Thursday, March 03, 2011

Crunchitized Capitulation

(Or Another "Never" Bites the Dust)
I've said it before, there are a million-in-one things I said I would never do as a mother.

If I have any advice for a young mom it's this: Never say never.

Case in point...

I never buy sugary cereal.

My kids learned early on that if they wanted sugar-in-a-bowl they better go see their Granny (who will have the Coco Puffs and Lucky Charms ready and waiting upon our visits.)

I have been known to occasionally buy Cinnamon Toast Crunch for road trips, but thats about it.

Last weekend, The Boy celebrated the birthday of a friend at a sleep-over.

He came home singing the praises of Captain Crunch.

I spent the next 72 hours flashing back to the good-ole-days growing up in Southern Arizona.

I'm talkin' way back... when I had to walk to and from school, in the scorching desert, without any shoes, up-hill both ways, through a cactus field. This was in the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth and we had to actually get up from the couch to turn the channel-knob on the TV, and had feathered/permed hair held together with purple cans of AquaNet.

But I digress.....

You see, when I was a kid I had a cereal secret. Occasionally my mom would buy the sugary boxed goodness, but I didn't care for them. Well, I didn't care for parts of them.

For instance, I loved the marshmallows in Lucky Charms, and I loved the berries in Captain Crunch Berries, so I ate them. Yes, I shook the box all around and reached my mitts into that box until every last crunchy marshmallow and berry was found.

To make matters worse, when someone else opened the box to find it void of the better parts, I blamed my two younger brothers.

I know you cannot believe that I would stoop to such deception. It's true that I was a perfect child, with exception of that whole cereal-liar part.

Cereal liar....I crack myself up.

Anyway, when The Boy came home asking if I would buy Captain Crunch, I told him no.

However...upon further thought, this simple inquiry flooded me with nostalgia. I wouldn't buy Captain Crunch, but Captain Crunch Berries? Well, that's a different story.

We got ourselves a box.
His first bowl of Captain Crunch Berries
I ate them in a most civilized matter...in a bowl, with a very sophisticated cup of coffee, with my pinky-finger waving in the air. Actually, I guess the most civilized way would have been to use a spoon...some habits are hard to break.

Back in the day, the only berries were the red ones, and the berry-to-crunch ratio was a lot lower. Now there are multiple colored berrries, and much more of them. At first I wasn't sure I liked it.

But for the record, I do. 

10 comments:

Kristin said...

Looks like it was a good morning! :)
I remember 12 years ago when a friend of mine told me "never say never" about mommy-ing. I thought she was crazy. And within a few years, I saw how true it was. That's usually my number one piece of advice to young moms!

Andrea said...

I want a huge bowl of cereal now haha:-)

Elizabeth said...

For the record, I "never" buy sugar cereal either (including Raisin Bran b/c it has just as much or more sugar-boo), but Crunch Berries is my favorite. I also love Sugar Crisps. If they're in the house that's all anybody wants to eat!

I was feeling nostalgic about Tuna Helper once and decided to just buy a box. It smelled like my childhood! But no one would eat it:) Makes me wonder what foods my kids will want from their childhood. I doubt it'll be the oatmeal I make them eat!

I love seeing little snapshots of your day. Netflix! And great books!

My 2-year old just came in and saw your pics and said, "yummy! That's my favorite!" Oh dear.

Blue Skies said...

so, do they still leave that layer of "grease" on the roof of your mouth? That was the part I never liked about Captain Crunch.

Anonymous said...

How sweet it is!!!
Love
Mom

Tracey said...

The only cereal I have ever liked...to this day..is Peanut Butter Crunch. YUMMO. (although I enjoyed some crunch berries a few times..just the berries, left the other stuff for my little sisters.)

The 'never' declaration has to be flushed because when the mom hits 'survival' mode, anything is possible.

Fun post!!

Anonymous said...

I love Cap'n Crunch. I rationalize it's presence in my home by claiming that Peanut Butter Crunch contains more protein. I guess that makes me a cereal-liar, too.

O Mom said...

This was so funny. I too am not a sugar cereal buyer, but awhile back my kids asked for some, so I bought Trix, only because I remember my step brother always ate it and he never shared! It was so good too. I think we ate the whole box in one day! ha!

mer@lifeat7000feet said...

My kids BEG for Trix and Lucky Charms and Froot Loops and occassionally I give in, but I'm always really glad when it's gone a day or two later (yes, they're FIENDS when it's in the house).

My childhood favorite was Honeycombs! Do they still make that?

stephanie j. said...

This is quite funny. I just bought a MONSTER sized box of Lucky Charms today. Seemed the thing to do considering all of the drama in our house this week...