We would be warm below the storm

The Team tries to live by a budget. We actually call it The Budget. In this day and age of $2.99 gas, high utility costs in light of 100+ heat, and a severe drought that requires extra water consumption, we try to save where we can. One way my Lovely Bride does this at the grocery store is purchasing off brand cereal. You know, private label kind, that are bastard versions of an original. At Kroger (where we shop) Cheerios becomes Tasteeos. Cocoa Puffs become Cocoa Crunchies, and Fruit Loops are Fruit Rings. When the name doesn't provide an immediate clue on what Kroger is ripping off, the picture on the front of the box does, which is why I was looking at an Octopus guarding a treasure of marshmallows on this fine morning.

I was baffled though. The cereal looked a lot like Lucky Charms. You had the cereal part and then little treasures that were marshmallowy goodness. Like Lucky Charms, right? But, an Octopus in place of Lucky, the sugary smack shilling leprechaun? I didn't get that connection. Still, it didn't matter. The Elder Boy dug the Octopus and was really into the cereal. Excited even. I'm not sure if the excitement was akin to a crack head wanting a fix, as this stuff is nothing but sugar. Or, was because he had help pick it out himself at the store. Whatever the reason, the Boy was motivated. So much so that he went into the kitchen and retrieved the milk, the cereal, a spoon, and then a bowl. That might not sound like much to you, but the bowls are up high in our casa. He then proceeded, with us (Me, My Lovely Bride, and Wyatt) less than 5 feet away, to make himself a bowl of cereal at our dining table. The milk was almost all the way full too (read: heavy,) and the Boy didn't spill any of it. No mess. Nice.

I was proud of the Boy. So, I got up from the sofa in the front room and went to the table and told him so. Gave him a hug. I was about to go get ready for work when he asked me to play I Spy with him. This is a curious eating time habit of the Elder Boy (and adopted by the Younger as well.) They like to play I Spy as we eat. Family bonding. He was asking me to play at this time because he wanted me to stay with him, which I got, and did. So we sat there and played a few rounds of I Spy. Quickly running out of things to Spy at the dinner table, we turned our attention to the Marshmallow Treasures box. The Boy had it in front of his bowl. You know, like kids will do, so he could look at all the cartoons and what not on the box as he ate. He was looking at the back of the box. I was looking at the front at that Octopus and again trying to figure out if it was in fact a Lucky Charms knock-off and if so, why the Octopus? The Boy is a cereal expert so I asked him if it was like Lucky Charms. He didn't really answer that but instead went into a story on what each marshmallow treasure was as he scooped up a heart that he said tasted like Applejacks.

Now I was confused. Applejacks? The Boy went on with his commentary as I studied the front of the box, looking at the underwater scene of the Octopus sitting on top of this treasure chest which was open underwater and full of the cereal (wouldn't it be really soggy under water?)

Being a dipshit, I often try to impart knowledge to the Boy(s) at odd times, like now, and decided to count the arms of the Octopus to illustrate why an Octopus was named an Octopus. You know, eight arms.

Getting the Boy's attention, I started to count as I pointed at each arm on the front of the box. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

6? I do suck at at math. So, I decided to give it another try. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

6! I looked at the box more closely to see if another arm or two was hidden behind the treasure, or down in the cereal. Nope. This Kroger brand of bastard Lucky Charms was being shilled by a 6 arm Octopus. I shit you not. Nice.

As the Boy looked at me, waiting for the pay-off to my goofy lesson, I couldn't stop thinking why? Was it a simple mistake? Perhaps an error born out of space necessity? Maybe a disgruntled employee at Kroger HQ giving the man the finger? The Boy kept waiting - What? "That's what we get for buying Kroger brand cereal."

Until I BLOG again...In our little hideaway beneath the waves.