I'd be willing to bet you have either a blown head gasket, or a warped or cracked head. Heads usually only get warped from pulling them off or putting them on, and not using the right tightening sequence/torques. Cracked ones are usually from not using anti-freeze, and the water freezes. Either can also happen from running an engine WAY too hot. Personally, I would look at the head gasket. First though, get a coolant system pressure tester. It goes in place of the radiator cap, and reads pressure. You can also pump them up to help find leaks. Most radiator caps release pressure at 16psi. If you don't have any more than 12-14psi, I wouldn't worry about the hoses getting hard. The testers are a little expensive, so maybe you can rent one from Advance or Auto Zone. Hell, it might even be a bad radiator cap.
Q-Are you losing any water?
Q-Is your head gasket new?
Q-Did you tighten the head in proper sequence/torques?
Q-How much are your hoses swelling?
A couple of people have asked you a few questions, and you haven't answered them. We need to know these things to be ablt to help you out.