our kindergartner

adelyn is missing her big sis all day every day....

my little 5 year old is breezing through kindergarten!!

elena often brings home extra worksheets that they do in centers for adelyn to do...

one assignment with an interesting drawing...

of course when she gets home she is active and practicing her tumbling...

she has themed days at school once in awhile too....

elena writing some sentences this october right on the front stoop....lovely, aren't they?!

what miss e wrote on top of her assignment for school! nope elena...you do all your own work! goodness!!

"If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers." ~Edgar W. Howe

so they say....

at the dinner table....
elena: uh oh i have to toot.
daddy: ok, well go ahead. just use your manners after.
[...silence and staring...]
daddy: did you toot?
elena: well yea, but it was just steam that came out.


daddy: how was your day, elena?
elena: eh, decent.


adelyn: shut the door.
[i shut the door.]
adelyn: noooo, not like that.
me: how? you want it just cracked?
adelyn: noooo, DON'T crack it. just shut the door.


j and i lay with the girls for a bit when they go down for bed. we all call out to each other, "i love you ________!" filling it in with each of us. it was adelyn's turn....
adelyn: i love you mommy. i love you daddy. i love you lanie. i love you ME!


playing....
elena: i'm going to go to outer space so i can get a baby in my belly.


going into the kitchen....
elena: bye, like, whatever your name is...like, jason....like, molly. i'm outta here.


in church....
me: (whispering) STOP picking your nose.
adelyn: (still diggin' and whispering) i can't stop...
me: (whispering) we are almost done and we will get a kleenex as soon as we leave. stop picking your nose.
adelyn: (loudly) i CAN'T WAIT to pick to my nose!!


sitting at the table making their grocery lists....chatting to each other....
elena: my girls used to eat princess vitamins, but now they want jesus, mary and joseph vitamins. (pretending to write it on her list)
adelyn: oh yea, i know them! them is soooo nice!


while sound asleep....
adelyn: "i'm done going pee pee, mommy."
SOUND asleep.


coloring together at the table....
adelyn: (holding up her picture) "see my plower, lane."
elena: "yes. i see your flower. it looks like it's dying."
adelyn: (long pause for pondering) "no. it's not dying, lane. it's hanging on."


to j and i before bed....
elena: "i love you to jesus to santa claus to the rainbow to the moon to the sun and to the stars....the hot ones and the cold ones."


"A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer." ~Author Unknown

talking toddlers.....i think

sometimes i think snippets of conversations - ok, sometimes WHOLE conversations - with my toddlers could be the same words i spoke with my psych patients at the psych ward when i worked there....

here are snippets from one of my toddlers or to one of my toddlers.... ahh, brings me back to the 3rd floor, white padded walls, locked unit.

- "wave bye bye to the rainbow."

- "if you're going to poop, you should put your knees together."

- "because we don't poop on picture frames!"

- "oh - you are so cool with your new freckle!"

- "watch out for the con-scratching worker!"

- "is that your turd on the floor?"

- "everyone toots out of their butt."

- "please stop licking my face."

- "do you have two ears so you can hear twice?"

- "no!!! DON'T excuse my butt!! that's my job."

- "the bathroom smells so clean i could just eat the whole thing."

- (staring at a candycorn) "oh my god....it's so colorful!"

- "did you just lick off your own saliva?"

- "you wipe in front first."

- "if i am this much and then that more, i'll be SO much!"

- "alright! stop putting carrots on me!"

- "when a fridge ate a lizard, it didn't really have a mouth."

- "ok, it can be your toosh." (trying to give her toosh away)

- "did you take your hair off your head?"

- "hold on, i need to get my piano out of the bathroom."

- "you can have a kiss, but stop trying to lick the chapstick off of my lips."

- "putting on my shoes is going to take me months!"

- "how come our butt's not in front? is it because it looks better in back?"


"Psychoanalysis is not the only way to resolve inner conflicts. Life itself still remains a very effective therapist." ~Karen Horney

their tent

what's that? you ask...why, it's their tent they made and slept in...but of course it is...

the books were the makeshift "poles," but of course when the girls entered they posed a problem. didn't stop them....nuh-uh!


"A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm." ~Bill Vaughan

they say

elena: "how does the baby get in your belly?"
me: "well, the mom and dad put it there, together."
elena: "oh, ok. (pause) do they build it? cuz maybe they could use wood or brick or peach...."[silly laughing from both of us. big sigh of relief from me.][peach is what she calls skin sometimes.]

-------------------------------------------------

elena: "mom...did you know there's a mean guy?"
me: (concerned) "what do you mean there's a mean guy?"
elena: "there's a mean guy that comes and takes my good ears and my good mouth and makes them bad so i don't listen and i talk back. that's what this mean guy does."
me: "oh really?! what are we going to do about this mean guy?"
elena: "well, i don't think there's anything you can do. this is just what he does."

--------------------------------------------------

elena: "adelyn's a little bit like thanksgiving..."

--------------------------------------------------

adelyn: (pointing to her belly) "there's a baby in my belly, mommy."
me: "oh, you have a baby in your belly? like aunt stephy?"
adelyn: "yea and uncle t-bone baby in belly too."

--------------------------------------------------

adelyn asks, "why?" at EVERYTHING..... and then after i answer she sometimes asks "why?" again and again and again. but when she's satisfied with my answer, whether it's after one "why" or twelve "why's", she says, "oh, that's cool!"

"A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer." ~Author Unknown

shoo fly

my cup overfloweth....with ridiculously cute toddler talking. ;)

ad's shoo fly from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

she was talking to the ants below our picnic table...

"Shoo, fly! Don't bother me!" - Unknown

ad's gut laugh

the girls were pretending to be scared while watching 101 dalmations and daddy was coming to the rescue. and adelyn thought it was more than hilarious.

Untitled from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul." ~Yiddish Proverb

so they say

elena says...(but first a story)

swimming with our 1 year old friend in the baby pool and our 1-yr-old friend tripped and went under. elena grabbed our 1-yr-old friend's arm with both of her hands and yanked her up. she held her out of the water and yelled for me. i was 2 steps away and was right there, but my little lanie was a stud!!

out of no where in the car driving to swim lessons...
elena: "when you die, you don't ever come back."
me: "you're right, elena."
elena: "except for jesus.....jesus got to come back. mom, why did jesus get to come back?"

in the tub...
elena: (to me) "how did you grow those?"
me: (buying time) "uhhh, grow what?
elena: "your boobs?"
me: "well, every girl gets boobs as they grow up."
elena: "so if i eat my fruit and vegetables my boobs will grow DOWN like yours?"
me: (in my head) uh, no they'll grow out and then after you nurse your babies, then they'll grow DOWN.

explaining her gas issues at dinner one night...
elena: "did you know when i push my belly it comes out...through my butt, through my ears and splosions through my head."

telling daddy about our day...(we went out of town to see friends)
elena: "we went to the gas station to see charlie and evvie and now adelyn has gas in her belly."

excited over good news...
elena: "she's got a baby in her belly!!!! now she can get married."
me: "she's already married sweetie."
elena: "no, you have a baby... then you get married."
me: "well, actually you get married first and then you have a baby...see mommy and daddy got married (pointing to a picture) and THEN you came in my belly."
elena: "but you should have asked me to come to your wedding too."

a while after seeing a dead bird...
me: (viewing elena obviously sad, i thought it was cuz our friends were leaving) "what's wrong elena?"
elena: "i'm just so sad the bird had to die. i loved that bird and she was my friend."
(poor e was sad about it all day and would start sobbing about it randomly. it was very sad.)



adelyn says...

adelyn: (just woke up and standing on my side of the bed) "my sleep all done mommy."
me: "your sleep all done, ad?" (my eyes still closed)
adelyn: "yea, mommy. (pause) YOUR sleep all done, mommy!"

adelyn holding on to the car door handle and hanging while i open it...
me: "adelyn, GET DOWN!"
adelyn: "riiiide, mommy."

pulling up to a store...
adelyn: "go to dobby dobby, mommy?!"
me: "yes ad, we're going to hobby lobby."
(daddy, e and i giggle every time she says 'hobby lobby'...dobby dobby)

every time ad hurts herself...
adelyn: "i hurted boo boo, mommy."

while grocery shopping...
adelyn: (repeatedly, at nothing) "NO!...NO WAY!...NO!...NO WAY!"
me: (really close to her face, whispering) "ad, you don't have to yell. what are you saying no about?"
adelyn grabs my face with both hands hard and tries - with a lot of effort - to LICK MY FACE...more than once. the girl gets an A for effort. she is not one to give up.

adelyn seems mostly to be yelling right now. they are "NO!" "NO WAY!" "MINE!" "ME TOO!" "NO I DIDN'T!" "I DON'T WANT TO" and "YEA I DO!"

the funniest thing about adelyn is that every time she explains something she scrunches up her whole face. so every day that j comes home and asks how her day was she goes on and on...with a scrunched face. her mouth curls, her eyes squint and her nose wrinkles. it's so cute.


"A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer." ~Author Unknown

airplane

miss elena, who has always been articulate, says "turbulance" perfectly...when still. when being a pilot however...comes out "ambulay." huh?

turbulance/ambulay from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

the girls love a good airplane ride with their daddy. for sure!

"Spread your wings and let the fairy in you fly!" ~Author Unknown

disturbing....but HAS to go in the book

or the blog that will become the book.

so yea - this story is slightly disturbing. i'm not going to lie. i will however sugar coat it all i can. i've thought again and again i really maybe shouldn't post it cuz readers will cringe and/or puke in their mouth. my baby will probably laugh, but also be mortified when she one day reads it. but it just has to go in the book.

so, ahem...once upon a time...in a cozy and loving home...

i'm woken by adelyn's "maaaa-meeee...maaaa-meeee." i tiredly go, pick her up out of her crib, (simultaneously) give her a big squeeze, whisper 'good morning baby' and turn off her fan, and then head to the bathroom so i can relieve my bladder from it's latest 6 hour shift...with sweet ad still in my arms.

i stand in front of the toilet, set adelyn down right in front of me, drop my drawers, plop down and (simultaneously) pee, blink several times to help my eyes wake up and push ad's hair out of her face and behind her ear.

i hear, "uh oh mommy. uh oh mommy." from adelyn as she's pointing to the clothes-created bunch between my knees. she starts walking away, i look down and sure enough my monthly 'friend' has marked her territory...claiming victory for the next 4-5 days. "uh oh is right" i say back to her as i slide my clothing up to mid thigh and out of view until i can properly change and take care of things.

but by now little ad has been in my feminine product drawer, pulled out a tampon and is holding it up for me..."hee ya go mommy...hee ya go."

i picked my jaw up off the floor, said "thank you," took care of things...

and we live happily ever after. the end.

i've realized, and quickly accepted, that my privacy has been non-existent for nearly 3 1/2 years. and i know that they are watching and absorbing every moment, but seriously?!!

seriously! she knows what that means?!?!?!?!

i've only had about 9 "visits" since even being a mother, remember, so i know i have a very observant girl on my hands. i mean pee in front of my girls, yes. but come on they're not making play books out of my bathroom trips...or are they? i probably should really start using the bathroom alone.

bwahahaha. now THAT story would be the real fairytale.

"Parenthood: That state of being better chaperoned than you were before marriage." ~Marcelene Cox

duck...duck...duck...duck...

duck...duck...run run run in a circle as many times as you can and as fast your little feet can go.

we've been playing "duck duck goose" 'round here during these cold couped up months. and seriously, it's a freaking riot. lanie gets it of course, but ad took some time.

here is some footage from our first ever game of duck duck goose...

duck duck goose 1 from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

and here is some from the second time...

duck duck goose 2 from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

they do get it! but really...really, they just LOVE to run and run and run and run in circles. so duck duck goose = perfect way to spend time in our house and the perfect way to bring a smile to our face.

p.s. j and i might have to start taking dremamine, cuz we get dizzy just watching them let alone when they goose us.

"You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back." ~William D. Tammeus

waiting to be discovered

elena loves to sing. adelyn loves to sing along. elena loves to dance. adelyn loves to dance. it's simple math really - many many performances go on in our house every single day. and it truly makes my heart smile...big big smiles.

so i'm deciding to share my awesome VIP backstage pass today...to what makes me smile til my cheeks hurt and sometimes laugh til i'm crying...

lead singer - elena.
back up vocals - adelyn.
dancers - well, both of course.

get ready to smile...

discover my girls from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

and yes, elena does write her own music. and yes, adelyn does her own hair for her performances. they're the WHOLE package i'm telling ya! and i'm pretty sure they're going places!!

ok well, maybe it's one of those things that only the parents can smile so big at. but consider this a preview...i have a feeling we will have d e c a d e s of "stage performances" to enjoy. and of course if you know of anyone that wants to sign tham a record deal, well that would be cool too.

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today." ~Stacia Tauscher

word to the wise...

don't let any popsicle juice get away...evah!!

ad don't waste food from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

let your dolls feel the fresh air once in awhile...
read to those that are too small to...
stand tall!!
smile and pretend your mommy does a good job on your hair...
even if it's really really hard to hide how bad she is at it...
go ahead and stick your tongue out when concentrating... just don't bite it off.
look really really cute when you ask for something. you just might get it...especially when you ask your daddy.

if your taco falls apart...
ball it up in your little fists and eat it that way. it tastes the same...
always be at 10 and 2 while driving....and have a cute passanger too.
go ahead and let your ma do your hair all silly in the bathtub...
and take pictures of the cuteness....
you will have plenty of time to get back at her for it...(insert mischievous laugh here)
and always, always remember to stay away from CRACK!

"Life's Tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late." - Benjamin Franklin

adde ann

miss adde ann...
you are just beyond gorgeous...
you have the most perfect eyes, perfect lips, perfect nose, perfect hair...
seriously, you should see yourself...
it's a wonder how i haven't eaten you...
and even with a big booger...
right between your eyes...
you're still the absolute cutest thing!
and i'm not biased at all! i even find you cute when you keep me up for 3 hours in the middle of the night...like right now.

"A little girl is sugar and spice and everything nice - especially when she's taking a nap." ~Author Unknown

jury duty, pool, ice cream truck

monday i had jury duty. i tried to enjoy the peace and quiet. but spending my time in a basement with 80 other strangers is not fun. 'nuff said. fortunately, my stupendous services were not needed and i was home in 3 hours. so after lunch and nap, the girls and i headed to the pool on another gorgeous day!

they love the pool...but i will never again go during 'regular' hours. we from now on will only be at the pool during toddler hour!
it was just crazy with a million much-too-old-for-the-baby-pool kids there...
e even got stepped on.... :( by a 16/17 year old!
but we had fun nonetheless...
after dinner at home, we were headed out with daddy to get some frozen yogurt when the ice cream truck came by our house. it was insane timing and once again i was reminded the universe is on my side....ahahaha.

so we of course chose the ice cream truck selection instead...shrek bars...



looks like she was offering, but trust me - she was NOT.
shrek bars were very soft....and drippy....ad kept trying to save each last drop by swiping it up with her finger and licking it....
and yes, it was right after i shot this picture that elena's shrek got a new home...
in a bowl....
it was still just as good....
ad's knew the bowl would be a better home and followed....

ya gotta love messy ice cream on the front stoop during sunset...



thank goodness for white cover-ups that tolerate lots and lots of bleach...


"Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky." ~Fran Lebowitz