"It's Hard Being a Baby"

This is what I used to say to Maddie when she was little. I would use these words to comfort her and show her I understood the pain of a scraped knee or having her feelings hurt. Usually, she would look at me through tear-filled eyes and say "I know, Mom."

I found myself saying these same words to Josie this past week. It was a rough week for our precious Princess Josephine, as she welcomed two new molars into her tiny mouth. The trauma started on Tuesday morning when Josie awoke with a messy diaper and the beginning of a diaper rash. I took the high road and began diaper changes every two hours with plenty of diaper rash cream. We avoided the rash, I'm happy to say, but there were more terrible things waiting for our little one.

On Wednesday, she awoke with a high fever. She was cranky, clingy and just plain miserable for for the next two days. To add insult to injury, Dad was out of town and we had cold and dreary weather. I spent the the better part of Wednesday and Thursday seated on the couch with Josie's head on my chest, while she went in and out of sleep. She wouldn't eat. She didn't even want her "nay-nay" (bottle). The only good thing about all of this misery was that she was able to use her words to tell me what was bothering her. "Teeth hurt, Mom". Other times I would ask her, "Josie, does your throat hurt?", while pointing to my own throat. She would say, "Fine, Mom". I asked about her ears, belly and butt. Each time, her answer was the same..."Fine, Mom - Teeth hurt."

When James got home late Friday, he attemped to help with her nighttime crying sessions. But, again, being so vocal, she would tell him, "No, Dad - Mommy", "Mommy sleep here." Poor James, he felt so helpless. Sometimes, only Mom will do, especially when you're feeling yukky.

On Saturday morning James & I went to work confirming the diagnosis of teething by laying Josie down on the kitchen table and searching her mouth with a maglite flashlight. Needless to say, she was not thrilled! But, we did find the two offending molars peeking through her upper gums. We breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that we were right - and that she didn't have a sore throat or ear infection. The one funny thing that did happen during those miserable days was that Josie kept telling us she was "Leaking". She would cry, " Napkin, Mom - Josie leaking!" (this was her drooling!)

Adding to the general chaos in the house, on Friday we had Maddie's friend, Kelsey, staying with us for the weekend. Along with Kelsey came Max - her teacup Chachuaua. The girls had a school dance on Friday night, so it was up to me to care for Max. He is a spunky little guy who gave our two Jack Russells a run for their money. However, he is so tiny that I spent a lot of time just trying to find him - he got into spaces I didn't know existed!!

On Saturday, James took the girls to the Apple store to pick up Maddie's 'hand-me-down' laptop from the repair center. Josie got a hold of it a few weeks ago and broke the hinge. That gave me a chance to hit the local nursery and pick up some annuals to fill our planters on the patio. Once they returned, Maddie & Kelsey were all aflutter - getting ready to attend a birthday party for Jeri, a fellow 7th grader and carpool partner. Jeri was having a luau complete with DJ, food, drink and games. The whole 7th grade was invited! Hats off to her mom, Donna, for taking on that crowd!!! Thankfully, Jeri lives around the corner, so the girls were able to walk to the party. (Donna and Liz E. provided transport for the girls on Friday night - thanks so much ladies!)

I'm happy to report that all has returned to normal this Monday morning. Josie is her old, charming self and Maddie behaved beautifully while hosting Kelsey. Josie and I will be planting flowers today - so I hope to have some wonderful photos for you later on. I'm sorry there are no photos to accompany this post. There honestly weren't any free moments to pick up the camera this past week.... So those of you needing a 'Josie Fix' will have to check back later today or early tomorrow to see her in her gardening glory. Hopefully, Maddie will let me take a few shots of her too!

See you soon!