The Drivers

Lila’s view: Mama has been waiting a VERY long time to put a spout on my head.  Since I’ve been born, a whole 9 months ago, I have been cultivating about 5 strands of hair.  Enough to get a little rubber band and a clip around it.

Mama’s view:  I am so excited!  Aside from shopping for the cutest clothes in the world, tying a spout on top of your daughter’s hair has to be one of funnest things to do when you have a girl!

Lila’s view: Here is a picture of my spout.  I have this look on my face that says, “Mama, are you serious? You’ve already taken 50 pictures of me with my spout!”

We invited our friends, the Boyetts, over for dinner the other night.  As the night grew, the parents started getting a little happy with their bottles of beer while the kids grew a little tired of their bottles of milk.  We decided to mix things up and give them all (just the kids) a bath!

This is me after dinner.  I am a very good eater but please do not show this to my future husband!

Miles tried to dress himself this morning.  Miles says, “Oh darn it, what have I done again?  I put my underwear, over-my-wear!”

We decided to go 110% organic now, not just with our produce but with our non perishable goods (e.g. organic olive oil).  Also, if we can make it from scratch at home, we will avoid buying prepared foods, especially canned foods.  We are also eating low-fat and low-cholesterol foods.  So why the change?  Well, recently, Jason was diagnosed with high cholesterol and Miles was getting sick all the time.  We decided, what the heck?  It couldn’t hurt.  If anything, maybe it will make us healthier.  Our grocery bills have jumped from $60 every 5 days to now $100!  It’s much more expensive to eat healthy.  Research demonstrates that those from lower socio-economic status have an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and many other medical problems.  If you travel down South Central Los Angeles, guaranteed, you will NOT find an organic food store.  I remember taking the surface street to get to the Los Angeles International Airport.  I was driving south on Western, going through Compton.  I was desperately looking for a Starbucks, but all I could find was Mc Donald’s, Burger King, or Popeye’s Chicken.  It’s cheaper for those who live in lower SES to eat out at fast-food restaurants.  It cheaper to buy a Big Mac then it is to go to Whole Foods market and purchase a head of lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a package of ground beef.

Miles and Lila were my little helpers today at the grocery store.  We bring our own ‘Portland Recycles’ bags.  We LOVE this market by our house called, New Seasons, the Friendliest Store in Town!  They have the BEST desserts EVER!!!  But, they have a great selection of everything…produce, bulk foods, cheese.

We decided to celebrate Valentine’s…with the kids.  Everyone knows that restaurants are incredibly crowded on Valentine’s night, so we decided to go out to dinner the night before.  We went out to one of our favorite Thai restaurants and then went grocery shopping.  Not the most romantic night, but hey, at least we got out!

Miles and Lila received some cute Valentine’s day card from their grandma and grandpa Driver!

Lila says, “YAAY, I got my first Valentine’s card!”

Lila says, “Miles, now give me your card! I think it will taste good! Yummy!”

Some of the stay-at-home moms and dads at our home. 

Lila’s view:  Mama has decided that she is going to stop nursing me.  For one thing, I am now biting like Jaws and not really interested in nursing.  I am way too busy looking around the room, and mama SCREAMS when I give her a little nibble.  What the heck, milk is squirting in my face!  One should be able to eat at their own pace, not when mama has let-down.  Second, mama is getting really busy at work that it is now becoming inconvenient to pump.  Luckily, mama’s work is very family oriented, and Portland, in general, is very pro-breastfeeding.  

Mama’s view:  Yes, Lila is correct.  Work has been (since coming back from maternity leave) very busy.  Last month, I traveled to San Francisco (1 day trip) for a meeting and it was so hard to leave in between meetings to pump.  It was also inconvenient having to bring ice packs to keep the milk cold, pack the milk, and check-in the milk at the ticket counter.  At least once a month we travel to the grandparents home to visit, and that has also been hard to pump on the go.  Next month I am going to Boston for 3 days for another meeting.  It just seems like now is as good time to start reducing the feedings with Lila.  At any rate, she is pretty much done with breastfeeding.  She has two little teeth on the bottom and they are sure SHARP!  She is eating tons of solids and less milk.  I figure, she has already had all the nutritional benefits from breast milk from 0-9 months.  For many women who breastfeed, there is a sense of freedom when you stop breastfeeding, but at the same time, a sense of loss.  Since Lila will probably be our last child, I won’t get to do this again.  None the less, I am so blessed that I had the opportunity to breastfeed both of my kids.  Let me tell you, there was a time during Miles newborn stage when I just wanted to throw in the towel.  It was hard to get him to latch on and he was so fussy, but I am glad I persisted.  As much as breastfeeding hurt like hell at the beginning, there was a sense of pleasure and satisfaction about being able to hold your baby so close to you.  Why don’t other moms tell each other that breast feeding can hurt like hell?  It must be all that oxcytocin and lack of sleep.