Breastfeeding: How I finally made it work

Breastmilk, Boobs, Nipples, Pumping, Breast Pads.... OH MY!!  (for anyone who is squeamish about those, or any related words, I suggest you just stop reading now.)

I've mentioned before, breastfeeding has NOT been an easy thing for me in the past. I've had different situations and issues with each of my girls, and have learned that, like deliveries and pregnancies, no two are exactly alike!

If you'll give me the time, I'll  explain my two previous situations, and how this time, with my third daughter, is different. 

G1: She was born at 41 weeks. She was really struggling with her breathing when she was born. I held her for 10 seconds before she was taken to the NICU (this all matters, I promise). She had high acid levels in her blood, a high infection, blood and fluid filled lungs, and an open sore on the back of her head from the vacuum (she was 9lb 9oz and couldn't make it out without help). 5 hours later, at 11pm, I got to really see her in her little incubator. 

My nurses told me that they were going to have me start pumping that night to get things going and stimulate milk production. The hospital did not have a 24 hour IBCLC (internationally board certified lactation consultant), so I wouldn't see one of these LCs until morning. I asked my nurses about the pump, but they were very busy and kept forgetting to bring one. Our second time visiting our baby, 1am, I asked the NICU nurse. She brought one to my room a little while later. 

This is where things started to go wrong. This NICU nurse was very new, I think it was her 1st or 2nd shift ever. She brought me the hospital grade pump, set it up, helped me get everything on, and turned it on... to the highest suction on the fastest speed. I had never pumped, so knew no better. I was told to pump every 3 hours. So, I did, at 2am, 5am and 8am. The LC came in around 9:30 the next morning, and noticed that my nipples had most of the skin rubbed off. She measured me, and realized I'd been given flanges two sizes too small. 

That was the first problem. The LC then gave me soothies:

They felt great, really they did. However, as my skin was already broken, when I took the soothies off, they pulled off more skin and any scabs that had started to form. 

The LC and Neonatologist decided that we would try actual nursing at 24 hours old. When we did it that afternoon, G1 had a feeding tube in the center of her mouth. But, we still worked at it. G1 had to learn to nurse around a feeding tube. She did it though. Then (24 hours later) they moved it to the corner of her mouth, she retrained herself, and again, we made it through. 24 hours later, they moved it to her nose instead of her mouth. Finally we were without limitations, but she was so confused by that point, she had all but given up. But we still plowed through. She was in the NICU for 8 days, the 8th day was because she was losing weight and they wouldn't let her leave till she could sustain her weight without a feeding tube. 

We made it home, but over that weekend, I dreaded feeding her. My nipples were so scabbed over, and the tissue was so damaged that it was flapping... yeah, flapping. I thought they looked infected, so I went to my OB. They gave me creams to help, but told me that the damage was so extreme that the only way for them to heal, would be for me to quit nursing and pumping for 2 whole weeks. By that time, my milk was gone. I pumped for 2 months to try to regenerate my supply, took fenugreek, mothers milk tea and lots of oatmeal. G1 would not latch at all. Eventually, I had to throw in the towel.

Oops... that story got much longer than I intended, but G2's is much shorter, I promise!

G2: Born at 38 weeks, 7lb 4oz. She lost quite a bit of weight and got some pretty severe jaundice by 2 weeks old, and was admitted to the hospital. It was a different hospital than the one where she and G1 were born. We worked with a new LC, and she was great. I was having pretty bad pain whether nursing or not, but was told that the latch was great and that it would get better after the initial few weeks. It didn't. I saw her again, and again, was told that the latch was great, just strong. I researched on my own, and thought I had thrush based on the pain symptoms. However, a nurse at my OB's office told me that if there were no visible signs, they couldn't treat it. I was in toe-curling, make me gag, pain the entire 6 months I nursed her. On top of that, at around 3 months, my supply started to drop drastically. I nursed till she refused to keep going, then I'd pump, but formula was still needed. I ate and drank all the 'right' things. No matter what I did, I'd waited too long and couldn't get it to go back up. At 6 months, we completely switched to formula. 

Now, onto my (so far) success story!

G3: I was so determined to make nursing work this time... and at 6 months, my first goal has been met! I got much better prepared this time. 

I ordered 2 forms of Fenugreek before she was even born:

I also ordered Mother's Milk Tea:

It still wasn't an easy start (I'm convinced it never is). Even in the hospital, she went  over 12 hours and refused to nurse. Even if she would try, she refused to nurse on the left side. I was finally able to get her to latch on the left with a nipple shield. To avoid confusion, I used the shield on both sides... and guess what? She got it! She still got high jaundice, and we gave 2oz of formula once a day for 3 days, but she gained steadily. I always had The Hubs give her the bottle, so she never associated ME with anything more than 'food from the boob'.

At 3 days post delivery, my milk came in full force. No matter how much she nursed (which I pushed a LOT to help kick the jaundice), I couldn't get comfortable. I was started to get clogged ducts. I stood in a hot shower and massaged, and it didn't work. After 24 hours of pain, I caved and pumped, and pumped and pumped. I just needed to be empty. 

After 2 weeks, my milk supply started to suffer on the left side. I have no idea why, but she was refusing to latch. So I pulled the shield off, and she nursed without it. She was stimulating it better and getting more without the shield. After a few days, she dropped the shield on the right side as well. 

Now, I'm not going to let you think that it was just that easy. There were a few days of starting with the shield, then taking it off, or vice versa. I decided to just let her do what she was going to do and go with it instead of trying to 'train' her into doing it one way or another. 

I was still having quite a bit of pain in the entire breast on both sides at 7 weeks. I went back to the LC, and discussed that it was the same horrible pain I'd had with G2. She suspected non-visible thrush, and told me to put monistat on my nipples. G3 wouldn't nurse, I guess it tasted funny. So, I turned to Dr. Google, and found many women who'd had success with Gentian Violet. 

 

I ordered some from Walgreens and tried it immediately. I won't lie, the first (and only) day I put it on was horrible. The pain was at least double what it normally was. I vowed I wouldn't use it again. Yes, my nipples were dark purple, and yes, it turned G3's mouth purple, but that didn't bother me... the pain did.

However, the next day, the pain was back to normal, the next day, it was cut in half again. After 2-3 days, the pain was gone. I was amazed at how much more I enjoyed not only nursing my baby, but my baby! I enjoyed holding her, because it didn't hurt! That was a first for me out of 3 babies!

Once I got past the pain, I settled in determined to maintain a high supply. I think that I've always had a great supply in the beginning. I just didn't work hard enough to maintain it. 

Here are my tips to maintaining a good milk supply:

1. Fluids... like, crazy fluids. This is my 52oz gas station mug. I drink a minimum of two of these a day. Water, flavored water, tea, lemonade, juice etc. Powerade is great for boosting supply. 

2. Food. You have to eat! The amount of food I currently eat in a day is probably double what I'd normally eat, but if I don't, if I let myself get just the slightest big hungry, my supply dips. Eating warm, soft foods in beneficial, because your body doesn't need to put as much effort into digesting it. Your body can put all it's efforts into making milk! 

3. Rest. And I know it can be hard... trust me. I have 3 kids, the oldest is 4. I have a part time job. I want to be good at both. I also want to breastfeed. I have to sit when I can. I have to sit when I really shouldn't! I have to go to bed with dishes in the sink, because I need to sleep! Making milk is an activity that your body has to do. It has to have the energy to do it. *I personally can't do much in the line of exercising if I want to maintain a supply. A 30 minute casual walk tanked my milk supply for 2 days with G2. This time, I'm just not doing anything to get into shape. I will, when I'm done nursing. I just have to be ok with that. 

4. Fenugreek. I put a dropper or two in my coffee every morning (and it's true, caffeine in any form, including coffee, isn't great for milk production). I think of it as my 'instant boost'. I take 2 fenugreek pills 3 times a day, it's my 'continued support'. If I'm noticing a growth spurt in G3 and/or a dip in supply, I take 3 pills 3 times a day. If I have an oversupply one day, I don't take the pills that day. 

5. Lactation Bars  I really believe that these were my saving grace when I was really starting to feel like things might fail. We'd gone 2 weeks needing to give 2oz of formula every night when I finally made these. I ate quite a few that first day, but that night, no formula was needed. 

6. Just Nurse. Now, I know that this doesn't always work. I was so frustrated when a friend of mine told me this with G1, when I couldn't even get G1 to attempt to latch. However, If your baby will nurse, then take time to just let them. Grab a few movies or a new series on Netflix, a huge supply of snacks and drinks, and spend hours, even a whole day, or days, curled up with baby. Couch, bed, recliner, wherever, just stay there. Get up to go to the bathroom and go right back to cuddling... and nursing, and cuddling... and nursing, and then do it some more. 

Those are my tips. I've had some interesting experiences with nursing, but I can't be the only one. I KNOW I'm not actually, because no matter how 'natural' people will tell you it is, it's still something that you and your baby need to learn to do, like walking, and you need to learn to do it together, like running a 3-legged race!

*I'm not a Lactivist by any stretch. G1 only got breastmilk for 8 days and she is insanely smart and super healthy. Seriously, she's been sick about 3 times in her entire life. Loving and Feeding your baby are all that really count. Breastfeeding is something that I wanted to do, and for it to not work, well,... Challenge Accepted!!!

The World's Best Hair Tie

Having 3 little girls, I'm deep into the land of hair products. Shampoo, conditioner, detangler, 8 different brushes, ribbons, barrettes, and ponytail holders.

The most commonly used among adults and older kids are probably these:

The durable thread/fabric covered ones. They are great for G1. 

Then there's these things:

Totally worthless for anything past the 'I'm determined to get these 10 wispy hairs into a ponytail' stage. For us, these were ok till about 18 months. Past that hair growth stage though, they just weren't strong enough to keep their hair up, and the 'no pull' feature just made them slick enough fall out. 

Enter MY mom. 

She turned these:

Into this:

Cut the fingers into little rings, about 1/4-1/2 inch wide. That's it. The PERFECT hair tie for 1-3 year olds who still have that fine toddler hair that refuses to stay put.

Blueberry Cobbler Bars

I've probably mentioned before that I'm a 'see what I can make with what I have on hand' kind of baker. I've had some culinary home runs, and few strikes. There was also the day that I couldn't convince myself, the Hubs, or my toddler girls that the chewy, flavorless mass of bananas, oats, and raisins was a cookie. It really was awful. 

Today, I found ingredients to make what I'm calling Blueberry Cobbler Bars. Not so sweet that I'd consider it a desert (though give me another try or two and I'll remedy that), but sweet enough that you can consider it a 'treat' for breakfast. And really, served warm, they didn't really hold up as bars very well. 

There's two separate recipe lists, but they're almost the same ingredients. 

For the base:

4c quick oats

2/3 c brown sugar

2 sticks melted butter

3 tbsp cinnamon

Mix and press into a sprayed 9x13 pan. I prefer glass always. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. 

While this is baking, mix your topping. 

Filling:

21 oz can pie filling, any flavor will work. I used blueberry. 

Spread the pie filling onto the baked base. 

Topping:

2c quick oats

1/3 c brown sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon 

2 c milk

1/2 c flour

Let soak for 10 minutes or so, mostly to let some of the milk absorb into the oats to soften them. 

Pour the topping mix onto the blueberry layer. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Your main method to test if it's done will be the jiggle test. :)  Shake your pan and if the center jiggles, keep baking!

Serve warm or cold, maybe even with some heavy cream or whipped cream for a sweet treat! 

       (yes, I'm aware it says Mama Doe Days, that was my previous blog name, but I just didn't love the title as much :)

Glazed Cinnamon Croissants

After 2 nights of almost no sleep (thank you G3), I was hoping to get away with something nice and easy for breakfast for my two older fawns. Cereal? No. Oatmeal? No. Toast? No. 

Now, don't start thinking that I'm some sort of cook-to-order mom who takes requests every morning. Most mornings, it's 'this is what you are eating or you can wait till lunch'. 

No, I'm not a mean mom either. Since I was very young, I have not been a breakfast eater, something I seem to have passed on to my kids. So, if they don't want to eat a particular something, it's usually not because they don't like what I want them to eat, it's because they just aren't in the mood for breakfast. 

This morning however, even in my 'I have a 4 month old' zombie stupor, I decided to get creative and bake something. G1 had asked for cinnamon rolls, but I didn't have any on hand. So, I grabbed a tube of croissant rolls I had in the fridge. 

I can bake most things from scratch. Yeast Breads are not one that I've felt brave enough to try yet, so pre-made it is!

Spray your pan with butter flavored spray... A good dose, almost pooling on the pan (I'll explain why in a second). 

Unroll the croissant rolls onto the pan so the bottom has a good coating of the butter flavored spray. 

Spray the butter flavored spray onto the unrolled croissants. *You can use actual melted butter for this, but the spray is easier, faster, and has no calories.  

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the unrolled croissants. How much to use is your call. I use quite a bit! I'm kind of addicted to cinnamon!

Roll up the croissants as usual, starting at the fat side. 

Bake for 12 minutes at 375 (or however long the baking instructions say for whichever brand you are using). 

When they come out, they'll have a dark crisp crust to them... Similar to the ones you'd buy at a bakery. This is what that pooled butter spray does to them. Instead of coming out white and super soft (almost doughy in my opinion) like they usually do, you have a much more 'ritzy' look to your rolls. It's also flakier!

Mix together powdered sugar and milk to make a glaze for them. Start with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tbsp of milk. Mix it up. You may have to add more sugar or milk, depending on what consistency you like. In the end, for mine, when I lifted the fork out of the glaze, it coated the fork nicely, but still slowly dripped off. 

The thickness of your glaze is, again, personal preference, but, you don't want it to be too thin or the milk will absorb into your rolls, making them soggy. 

Use your fork to drizzle the glaze over your rolls. Go ahead and give them a good coating!! 

Enjoy them! G1 did...  G2 still hasn't decided if she's going to eat breakfast this morning. 

The Happy House

What will your kids remember about their childhoods? What will they remember about you, their parents? What will they remember about the way you acted towards them?

Sometimes, I really have to scale back my frustrations with my little fawns. I often tell my older two fawns that they need to check their attitudes...and I need to start taking that advice too sometimes. 

It does get frustrating when you've finally scrubbed every last spot and splatter off of the kitchen floor, only to have one of the kids squeeze ketchup all over the floor, ...and table, ...and wall, because they were trying to get their own while you're nursing the baby. 

After finding this 20+ year old newspaper clipping in my mother's jewelry box, I've been able to 'check my attitude' a little better. 

Now, when ketchup goes flying or soap ends up all over the bathroom sink, I do my best to thank my girls for doing their best to help themselves when I couldn't. When they are upset with themselves for spilling, I remind them (and myself) that they are young and still learning how to do so much!

I'm often amazed when I think about how much a child actually learns in his or her short first four years. I have to remind myself that there is still SO much for us to teach them. But, I want them to remember not only the things I taught them, but the way I taught them. 

I want my house to be the happy house. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread

I love sweet breads. Cinnamon, Amish Friendship, Zucchini, and even Banana Bread. That last one makes me laugh a little at myself, because I don't care for bananas much, or banana flavored anything at all. 

But, I do try to make sweet breads as often as I can. They aren't too hard, you can easily make several loaves at once, and, wrapped in a little plastic wrap and foil, they freeze great! 

So, in an effort for even more variety, I decided to sweeten the deal even more! 

I grabbed this tried and true recipe http://www.simplyrecipes.com/m/recipes/banana_bread/  and added my own twist. 

You will need:

3 or 4 ripe bananas (I always use 4)

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy

1/4 cup of cocoa powder

Mix all the ingredients together. Sometimes I really blend up the bananas. Sometimes I hand mash them, then hand mix the rest to leave big banana chunks. I find that the bread with the banana chunks tends to be a dryer bread, but it has nice little banana surprises (for the banana lovers) throughout. 

Spray a bread loaf pan with non-stick spray. I prefer the butter flavored spray for some added flavor to the crust. 

Pour your batter in till the loaf is 1/2-3/4 full. This batter rises quite a bit as it bakes, so make sure you have enough space above the pan. Too close to the top of the oven or another baking rack and you're in trouble! 

Bake for an hour at 350 degrees. 

When the top of the loaf has deep cracks in it, it should be done, but feel free to double check by sticking a knife in the center. 

I tip it out of the baking pan and put it on a cooling rack or cutting board right away to prevent over baking.... Plus, then I can taste test it! 

I love this with cream cheese, peanut butter or butter spread on it, but it's great plain too!!! 

Proud

How amazingly cool is this?! How amazingly sad is this? 

Pumpkin Pie Bars

It's no secret , I love to bake. I could probably have a blog only about baking, but I love to try cooking new things too, and crafting new things, and learning new information etc., so a general blog it is. 

But, this post is about baking. 

You will need:

A large can of pumpkin pie filling or 2 small cans

1/2 cup of brown sugar

2 sleeves of graham crackers, crushed

4 tablespoons of cinnamon, divided into to 2 tbsp portions

2 eggs

1 can of evaporated milk

1 stick of butter/margarine, melted

Butter flavored cooking spray 

The eggs and evaporated milk were what my can of pumpkin pie filling called for, so you may want to see if yours says something different for preparing pumpkin pie. 

To make:

Preheat your oven to 350. 

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and 2 tbsp of cinnamon. 

Add the melted butter. 

Mix till mostly moist. A few dry crumbs or chunks won't matter too much!

Spray your pan (I prefer glass for almost everything) and pour your cracker mixture in. Press flat. 

Spray more of the butter flavored spray on top of the pressed crumbs. 

Bake for 10 minutes. 

While that is baking, mix your pumpkin pie filling, eggs and evaporated milk, and the remaining 2 tbsp of cinnamon. 

Pour it over the baked crumb crust. 

Bake for 35-45 minutes until the edges start to brown.

Let cool or serve warm. I found them to be yummy either way! 

A Little Mad Money

I've almost always had 2 jobs at a time. I like to have that financial security! I've held several different types of jobs, and have loved them all.

Then I went to just one job: Mother (and I love this one too!)

Once I took on one job, the job of being a mom, I found that I felt a little on the useless side. Now, realistically, I knew I wasn't useless, but I hated not helping financially. And even though The Hubs made enough for us to live on, I didn't feel like I should be spending anything on myself, or any extra treats. There was also no way for me to surprise The Hubs with any gifts or treats. He knew exactly how much was going into the bank account, since he was the one putting it there!

So, I started to do little things on the computer, to earn just a little extra 'mad money'. I've actually been able to bank a decent amount of cash in the short time I've been doing it. I also had a few total misses. So, take my advice (if you'd like) and save yourself the trouble of sorting the good from the annoying!

Treasure Troopers (for me) was a total bust. Way too many bells and whistles to keep track of! I don't even remember my account information for that one anymore!

Mypoints is working ok for me, but there is a pretty high cash out volume, and you can only get gift cards. I prefer cash! If you'd like an invite to Mypoints, please contact me!

Swagbucks is where I've landed and it's really working well for me. I've found several little tips and tricks to get the most bang for my (swag)buck! 

     ~ Get the Swagbucks App for your phone. You can't do everything from the app, but you can grab a few points a day while you're waiting in line or stuck under a baby at naptime!

     ~ Get the Swagbucks TV App... this is a big swagbuck earner for me for mobile! I turn it on and just let it play! You will earn 2 swagbucks for every 5 videos that play on your phone. (secret tip: you don't have to watch them, just let them keep playing!) I actually find some of the videos really interesting! You can only earn swagbucks for a video once a day, but there are a couple of hundred videos throughout several different categories, so it's not hard to get the variety you need. You can earn 70 Swagbucks a day, just by letting these play through on your phone. You can click individual videos on your computer on the Swagbucks site and earn even more! They don't count towards the same total!

     ~Shopping... yes, I know, this is the one that everyone hate to hear... "I have to spend money to get money?"... I get it, trust me, I do. I don't do a ton of online shopping (save for Etsy), but I've found a way to increase my online shopping, without spending a penny more than I normally would at the store! I buy my essentials from Walmart (have to click from the Swagbucks link to get your points) online. Diapers, Wipes, Toilet Paper, Napkins, Paper Plates, Food (dry goods or non-perishable food is all you can get online), Dishwasher Soap, etc. If you spend a certain dollar amount (right now it is $35, normally it is $50), shipping is free! So, not only do you save yourself a trip to the store and the gas to get there, but now you are also earning Swagbucks for your shopping! 2,500 Swagbucks=$25 in Paypal cash! There are plenty of gift cards available for smaller amounts of swagbucks, but the Paypal cash is the one I always want! I can use it to shop online, or put it into our bank account! 

Making Motherhood (just a touch) Easier

***Stamp found at Etsy Shop: Altered Attic

Most mothers, at some point, feel like they aren't doing a good job at being a mom. Oh sure, they're still alive, but you're pretty sure that you're doing something to screw them up in one way or another. 

As The Hubs jokingly asks  "which one do you think will need therapy?" 

When we were in the final months before G3 was born, I realized that I needed to teach my older two to be a little more independent. I was going to be nursing and knew that, for at least the first two months, I was going to be a little tied to the rocking chair! 

That's not to say they aren't independent at all. They both are quite headstrong most of the time! But, they often needed me to help them with little things, wipe their bottoms, reach the soap, turn on the water on to the correct temp for hand washing, fill their sippies etc.. 

Realistically, they knew how to do most of those things, but weren't great at it. Bathroom help especially with G2, who decided she was ready to potty train one month before G3 was born. And yes, I was thrilled! 

So, I've had to improvise with how they do some things, but by George, they do it themselves! 

A few of my tricks:

~ Diaper wipes in the bathroom for them to use on themselves. Let's face it, they aren't going to be great at getting totally clean, but wipes are probably better than toilet paper!

~ Have them learn to turn on the tub faucet, and not burn themselves! They wash their hands in the tub faucet, fill their own sippies, get their own washcloth wet to wipe up their spills etc.. While they could have gotten a chair to do it all at the sink, I wasn't sure I wanted a chair screeching across the kitchen floor while trying to keep a newborn asleep. 

~ I taught them the steps to do certain thing, and key phrases so that I could tell them what to be doing, and stay hands off. For example, when getting dressed. I taught them to lay their pants and/or panties on the floor, with the words/tag on the bottom, then sit down behind it and pull it on. This eliminated two legs going into one pant leg, them falling over and getting upset or hurt. 

~ When I go grocery shopping, or a shipment comes in with snacks, I immediately separate snacks out and put them into a basket in the pantry. I sort cookies, crackers, and pretzels into snack size ziplock bags. Granola bars and other individually wrapped things all come out of their boxes. The girls know that if I tell them to get a snack, they get to choose out of that baskets. If it's breakfast time or I want them to have something 'healthy', I'll tell them to get something specific, and they know were to find it. At some point I plan to get a few more baskets and color code them with ribbons:

Yellow=Breakfast items

Blue=Salty Snacks

Red=Sweet Snacks

Purple=Candy 

Etc. 

Is it bad parenting that I don't have the time to be at their side every minute to help them do everything? No, I don't think so. I choose to see it as helping them develop their independence. 

What are some tricks you've established to get through your busy day? Leave yours in the comments! 

Fry Bread for Breakfast

Last night, I posted about making some Fry Bread to have with our dinner. You can find our method to make it here:

Fry Bread

So, surprisingly, we had a few of them left over. I'd put them in a ziplock tub, but really wasn't sure how they would keep. I'd guessed they'd get soggy some how, but they were pretty much just as perfect as they were last night!

I needed something quick for breakfast since G3 would soon be awake and hungry herself! I grabbed a piece of fry bread and spread a good dose of cream cheese on it. Wow! It was delicious! 

Not super sweet, so in the future, either a flavored cream cheese or some jam on top of the cream cheese might be an option!

A1-OK Shredded Beef

We had a nice beef roast in the freezer. The Hubs decidde it was the perfect thing to have in the crockpot all day while we were snowed in.

He was right. 

It smelled delicious all day, and boy was it yummy that night for supper!

He made it using:

3-4lb Roast

3 Tbsp of A1 Steak Sauce

2 sticks of Butter (or margarine)

3 whole Banana Peppers

Toss them all in the crock pot and turn it on high. Let it sit all day, and enjoy!!

We served it on the side of some Fry Bread... Holy smokes... very yummy!

Oh... And good luck keeping from snacking on it during the day! 

Fry Bread

Tonight The Hubs asked if I thought frozen bread dough would make into a pita pocket if fried. Well, no, it won't. Pita pockets are dry and not something I particularly care for, and I didn't really think that they were something he'd love either.  Aside from that, pita pockets aren't fried.  

He wanted to make something to use as a 'bun' for a shredded roast beef sandwich. I suggested that I make hoagie buns out of frozen bread dough, but he really wanted to try frying. 

So, I decided to try to figure out what he was going for. 

Out came a loaf of my trusted frozen bread dough. 

I let a loaf of frozen bread dough rise in a bread pan till it was about half way up the pan. Then I cut it into 3 strips. 

I cut each of those strips into 3-4 pieces. 

I sort of squeezed them flat with my fingers, didn't need them to be perfectly rolled out. Let them sit and rise a bit longer, 30 minutes or so. This isn't mandatory, but your final product will not be as light of a bread if you skip the rising part!

The Hubs took over with the frying because I had to nurse G3. 

He pulled each chunk into a larger flatter piece of dough. He made each piece separately, frying them in a pan with a few inches of hot oil. He flipped them over to brown both sides. 

I was a little worried that they might end up either really dense or crispy like pita chips. But they weren't!

They were fluffy and soft and had big air pockets in them. Oh they were yummy!!! If I had to compare them to something, I'd say a soft funnel cake!

However... They were NOT ideal to hold the shredded roast! The Hubs put some meat on his piece of 'fry bread' and it instantly got soggy! 

I put my meat on the side, used a fork and put meat onto the bread as I went. I tore off a piece of bread, put the meat on top, and popped it in my mouth! 

I will definitely be finding more ways to use this Fry Bread!!

Pizza Wraps

I love easy meals... And cheap meals ;). I really love it if my little girls actually want to eat a meal. 

All three? I'm in cooking heaven!!

I'd posted before (Big Pigs in Bigger Blankets) about my growing love for frozen bread dough.  I told you that I'd be making more with it! And I have! 

Of course you can figure out all of the possibilities yourselves, but why not give you some ideas as a jumping off point?! 

This time we went for pizza wraps. 

Start with a loaf of frozen bread dough

Cut it into 8 pieces and roll each piece fairly thin. Make sure to flour your surface and rolling pin, and make the dough thin. (just a little thicker than the Big Pigs post linked above)

Have 1lb of ground beef browned. Mix it with just enough pizza sauce to coat it. You don't want it swimming in sauce or your bread will never cook through.  If you like lots if sauce, use it as dip for your wrap! 

Put a scoop (1/4 cup or so) on your rolled dough. Lay a few pepperoni slices on top, then sprinkle with cheese. Close it by folding the sides up and pinching it together on top. 

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle garlic salt on top. 

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes!

The girls loved them! They even asked for more and told me that they'd like me to make them again soon!

Winter Storm Cleon

I've found conflicting reports as to when the first 'officially named' storm was. Some sources state 1945, but another says 1876 is the first.  I believe that in some way, because of different countries and cultures, both numbers are correct, but the names may have come long after the actual storm. Not during, or even before, as hurricanes named now. 

I find it interesting that we have now started to name other types of storms. Now it's hurricanes and tropical storms, and as of the last few years, winter storms as well. 

That's where I find myself today. Smack dab in the middle of Winter Storm Cleon. 

It hit us yesterday late morning, when tiny ice pellets started to fall, making quite the racket I'll add! The ice pelted us for hours, filling in pockets on the ground, looking like we'd had a light snowfall instead of hours of ice. 

In the earlier parts of the evening, the plinking ice was mixed with rain, making a slick slushy mess. Where was I? Walmart. No, I was not panicking, stocking up on batteries, bread, and milk like so many were. We just needed to grab a few groceries. :) 

My husband ran in for us, and I entertained the girls out in the car. 

Check out how thick the ice got on the windshield! This was after just 30 minutes or so of sitting in the parking lot. 

Around 7-8 it finally turned to snow. 

Now here I sit. 12 hours later and the snow is still falling heavily. There is a good 6 or more inches of snow on top of the layer of ice. 

It even blew an inch or two onto our covered porch. 

And it is beautiful. 

It is expected to continue to fall for another 12 hours.