We all know someone who has stayed in a stale relationship for far too long. Check out this empty bowl’s quest for true love in this installment of “Cereal Dating.”

Contrary to Kermit the Frog’s famous saying, it IS easy being green! That’s especially true this time of year, when saving time and money is as important as ever! This holiday season; keep our planet on the top of your gift list with these five easy tips for an earth-friendly celebration:

Send holiday cards online: Writers’ cramp affects millions of people every year. Or at least tens of people. Give your favorite fountain pen the year off and instead address your holiday greetings electronically. It doesn’t just cut back on paper; it saves you money, too! Plus you’ll need all that hand-strength for wrapping presents…

Wrap gifts in gently used materials: Remember all that tissue paper your Aunt Sally used to wrap that teeny tiny birthday gift in a big huge bag? You can use it again! Re-gifting wrapping paper isn’t the same as sending that fruit cake from last year to your neighbor down the block. Consider it a gift for the environment and your pocket book. No used gift wrap at your house? Use the comics section of your favorite newspaper and remember to save the paper you unwrap from gifts this year for next holiday season.

Give homemade gifts or give the gift of an experience: Are you a three-years-running tri-state area cookie-baking champion? Create a catalog of your ten favorite recipes and enclose a batch of your best cookies as a gift.  Not culinary or crafty? Give tickets to a concert or purchase a service: zero packaging, tons of fun.

Twinkle and glow efficiently: Need to replace some holiday lights this year? Look for the LED kind! They’re more energy efficient than the incandescent variety.

Buy Smart Packaging: During your holiday shopping trips keep an eye out for sustainable packaging.  Start at the grocery store! Malt-O-Meal® cereals come in bags, instead of bags inside of boxes.  If there’s less packaging to begin with, there’s less to dispose of later!

As fall unfolds and kids go back to school, parents are often given an extra dose of eco-consciousness. With the emphasis that schools place on helping children become good stewards of the world around them, kids, in turn, often remind their parents of how important it is to do things like reduce, reuse, recycle and “Upcycle.”

Wait a minute, “Upcycle?” Yes! At schools across the country, a company called TerraCycle^TM is offering students the chance to turn in empty consumer packages instead of throwing them out. TerraCycle then “upcycles” and recycles these items into eco-friendly products ranging from pencil cases to umbrellas.

Malt-O-Meal Company is back to school as well, proudly beginning the second year of its partnership with TerraCycle. In over 2500 schools (and counting!) kids can turn in their family’s empty Malt-O-Meal® cereal bags to be “upcycled” or recycled by TerraCycle.  Each participating school’s “Cereal Bag Brigade^TM” then receives 2¢ per bag from TerraCycle!

Best yet, Malt-O-Meal cereal bags already result in 75% less packaging* than boxed brands. For each bag that’s “upcycled”, that number jumps to 100%!  Join a Brigade^TM today!

Want to learn more about what Malt-O-Meal is doing to reduce packaging waste? Click here!

Malt-O-Meal® cereal bags can be "upcycled" to reduce packaging waste even more!

*75% less packaging based on the net weight of empty consumer packaging per pound of cereal delivered. Even when their box size is smaller, the net weight of their box and empty inner bag is still greater than the net weight of the larger Malt-O-Meal® bag when empty.

You’re smart; you purchase Malt-O-Meal® cereals that come in bags, not brands that come in bags inside boxes.  Now, prove just how clever you can be by entering the Bag The Box^TM Video Contest for a chance to win an electric bike, an iPad and other cool prizes.

Click here for official contest rules.

Looking for cinematic inspiration? Check out these video webisodes. A truly odd couple exchanges quirky dialogue and will inspire you to submit your own video for a chance to win!

Stay sensible, cereal shoppers: buy a bag of the great tasting Malt-O-Meal® cereal. They taste great; are kind to the budget, are offered with 75% less packaging* than boxed cereal brands, not to mention fun!

Watch this quirky duo make sense out of cereal packaging!

*75% less packaging based on the net weight of empty consumer packaging per pound of cereal delivered. Even when their box size is smaller, the net weight of their box and empty inner bag is still greater than the net weight of the larger Malt-O-Meal® bag when empty.

Reasons to get excited about your Children’s Summer Break

All those months of getting up early, getting the kids ready for school and helping them with their homework have come an end.  Yep, I’m talking about your kids getting out of school for the Summer.

If you are anything like me you might have mixed feelings about what’s happening around your house right now. After all, there are definitely some perks to having our children in school all day. If you are one of those parents having mixed feelings about Summer Break…. get over it. Here are some reasons to get excited about your Children’s Summer Break.

Catch up on a little Sleep

( image by viralbus)
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When it comes to the environment and taking care of it I think I help out in an average way. I recycle cans, plastic and paper; I turn water off when brushing my teeth; I use aluminum reusable water bottles; I even run around the house turning off the lights. But, is that enough? Probably not.

On April 22nd its Earth Day. Earth Day is a day to help spread awareness about the environment and what we humans can do to protect the Earth. This is the Day that I vow to do better…. to do my part to ensure a healthy and sustainable planet for all of us. I am certainly not doing enough. But this, starting today, will change.

Earth has given me and my family so much. And, unfortunately up until now I think I have been taking much of what Earth has provided us for granted. No more…. it stops now.

My Vow to Earth on Earth Day

I love my Earth and Earth has been generous to my family. Earth provides the air we breath and the wonderful land my children play on. It feeds us and keeps on giving. But, without our part will the Earth as we know it be here for our children’s children? The thought makes me shudder. It has to be…. so I am changing my ways. How? Through many of the following Earth Day Activities that I will continue even once Earth Day has long passed.

Earth Day Activities

Plant a Garden

Not only is gardening fun for kids and the entire family, it is also a wonderful way to help the environment. Planting a garden is a terrific way to celebrate Earth Day!! We have already started our new garden earlier this month and we are loving it!!

How Planting a Garden Helps the Environment

Planting a garden is your way of helping limit the amount of fruits and vegetables that are shipped in from far away.

Plant a Tree

This is one of the Earth Day Activities that I’m most excited about taking part in with my family. Planting a Tree in your yard is something that not only will the Earth love, but you will enjoy the Tree every day you look at it. After all, it was a family Earth Day Project planted with love. It doesn’t get much better than that.

How Planting a Tree Helps the Environment

Trees help our environment in quite a few wonderful ways.

• Trees offer us oxygen
• Trees provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.
• Reduce ozone levels in urban areas

Just think, with one tree you plant you will be helping the environment in three ways. And, this is not just on Earth day, but every day.

Composting

Composting is another new activity I will be starting this Earth Day. I have never composted, but from what I understand it is very easy and an amazing way to help our Earth. Composting is taking your kitchen scraps and instead of throwing them out you put them in your garden. It is supposed to help your garden grow beautifully and like I said…. we just started our garden, so this is exactly what we need.

How does Composting Help the Environment

Composting is an all natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. The nutrients in compost support the microorganisms in the soil. Another words, the soil eats it right up and makes it the proper environment for our vegetables and plants to grow at its best.

Purchase Items with Less Packaging

Our landfills are quickly filling up. And, much of it is from the materials that the items we purchase are packaged in. So, many of these items have needless packaging… it is very upsetting.

Malt-O-Meal has bagged the box. They package their delicious cereal in just a bag instead of a bag and a box. What does this mean? It means Malt-O-Meal’s resealable bag results in 75% less consumer waste. And, my kids think they are YUMMY!!!

How does Less Packaging help the Environment

It means less garbage in our landfill which are quickly filling up.

Other Earth Day Projects

Just as important as the above four Earth Day Activities here are some other items I will be enforcing this Earth Day.

• Putting night lights on a timer - My little ones need night lights, but they don’t need to be on 24/7. Timers will ensure that the night lights are off during daytime hours.
• Be more aware of what I’m throwing away – There are so many items that can be recycled and I’m positive that I’m throwing things away that I shouldn’t be. I am vowing to be more aware and to read-up on what I should be recycling.
• Trash can become Treasures with Crafts – I had no idea all the awesome items you can make from things that I normally would throw away. Did you know that you could make secret storage boxes made from recycled books??? How Awesome is that?! There are tons of treasures you could make from recycled crafts.
• Start using environmentally safe cleaning products - There are tons of environmentally safe cleaning products out there now-a-days. Or, I could even make my very own homemade environmentally safe cleaning products. Either way, what I use will not harm my family or the environment.
• Being more aware how much bath water I use on the little ones – My little ones need their tubbies, but certainly they can manage on a little less water.
• Start hanging clothes out to dry…. great to do in this gorgeous Spring weather. - I do at least 2 loads of laundry a day. With just a little act of hanging these clothes out to dry on nice days I could save the environment a great deal of stress. I’m actually looking forward to this one…. I think it could be very relaxing.
• Start using reusable grocery bags. – This is an easy switch. I see that my grocery store sells these reusable grocery bags. I can simply keep them in my car and grab them every time I shop. Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeazy.

This is a hefty list, but I feel my Earth deserves my help. Earth has given me so much and I’m prepared to do my part to give back. The above are my Vows to Earth and I’m going to work hard on each….. not just on Earth Day, but every day. Would you join me?

Top image by aussiegall

Malt-O-Meal is having a Twitter Party hosted by blogger duo extraordinaire, Toni-Lynn of Delightful Chaos and Barb of The Coupon Cupboard

What’s a Twitter Party, you ask? Find out more about these fast-paced, fun online parties by clicking HERE!

We’re inviting everyone who uses Twitter to join us for an open discussion about fighting hunger in America. We’re excited to offer this unique opportunity to talk about, share & discover new ways that we can all make a difference in the lives of people in need. Prizes will be given away all hour. Each person to RSVP for this online event will receive a coupon!

• What: @MaltOMealCereal is having a Twitter Party!
• When: February 15th at 9M Eastern Standard Time (8PM CST)
• Who to Follow: @MaltOMealCereal and our generous co-hosts, @Delightful_Toni & @Chaotic_Barb.
• How to keep up: The hashtag to follow & use for this party will be: #maltomeal

CLICK HERE FOR PARTY DETAILS!

This post was generously provided by a member of the Malt-O-Meal Facebook Family. Mary-Belle is a regular Facebook conversation participant and it has been a joy getting to know her and her wonderful family online. Enjoy!

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We live in rural North Carolina.

My husband and I have nine children, with our tenth scheduled to appear in March. With a family this size, we certainly get some interesting questions from folks. I’ll try and answer some of those here, as well as give you a look inside at our daily lives.

This timely, funny and fashionable post was generously contributed by everybody’s favorite Fairy Blog Mother. Visit her blog for giveaways, great stories and more at: www.fairyblogmotherblog.com. Enjoy!

MP Godfrey
Team Malt-O-Meal

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I will never understand the fashions that kids are into these days.  For example, my daughter…wears socks on her arms.  They look like leg warmers with a notch cut out for her thumb.  Arm socks!

I was too young for leg warmers when you wore them on your legs.  And somehow I’ve been bypassed again and the kids wear them on their arms now.  I’m feeling a little ripped off here!

Ok, not really.

I like to give her a hard time about the arm socks.  We joke about them, yet she still wears them.  Oh well, I don’t really care…I just don’t get it.

What really gets me are these hairstyles where the hair hangs right in your face, in your eyes.  When I was that age I used gallons of hairspray to keep my hair as high as I could, as stiff as I could.  It

could rain and my hair wouldn’t fall.  There was absolutely nothing natural about my hair.

Eighteen years ago I had bangs that were ceiling high while the rest of my hair was pretty flat.  I wore pants that were folded over in front and then rolled up (pegged).  I wore shirts that were two or

three sizes too big.  Leg warmers were something you seen in old movies…and made fun of.

Today the kid’s hair is flat all over, hanging in their face, their pants and shirts are tight.   Leg warmers are now worn on the arms.

I know my daughter (who is 13) would KILL me if I posted a picture of her.  She’ll probably get mad for me even mentioning her in this article, but hey…I’m the Mom, what I say, goes.

But to justify this article (in her eyes, hopefully), I’ll post a picture of me…when I was her age.  To show her how ridiculous I looked eighteen years ago.  Not saying she looks ridiculous, but eighteen

years from now she may think differently. –Then maybe she’ll really laugh about the arm socks.

Fairy Blog Mother, 1991

This lovingly, rich and vibrant post was brought to us by Shal at Jasmine & Ginger. She is a daughter, mother and great blogger who is sharing a look at her life with us from her home in Hong Kong, China. Enjoy! -MPGodfrey, Team Malt-O-Meal

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My mother is a heavyweight mother. By this I mean she’s always been there – one eye on us, one eye on the pot bubbling on the cooker. She was a stay-at-home mum for most of my childhood, with a brief spell as a working mother when I was a ‘tween’. She cooked 98% of meals in our home and did most of the household chores, though as soon as my brother and I were old enough, she roped us into this task. She was the ‘bad’ cop, the one who shouted, who doled out the punishments, and the one who chased us round the dining-room table to tickle us and cuddle us.

My mother and my son.

I’m sure by today’s standards her methods of discipline would be severely frowned on, and in some places, no doubt, she would have been locked up for child cruelty. But this was back in the 80s and 90s, in Hong Kong – a place where people still smack their children’s bottom in public without people batting an eyelid. (more…)