My three sons

I can't believe my newest baby boy is already 6 weeks old today! We welcomed our 8lb, 6oz precious Samuel James on January 16 at 2:57pm. He has a head full of strawberry blond hair and was a screamer from the moment he was born! We, as well as the delivery staff, were so tickled by his loud declaration of frustration for being taken out of his warm cozy home and brought out into the bright world. I can't wait to see more of his bright personality!

Samuel's brothers are smitten with their new baby and can't keep their hands off of him:) Evan loves holding Samuel and saying the sweetest things his baby brother. Benjamin thinks everything about Samuel and all of his little accessories (from clothes and shoes, to fingers and toes:) are the cutest things in the world! Ben has to be present and help with every diaper diaper change. I love all of his newborn snuggles and recently, his adorable grins:)

We are so thankful for these precious blessings from the Lord! I pray the Lord will continue to grow their love for one another and they will always be best friends.

Nesting time: Meal prep

Every pregnant Momma goes through some type of nesting... this go around my nesting has included sewing and food prep (my back is too sore for it to be cleaning:) Since this is my third boy, I want to make sure all of my big boys (hubby included) stay well fed while I am on the mend. Here are a few of the foods/recipes that I'm prepping ahead of time to make life as a family of 5 (and life after C-section) a little bit easier.

My 4 and 5 year old boys love muffins! I decided instead of stocking up on the cheap muffin mixes, I would prep my own (a little healthier) muffin mixes. Hoping to make breakfast a little easier on my hubby, Granny, or my frazzled postpartum self, I put all of the dry ingredients together in storage bags with the instructions for preparation.

Cinnamon Oat Muffins

Dry ingredients:

2 cups flour (I used 1 cup oat flour + 1 cup bread flour)

1 TBSP baking powder

1 cup sugar (or splenda/sugar mix)

Note in bag says:

Preheat oven to 350

Mix 1 cup milk, 1 egg, 1/3 cup applesauce (or oil). Add dry ingredients to mixture. 

Pour into greased muffin tins and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake about 15 minutes.

I have made several larger meals and frozen half of them: meat sauce for spaghetti, BBQ crock pot beef, and  roasted turkey w/gravy. I will also be roasting 2 chickens and making several meals with the chicken, such as chicken spaghetti, chicken lasagna, and chicken tetrazzini. I'm baking several loaves of bread and freezing them for my bread loving boys! I am super thankful for my mom who is doing the same thing at her house in Mobile, AL. When she comes up to help with baby, she's bringing us frozen home-cooked meals!!

What are some ways that you have prepped and prepared for life with a new baby?