We had a great weekend with Papa and GoGo. As always I just wished it could last longer. And yes, the cinnamon rolls did get eaten by Sunday. And yes, I did eat more of them than Michael.

I have been thinking a lot about being a mom in this present age versus being a parent in the country say - 70 years ago. That book I keep going on and on about by Wendell Berry has me thinking about how I wish I lived on a farm, in a time where I grew my own food, baked my own bread, milked my own cow. I feel like I was meant to live in a place and time when people knew the people who lived around them, when evenings were passed sitting on your porch talking or playing games - rather than laying like a slug watching a blue screen for 2 hours at night. I wish I lived when life was more about necessity than about consumerism.

And then I think about what it must have been like to be a mom back then. No jogging strollers, no excer-saucers, no disposable diapers. No carseats, no swaddlers, no bouncy seats. No noisy trucks, no tv, no dvds, no computers. I start to think that life must have been so much harder, but then I think that it is really hard now.

Think of how much time we spend just trying to get from one place to the next. Back then, if you wanted your kids to socialize, you probably opened the door and told them to be in by dinnertime. Now, you have to plan a play date, pack your kids in the car, drive - sometimes across town, stay for one to two hours, then rush back home so you can try to get some stuff done before evening comes.

All the modern fast conviences I have just seem to cost me more time and energy. My car has taken away all the exercise that walking from one part of town to another might have given me then. So, now, I have to dress for the gym, weigh the cost/benefits of putting my children in the childcare, go stand on an eliptical machine or run around the neighborhood for an hour, just so my body gets moving a little. I spend hours upon hours thinking about where to send my sons to school. Back then, you probably got the choice of one school or none.

I go to at least 3 different stores in different parts of town each week to find good deals on the necessities of life - like organic milk, laundry detergent and wipes. I have a hair budget. I feel totally overwhelmed by the number of cool recipes I want to try, projects I'd like to do with frank, places I want to see, and things I'd like to learn about, but there just isn't ever enough time. I wish my life was smaller sometimes.

Anyway.

So here's my idea for the blog. Cause now I think there are like 10 of you who read it. If you have any ideas on how to make life simpler and better, post it in a comment. If you find a delicious recipe, share it so we can all enjoy. I have so much that I can learn from all of you cool people, y'all are way cooler and smarter than me.

(first idea, how do i make captions for photos? the one above with frank and the mixing bowls was him doing a "cooking" demonstration for Papa and GoGo. He's great that boy.)