It just gets better and better.....not

Today was a busy day here in the Marques household. Lexi was up at 5:40 so I fed her and tried to get her back to sleep - which was useless. So I woke up Luis, handed her over and headed out to the Farmer's Market (no kids in tow this time). On my way home, I picked up munchkins as requested and after unloading the plants and munchkins took Jackson to meet up with Miss Jen to check his ears. He has been acting funny all week and I wanted to make sure that he was ok. Apparently, he is just busy being 2 1/2. Sigh.

Luis and Nicolas headed out to soccer while Jackson, Lexi and I played all morning. She is so close to crawling - she even gets almost into position, then decides to roll over onto her back instead. But somehow she still manages to move around quite a bit.

Jackson refused to nap, which is never a good sign. So I decided to bring all 3 kids (Lexi in the stroller and the boys walking) across the street to pick up a couple more plants for the deck planters. Jackson was adament that he wanted to push the stroller and I was just as adament that he could not push it along the street (no sidewalks, busy road) and that both boys needed to walk on the grass next to me. It turned into a showdown and I decided we wouldn't go. Jackson was mad and decided to run towards the street and give me a heart attack. TWICE. So then we had to all go inside because I was afraid he'd take off running the second I turned my back. The boys then proceded to fight ALL AFTERNOON. I almost lost my voice from yelling so loudly all day. It was like they were conspiring to push me over the edge. And of course Lexi didn't really have an afternoon nap because it was total chaos in the house all afternoon.

Fast forward a few hours and everyone is getting ready for bed. Jackson was upset about something (come to find out later that he wanted crackers from the kitchen) and kept trying to go downstairs. Luis was busy trying to get the boys in their PJs and teeth brushed amid all the crying and yelling. I was attempting to get a very tired Lexi to bed. I went in to help try to get the boys settled and started cuddling Jackson in my lap to settle him down. He proceded to puke multiple times all over me as well as himself.

sad and glad

Poor Lexi spends almost every night sleeping in the "old" bucket car seat because of her congestion. It is the only way she gets any significant amount of sleep in any one stretch of time. However, she is getting bigger and bigger (as children tend to do) and is barely fitting in there comfortably. So, I called the pediatrician's office to try to figure out how I can get her comfortable at night without needing to stuff her into the carseat. They told me to bring her in just so they could check her over. Don't you know the little dear has ANOTHER blasted ear infection. (For those of you keeping count, we are up to #4). I almost cried right there in the office. On one hand I'm so sad that she has yet another ear infection - if she gets another we are going right to the ENT. On the other hand, I know that after about a day on the antibiotic the congestion will go away and she'll be able to sleep all stretched out and comfortable in her crib.

I keep telling myself that in the big scheme of things, we should be so lucky that a few ear infections are the worst that ever happen to our kids. But, when it feels like (because it is true) there is always someone in this house who is sick, it is sometimes hard to feel positive or lucky. Sigh.

And not to jinx myself, but if I didn't know any better, I'd swear that Jackson has an ear infection as well. Very clinging, whiny and generally not quite himself all day. However, we just had the pre-op visit with the ENT on Friday which was great - no fluid or anything in his ears, which is why cancelled his surgery for today. You win some and lose some I guess.

Daycare teachers are saints

In honor of Mother's Day tomorrow, I thought it would be a great idea to do an "arts and crafts" project with the boys for the grandmothers. A friend of mine gave me a great idea that I thought would be easy enough for both boys to do. And - to be fair, it was a pretty easy project with a few simple materials, all of which I happen to have in the house for an occasion such as this. However, I underestimated the boys' enthusiasm level as well as the amount of time it would take to complete the project. The boys lost steam about 3/4 of the way through the project, so I actually ended up finishing them once everyone was in bed, but they did a fair amount of the work.

However, my patience was shot by the end of the project. I don't know teachers take a room full of toddlers, preschoolers, etc. and get them to focus on art projects without totally losing their minds. I was stretched to my limit with only 2 of them! But, they were so cute working on it and so excited to have something special to give to Nana and Vovo.

The first of many

Lexi officially has her first tooth. Her front bottom left pearly white is officially poking through her gums. It stands as a reminder to me how fast kids grow up. It really feels like just yesterday that I was holding a warm little bundle in my arms in the hospital and now, just over 7 months later we are looking for teeth and waiting for the day (which should come anytime now) that she is able to sit on her own.

I am trying to treasure every moment, and lock them away in my memory since I know that as we pass each new milestone, it will be the last time I celebrate those moments since we are not going to be adding any more children to our family.