Darn You Barbara's!

It is hard enough to get three kids fed, dressed, groomed, and shod in the middle-darkness that is most mornings around here.  It does not help when the breakfast cereal conspires against me.

We like the cereals put out by Barbara's Bakery.  They are a northern California company founded in the nineteen-seventies to make tasty and good-for-you baked goods.  Well, they were so good at it, they have been distributed nationally for several years now.

Samuel loves Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls so much that he just calls it cereal.  If he asks for cereal, he is asking for Shredded Spoonfuls.  The kids are also big fans of Puffins, and my favorite, Shredded Oats (called Big Puffins if you are Sam.) 

These cereals are so tasty, and the kids liked them so much, Hubband had to tell me to quit buying the kids such sugary cereals.  But, the truth is, Puffins and Shredded Spoonfuls only have 5 grams of sugar per serving.  Yeah, that doesn't mean a darn thing to me either.  Let me put it a better way.  Wheat Thins have 4 grams of sugar per serving and they're salty!

My only problem with Barbara's is their recent package change.  They have gone with a more natural looking box.  I suppose to reflect their identity as all natural and socially conscious, their brand if you will.  That is their right.

But all the boxes look the same.

You see how a tired and distracted woman (who probably hasn't had her coffee yet) could get confused.  And that is looking at them from the front, where there is a nice big picture.

From the side, and with my bifocals, I have to tilt myself almost into a back bend to read the name when they are up on the shelf.  More often then not, they end up in the cupboard like this. 

I would need x-ray vision to tell what cereal is in which box.

Barbara, I love you.  My kids love you.  But you need to fire your marketing people.  And then they need to fire the childless, young genius with perfect vision who designed  all of the boxes to look exactly the same!!!