Boxtops Party-Pooper

I have been called a lot of things in my life, but this name levied by my seven-year-old as tears brimmed in his eyes probably hurt my feelings the most: Boxtops Party Pooper. This photo of him crying is not from this morning, but does give you the image of what I'm dealing with - salty tears and a pouty mouth.

Each year the boys' school has a boxtops competition when all of the classrooms compete to bring in the most boxtops; the winning class receives a smoothie and a movie party. While I am all for fundraisers that give kick-backs to school "for seemingly nothing more than your usual shopping habits" the Mann clan shopping habits do not include anything on the boxtop list. Zero, zip, zilch, nada.

And I refuse to go out and buy things I won't eat or use just so that the boys can walk through the door of their classrooms with some little paper rectangles. Is that unreasonable?

I've learned two things from this so far: (1) Kids don't yet have the desire to be different or unique. When does that happen? And how do I make it happen faster?!? (2) Social media is a powerful tool. I posted that I was a Boxtops Party-Pooper and within seconds two friends asked me for the products and will clear out their pantries for any of these products. Win-win. Thanks, gals, for helping my kids be "normal."