In order for this story to make any sense - you have to know that I have a weakness for magazines. I LOVE reading magazines and subscribe to a few.

Okay, to quite a few.

Well, maybe a LOT.

But truth be told I haven't had time in the last year to really read them and the guilt for just tossing a barely read magazine is too much. I am ending most of my subscriptions this year - the end of a truly out of control magazine-reading era.

Right now, I still am getting Self, Prevention, Sesame Street, Parents, Parenting, Child, Budget Living, Wonder Years, Family Fun, Real Simple, and Wisconsin Trails. (And this is after a slash last year of a few others...)

I'm going to kill all of them but Budget Living, Real Simple, Wonder Years and Wisconsin Trails. It's hard to resist the cheap subscriptions though. When you are weak it is hard to overcome the internal dialogue that goes on in your head when the renewal notice comes:

"It's ONLY twelve dollars for a whole year's subscription. I mean, if you were to buy one month's copy it would cost four. So you don't renew it and WHAT? Save twelve dollars? How is that going to make a difference?!"

But I had made up my mind, was feeling very good about helping to contribute to our financial health and time-management goals and received a marketing piece about a new kid's magazine (my biggest weakness) called Cookie. I got the same sort of feeling in my stomach that I would imagine a shopoholic gets when she passes a shoe sale.

One year FREE? Tell me more!

Dear Friend,

If you don't care about how to cut sandwiches into cute little stars...(I don't care! I thought I was the only one who thought that it was a stupid waste of time. Tell me more! Tell me more!)

If you've vowed never to dress your child in anything with a licensed character on it... (I don't either! J will never wear Spongebob or Blues Clues clothing. I am totally against helping companies to peddle their goods. My child is not a billboard. Tell me more! Tell me more!)

If you want everything you do and buy for your child to be the best it can possibly be, and nothing less...(What?!)

Cookie is the magazine for you.

And you lost me. Not only do I not want the best for my kids, but I think it is very important for them to understand what it is like to NOT have the best (even if we can afford it), to wear second-hand things, to appreciate and understand a special gift and not expect it.

Turns out that this hoity toity baby snob magazine is by the publishers of Vogue and Vanity Fair (which I'm not knocking -I used to subscribe). It will be packed full of thousand dollar strollers and cute "dry clean only" bibs. I just really don't have time to pretend I live a different life - I need practical cool stuff that is washable and doesn't need insurance taken out on it in case it gets stolen at the Children's Museum.

So you can take your Cookie and shove it - this magazine addict is back in line.

But it was a close one...