child labor

we weren't kidding about that yardwork....our lawn has been nice and clear of pine cones, twigs and lemon flowers thanks to our eager little worker.






now if only we could get her to clean up like this INSIDE!!! and of course, there is time for fun too...

check out dallas making a mad dash from her. haha.




p.s. elena says she's available for hire, but she is very very very expensive!

“Child rearing myth #1: Labor ends when the baby is born.” -Unknown

look.at.me.pa.lease.

for the love of god. look.at.me.child. she simply will not look at me when i have my camera. it's become a game....she knows how badly i want her to look at the camera. haha. fun songs don't work anymore. bribery doesn't work. the surprise gasp and, "what's this?" doesn't work anymore. "where's mommy?" doesn't work anymore. grrrrr. all her pictures are her looking away from me.










she simply does not care that the camera is on her.

oh well. they're still ridiculously cute. maybe i should try, "DON'T look at mommy."

"The camera can photograph thought." ~Dirk Bogarde

pause

toddlers are infamous for their dramatic pauses. these pauses are typically accompanied with an equally dramatic look where you can almost actually see the wheels turning as they are registering your request. elena let's have lunch. pause. made dash for the high chair. elena do you need a diaper change. pause. shrilling screams of "no." elena do you want to read some books. pause. mad dash for the book shelf. elena give adelyn a kiss. pause. big wet kisses.

pause.

big wet kisses.

pause.

big wet kisses.


"Some folks never exaggerate - they just remember big." ~Attributed to both Audrey Snead and Chi Chi Rodriguez

may i take your order?

clearly i need to follow elena's menu to lose these pregnancy pounds! here is elena placing her BREAKFAST order...

veggies for breakfast from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

and adelyn asking to eat.....well that or she's channeling terradactyls. (this is about as fussy as she gets too.)

hungry adelyn from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

photoshoots....the good, the bad and the not-so-cute

i take pics of my girls everyday. i'm a bit camera happy....something my loved ones just love about me! ha! they've all gotten used to it, including elena. and adelyn...well, she'll come around too.

the good...

the bad...

and the not-so-cute...


"Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure." ~Tony Benn

21 months

21 months ='s emotional and unpredictable. unpredictably emotional.

my 21 month old and i were having our daily dance off yesterday when i started our usual banter of what to shake. i start with, "shake your arms... shake your butt..." elena fires back with, "shake your belly... shake your teeth..." we go through it all, or so i thought. until yesterday elena told me to "shake your milk!" while doing this...


i laughed so hard!! which set her off laughing...

my 21 month old is full of surprises and every emotion possible. and thus makes me experience every emotion possible, often daily. they are certainly not all this playful and amusing. regardless, i can't thank her enough for them.

"Let's not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it." ~Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

bottles up

miss adelyn has been taking the bottle quite nicely! yay adelyn! elena had never liked the bottle. and from 3 months on she refused it and would just wait for the breastaraunt. i'm hoping adelyn will continue to do so well so daddy can experience this incredible time as well.

is that really him looking so proud??? yup. simmer down there j, i'm pretty sure it was me and adelyn doing all the work for this moment.

usually it's my shirt that she has a hold of, but how cute is the ear grab!!?

and how cute is this?! both so deep in concentration and love for their little ones. but yes, adelyn is resting her feet on poor baby doll 'maya.'


"Breast Feeding should not be attempted by fathers with hairy chests, since they can make the baby sneeze and give it wind." ~Mike Harding, The Armchair Anarchist's Almanac, 1981

if only...

if only...all stock brokers had my girls impeciable timing, maybe we'd all be sitting a little prettier! for adelyn knows the exact second food is placed on my plate warm and ready to eat, the moment my foot steps into her room to lay her down even though she's sound asleep, and exactly when a new diaper and outfit are placed on her - just to be soiled asap of course! and for elena knows to wake up from nap the second i sit down after finishing chores and to yell for me across the house when i just got her baby sister to sleep. call it coincidence...i call it remarkable and i wish i had such amazing instinct.

if only...we'd all be so open minded. if we called dandelions "lemon flowers" like my miss elena, maybe we wouldn't view them as the intruder and we'd see them as the pretty flower my toddler sees. it's amazing how differently i now look at the once annoying little buggers. or simply viewing almost all things fairly as my newborn does. giving my dull checkbook the same thought and opportunity as one of her colorful vibrant toys. call it imagination...i call it inspiring and i wish i had such a fresh perspective.

i wish so much for my girls everyday. i wish them the world. i wake up every morning hoping to be the best teacher i can be for them. if only they knew they're the ones teaching me. i could go on and on with little examples that only have meaning to me. call it deep...call it dramatic...i call it the best thing that ever happened to me. it being motherhood.

now, if only...we could have a lot more mother's days around here where i get to do nothing but sit on the couch and actually have a quiet uneventful moment to reflect and appreciate what my girls are actually showing me! ha! i hope you all had a wonderful mother's day!!

my teachers...


"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." ~Rajneesh

lanie hotel

need a getaway? looking for that comfy cozy bed & breakfast to take the edge off and be pampered? ......boy, have we got the perfect place for you!!!

lanie hotel features glorious gently-used dish towel sleeping accomodations arranged by the owner, lanie, herself. each are carefully placed allowing for ample snuggle time and giving off a lovely dirty sink aroma that cannot be duplicated.

each dish towel is lanie tested and approved.

you will also enjoy the experience of lanie hotel's delicious homemade eatery. lanie's guests will get the unique experience of eating on the floor for a similar closeness and charm of a prison dining hall. an experience you don't have to pay a life sentence for.

during your stay you must visit lanie hotel's gift shop. unlike no other. here you are guaranteed to find the perfect gift for a new baby's arrival, a grandma's birthday, a special anniversary, etc. all are priceless and guaranteed to leave your loved one speechless and expressionless.

finally, lanie hotel is surrounded by breathtaking views that are only appreciated by those that get to experience them intimately.



book now.

"Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." ~Peter Ustinov

spring has sprung

and thank goodness, but it's still hard to get outside with all the rain days and finding time around naps and feedings, etc. not to mention if we do get out, coming back inside is always followed by a 20 minute meltdown from yours truly, miss elena. :\

either way, we have been having fun in this spring weather. i can't even imagine how fun next spring will be...

bubbles, they truly never get old.

focus on the bubbles....focus.

more imporantly about outdoor time is learning the yardwork.

sweet adelyn napping on mommy's shoulder in the shade....guess we had her do too much yardwork.

sweet elena....standing still for a moment. (gasp) definite kodak moment when that happens.

playing catch with daddy - a very animated daddy. (what a guy!)

hanging out in the shade with mommy...

having fun with the garden hose...


sweet adelyn soaking in some fresh air...




adelyn in the bjorn during a walk.....be jealous of these mad photography skills!

the girls in my sit-n-stand stroller. it was like driving a semi trying to turn the darn thing....until the other night when j realized i had the front wheels locked for the last 5 weeks. yup. be jealous again. now it turns like a dream. thanks dear.


"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month." ~Henry Van Dyke

my fat azz

the scale has not moved since about 10 days post partum. (insert pity party here.) i am unhappily hanging on to a very stubborn 15 lbs. and thought going as public as i go would help me find the motivation to curb my pregnant ice cream and sweet habit and lose them for good. so i've added my fat azz ticker and hope this helps the scale go DOWN!! (reaching for the last straw here.)

"When we lose twenty pounds... we may be losing the twenty best pounds we have! We may be losing the pounds that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty." ~Woody Allen

march for babies

last weekend our team, team mabel, walked in the march for babies. we raised $3,735 to help babies be born healthy!! woo hoo!

i want to thank my sponsers so much for their donations! i so appreciate it!
thank you donna and michael!
thank you heidi and shane!
thank you estela, jose and andres!
thank you jen, jay, katie and john!
thank you bud and lilyan!
thank you sara!
thank you eric and stephanie!
thank you mike and mary!
thank you mom and dad!
thank you jason!

this isn't everybody. and i didn't actually walk (still recovering). but everyone who raised money for team mabel and who walked did absolutely amazing! i'm so blessed to know so many caring people! (miss adelyn is in my sling and elena was at home napping.) hats off to all the kiddos that made the walk too!!!

and my shirt.


"One day all babies will be born healthy. We need to walk to get there." -March of Dimes

illinoiS

elena is starting to learn some of her personal info. and we find it both amusing and odd that she pronounces the silent S in Illinois....

illinois from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

"No one is listening until you fart." ~Author Unknown