Christmas and a Challenge

I feel like I've been a big slacker because I haven't blogged in so long. Our Christmas was great! My sister and my parents came for about a week. It was nice to have our house because I didn't feel like we were stepping on each other the whole time. On Christmas morning Jordan's parents and his Grandma Beebe came over to open presents and to have breakfast. Shelby is getting really good at opening presents! She is probably still looking for presents to open. Jordan and I got her a Mustang (power wheels) and we parked it in the garage. She opened the door and walked out and all she said was, "Where's the keys?" It was pretty cute and she was able to drive it up and down the sidewalk with some assistance. But, out of all the toys that she got, her favorite is Mr. Potato Head. It's true that kids really don't need much to be entertained. How could a $5 toy be better than a whole car? Oh well, at least she's happy.
Addilyn had a good Christmas too, She looked happy while Shelby opened her presents for her. She got a glow worm that Shelby calls her "baby." She seems to like it a lot. She is still a happy baby. She is very content to lay on the floor and look around while Shelby plays near her. She is 4 months old now and she has started to eat some cereal. She loves it! I haven't cleaned up any spit-up from that!
Anyway, life in Rexburg is good. We just got a bunch of snow and I'm sure the farmers are happy because we haven't had very much lately! We will have to go out and build a snowman soon because Shelby is dying to!

Okay, now for the Challenge. I have decided to participate in the "Eat from your pantry" Challenge. This means that in the month of January 2010 I am going to try to make most of our food from our pantry. Here are my goals:
1. Make freezer meals at the beginning of the month to eat throughout the month.

2. Spend less than $50 on groceries this month. We normally spend about $150 a month on groceries so I think that a 1/3 of the budget is a good idea.

3. Try to make HEALTHY meals with the food that we have. For me, Mac 'n Cheese every night is not going to cut it.

So, with this in mind, whose with me? If you want to join me please do! I'm pretty excited about all of this so leave a comment and let me know if you have any suggestions to help me do this.

I'm going to be updating here with how much money I have spent so far. I have purchased fruits and veggies from Bountiful Baskets for $18. So, do you think that this should count for December? or January? I paid for it already but I don't pick it up until Jan.2. Let me know what you think. If it's for January my running total is: $18.
If you do want to participate here are some guidelines from Life as Mom:

• Reduce grocery spending. We're talking about reducing grocery spending this month, not eliminating it. Set a goal that is lower than your regular food budget and shoot for not exceeding it.
• Take stock. Take an afternoon and empty your pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. Ditch what's gone bad and make a list of what's left. Knowing what you have will make you less likely to buy more.
• Use what you have. Check your pantry before you meal plan or head off to the store. Develop meals based on what you have rather than buying new.