Getting ready

Yesterday the blog ticker said "about 40 days to go" for the baby. Today it's 39 (duh!) That doesn't sound like many days, but when I consider that usually I deliver 28 days or less from now, that really makes it seem like we're near the finish line.

I still have a few things to get ready for the baby, and for me (like pack a bag for the hospital...maybe next week) and get the nursery ready (the crib is overflowing with stuff that needs to be put away and organized...I'll try to take before and after photos).  But today I worked on stocking the freezer with casseroles for when the meals from friends (they've been so generous in the past) run out.

I've seen pregnant mom bloggers who have made and frozen many many meals, and quite a variety of meals too.  I've picked about six recipes to focus on.  Today I made about four meals worth of homemade chicken nuggets, individually frozen then packed in a bag; and four casseroles of broccoli chicken bake (rice, broccoli, chicken, cheese sauce). Tomorrow I'm focusing on pasta dishes: my main go-to baked pasta with basil that everyone loves, plus a new pasta recipe I found on the internet.  I have a beef dish that I hope to also make at least two casseroles from, but that will be if I have any energy left; and another chicken recipe that probably won't get made at this point (I'm out of chicken!)

I think I made a few casseroles before Konrad was born, but they were more to make sure my sisters-in-law didn't have to make dinner while they were watching Lukas and Natalie.  Now we have a separate deep freeze, so I have a lot more space to store more things (like frozen lime juice and homemade turkey broth). And 10 containers of Tom's favorite ice cream that I scored on sale.  Currently, the deep freeze is completely full (after adding four casseroles) so I'm going to have to do some re-arranging AND set some priorities!  Don't worry, Tom, the ice cream won't get tossed...at least it won't be the first thing to go!

We had some of the chicken nuggets for dinner tonight (new recipe) and they were a definite hit and they solved my problem of finding nuggets without MSG!  But the real challenge will be to not touch the casseroles until the baby comes...I think I can do it!