramatically around the kitchen to its tune while cooking dinner. This song will forever bring back that memory of why all of this – these people, this place, this family, that moment – are my most treasured life’s work.

The Throw Up Game. (Yes. Really.)

The girls have a habit of reenacting whatever experiences have been most recent and pertinent in their lives in their daily play.

For instance, after a trip, they play “Airport,” packing backpacks filled with stuffed animals and crayons and books, and turning our couch into an airplane as they fly from Vermont to Florida or South Carolina or wherever our most recent destination. They play “School” and “Ballet Class,” “Puppy” and “Bedtime.” (Alas, “Bedtime” is just an elaborate midday routine of closing every shade and turning off every light in the house, lying down for no more than 30 seconds, and then turning back on every light and opening every shade. Rinse, wash, repeat. No actual sleep involved.)

But recently, ever since Cart Stomach Bugapalooza 2015, the girls’ absolute favorite “make-believe” has been “The Throw Up Game.”

And thank the sweet baby Cheezits it does not actually involve any bodily fluids.

As you can see from the grainy snap above, they meticulously line the floor of our house in their baby blankets, mimicking the spread of dog towels James and I use to create throw up paths to the toilet when one of us is actually suffering from gastrointestinal troubles. Trash bins turn into porcelain thrones, and stuffed animals, or, as seen above, wooden dolls, fall to the maladies of vomit and diarrhea.

OH NO! MY BABY IS VOMITING. IT’S ALL OVER THE CARPET. AND MY HAIR! QUICK! I HAVE TO DO LAUNDRY AND TAKE A SHOWER!

These loud, aggressive declarations from my three-year old, I fear, accurately capture my own lived distress when anyone in the Cart Family falls ill.

I do not manage puke gracefully.

And so my children’s reenactments of what occurs at Barfwheel Farm are filled with frantic shouts and dramatic proclamations, an all-too-accurate imitation of the real thing.

UNICORN IS PEEING OUT OF HER BUTT! IT IS SO SMELLY! SHE IS GOING TO GET A RASH!

MILKSHAKE JUST THREW UP HER MACARONI AND CHEESE ON MINNIE MOUSE. WHERE ARE THE DOG TOWELS?

I NEED THE PUKE BUCKET! NOW!

Anyone up for a rousing game of “Itchy Vagina” or “Poopy Bum,” you could play today, because here in the Cart Family, our play knows no bounds. Apparently.

Florida // 2015

Oh hey, folks. It’s hard to believe that just over a week ago we were donning tank tops and shorts and basking in the Florida sun.

She writes as snowflakes fall out the window beside her onto ground already covered in mounds of snow.

This is the winter that will not quit. You win, Mother Nature. YOU. WIN.

While the Florida Keys were colder than usual for this time of year (because Mother Nature is truly not joking around which is why you should learn more about the best HVAC systems to install. Time to get on board, all who also think about climate change. She’s making her point global!) but it was still 70 degrees warmer than Vermont.

We had one hot day for a full day by the pool, and otherwise, we spent our time visiting the airport, riding around in the golf cart (Sally), boating, eating fried pickles, dancing, eating ice cream, watching the sun set, drinking Shirley Temples, visiting Monkey Jungle, sipping fresh fruit smoothies from Robert Is Here, hot tubbing, and playing with Ghillie and Ranger. A much needed respite from the February deep freeze. Here are some favorite shots that capture this year’s visit.

^^Boating to Alabama Jacks for lunch and live music. We did not let Kaki drink that beer, lest you worry. She just loved the Vineyard Vines koozie given the whale logo.^^

^^And they danced and danced and danced and danced and it was good.^^

^^Our only 80 degree day was spent poolside. And Sunny turned into a prune.^^

^^Kaki really enjoyed Mardi Gras. Better at age three than age twenty (James shuddered from that potential reality).^^

^^Monkey Jungle was a huge hit.^^

^^A beautiful final sunset.^^

9/52

“A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015.”

Sunnier days in Florida…

Sunny: Favorite color: Rainbow; Favorite animal: Dolphin
Kaki: Favorite color: Purple; Favorite animal: Purple Whale

More details about The 52 Project here. To view all the portraits in the series visit here.