My husband has written in the past about our five year old’s birthday disappointment when the firetruck failed to show up for his party. Well, you’ll be happy to hear that the firetruck finally made it to our house. No, we didn’t set the kitchen or anything else on fire. Here’s what happened… [more]

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

» Little Brothers, Tampons, and Lollipops
» Newborn Vaccine Breakthrough
» No Child Left Behind?

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

» Save Money, Don’t Drive Like a Maniac
» How Much Does a Million Dollars Weigh? (Revisited)
» On the (In)accuracy of Fuel Efficiency Estimates
» The Cost of Not Answering the Phone

The other day I took my “Littles” to Target. While there, we ran across a couple shopping together who happened to be Little People. As we strolled by with our cart my two year old pointed at the man and said loud enough for him to hear, “Look at him! He’s smaller than me! He’s smaller than me!” [more]

At long last, we bought a Nintendo Wii. We’ve actually been in the market for one for quite some time, but we haven’t been willing to pay a premium. Moreover, there’s no way that I’d sleep in a parking lot to get one.

Anyway, we were out TV shopping on Friday night when we had a chance to play Wii Sports on a demo unit at Sam’s Club. After a few minutes of playing tennis we were convinced — it really is as cool as it everyone says! The problem, as always, was availability. I would’ve bought one on the spot if I could’ve, but they’re not exactly easy to come by. [more]

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

» Eight Year Olds and Easter Bunnies
» Magnetix Building Sets Recalled
» We Bought (and Sold) a House

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

» Tax Audits are on the Rise
» What’s a Piggyback Mortgage?
» IRS Error in Your Favor
» Bank Branch Finder

Oh, the joys of parenting… Our two year old is a huge fan of: (1) Chex Mix, (2) watching PBS in our bed, and (3) snuggling. And most of all, he likes eating Chex Mix while snuggling under the covers and watching PBS in our bed. The problem is that he’s messy (he’s two, after all) and, almost without fail, he sneaks off, loads up up a bowl of Chex Mix and then loads our bed with crumbs on a daily basis. So what’s my point? Nothing, really — other than to share the joy of crawling into bed each night only to be greeted by a bunch of crushed up Chex Mix crumbs.

Raising4Boys participated in three carnivals this week. Here they are with links to our articles that were included in each.

The Carnival of Family Life included “Easter Dinner With a Two Year Old.”

The Carnival of Personal Finance included “Buying a Nikon Coolpix L10: That Boy Sure Can Save!.” Also included was “How to Prioritize Your Retirement Accounts” from fivecentnickel.com.

The Best of Me Symphony included “Preschool Registration Madness.” Also included was “Dave Ramsey is Good at Psychology” from fivecentnickel.com.

Did you know that the Australian government is paying people to have babies? In an attempt to increase their birth rate, they’re paying mothers a one-time bonus of $4,000 following the birth of their children (the bonus will increase to $5,000 in July 2008). [more]

“People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.” -Leo J. Burke

After two rounds of antibiotics, including ten days each on amoxicillin and Omnicef, Son #1 still wasn’t back to his old self. Thus, my lovely and talented wife took him back to the doctor. Guess what? He still has strep! So now he’s in the midst of a Zithromax Z-PAK. [more]