2016 100 Small Things wrap-up

oh, this week between Christmas and New Years has me all off-kilter over here.  Gifts need put away and left-overs galore for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the feeling like there's so many ends to tie up and so many new strings to grab before the new year.  yeesh. 

But I've been looking over my 100 small things list from this past year and feeling accomplished at all the things I finished (and partially finished).  But still kind of bummed that I didn't get even half of my list done.  Brandon and my conversation though went like this - 

me: ugh, I only finished 38 of my 100 small things list this year!
bud: you did better than I did.

me: you didn't even have a list. 

bud: exactly, that means you really did better than I did. 

he's always erasing my selfdoubt #thanksbabe

So in any case, I did finish up 38 full tasks and I kind-of started another 11 tasks.  We also had at least 6 unexpected additions to the list that gave our days some interesting and meaningful new life. 

2016 100 Small Things wrap-up

Done (38 of 100): 

2. Joined Blogging for Books

4. Surprised five friends with dinner

7. Tried Blue Apron

8. Finished the first section of Buddhism for Mothers 

9. Figured out the kids' bedroom situation

11. Read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover with Brandon

12. Paid off two loans:  we paid off our furniture loan and our tractor loan this year!

13. Ran in three races:  The Bunny Race 5K, The Que Classic 5K, and The Great Santa Run 2miles

14. Tried Zumba: with my sis Uch and we went a bunch of times.  So so fun!!

15. Created and finished 2015 Family yearbook:  I've since switched to school year yearbooks and I'm finishing up the 2015-16 yearbook now (finally)

20. read 14 (two more than my goal!) new to me books this year

23. Konmari'ed three rooms: our room, walk-in closet, and bathroom so far.

26. Made enchiladas with my mumma 

31. Watched fifteen TED talks

33. got my hair highlighted

41. Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone aloud with Greyson (we read the illustrated edition)

42. helped plan the YIFC Path of the Flood Cheer Rally

43. Volunteered in Greyson's classroom (a couple of times)

45. Set up TED-like talks at CV for the seniors

47. Had an AKT plus kids playdate in Richmond, VA

50. Updated my blog tabs

53. Cleared out the laundry room and made solutions for the kids coats/backpacks! Thank goodness!

54. hung our bat house (still no bat sightings though)

59. Put Gemma's hair in rags (twice!)

60. finished 52 weeks of 'Around Here' posts about our ordinary weeks (as of this Friday!)

62. Re-read The Alchemist (still love it)

68. Celebrated our pets' birthdays!  So fun and will definitely be an annual tradition :)

71. Bought a minivan! SHEILA!

72. wrote 100 blogposts

76. taught Greyson and Gemma to ride bikes without training wheels!

78. organized the kids' handmedowns:  I haaaaate this job and it already needs done again, ugh.

79. bought four new fish but then also had an Ick epidemic hit our tank this year!  We are down to three fish left?! 

80. camped out in the backyard 

84. added more books to the kids' Easter book collection 

94. got my eyes checked and bought myself a 'bubba chain' and I'm getting better at wearing my glasses (although that's partially out of necessity!!)

95. started a CVAA intramural league - we played kickball this past summer!

98. got our blood work checked (both B and I)- updating our life insurance was the catalyst for that, otherwise we never would have done it!

99. created yard flower arrangements for our table: the kids were able to do this one all summer!

Partially Done (11 of 100): 

1. Over 510 hours outdoors this year (more than half).  I have so so much to say about this and my thoughts on adding outdoor hours and screenfree-ness.  I know, I'm a broken record, I don't care.  haha.  full post coming up in the next day or two :) 

18. Brandon visited Austin, TX for his friends' wedding, so at least one family member made it there.  We had hoped that the whole crew could attend, but when it came down to flying all six of us and Rust was within the first rotten eight weeks - it just was not the best decision for all of us.  bummer.

24. watched 3 of 5 (the goal) documentaries.  I watched Meet the Patels, Living on One Dollar, and The Champions

36. I hosted One big family dinner at our house - for Christmas Eve like we do every year

48. visited two new-to-us local spots in town (Nykos and Bella Silia)

51. Kind of reinstated the days of the week activities with the kids at home, but it was inconsistent.  What's cooking Wednesday is all of our favorite)

52. Eating meals at the dinner table has been a lot better this year than others - but I still wouldn't say we did it at least once a week.  

64. Still working on potty training Violet.  Santa brought her Paw Patrol underpants for some motivation....we shall see. 

88. added KidYoutube and shut down some of the adult apps on the iPad, but I still have a lot to learn about child setting and profiles, etc. 

91. get in contact with my Costa Rican host family - I did and I'm facebook friends with my host siblings too!  (so glad) but I want to do better than that and send my host mum and email or two and share some photos with her.  

96. it wasn't a monthly game night, but we did have a few family game nights and the kids were over the moon about it like it was the most fun thing on the planet.  We really need to continue to take advantage of the fact that they like spending time with us right now (hah) before age wears that out of them!?!

We also added a few unplanned extras to our list this year: 

-we added additional Valentines' Day books to our kid holiday collection

-Tab got a part-time substitute teaching job as a Spanish I teacher
-Brandon got a new job!
-we met our new financial planner and made positive changes towards our future and planning
-Greyson got a new pet:  Spike the hamster
-Gave the blog template a mini-makeover

I've been reflecting on this year and thinking forward to the next.  I'm a list lover and goal maker, but I'm also in need of a big 'ole dose of dialing it back a notch or two.  I want to move in the direction of simple but intentional living.  I'm going to try to use this as a guide as I craft up my 2017 list....to come soon :)

cheers and adios to 2016!