2 Months!

Holy cow! There is only 2 months left until Christmas! Where has this year gone? It seems like yesterday that we were moving back and now it's the end of October!

I should have realized how close Christmas was. We went to Lowe's the other day and they already have aisles filled with decorations. K-Mart is advertising lay-away (the only smart discount store to offer it. Normally I don't shop there, but I may have to make an exception.) The worst perpetrator? Nick Jr and The Disney Channel. Not that I let my kids sit in front of a TV all day long, but my goodness. Every stinkin' time they turn that thing on there is a commercial for some new, great toy that one of the munchkins just HAS to have. The other day, Middle Bit tells me we need to go to the store. I ask her why. She mumbles the name of some toy and tells me, "It's available in stores now!" Fantastic. So now I have Middle Bit and Little Bit as walking advertisements. It's amazing how many toys/books/movies they "need". Boy, will they be disappointed come December 25th when they realize I didn't leave cheese for Santa.

So, the next two months will be spent saving and purging. Saving money for Christmas and purging all the old books/toys/movies that have lost their luster. I'm big on donating, so the local Care and Share will get their toys that have been taken care of (or barely played with.) I'm also going to start a tradition this year. All 3 kids will pick an angel off of the Angel Tree and purchase something for them. From now until then, the allowance they earn will help to buy a gift for someone who needs it more than they. I figure it's never too early (or too late) to start this lesson.