My four-year-old had only spent his own money once before today … on a Matchbox car. Today, he bought me a present, the flower in the photo above. It cost a dollar, but the sweet part is that he thought of it himself and used his own money.

I’ve since re-potted it into a nicer container (one my son gave me for mother’s day) and am doing everything I can to keep this little thing alive.

The Sienna family is making ownership of a mini-van ultra cool. Don’t know the Sienna family? Maybe you’ll recall The Swagger Wagon from Internet fame. Check it out:

My husband just showed me this video and I can’t believe how true everything they say is. I know it’s a commercial (a brilliant campaign!), but it’s true. We change when we become parents. It’s easy to reminisce about the college days hanging out at a fraternity bon fire or the ability to take a flight to Anywhere, USA. We could do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. 

It’s different now.

We’ve got kids. Responsibilities. Jobs.

And those kids cost money. They get sick. They need constant attention and keep us home on Saturday nights.

They also bring us incredible joy so that we don’t miss those spontaneous events in our lives. We don’t even care that even though we swore we would never, ever, EVER — did you hear me? NEVER. We would NEVER own a mini-van — that now, we realize that owning a mini-van can be cool.

I’m sitting here in the comfort of my sofa, cat perched next to me, contemplating what to watch on TV — 20/20’s behind the scenes of “The Bachelor” franchise or last night’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” As I contemplate my decision, laptop in hand, I am also organizing posts in my head. I have a lot of new ones in store for you. I keep thinking of so many posts. I’ve got a butterfly cake coming and a rocket ship cake too. I’m also trying to get together an Easter rabbit cake tutorial before Easter arrives.

I don’t want to make excuses as to why I haven’t done these posts (one could have been up at the end of November) — I’m just a tired mom trying to juggle spending time with the kids and husband with working a full-time job, and still trying to find time to do the things I love to do: The other things that make me a whole person. The person I was before I became a wife or mother. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a wife and a mom, but I also like being me. I think there are times when women get caught up in doing things for other people and they loose part of themselves. Some even loose themselves entirely. I remember reading about Lance Armstrong’s ex-wife, Kristin Richard, and how she lost herself during their marriage. It’s important to take time for ourselves. Sometimes it’s hard with a full house, but I’m trying to find my way.

I’ll get to those posts, don’t you worry, (it’s something I love to do) but tonight I think I’ll watch some famous people try to become the “Apprentice.”

A friend of mine just sent me a quick Instant Message to say, “hi.” In it, she confessed that she thinks of me every time she sees Erin Burnett on TV. Erin is a financial guru for CNBC. This two minute conversation made my day. Why?

I looked at Erin’s Web site and saw her photo — she’s attractive, stylish and looks smart too. So, someone out there thinks that I look as good as this. That makes my day.

This was at a hotel I stayed at last year and I just couldn’t resist taking the photo. Every now and then moms just need a sign like this to tell everyone that we need some alone time.