Happy April Fool's Day!

Let me be the first to wish you a very foolish and fun first day of April!

Last year I didn't initiate many traditions for celebrating April Fool's Day. I tried this "magic milk" bowl trick for our morning cereal (pictured at left) and that was it. Chloe L.O.V.E.D. how her milk turned from white to blue as she stirred up her cereal. She still talks about that magical morning meal. Didn't take much to impress my then 3 year old, eh? :)

This year I'm stepping it up a notch. And of course, because holidays in our family revolve around food, my trickery will all be food-based.

Check OUT these super fun ideas from Family Fun Mag! Since we'll be out until the afternoon, I'm planning the faux fish sticks, peas, meatloaf cupcakes and jello drinks for supper.

That's my plan. We'll see if my concoctions look anywhere near as cute and deceptive as these pictures do.

Shhh! Don't tell my family! (Don't worry, they don't read my blog.)

How do you plan to celebrate?

The end of an era

For the past 4 1/2 years, Matt has been in school. It seems odd that for all of Chloe's life to this point, her daddy has been a student.

Uprooting and moving blindly to where we then unlovingly called "Nowhere, Ohio" was simultaneously frightening and exhilaratingly exciting. We moved here with the express purpose of Matt studying and earning his phd in English at Kent State University. Now that we've been here for so long, life pre-doctoral studies (and pre-kids) seems like a distant dream.

Matt and I had no idea how much we'd actually like living in "Nowhere, Ohio". :) God has graciously given us a wonderful group of fun, encouraging and supportive friends. And we've never enjoyed and thrived in a church as much as here at Parkside. I'm afraid all future churches we attend will inevitably be compared to our fantastic experiences at Parkside.

The student chapter of our lives is now closed (until I go back for my masters that is) and it has been liberating to have Matt fully present again in our family. Of course, my husband is not the type to just sit around and be lazy with his new-found extra time (though a new baby in a few weeks will certainly fill in those leisure-time gaps). Matt is already working full steam on new projects around the house and has dreams and schemes of more.

Matt has worked tirelessly throughout the phd process and we couldn't be more proud of him! Congrats to our dear Dr. Daddy! :)

Pregnancy update

I'm 35 weeks along now and I suppose a pregnancy update is in order!

As is usual for my pregnancies, everything is going smoothly thus far. I'm getting pretty big these days and starting to feel the discomfort which accompanies this stage of pregnancy. (This is an old photo -- I'm way huger than this now. Starting to get the annoying comments from strangers with by bulging eyes when I tell them I still have 4 weeks to go). Lately I'm dealing with some reflux at night and having to use the bathroom countless times as this darling baby pushes on my bladder mercilessly.

Since both my kiddos arrived via emergency c-section, it's not suggested I try a vbac again. So, I'm slated to have a scheduled c-section on Thursday, April 15 (tax day).

Having gone through two c-sections already I'm actually kind of looking forward to it. That probably sounds completely wacko. But knowing that I'll ONLY have to recover from a c-section and not from both labor AND a c-section is a comforting thought. My second c-section recovery was much easier than the first. Let's hope that the third c-section yields an even quicker recovery!

Also, there are loads of benefits to knowing that the baby is coming definitely on or before a specific date. If he doesn't appear early, April 15 is a sure thing. I'll be able to get a full night's rest before-hand, eat a good supper, and have a baby by 10 a.m. the next morning.

I've done a smattering of baby-preparation reading including tips for nursing, sleeping schedules, and soothing techniques. I'm hoping at least some of what I've read sticks in my brain!

The bassinet is in our room and ready. Blankets, bibs and baby boy clothes are washed and put away. Still have a few other projects on the baby to-do list but nothing super urgent. Maybe if I pack my hospital bag the baby will be more prone to arrive early? :)

No one is more excited to meet this baby than I am! But there's also some sadness mixed in with our joyful expectation. We've been so enjoying Chloe and Clive lately and even getting into a groove with our routines and schedules. It's also scary knowing things are going to change so drastically so soon.

Doesn't help this mama's heart when Clive says, "No thanks, baby". That's his Clive-ish way of saying he doesn't want the baby. We'll see how that attitude develops . . .

Any tips for me as we transition from a family of 4 to 5?

Freezer recipes

My girlfriends are the absolute BEST!

A few weeks ago they held a baby shower in honor of baby Horn #3. But this was no ordinary baby shower. Besides the fact that 3rd babies don't usually garner a party, my girlfriends went out of their way to make this baby shower unforgettable.

Instead of giving lots of little gifts, the gals all pitched in to get us a gift card to home depot towards the purchase of a deep freezer! ! ! I was speechless (and believe me, it's not often that I'm speechless) when they first told me the idea and I'm still in awe at the depth of the generosity, thoughtfulness, and love reflected in such a gift.

(The rest of the shower was awesome too -- we partook in paraffin wax dips, turtle cheesecake, and a scrabble tourney. And yes, I won at scrabble. The girls were so nice to let me win.)

I just ordered our new freezer this afternoon; since we don't have much space, we chose a 5 cubic foot model as shown at left.

So, now my task for March is to fill up this bad boy! My friends are all going to provide at least one meal for the new freezer (aren't they amazing?!?) but I'd like to do some of my own stock-piling as well. I anticipate that the first few months of caring for three children will be more than overwhelming. The mere idea of having frozen dinners ready-at-hand is heavenly.

Here's where you come in. I am a firm believer that the best recipes come from other experienced cooks. I'm looking for economical, tasty, healthy, and family-friendly freezer meal/entree recipes. Any stellar recommendations for me?