Recipe For Disaster

What do you get when you take this...

And mix it with this...

And (unfortunately) this...

And let it simmer for 20 minutes?

You get a child that looks similar to this...

And an entire kitchen floor covered in this...

Welcome to my morning!

(I was so livid that I didn't even THINK about taking pictures...hence the random google images.)

Let me explain, I went up to my room to feed Vivvie (like I do umpteen times a day). It took her 20 minutes. When she was done, she was not a happy girl. She was squirming & arching her back...Sure sign that she was dealing with some intestinal issues, like she frequently does. I took her downstairs to give her some gas drops. When I got downstairs & walked into the kitchen, I could not believe the sight I beheld. I found Cohen sitting in the pantry on a barstool (that he had apparently pushed in there), proudly eating brownie mix straight out of the box! His face looked like it was caked in mud and his shirt & pants looked like they were covered in dirt. On the floor, there was probably 3/4 of the aforementioned box of brownie mix scattered across half the kitchen. The only words that came to mind (and unfortunately came out of my mouth) were "What the hell?!?"

How had my 2 1/2-year-old managed to make this kind of mess? I mean, I'm used to him making messes. I feel like I clean up messes from him all day long, but how in the world did he manage to not only get the box open, but to get the plastic bag open as well?!? Then I saw it...right there in his hand...a STEAK KNIFE!!!! Again, I'm pretty sure the words "What the hell?" came out of mouth.

Cohen was proud as could be! He couldn't understand why Mommy was mad at him for grabbing a little mid-morning snack. I carried him to the sink, stripped him down to his diaper, cleaned him up, put him in time out, and tried to explain to him (in a not-so-pleasant tone) why we shouldn't play with knives & why we shouldn't open random boxes of powder and start eating them. I don't think he got it at all. All the while, Viv is screaming in my arms as her tummy growls with discomfort.

I looked at the mess that was in front of me. I grabbed the vacuum and went to town, with a crying baby in my arms, mind you. As I'm vacuuming up the pantry floor, I find some sort of white powder as well. Where in the world did this come from, I ask myself. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see the bag of powdered sugar. Yep, it's been sliced open & is spilled all over the pantry shelf. I also notice little finger marks in the spilled powder where Cohen has taste-tested it. Luckily, I don't keep anthrax in my pantry on a regular basis (Sarcasm font needed here). Next to the powdered sugar, I find the bag of brown sugar. Yes, it's been sliced too.

As I'm cleaning (and yelling at Cohen every time I find a new bag that's been mutilated), the little guy walks over to the vacuum and sticks a Lego down into a hole where the attachment that I'm using usually sits. Yep, it's stuck in there & I can't get it out. More yelling at Cohen.

35 minutes later, my kitchen is back to normal (Yes, it took me 35 minutes to clean up a mess that only took Cohen 20 minutes to create), Vivvie is asleep in my arms & a penitent Cohen says to me, with those big, horribly irresistible eyes, "Sorry Mom." All I could do was laugh, be grateful that my two-year-old had used a knife & somehow managed to come out unscathed, apologize to Cohen for getting so upset, and wish I had taken a picture or two.

I'm pretty sure I just figured out why it's been so hard for me to adjust to having four kids...his name is Cohen. --Lindsay

Introducing...

Our daughter...

These went in the mail today, but I thought I would post it here too. Making pink birth announcements is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay fun! --Lindsay

Fancy Schmancy

Mike's group at work has been working a pretty big proposal over the past couple of months. It has meant some SERIOUSLY long work weeks (as in 57 hour work weeks...and no, I'm not exaggerating that in the least.) Mike is the lead on the project & multiple big wigs in the company were watching the project closely because of its importance. So, as you can imagine, there has been a lot of stress on his shoulders...plus, Miss Vivvie decided to be born right in the middle of the whole thing (great timing, eh?). Mike handled all the stress in stride, like he always does.

The project finally came to an end a few weeks ago, and the company rewarded his group by giving them tickets last week to watch a Jazz Game from the comfort of the company suite. Thanks to my parents, who offered to watch 3 wild boys & a newborn, I was able to get out of the house & go with him. It was pretty awesome...


We felt pretty darn cool riding the private elevator up to the Suite Level of the ESA. We had to show our tickets to multiple people, who treated us like gods once they realized we were really legitimately supposed to be there.

The food was to die for! There was a huge banquet table of delicious food that could have fed a small army. And, there was even a dessert cart that came in halfway through the game that had all sorts of devilishly delicious treats on it.

The game was actually a really good game. The Jazz played the Timberwolves & kicked butt big time, which, if you've followed the Jazz at all this season, you know is a rare thing these days. They won by almost 20 points I think. But, the best part for me was being able to finally meet Mike's co-workers. Since almost everything at L-3 is considered "classified" by the government, family & friends can't just show up there whenever they want. So, I've never met many of his co-workers. It was fun to finally put faces to the names I've heard so much about...

It was so much fun & so yummy too! I had more fun chatting with the girls than I did watching the game, to tell you the truth. It was sooooooooooooo good to be able to get out of the house & have fun with just Mike. A big thanks to Mike for being such a hard worker, and for still being able to be a great husband & dad at the same time. And, a huge thank you to my parents for being willing to watch our crazy little kiddos so we could go have a fancy schmancy night out! --Lindsay

Dear Vivvie #1

With Cohen, I did an update on him every month throughout his first year. That was kind of my version of his baby book since I'm a crappy mom & gave up on scrapbooking years ago. Well, my friend Emily (the one who took the pictures of Viv) wrote her kids letters throughout their first year or two. I thought it was such a cute idea that I decided to do it for Vivvie. So, here's my first letter to her (along with a few cute pictures I've taken of her over the past few days...most of them in her legwarmers & little ballet socks that I am now obsessed with)...


Dear Vivvie,

You have now been part of our family for one month, as of yesterday. I swear it has been the fastest month of my entire life! Why couldn't your pregnancy have gone this quickly? In a way, it feels like you just got here a few days ago...but in another way, it feels like you've always been a part of this family. It's funny, but long before you got here, I would find myself always feeling like we were missing someone in the family. There were several times when our family would be out somewhere & I felt like I had lost one of my children. I had the three boys right in front of me, but I would still find myself looking around for someone else. I haven't found myself doing that since you arrived. It's awesome to have our entire family here now! Life just feels complete. I know that you were definitely supposed to be part of this wild & crazy family. Everyone of us love you so much already!


You are growing like a weed right now! Clothes that used to drown you just a few weeks ago are now fitting just right. Your "headpieces" that I force you to wear don't look quite as huge as they once did (although they are still big...don't get me wrong). So far, you are tolerating them really well even though I'm sure they are not very comfortable. But, fashion first, right?

I swear you get cuter by the day! I love your big beautiful eyes & the funny little newborn smiles you give us from time to time. Whenever someone sees you for the first time, they ooh & ahh over you & how adorable you are. We still haven't figured out who you look like. Nana thinks you look just like your daddy...especially your cute little nose. I'm glad you got his nose. It's way better than this honkin' Skousen nose that I got stuck with. From time to time, I think you look a little like Cohen as a newborn, but Cohen is a carbon copy of me as a baby, so I don't know how you can look like BOTH me & Dad, since the two of us are basically polar opposites in the way we look. I guess, over the next year or two, we'll finally be able to figure out who you really look like.

I have had so much fun dressing you up over the past month. I rarely dress you in just a sleeper because you have too many cute outfits. They're probably not as comfy as a sleeper would be, but you just look too stinkin' cute in them (again with the fashion first thing). I've also been putting little baby bracelets on you. And, from time to time, I even put a little bit of baby perfume on you too. Yes, you read that right...baby perfume. A friend of mine gave it to me at one of your showers. It smells like baby powder & just makes you smell delicious all day long. Is that a little overboard? Probably, but I couldn't really put perfume or legwarmers on your brothers, so I'm making up for it with you. I have yet to give you a pedicure, but I'm sure that will come with time, don't worry.


You are such a happy little baby! You rarely cry...unless you're hungry, then you let out this inconsolable cry that basically says, "I'm going to die if you don't feed me this instant. What's the hold up Mom?!?" Anytime you cry, your brothers rush to your aid. Connor & Aiden are both quick to shove a binky in your face the second you make a peep. And, if you even so much as whimper, Cohen comes running to me saying, "Help her Mom! Help Baby Bib!!!" By the way, he calls you "Baby Bib" because he can't say his V's yet. It's pretty darn cute.

You are unlike your brothers in multiple ways. For one thing, you LOVE to lay on your tummy. Your brothers HATED it & would have nothing to do with tummy time. You, on the other hand, love it & probably prefer it to laying on your back. You are already lifting your head up like a champ! Everyone is amazed at how strong you are. It's a good thing you are strong...you're going to have to defend yourself against three brothers your whole life, so you should probably start pumping iron right now.

You are a VERY spitty baby. You spit up ALL THE TIME! It doesn't matter whether you've eaten a lot or just a little bit, you WILL spit up. I've just come to expect it. I always have spit up on me somewhere...my shirt, my pants, my hair...something will have spit up on it. I've just decided to be proud of it & wear it like an accessory. Fashion first, remember?

So far, you have been a pretty good sleeper. You usually just wake up once each night between 2 & 3 o'clock. I swear you have some sort of weird internal alarm clock because you ALWAYS wake up sometime between 2 and 3 & then again between 6 & 7 without fail. When Dad & I hear you crying, we always look first at the alarm clock and then have a good laugh at how regular you are.

Speaking of sleeping, I am very happy that you seem to be a deep sleeper. It amazes me what you can sleep through--the vacuum, the blow dryer, your brothers' hooting & hollering--you sleep through it all. And, it's a good thing too. I don't think your brothers have any volume control whatsoever.

One thing that has surprised me since you were born is how HARD it is to take care of four kids. I had no problem adding a 2nd child or a 3rd child, but it has been really hard this time around. I don't mean to make you feel bad by saying that. It's definitely not all because of you. It's just that four kids is a lot! I feel pulled in four different directions all day long. I wish I had an extra set of hands or several clones of myself. If I did, I might actually be able to get one of the 2,362 things on my to do list done. But, I just keep telling myself that it will get easier as all you get get bigger...and then once you're all bigger, I'll want you to be little again. So, I'm just trying to enjoy each day...even the hard ones.


So, there you go Miss Viv. There is your first of twelve letters that I will write to you throughout this year. But, before I go, I just want to tell you how much I love you already! I am so happy to have a daughter & to have that daughter be YOU! I always felt like I would have a daughter someday...and I am so glad that you are finally here! Love, love, love you! --Mom

Vivvie's 1st Photo Shoot

A good friend of mine from high school, Emily, emailed me a few days after Viv was born & asked me if I would like her to take some pictures of the little girlie. Of course, I jumped at the chance! Here's some of the faves...

Snug as a bug in a rug (or a cocoon)...

Viv is such a sweet baby! I woke her up from a nap for this photo shoot & she was super sweet 95% of the time...

I love this picture because it shows just how small she is...

Apparently, she inherited her Dad's dry feet. Actually, the nurses in the hospital said that when newborns' feet are peeling like this, it is a sign that they are overdue. Several of them told me that my due date was probably wrong & she was most likely born late. Don't know if that's true or not, but if it is true, it explains why I was so flippin' uncomfortable toward the end of the pregnancy...

I think she's thinking, "What IS that thing you keep putting in my face?"

I love this one...

These next few pictures show how well she can hold her head up. Even at one-week-old she was doing crazy stuff like this. Apparently, I gave birth to Superwoman...

These next few shots are my ultimate favorites! My good friend and old BYU roommate, LeAnn, made this adorable little pettiskirt for her! I am in love with it, so I had to have some pictures of her taken in it...

Isn't it adorable? If you are interested, LeAnn's website is http://www.littlecreekboutique.com/. She makes the most adorable things!

A HUGE thank you to Emily for taking these pictures! I absolutely love them to pieces! They were taken almost three weeks ago & I can't believe how much Vivvie has changed just in those three weeks! She will be one-month-old on Monday! I can not believe how fast the time is flying by! I wish I could keep her this little forever...but only if she would start sleeping through the night. --Lindsay

Do You Like Green Eggs & Ham?

Last year for St. Patrick's Day, I made my kids "Green Eggs & Ham" for breakfast. Ever since then, my boys have been asking when it was going to be St. Patrick's Day again simply because they wanted Green Eggs & Ham for breakfast again.

When I woke them up this morning, the first thing out of Connor's mouth was, "Are we having Green Eggs & Ham for breakfast?" I was a mean mom & pretended that I had forgotten about making them. I said, "Oh, I'm sorry bud! I forgot." He was actually pretty understanding & said, "Well, maybe we can have it for dinner tonight then." I just simply replied with, "Maybe." You can imagine their surprise when they came downstairs & saw this sitting on the table...


Yes, I got up at 6:30 this morning to make their beloved Green Eggs & Ham for them...and when you are as sleep-deprived as I am right now, that is some serious dedication & love! As you can see, I figured out how to turn the ham green this year too. I think it was someone who commented on last year's post that suggested I try turning butter green & then frying the ham in it. As you can see, it worked great! It's not very healthy, but it worked! The kiddos loved it...

I think this has now officially become a family tradition. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you don't get pinched! --Lindsay

Pearls For Latter-day Saint Women

My friend, Alicia, is a contributor for a new blog called "Pearls for Latter-day Saint Women." She asked me a few weeks ago if she could do a little interview with me for it. If you're interested in reading it, you can click here. --Lindsay

More Inappropriate Aiden Stories

Those of you who have read my blog for any extended period of time know that Aiden is constantly giving us a good laugh. Most the time, it has something to do with body parts or bodily functions. Well, he's done it again! Here's some funny Aiden stories that have occurred lately.

Story #1: Surprisingly, this one doesn't have anything to do with body parts, but is funny nonetheless. Last Sunday, my parents volunteered to take the boys to their ward for the day. It was Stake Conference in our ward & the boys weren't really looking forward to a "two-hour-long Sacrament Meeting" (as they called it), so they jumped at the chance. Last Sunday, Poppy picked the boys up in the morning & took them to their church. Well, as it turned out, the Young Men & their leaders were in charge of Primary for the day so that all the women could go to a special Visiting Teaching lesson that was being given in Relief Society. The Young Mens' president was conducting Sharing Time & asked if there were any visitors. Aiden proudly raised his hand and started walking up to the front. The guy asked him what his name was & Aiden told him. The guy misunderstood & thought that Aiden had said his name was A.J. So, the guy said to the Primary, "Okay, everyone. This is A.J." At that point, Aiden stopped him & said in a very firm & semi-annoyed voice, "No! Not A.J. My name is Aiden! A-I-D-E-N!" Yes, he spelled his name so the guy was sure to get it right. Oy vey! What a kiddo!

***Note to readers. The following two stories include words about body parts. I have decided to spell out some of the inappropriate words with hyphens in between the letters. My reason for doing this is so that the sickos who google these kind of words will not be lead to my blog. Just an FYI.

Story #2: When I was in the hospital right after I had Vivvie, my parents took the boys to all sorts of fun places. One night, they took the boys to McDonalds for dinner. While they were eating, Poppy decided to play a game with the boys. He would give them a letter and they would tell him a word that started with that letter. He was picking letters that people's names started with. For example, he would say, "What starts with C?" Then the boys would respond with "Connor & Cohen." Well, one time, Poppy asked, "What starts with P?" He was expecting to hear the boys respond with "Poppy!" But, instead, Aiden blurted out (at the top of his lungs), "P - E - N - I - S!" Yes, pretty much everyone in the restaurant heard him.

Story #3: I have been nursing Vivvie, which has brought up several interesting conversations with the boys about breastfeeding. One time, Aiden came into my room where I was nursing her & asked what Viv was doing. I told him that she was drinking her milk. He replied with, "She gets milk from your BRA?!?" I told him no, that she wasn't getting milk from my bra. She was getting it from my B - O - O- B, because Mommies B - O - O - B - S make milk for their new babies. I then went on to say that the polite word to use to describe this was "nursing." He said okay & went on his merry way. Well, a few days later, he came into my room again while I was nursing Viv to ask me a question. While we were talking, Vivvie decided it would be the perfect time to be done eating & unlatch. I tried to quickly cover myself up, but it was too late. Aiden saw everything. Then he exclaimed, "Mom!!! I just saw your NURSING!!!" Apparently, he misunderstood our previous conversation & he now thinks that the polite word for B - O - O - B - S is "nursing." Oh dear! After I stopped laughing (about 2 minutes later), we had another conversation to sort out the misconceptions from our previous conversation.

So there you go. More fun Aiden stories! We love you Aidenator! Thanks for always giving us a good laugh! You are the best! --Mom

Vivvie's Two-Week Stats

On Monday, we took Viv into the pediatrician's office for her two week checkup. How is she two-weeks-old already? Actually, I guess she's about 2 1/2-weeks-old now since it's already Thursday. Time is FLYING by! Anyway, Miss Vivienne is growing like a champ. Here's her stats:

Length: 19 1/2 inches

Weight: 6 lbs. 9 oz.

Head Circumference: 24.3 cm

Now, you're probably asking the same question I asked. Did she really grown more than 2 inches in 2 weeks? No...not likely. The nurse at the doctor's office said that she may have been measured incorrectly in the hospital. She said that happens a lot because babies don't like to be stretched out right after they are born, so many babies are measured smaller than they really are. Hum, you learn something new everyday.


She's starting to stay awake a little longer each day, but is still really only awake for maybe three to four hours a day. When she is awake, she focuses in on whatever face is closest to her & will just study it intently for several minutes. Every once in awhile, she will give us one of those funny "newborn smiles" and we can see two dimples, one big & one small (just like my sister Ashlee). Mike & I think it's funny that neither of us have dimples, but three of our four kids have them (Cohen is the only one that doesn't). We still can't tell what color her eyes are. For awhile, we were sure they were brown, but they are looking more blue everyday. Guess we'll have to wait & see on that one. We are loving everything about her! --Lindsay

Worth the Wait

I have waited a LONG time to have a baby that I can dress in pink & accessorize with bows & flowers. As you can see, I'm celebrating by forcing my child to wear "head pieces" (as Mike calls them) that are larger than her head...

That picture was taken right before we left the hospital to bring Miss Vivienne home with us. Here's Viv's first car ride. She slept through the whole thing...

And, she's done a lot of sleeping since then too...

She got to meet Great-Grandpa Judkins (Mike's maternal grandpa) who is 91-years-old. Notice that she slept through the visit...

Every once in awhile, she decides to wake up & show off her eyeballs...

And, yes, her flower is once again bigger than her head...

Look at these super cute legwarmers!!! My friend & old BYU roommate, Kristy, made them for her. Are they not the cutest things you ever seen? I love how they turn a plain ol' onesie into a cute outfit...

This flower isn't quite as big as her head, but close...

Every once in awhile, I do put a small flower on her head. Here's one that my friend Emily made for her. She whipped out three of these cute crocheted flower clips while she was at her daughter's gymnastics class. Someday I'll be able to do something awesome like that--or not...

Okay, enough with the bows & flowers for a minute. Here's a rundown of how our first (almost) two weeks with Vivvie has been:

Epidural Aftermath: Remember how I told you that the epidural didn't go quite as planned? Well, I ended up having a blood patch done before I left the hospital. A blood patch is where they give you another epidural & then they take blood from your arm & put it into your spine. This basically creates a scab on the hole where I was leaking spinal fluid. I think it helped with the spinal headache a little, but it didn't take it away completely. Up until last Sunday, anytime I would change positions, I would get a pounding headache for about 30 seconds. The rest of the time, it was just kind of a dull, annoying headache. In addition to the headache, my back was all swollen & stiff from the first botched epidural & the subsequent blood patch. The only way I felt normal was to lay on a heating pad. Good times! Luckily, the headache has been gone for about a week now & my back has felt a little better each day. Hopefully, that means I won't have any lasting effects from the little mishap.

Germs, Germs, Everywhere Germs: We have been so healthy this winter. We all got a minor cold right after Thanksgiving, & Cohen got the stomach flu at the beginning of February. But, other than that, we have been healthy as could be...until Viv was born. The day before Vivienne was born, Mike came down with a cold. About 8 hours after Vivvie was born, I came down with the same cold. A few days after that, Cohen came down with the cold. And, just a few days ago, Cohen came down with some other cold & an ear infection. Fun times!!! We've been trying our hardest to keep our cold bugs away from the babes, but haven't been too successful. Viv's nose has been a little stuffy for the past week. Luckily though, it hasn't been too bad. We have just been squirting saline up her nose & then sucking all the crud out. She hasn't ever run a fever which I'm grateful for. Her pediatrician said it was probably a really good thing that I got the cold right after she was born because she was probably exposed to it while I was still pregnant with her & then she's been getting antibodies from me through nursing. That's probably why she's been able to handle it so well. At least something good comes from nursing. :)

Cabin Fever: I have only left my house three times in the past two weeks. Once on Wednesday night to go to a Relief Society activity. Since the church is right behind my house, I don't know if this actually counts as "getting out." Then, yesterday, I went to Tai Pan & World Market with my mom & sister for a few hours. It was so therapeutic. And, then after that, I went to the grocery store ALL BY MYSELF! It was heavenly! Yes, I know you're totally jealous of my wild & crazy life right now!

Life With Brothers: Surprisingly, "the bros" have been treating Vivvie so sweetly! Even Cohen has been super gentle with her! Cohen will come up to her & just pat her tummy or hold her hand for a minute. I thought he would be poking her in the eye & wrestling with her by now...I'm sure all of that will come at some point.

Sleep Deprivation: Vivvie has actually proven to be a pretty good sleeper at night. I didn't think she would be because she used to kick me all night long when I was pregnant with her. But, so far, she's only been waking up once or twice a night...usually at about 2 or 3 and then again at 6 or 7. I guess, technically, the latter feeding is more of an early-morning feeding...so really, she's only been getting up once a night. And, she even goes right back to sleep after she's done eating. Despite her being such a good sleeper, I am still feeling seriously sleep-deprived already. It's amazing how much sleep my body needs. I probably need at least 8 to 9 hours a night to wake up feeling really good. So, as you can imagine, 3 or 4 hours here and then another 2 or 3 hours there just isn't cutting it for me. Oh well, what are you going to do, right? I just keep reminding myself that this is the last time I'm going to have a newborn & I should try to enjoy every minute of it...even the minutes at 3 am.

So, that's a rundown of the past few weeks. We are just loving Little Miss Viv! She is such a good, sweet baby! And, she's super fun to dress & accessorize! Don't you love how I talk about my daughter as if she's a baby doll? Haha! Sorry, I've just waited a long time for all of this...

She was definitely worth the wait! --Lindsay