Froot Woops

Dad likes sugary cereals. I'm not really sure why...ok, yes I do, they are delicious.

Background on my love for cereal:
I love cereal in general, and just about every kind. I grew up on cereal, and ate it all the time. We used to have special weekend breakfasts of eggs or pancakes but M-F was usually devoted to some form of cereal. When we were much younger, we weren't allowed to have all the bad sugar cereals in our house, so I had to rely on friends who ate those when I would sleepover at their houses. When we got a bit older and were allowed to eat the "good cereals," I can remember fighting with Kelly over the last bowl of Golden Grahams or Lucky Charms.

Back to the real story:
A few months, we didn't have any Cheerios or Kix in our house. These are usually staples with twinfants and a toddler. They make excellent snacks and are used pre-meal to occupy the little guys time while we fix breakfast/lunch/dinner. In addition, part of Owen's routines is to eat some cereal as a snack before bedtime (though I think it is more of a time waster than him actually being hungry). When I went to get the Cheerios, and didn't see any, I had to resort to Fruit Loops. This was mistake #1. HE LOVED THEM. All he could say was Froot Woops this and Froot Woops that. It became an obsession. At every mention of cereal, he would ask for them by name. This was getting to be a problem. Finally, we "ran out of Fruit Loops and needed to get more at the store." By this time the damage was done. Sure, he would eat Kix or Cheerios, but just didn't love them the same way as before. It was like when Dorothy crossed over into the colorful world of Oz, you just can't go back to black and white.

Recently, on a trip to Wally World, Jen had Owen in the buggy while cruising the cereal isle when he caught a glimpse at that glorious red box with the crazy bird on it. He shouted FROOT WOOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as if he had won the lottery. Slightly embarrassed that our 2.5 year old knew what they were, Jen of course had to get them and calm the inner demon that was yelling in the store. Although embarrassed, we were also impressed that Owen had the ability to remember eating them a few months ago. Needless to say, it was a bit harder to say we didn't have anymore when he knew we just picked them up at the store.

Now Owen has come to realize that Fruit Loops are a special treat for him and we have promptly started to bribe him with them when we need him to be a good boy. Hey, no one said we were perfect.