Menu Planning

I have done many different ways of menu planning through the years. 

But, here is my confession: this is the area I struggle with the most. I do not mind cooking when a) all the ingredients are in the house, and b) there is no clock I am racing against trying to get the food ready AND into the children AND cleaned up. 
I am the mother of 4 youngish children.
So, most days, those two points do not line up. 

I am queen of turning nearly every recipe into a crock pot recipe. I am really good about thinking of "what's for dinner" at 9am instead of 5pm. I write out my menus and shop from my list. 

However, if I am being honest, this is one area that I just feel like I am a slave to the never ending demand for menu planning, grocery shopping, food prep, cooking, teaching my children to cook, feeding everyone, getting things cleaned up and having everyone help me clean up (because if there ever were life skills to teach, they should be in the kitchen). 
My "favorite" is that by the time a meal is done, you could very well blink and it will be time for the next one. And kids like to actually eat "right now, before they starve". (Insert mega eye roll)

I know all the tips and tricks. I have had menus planned for me, I have started every dinner at 9am and it is ready by dinner time, I have fed everyone at 4pm, so we avoid hitting the sports games or practices or scout groups, and I have changed my attitude from "I hate all things related to me feeding people" to "this is a necessary evil that I can choose to make more enjoyable with my attitude". Progress, folks. 

But the whole reason for this post was just to be real. I am really good at many things. I am choosing to play to those strong points and teach my children how to cook and clean as quickly as possible so that one day they can feed me all the meals and hopefully my boys (who will be teenagers) will inhale all the food, (and maybe dishes), so quickly, that nothing will really be left to be cleaned.
This is my hope. 

Until then, I am telling you that it is okay to have that weak spot. Or 10. Just keep plugging along. And hopefully your weak spot is not the one thing all humanity must do to survive. :)

Would you rather cook or clean it up? Mine is definitely to clean...