Mama Doe Days

Now, don't go thinking that I'm going to paint a room, or even one wall of a room, in this oh so popular pattern, but I'm open to a blanket or pillow! 

I went Etsy cruising and found this quilt:

at Bear Monkey Designs 

Soft and sweet in these colors, but I'll bet a sports lover would go nuts having one in their team's colors! 

Clearly, I like the chevron pattern best when there is an accent color thrown in! 

My girls love to eat hot dogs. Fawn 2 even asks for them for breakfast! I like them to get some bread with their dogs, but 2 and 3 year olds and flimsy hot dog buns don't exactly marry well! 

I decided to get a little creative with an item that is quickly becoming a staple in our home! Frozen Bread Dough. 

I've always used it for the "traditional" use... a loaf of bread, but have been trying other things lately with it (you're sure to see it in many of my future posts!) So, I decided to try it as the dough of Pigs in Blankets, and use full sized hot dogs. 

I thawed the dough and cut it (scissors works best) into 10 chunks. I've cut it into 8 chunks in the past, but according to Mr. Buck, I should have done 10 or 12, but he's more about the meat than the bread. So 10 it was this time! 

Sprinkle flour on your counter and roll out each chunk to pretty thin. 

Then put a hot dog, uncooked, at one end of your flattened dough. 

Roll it all up. Yes, the dough will overlap at least once most likely, it's ok.

Dip your finger in water and rub your finger under the dough where the seam is. This will 'glue' your bread together. 

I baked mine on a baking stone, but it's not mandatory. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. 

Top with chilli and cheese (which is what we did in the past) or dip ketchup and mustard, or do whatever else you like on your hot dogs! 

Please see this post and others on my new blog: http://wordsofamama.blogspot.com/

As you all know, I'm on baby Fawn #3. I've had some pretty tough times with breast feeding in the past, including several different issues, but a significant one was my milk supply. 

Fawn 1 was a totally unique situation, complete with the NICU and an oral feeding tube. Breast feeding was doomed from the start! We made it a whole 10 days, 8 of which were in the NICU with nurses and lactation consultants helping us. 

With Fawn 2, I made it a full 3 months before my supply really started suffering. I took fenugreek, drank gallons of water, dark beer, lots of protein, oatmeal and vitamins. It still was a struggle to nurse her and have a satisfied baby afterwards. We started supplementing with formula at about 3.5 months and she was exclusively formula fed starting at 6 months. 

I'm determined to go longer with Fawn 3. I've been much more proactive about maintaining a good supply, rather than boosting a falling supply. 

One of my methods to keep the supply I've got going now (which is pretty good if I may say so) is these lactation bars that I've made. I first made them when Fawn 3 was going through a growth spurt and I felt like I wasn't keeping up, and I wasn't. We did need to give 2 oz of formula every evening for 2 weeks because I just didn't have enough for her.  The first day I made these bars, I ate 6 of them (and it took zero effort as they are quite tasty!). That evening, no formula was needed. Now, I'm not a doctor or a lactation consultant or a nutritionist, so I can't promise that these will work as well for everyone, but they were a score for me!!

This is how I made mine. The 'goodies'  that I used were just what I had on hand. You can use whatever you choose! I've made this recipe before and used about 2.5 cups of dried fruit trail mix! 

Soak:

1/2 c steel cut oats

1  1/2 c milk

While that is soaking, mix:

3 c quick oats

1c sugar (white or brown)

2  1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 c brewers yeast

1 stick melted butter/margarine

3 eggs

The Goodies:

1/4 c peanut butter (crunchy or creamy works fine!) 

1 TBSP cinnamon

1 c chocolate chips

1 c white chocolate chips

1/2 cup m&ms 

Brewers yeast and flax seeds (which I didn't have on hand) and the oats (steel cut especially) are the lactation boosters. 

Let sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. This helps the liquids absorb into the oats a bit, though I don't think this is necessary. You'll just have to check your bars while they are baking. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes give or take. You may have to bake longer or shorter. A lot of this depends what kid of goodies you put in them! Some will absorb some of the moisture (like dried fruit or coconut), and others won't (sunflower seeds, other nuts, chocolate chips). The first time you make them, keep a close eye on them and take them out when they aren't runny in the middle. I usually just shake the pan... if the middle still jiggles, keep baking. 

The first batch I made, with dried fruit and shredded coconut, I baked for 25-30 minutes. They were good. The second batch (chocolate chips and m&ms with peanut butter), however, I couldn't tell you how long they baked. I put them in, and ten minutes later the tornado sirens went off. We turned off the oven, checked the radar to see how close the storm was, and drove a few blocks to my sisters house, because she has a totally concrete enclosed cellar. I don't remember how long we were there (probably 30-45 minutes), I only know that when we came home, the bars were still in the oven and they were perfect!

I use square bar pans for mine, but round muffin pans would work just as well I assume. 

Just a tip: I you don't want colorful streaks in your bars, add the m&ms right before you put them in the pans, or even just sprinkle them on too.  I added mine before I let it sit for a while, and when I gave it a final stir, the candy coating streaked through the bars!

Please enjoy! Feel free to post your results in the comments!

It's Black Friday! 

From what I've gathered listening to my friends and family, this date either rivals the opening ceremony if the Olympics, or is hated as much as a speeding ticket. Most go all or nothing!! There are some in-betweeners though... That's where I've tended to fall in the past. 

Maybe instead you view the stores as a speeding ticket... Something you plan to avoid. Maybe you are putting up your Christmas tree and setting up the rest of your holiday swag. Maybe you're at work, wishing this could just be a Thursday-Sunday weekend instead of having to work this one day. Maybe you are watching sports, cleaning, or still trying to come out of your turkey coma!

Or you could be like me. You could take this day or leave it. You might cruise the internet today and see if there are any steals. You may have gone shopping at a reasonable time, knowing you probably won't get the very best deals, but knowing that you'll still find some pretty good deals, without fighting others to get through the doors. 

Well, that's been me in the past at least. This year I'm cuddled in with my 2 month old while Mr. Buck is at work. My two older fawns are recovering from a very exhausting day playing with their second cousins. 

I may do some online browsing, but I try to shop mostly from Etsy shops and other small businesses, including Thirty-One, Pampered Chef, BeautiControl etc.  I prefer to shop knowing that I'm helping a friend with their work from home business, or an Etsy owner who's income is from her craftiness. 

~ did you know that when you shop locally, 68% of what you spend with them goes back into your conmunity?

Enjoy the rest of your day!