Mills Family Santa Barbara

ADD

2010-01-28T08:08:00.000-08:00

I swear, my oldest daughter, Abby, is (or has, whichever is correct:)) ADD. Getting ready for school in the morning is an hour long process even though we've been at this drill for a year and a half now. "Put your pants on.... Put your socks on..... Put your shoes on..... Other shoe....." Each task is interrupted by a quick sketch on her notebook, or a quick play with her bear, or a quick narrative of her new book. We are all used to this routine, so it is not necessarily annoying. But today, she was particularly distracted which caused me to think, "Gosh is there something wrong with her? SHould we get her checked out? How is she doing in school?".

As Daddy took Abby to school. I began my morning with Gigi and Livy. OK - get dressed. But first, check e-mail, then clean the kitchen. Oh, yes, bag up those items for goodwill. The baby needs to nurse and Gigi wants toast. OK - get dressed. But first, dress Gigi and put on a DVD. Then read an article in the paper about a dolphin expert. The baby's awake....

Needless to say, I'm still not dressed. Abby comes by ADD honestly and I think she'll be just fine:)

TIRED

2010-01-21T07:53:00.000-08:00

Ughh. Gigi was up crying every hour or so!? What's the deal? Ryan fielded most of the night wakings, while I fed the baby. And then at 5 am, Gigi and Livy were in bed with me and Ryan was snuggling with Abby. It makes one wonder how people find the opportunity to make more than 3 babies?

So, we are all tired. I'm trying not to be cranky, but darn it! I need sleep. And its raining, so there's no "Go outside and jump" today. I've got to be creative, but I find it taxing when this tired.

Life

2010-01-14T08:19:00.000-08:00

Haiti. The damage is unbeleivable. I am so thankful that there are lots of ways to help people in such need. See - http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/13/world/main6090814.shtml. I selfishly had to turn off the news last night as images brought me to tears. There I was holding my perfect little baby with two bigger girls safely tucked in for the night, and I thanked the Lord for our health, safety and wealth. Ryan and I had a little wake up call last night. 2009 was a financially challenging year, but we are so wealthy compared to 90% of the world. I pray for the people of Haiti - that relief will come to them.

Lovely Livy

2010-01-09T14:57:00.000-08:00

Livy - almost 10 wks

Time to talk about having baby #3. I was scared to have a third. We already had our hands full with an active and verbal 6 year old and a two year old (enough said). We also thought, wrongly, that we were blessed with two healthy, beautiful, talented, etc. kids - we were pushing our luck having another! But, as always God knew best. Livy has been a beautiful addition to our little family. Not only is she perfectly formed and healthy, but she is lovely just like here older sisters.

She has blessed our lives - all of us. I've seen Abby grow due to the love she feels for her tiny sister. She has taken to the Big Big sister roll beautifully.

And Gigi, well, she's still adjusting to being bumped from baby status. She is growing through a stage, which though challenging, is good for her.

And me - I'm a better mother now with three than with only one child. I remember having my first and being so scared to mess up. I was so afraid to ruin her that I was, at times, paralized and infantile. With my second, I was more mature and practiced. I was more confident in my parenting and put to use lessons learned parenting #1. And now with Livy, I'm enjoying the process of mothering.

My advice to new moms - Keep going, it gets better and easier.

First day of preschool

2010-01-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

Today was (is) Gigi's first day of Preschool.

She ran up to the gate, stopped for a quick "hello" to the teacher, ran into the play yard, ran to the swings, ran to the trikes and then told me to leave. And I heard her whisper "awesome" as she looked in her lunch box.

Livy - 2 months

2010-01-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

Livy is now two months old. Gigi is going to be three next month and Abby 7 in another 2 months. I think about how full our life is now and am amazed. The girls are all growing so fast. I blinked and the last two months are history!

Livy is such good baby - calm, sweet, and a bit tentative. She has this furrowed brow "face" she makes when uncertain of her environment. Gigi does a great immitation. Livy is now cooing and smiling. I forgot how fun this stage was!

And Gigi, well, she's still my little card. THe family clown. She can dance on a dime (just this morning, she was doing a hippie chic dance at Starbucks). She also can throw a fit like no other. And she's two.

Abby. My sweet Abby. She loves to love. She loves to hug and kiss and cuddle. And she can sing better than anyone in the house. She has my heart.

back in the saddle

2010-01-07T10:57:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I'm going to give this blogging thing another try. I'm inspired by my sister-in-law, Pioneer Woman, and Julie (from Julie & Julia). Also, I heard that you can have your blog printed in a coffee table style book... Hmmm... Journaling, Scrapbooking, etc. all acheived by blogging. Cool.

So, lets catch up on Christmas 2009. What a great holiday. The kids loved it. Abby, my 6 - soon to be 7-year old, is still full of faith and wonder. She bought Santa and the elves hook, line and sinker. So fun. Grammy and Papa (aka "the elves") brought the girls little gifts every evening of the 12 days of Christmas. And Papa wrote cute little poems to the girls about the gifts. I tell you, we are certainly spoiled!

Today's stuff

2008-09-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Today's favorite quote from Abby... At the dinner table, Daddy looked at Abby and commented on how fast she's growing. "Thats up to God, Daddy. He made me so its his choice how fast I grow." Huh, shut daddy right up.

And Gigi is trying to jump. She crouches down into a deep knee bend then raises herself up lifting one leg off the ground. She's not quite getting air, but the learning process sure is cute.

Here is a picture we took last night. Abby fell asleep in our bed and someone else did too. If we let her, kitty would smother our sleeping kids. Somehow she snuck into the bedroom:)

Thats all!

Cheers,

From the mouths of babes...

2008-09-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm not a "great" or even "good" blogger. The thought of carving time out of every day, or so, to share with cyber folks is daunting. But, after a really, really, intensive mental exercise - ok, so I was reading another gal's blog, I decided to make this easy on you and ME. I will now be posting short and sweet quotes from my kids.

Here are a few:

Abby: "I hate foot beards." She saw a caveman exhibit and did not like their long beards. I had a different mental picture.

"So, mom, how does the blue box you put the mail in, know which house to send it to. Are there tubes under the ground going to all the different houses?"

"At ballet today, a girl asked me to be her friend. I said yes."

Mom - "What was her name?"

Abby - "I don't know."

Gigi - "baby" which means baby; "baba" or water; "Owey" - I'm hurt, or cold, or hot, or itchy; "mama" - Mama, or I want (addressed to anyone); "Bubby" - Buddy (Grammy & pappa's dog).

That all for now. See, short and sweet.

Schools out for summer!

2008-06-13T11:12:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Abby's last day of school at Seeds. The kids had a great time painting, glitter, balloons, water balloons, stories, etc. It was bittersweet as half of the kids said "goodbye" earlier this week due to vacation schedules. But the small class size was nice and intimate. We will miss our Seeds friends this summer.

Abby is making father's day cards (I know - we are a little behind the eight ball) to send to Papa and Bobi and Dad. Stickers, Stickers, Stickers. I sure hope the dad's like princessess:).

Gigi is down for her nap - the little cuddler brought me her blankie at 9:30 and laid her head on my shoulder... Hmmm, could you be tired little one? We've been on the go, so I'm sure some early rest will be a good thing.

We're missing the Seeds end of year party at the Zoo today due to nap schedule. BUMMER! I tried, really tried to keep Gigi up, but she crashed early today. I told Ab's we'd have a date night tonight to make up for it. May Kung Fu Panda? I hear its hilarious.

I'm getting ready to go to Tahoe with the girls. We'll be staying with my friend Allison and her daughter Leighton (Abby's best bud). We're going to have a great time!

Hello again

2008-06-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

Its been a looong time. So much has happened since last entry. Abby is now 5! Crazy. She is starting to read, which is really exciting. She is such a sweet girl. She recently picked out DVD's for a trip - one for Daddy; one for Mommy; One for Gigi; One for Nanna, etc. But not one for her. Too cute.

We had a great visit at Mom and Dad's place in La Verne. They have a pool in their housing complex. So, Abby and her cousin Kaitlyn had a pool party! They are such good buds.

And Gigi... She's into everything - I mean everything. Right this moment, she's in the cubby of a coffee table:) She's also my little cuddle bug. Very good at loves.

We're having a mellow day... Unpacking, cleaning up, and getting ready for daddy's day:)

2007-07-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

Big news! Gigi now 4&1/2, rolled over for the first time yesterday. She is growing so fast. The baby milestones seem to arrive much quicker when you are watching them for a second time. She continues to be a very easy and happy baby. I know its not fair:)

Big sister Abby finished her first week of vacation bible school on Friday and had a blast. She got to stay up late each night - VBS ended at 8:30. Staying up late has long been a dream of Abby's. She often says she wished she could stay up forever.

We had a great weekend. Summer is here. We went to the beach on Saturday as a family and met the Schultz's there. Abby played with Jed and Aaaron - such good kids. We had a great time. Abby played great with the boys. I tried to carry her ino the waves, but she would have none of that. She watched me take Aaron (almost two) into wast high water and thought she would brave the ocean too, but then was a bit spooked when we got wet. So, Ryan dug her a tide pool she splashed around in 6 inches of water:)

And then today, we went to church, napped and then back to the beach for a BBQ with friends. We arrived at 4pm and it was still about 80 degrees and beautiful. The beach was crowded and all picnic areas filled. What a great sight. Abby plays so well with other kids and she is able to self entertain so well. She sat in the sand and occupied herself until she warmed up the other kids (two boys). Then she had a great time. Jack chased her with seaweed... Shewatched the boys throw sand at each other and was amazed that they did not cry or get into trouble. Ahh a boys life.

Abby starts Zoo camp tomorrow. Its a long day, but I think she'll have a good time - and maybe she'll nap well. Her good friend Leighton will be there too. I'm going to try to get some work done. We'll see how it goes. I may have to bring in a "mommy's helper" to HELP.

Time Abby's reading time. More soon.
S

Friday

2007-06-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day. Maybe a day for the beach? Yesterday we had a pool party in the back yard. We bought this great pool at Costco last summer and its really been a hit with the kids this summer. We had 5 kids jumping in and out - on the slide, etc. Super fun!!

But I think today is definately a day for the beach. I've not been since Gigi was tiny, so it will be a little tougher to navigate with a squirmy 4 month old. I'm sure we'll have a great time.

Fridays are the best. I am alway so ready for the weekend. I love being home with the girls, but it wears me out. Weekends are my time to get a little bit of extra rest. Hats off to all working moms (Nicole - thats you). Its a big job being a mommy, but even harder when you add another responsibility into the mix.

I had a tough day yesterday. As I mentioned, I 've been staying up late sewing. Not too smart when sleep is interrupted by a 4 month old:) So, yesterday, I was super crabby and Abby saw it. She is so sensitive to my moods and can sense when mommy is about to melt down. It was so cute, when Ryan came home, I was super sensitive to anything he said and started to break down when Abby said, "she had a rough day." Too cute. She's only four, but is so wise. I love my girl.

Today

2007-06-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

Its a beautiful day. The sun is shining and its not even noon yet - no morning fog! Abby's watching Dora and Gianna is sleeping giving me a bit of time to write. Its a good day. Gianna slept for two four hour stretches, which was great. I needed the rest. I've been staying up too late sewing a dress for Abby. I wanted to finish last night and burned the midnight oil to do so. But - she is wearing it right now! Talk about instant gratification!

Gigi is up now - so we are off and running. More later. Chow!

Monday

2007-06-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, the golden moment. Both girls are asleep and I have a little time to myself. This time is as precious as gold. Although I do love my girls, I need time to refresh and rest.

Abby is now done with preschool for the summer so the three of us are free to relax together. Today we went to Borders and read books together, did puzzles and had snacks. We talked about Fathers Day and Abby told me how she loved her daddy so much. She told me he was the boss of our house and that we should do whatever he wants us too:) Too cute, because if you know Ryan, you would know that he is anything but bossy.

The sun is finally out. We are in the midst of June Gloom - a time when we get fog in the morning which burns off to a nice mild afternoon. I explained this to Abby and she said "Well, I just call it fog, Mom." What a crack up she is.

Our good friend Marco Briolini leaves us today to begin work in Dublin Ireland. We are really excited for this new adventure in their lives (Kim, his wife, will be joining him in July), we are really sad to say goodbye. Marco and Kim have been great friends to us and we will really miss them. Abby will miss them too. They are like family to us. So, we will be on the lookout for cheap airfare to Ireland:) Here's to Kim and Marco! Be well and happy.

Over and out for now. Sarah

Happy Father's Day Dad

2007-06-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

This is dedicated to my Dad.

I have a few really fond memories of special times with my dad. During my first year of college, I was terribly homesick. If I had owned a car, I would have gone home every weekend. Instead, my dad drove two and a half hours one way to pick me up and bring me home on the weekends. I never thought to be thankful for his sacrifice of time; I just enjoyed the time in the car with him and looked forward to that time each week. We would talk about school or a spiritual teaching we had listened too, or music we were listening too. I learned to appreciate my Dad's wisdom and compassion during these times.

I remember being a young girl and loving to read with my Daddy. Each night before bed, dad would collect my brother and I in my parents' big bed to read. He would read a portion of a CS Lewis Narnia or Paralandra series. My brother and I would fall asleep to my daddy's voice reading the words of one of the greatest authors of our time. It was a sweet time of cuddling, imagination, and words. I am sure my current love of reading was born from this time with Dad.

As I became an independent adult, my Dad remained my spiritual advisor of sorts. He was the first I would call when pondering a confusing portion of scripture. I was also sure to call him when I learned an exciting truth from studying the Bible. When I got married, Ryan and I both continued to glean wisdom from Dad as Ryan was learning to be the head of the house and I was learning to be a Godly wife. I so appreciate the wisdom he imparted to me and Ryan during these early years of adulthood.

Dad - thanks for being the father God called you to be. I love you and appreciate you!
Sarah

Happy Father's Day

2007-06-16T09:44:00.000-07:00

Its almost fathers day and Abby just recorded her annual "Happy Fathers Day" video for daddy. So here is a little tribute to the daddy's in our life. Abby and Gianna are blessed, as am I. They are adored by their daddy and by their two Pappa's. I am so thankful that they have such great men in their live. And their daddy is awesome ~He is one of the most selfless people I've ever known. He is willing to drop what he's doing to play dolls, dress up or even "beauty salon". As I tell people, he is a great "girl" daddy. He works hard so that I can be home with our girls. But he makes time for us, which is so special. And he does this all with a willing and loving spirit.

Ryan - we love you so much and are so thankful for you and all you do. We are truly blessed. Happy Father's Day Daddy!

2006-06-13T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hello All ~ We just found out the exciting news that we will be having another baby in about nine months. I received about 7 negative results over the last two weeks that I thought for sure I was not pregnant (although 2 weeks late). But, I decided to test one last time this morning. I tried not to expect good news to avoid disappointment. But ~ presto chango ~ a plus sign! And Ryan confirmed that indeed I was not seeing things!

After trying to get pregnant for about 8 months, this is definitely the BEST news. I told Abby our three year old that mommy and daddy would be having another baby and a that she would have a little brother or sister soon. She looked at me quizzically and held up her index finger. "One baby, mommy, I want only one. And I want a sister."

"I agree, baby, I want one too. And, brother or sister is not up to us. God gave us the little baby and He decides which to give us."

And that was all that was said. One to her cereal and princess stickers.

I am on cloud nine today. So thankful to The Lord for this gift. I called all of my girfriends that were praying for a family addition and gave them the good news. God has truly answered our prayers.!