I would like to say that our life is more exciting than it is, but it’s just not most of the time. We’ve simplified what we do so much that it seems quite routine now to have a slow and uneventful day. I am not complaining about our simplicity, and I know that it does make life very boring for our teenagers, but I enjoy the simplicity, with as few bumps in the road as possible. Saturday we had already planned on attending the Lowe’s Kids Workshop to make the tic-tac-toe board. We spent a little time in the store making the project, and then browsed through the seeds that were available in the garden section to start thinking about what we would plant in our garden. Target was right across the road and we had convinced our daughters to make the trip to Lowe’s on the pretense that we would also make a stop at Target so that they could spend some of their Christmas money there.

It was nearing lunch time, and we were finished shopping at Target, so we drove back across the road to Chick-Fil-A. We had already planned on lunch at Chick-Fil-A since we had a couple of coupons to use, and made our purchase in two transactions so that we would be able to use both coupons. My husband and I shared a drink to continue keeping costs down as well. In addition to having my favorite fast food, our now four year old could take advantage of the playground so we stayed awhile so that he could play. I had two bags of items that needed to be donated so we drove those to our local thrift store as well. I searched through the thrift store to see if there was anything that I could absolutely not live without. I didn’t find a single thing, but I was fine leaving empty handed with my two bags dropped off.

We returned home and prepared lunch for Sunday. A simple lunch, beans. We cooked these on the stove top for most of the day so that they would be ready when returned home from church. I then spent some time on my health and beauty stockpile getting rid of some items that I had an excess of and knew that I would not use. I was able to find a grocery bag full of items that I knew my family wouldn’t use, but my extended family would probably be able to use. It really made me look back on my purchases for the previous year, and some from the year before that and see the things that I purchased for free or next to nothing, but I simply was not using. At Christmas I had even made baskets to give away to some of my family and still had an excess of items. More than anything this year, I am trying to simplify my purchases and only buy things that I know my family needs.

General Mills has announced a commitment to further reduce sugar in cereals advertised to kids under 12 to single digit grams of sugar per serving. The company has already been reducing sugar in cereals while increasing key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, and providing whole grain.

Did you know that ready-to-eat cereal eaters consume less fat, less cholesterol and more fiber than non-cereal eaters? Cereals also deliver important vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, making cereal a top source of key nutrients in children´s diets.

Other cereal benefits:

• Ready-to-eat cereals, including presweetened cereals, account for only 5% of sugar in children´s diets.
• Ready-to-eat cereal is the No. 1 source of whole grains in a child´s diet today.
• More frequent cereal eaters tend to have healthier body weights and lower Body Mass Index measures.

Studies also demonstrate the benefits of eating breakfast. A 1998 study showed that children who eat breakfast tend to perform better at school. Compared to children who skip breakfast, children who eat breakfast score higher on tests, are less likely to miss class or be tardy, have fewer reported discipline problems, and make fewer trips to the office.

For more information about kids and cereals, please visit Cereal Health and Wellness.

General Mills cereal are already a staple at our house. I can never go wrong with Cheerios, but I was pleasantly surprised when General Mills made the announcement for plans on reducing the sugar in cereals that are targeted towards children. I was thrilled when MyBlogSpark gave me the opportunity to share a coupon for a free box of cereal for four lucky readers of The Crafty Dollar.

To enter, leave a comment. Please be certain that your email address is either in your blogger profile or provided in your comment to win one of the four coupons. The giveaway will end January 28th 2010 at 11:59 PM CST and will be announced January 29th 2010. The winner will have 48 hours to respond via email.

All information and free cereal coupons were provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. The views expressed are my own. I have received no compensation from General Mills or MyBlogSpark.

My son is four years old now and we’re having his birthday party today. I am getting pretty good at planning parties now. I keep a list of things I will need for a typical party, and then I add to the list any additional items that might be needed. We’re having brisket sandwiches from a local barbecue place, and I am making homemade potato salad and baked beans to go along with it.

The great thing about the potato salad and baked beans is that the ingredients are relatively inexpensive, but will feed a lot of people. I didn’t think about this fact until I was preparing the potato salad and thinking about the price of the ingredients. I used potatoes, eggs, mayonnaise, sour cream, butter, mustard, relish, salt, and pepper. The price for about ten cups of potato salad cost me well under $5.00 to make and would have cost considerably more if I had purchased this pre-made at the store or from the barbecue place. It was really easy to make, and can be made the day before which was a plus for me since I’ll be doing other things before the party.

The rest of the party is simple, cake and ice cream. I made the cake the day before so that it would be ready and my daughters decorated it for me. They were able to free hand decorate with colored sugar, which we colored with food dye. I have gift bags for all the kids and filled it with things that I’ve purchased either free or next to nothing throughout the year.

I attended the The Home Depot Do It Herself workshop for bathroom updates on Thursday night and was surprised at the turnout for the presentation. There were about twenty people there, including some husbands who tagged along with their wives to view the seminar. The presentation was given in three portions to cover faucet installation, tile installation, and repairing a toilet. As always, the presentations were presented well, and provided detailed information about the repairs, what tools would be required, and how to do it.

I’m not sure that all of the workshops are conducted in the same manner, but the workshop I attended also had snacks, drinks, and door prizes. Every person that attended received a door prize, including the husbands. I was a little shocked when the last two door prizes they gave out were a vanity a a new toilet. I walked away with a new caulk gun, tile spacers, and a sponge for grout and tile clean-up.

Not only does The Home Depot offer women’s workshops several times throughout the year, but they also offer other do-it-yourself classes on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. Check your local Home Depot for classes that will be offered near you. Stay tuned for more workshops being offered at The Home Depot and when warmer weather arrives they also offer workshops for gardening and lawn care.