Holiday Countdown

Last night I made veggie chili with the kidney beans. We topped it with some leftover cheez sauce (Easy Breezy Cheezy Sauce from How it All Vegan). I added a little oatmeal as a binder to the leftover peanut soup/black eyed pea concoction and shaped them into burgers to have with the chili. I thought we might have some left for lunches but we didn't.

On the holiday front, some good progress has been made with the kids. Wednesdays are family day at our local Salvation Army thrift store. That means half off everything except one tag color. Last week I was able to get bathrobes for both girls, really nice ones. I'm embroidering their names on them but I have to do it while they are at school. I have several easy reader books for Ameleii. Yesterday was the coup de gras, I got Kyle a kids guitar off of freecycle. He's been asking for one for weeks.

I acquired a Scooby Doo sheet set and valance off freecycle a while back. That had me stumped, what good is one sheet set when you have two boys who both like Scooby Doo? I ended up pairing the patterned sheets up with plain sheets to make two complete sets. One set has a plain blue sheet on the bottom and a Scooby Doo sheet on top, the other a Scooby Doo sheet on the bottom and a plain sheet on top. The pillow case was missing so the girls are taking plain white pillow cases and personalizing one for each boy.

On Sunday, the boys and Jim mixed and shaped dough for the dog biscuits that we give all canine family members. They are in the freezer waiting to be baked. The girls are working on their own projects as well. Its all still a work in progress, but at least I feel like we're making progress.

Is this Christmas on the cheap too extreme? I don't think so. My kids don't feel deprived, in fact they get right into the challenge of it all.