Don't be discouraged, you do more than you think!

For every mom out there...this just about sums it up:

This was the perfect video to watch this morning as I lay in bed for any additional second I could get while hearing my kids playing and bickering in the background.

Last night we had a Relief Society (women's group for my church) activity about "the seasons of our lives".  There was a panel of a great women, all who I know (some better than others) and they discussed what stage of life they are in, what they like best, and what kind of things they have learned at their stage or looking back on other stages of life.  It was so great to listen to the discussion and better appreciate everyone's season of life - even my own.

My season of life consists of 4 kids, meal planning/cooking, cleaning, changing diapers, homework help, driving carpool, not sleeping enough, mountains of laundry, too much stuff in too little space, the list goes on...

....which reminds me of these songs by Hilary Weeks:

But, the one thing I love about parenting is that it's always changing.  Sometimes it feels like we're stuck in a stage for so long, but when we look back, we realize that it went so quickly.  I think of all these stages as learning opportunities.  We can only do the best we know how and we just need to take what tools we can learn from each season of our life and do our best to along the way.  Maybe what we learn at any given point is just so that someday we can help someone else who is going through the same thing.

A friend reminded me today that I need to give myself more credit for things.  We're all our own biggest critics and sometimes we're so focused on what we're not doing.  Today, let's celebrate something that we do well!

Easy Roasted Veggies

"Planning ahead" might just be the answer to most of life's problems as a mom of 4.  Yet, somehow I always feel like I'm just playing "catch up".  Meal planning isn't my forte, but I'm attempting to create some habits that will pay off.  

One of my favorite go-to's for getting veggies in our meals is roasting two huge pans after I make a big produce run.  Sprouts has awesome deals on produce and if you shop on Wednesdays, you get the deals for both last week and the current week!  

So, before even putting any produce in the fridge, I do a quick sink wash with my homemade fruit and veggie wash.  Then I just chop up everything that's going to be roasted so it doesn't even get to the veggie drawer (and get long forgotten because I don't feel like cooking veggies later). Each time I roast vegetables, it's always a little different, depending on what I have on hand.  Today it was red, green, and yellow peppers, yellow squash (on sale for 50 cents/lb!), baby carrots, yellow onion, and red potatoes.  

Since I had a package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix just waiting to be used, I decided to throw that into the mix as well, but usually I just add olive oil, salt/pepper, and balsamic vinegar.  

Today's Roasted Vegetable Recipe:

6 Bell Peppers (I used 2 of each - green, yellow, red)

4 handfuls of baby carrots

2 yellow squash

6 red potatoes

1 onion

2 pkgs Lipton onion soup mix

Olive Oil to coat veggies

Balsamic vinegar - a drizzle over each pan

Garlic salt (optional)

Chop all vegetables into bite size pieces.  Divide veggies onto two large baking sheets.  Sprinkle 1 package soup mix over each pan. Then drizzle enough olive oil plus a little balsamic vinegar to coat veggies.  Gently mix thoroughly with clean hands.  (you may also choose to add veggies to a ziplock bag or bowl to mix, but I wanted to have one less dish to wash)

Roast at 450 degrees for 25-30min.

Eat and enjoy for dinner, but then SAVE all the rest for LEFTOVERS during the week.  Great for bringing in a container for lunch as well!  You can add them to salads, pastas, or any meat dish.  

The only hard part is getting my kids to eat them!