Eat From the Pantry Challenge & Christmas Update

Money Saving Mom is hosting a challenge for January - Eat From the Pantry Challenge (as it's formally known).

While the big move is still a ways away, it has me thinking about decluttering and how now might be a good time to stop stockpiling. Can you imagine someone opening my bathroom cabinets and finding 10 tubes of toothpastes and a dozen body washes? They'd open the pantry and find 7 jars of Ragu and 8 boxes of cereal. (I assure you that I donate lots of food and hygiene products regularly - so we're not eating cereal I bought in 2006.) Our extra freezer is also filled to capacity, so it's time to lighten the load regardless.

Anyway, eating from the pantry will also help me stash away some of our grocery money for a rainy day (let's hope it's a rainy day in a cabin in Colorado come March 2010).

Participants are encouraged to share meals they create from the pantry (and you are, of course, allowed to get staples like milk and eggs ... don't be ridiculous). So, let's see what we make and how much we save.

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Oh, and a belated Merry Christmas to everyone! We were SNOWED IN this year, both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thankfully, we are lucky enough to have some great neighbors ... so we shared the holidays at their house and ate well and were entertained both days. The roads are still horrible today, but my neighbor and I managed to get to Walmart for a little after-Christmas shopping.

Christmas morning was great. The boys slept in a little (till 8) and we opened all out gifts ... lots of great things for everyone. Husband received a set of earphones for his XBox (not just any earphones, but I can't really explain what they are), several flashlights, a leatherman, and much more. Bean received his "Bat Man toy" (something he's been asking for forever) and lots of fun things from his grandparents. He particularly likes the racing helmet and steering wheel. Moose seems far more interested in Bean's toys than his own (at least for now), but is into anything that makes noise and/or has buttons. Both boys are a fan of Moose's push buggy (the kid sits in it and it has a big handle for the parent to push). I received lots of good stuff - many things on my Christmas list and a few not. My mother-in-law found those cute measuring cups and spoons that I posted about previously (and I was quite surprised to get them). My husband also spoiled me with lots of crafting stuff and new books from my favorite writers.

After presents, everyone sat down and ate their favorite thing for breakfast. I had mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn. Moose had a banana. Bean had a piece of pumpkin pie (hey, it's Christmas). Husband made himself a cheese and turkey omelet.

The boys just built a snowman. It's interesting to watch a 4 year old and a guy from SoCal figure out how to make a snowman. It's far from traditional, but it's cute nonetheless.

This morning, Bean woke up around 5. He started throwing up and continued to do so till about 9. (Not convinced it's food poisoning, as no one else - and there were 8 in all - is throwing up. Also, the kid barely eats anything.) Moose was up at 5:30 - his diaper failed and he was wet and unhappy. So, it's been a challenging day.

I'm thankful to have my husband home for the week, and being snowed in is a good excuse to hang out around the house. I've gotten quite a bit of crafting done and am hoping to make sense of my Gypsy (a fancy Cricut accessory) shortly.

Will post pictures soon!