Drat! Foiled again… Dairy economists are predicting that the retail price of milk could rise as much as 9% (i.e, $0.30/gallon) by fall. I guess my idea of inventing a milk-powered car to combat the ever-increasing price of gas will have to go on the backburner for the time being. In all seriousness, we go through a ton of milk (and it’s only going to get worse), so this is certainly an unwelcome occurrence for us. The looming price increases have been attributed to rising fuel and feed costs as well as increasing worldwide demand for milk products.

Raising4Boys participated in two carnivals this week. Here they are along with links to our posts that were included in each.

The Carnival of Personal Finance included “Allowance Insights.” Also included was “How to Decide When to Refinance Your Mortgage” from FiveCentNickel.

The Best of Me Symphony included “Tips for Avoiding Obesity in Kids.” Also included was “Free Bonus Miles for Applying for Frequent Flyer Credit Cards” from FiveCentNickel.

Did you know that…

1. Citrus foods (oranges, pineapple, strawberries etc.) can cause really bad diaper rash.

2. Swim diapers only work to contain poop and don’t absorb pee (in other words, wait and put them on at the pool unless you want a wet car seat on the ride over).

3. Hand sanitizer (waterless) can really dry out your hands.

4. A bite of bread could help to dislodge a tortilla chip stuck in your esophagus.

5. Little ones should use toothpaste without fluoride (at least until they learn to spit it out).

6. Pledge really does keep dust at bay for longer than dry dusting.

7. It’s mostly fabric softeners and perfumes, and not detergents, that cause allergic reactions (detergents are usually completely rinsed out).

8. Pine trees drop a lot of needles, cones and branches.

9. Change your toothbrush three days into antibiotic treatment for strep throat to prevent reinfection.

10. Zathura is an excellent choice for family movie night, especially if you have boys.

Ugh. After having Son #1 and Son #3 diagnosed with strep last week, we picked up their antibiotics (Amoxicillin) and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, Son #1 hasn’t really responded to the antibiotics, so yesterday they switched his prescription. He’s now on Omnicef for the next ten days. Hopefully this will knock it out.

The Final Four came down to the wire but, in the end, two of my posts were left standing. Raising4Boys defeated MyFinancialJourney for one spot, and FiveCentNickel narrowly (very narrowly) edged out NoCreditNeeded for the other spot. These were the matchups:

Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar
defeated
The True Cost of Owning a Home

Ten Simple Ways to Cover Your Ass(ets)
(barely) defeated
Avoid 10 Common Debt Reduction Mistakes

I’d like to thank everyone for their votes and support, and I’d also like to encourage you to drop by the Championship and cast your vote. Here’s the final matchup:

Ten Simple Ways to Cover Your Ass(ets) vs. Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar

Go here to vote.

Well, it’s birthday time again. Son #2 just turned 7! The first thing I did was order some animal themed plates, napkins, table cloths, candles and stickers. These particular items had a snake on them which really fit in well with the party theme… Snakes! Helpful hint: when planning for a 7 year old be careful not to buy anything too cutesy which can be tricky when it comes to animal favors.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of having a birthday party somewhere other than our house (like at the zoo or a bowling alley). This time we decided to have the party at a local nature center. [more]

Here are some of our favorite Raising4Boys (subscribe) posts from a year ago:

» Taking a Header out Back

» Braces for an Eight Year Old, Update

» An Excess of Personality

And this is what was happening over at FiveCentNickel (subscribe) over the same period:

» Safe Deposit Box: A Confession

» Ten Real Estate Mistakes, Part 1 (and Part 2)

» Storing our Stuff

» Staging Your Home for Sale

Son #1 had strep throat (i.e., Streptococcal pharyngitis) back in January, and guess what? We just found out that he has it again. We actually found out on Thursday, so he’s on the mend, but still feeling rundown. The silver lining here is that Son #3 wasn’t feeling well about a week ago, but then bounced back, so we thought nothing of it. Actually, I thought nothing of it, but my lovely and talented wife could suspected that it might be more than a run-of-the-mill illness. But when he seemingly recovered, we put it out of our minds. [more]

The Elite Eight is now history, and the FreeMoneyFinance tournament has entered the Final Four. I’m pleased to report that Raising4Boys and FiveCentNickel both fared well in the last round, posting a 2-1 record with Raising4Boys beating FiveCentNickel for the single loss.

Here are the full results:

Ten Simple Ways to Cover Your Ass(ets)
defeated
Getting Rid Of Your Debt Without Worrying About The Latte Factor

Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar
defeated (crushed, actually)
Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math

As an aside, the Final Four features yet another Death Match between FiveCentNickel and NCN of NoCreditNeeded. As it turns out, NCN has expressed a desire to crush me beneath his boot (his words, not mine). I would, of course, prefer to avoid that if at all possible, so…

I’d like to encourage you to drop by the Final Four post and, assuming that you like them, please vote for Ten Simple Ways to Cover Your Ass(ets) and/or Teaching Kids the Value of a Dollar. Thanks!

“Men are what their mothers made them.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson