Friday Round-Up: Finance, Parenting and Mom Blogs

This week has been wonderful. My husband re-glazed our picture window, mowed the lawn, prepped the snow blower and made me dinner on Sunday. I don’t know what lit the fire under his butt, but I like…especially the cooking me dinner part.

Well there must have been something in the air; I felt the need to clean the house from top to bottom, including appliances, toilets and furniture (all my least favorite cleaning jobs). And this was all without any company scheduled to drop by.

Since I consider dust bunnies my best friends, I guess you could ask what possessed me to clean when no one was going to see the house anyway. Hmmm. I think I’ll blame my hubby’s marathon house winterizing for my sudden need to pretend I enjoyed domestic tasks.

After all this was done, I found time to seek out the best in personal finance on the net, and here’s what I found:

• Stop in at Retire By Forty to cast your vote: “Should I Invest in a 401(k) or IRA?”
• Prairie Eco Thrifter skips the gym to workout at home. Saves cash and builds muscle: win, win.
• Jeff at Sustainable Life Blog checks in with his long term goals. Who’s up for a road trip to Glacier National Park with him?
• Check out some foods you can freeze at BrokeTO. You may be surprised at the foods on the list, especially if you’re not Canadian.
• Laura at I’m Losing it Here talks about the…shhh…C-word. Oh, your dirty minds; C is for college! Check out her plan for her daughter’s upcoming c-financing.
• Little House in the Valley considers a big move, but she does her homework first.
• Super Frugalette points out how obsessed our nation has become with saving money but not with savings. True, clipping coupons has become a phenomenon; will plugging the piggybank follow?
• The Family CEO shows us how scanning our groceries and coupons can be rewarded. Check out the Nielsen Home Scan Consumer Panel openings for your chance to score points.
• Sarah at So Says Sarah schools us on what to do with preschool illnesses. They’re bound to be around the corner, so it’s great to be prepared.
• When Did I Get Like This shares a deep-seated, shameful secret: she doesn’t know how to tie her shoes...beyond the bunny ear method. Will someone go over there and teach her the one ear so she stops tripping over her laces? ;-)
• Wendi at The Mouthy Housewives gives some great advice to a mom who asks "We’re on a Budget; Should Our Kids be on One Too?” Check out all the jewel-encrusted-pimp-cup, Motel 6, Justin Bieber hilarity!
• Craving Mexican? Check out My Kids Eat Squid for some awesome Mexican recipes.

Photo Source: This is me cleaning my house. As you can see, the gigantic pillars are the most arduous task...next I moved on to the toilets made of gold.