100 Small things

I pulled out the sweetest little journal I received from a dear friend (thank you Loni!) a few days before New Years and started jotting down some thoughts for my 100 small things list. Brandon gave me a few sideways glances before asking, "Babe?" and I gave him a little smile and replied, "I know." 

The thing is last year was so freaking nuts and mixed up that my 100 small things list of 2020 had tons of things that I just flat out could not even attempt to do. 2020 was the physical manifestation of, "you can make all the plans you want but life has plans of its own." um, yeah. 

global pandemic, schools shutdown, first of my babies born via c-section, taking a very deep, honest look at my own sense of whiteness and how I can be a better ally and listener, post partum depression, finishing a college class while teaching virtually while helping my own kids with virtual school, getting pregnant with baby6 while taking care of four big kids and a 5 month old, getting goats (and all that comes with that - fence, house, caring, learning), going back to school with masks and sanitizing, teaching both virtually and in-person simultaneously, all the holiday celebrations canceled, schools zooming again..

...if you need to shout it with me: THAT WAS SO CRAZY!!

but humans do what humans do. They adjust and figure it out and survive - and if they're willing to work on it, they can thrive too. 

which is how I felt about most of the year despite (because of?) all the madness. We snuggled up and got cozy as a family more than ever, we brought home a new baby (!!) and made another one (!?!), I baked a lot of things for the first time: boiled bagels, scones, potato candy, blackberry pie with crust from scratch, we put a beautiful roof over the back porch, we got five goats and more chickies (!) and two guinea pigs, we became dedicated to ordering take out from local restaurants exclusively, we had lots of important conversations with our kids about big and small topics, we read, we talked, we had a million kitchen dance parties, we laughed, we cried, we gave the coronavirus the bird. 

2020 was bizarre, but it was not a waste. we made sure it was not wasted no matter how murky and foggy the path became, we walked together intentionally and found ways to make the journey meaningful along the way. 

So, after that dumpster fire of the year that seemed to take my entire planner and rip it up, light it on fire and then pee on it to put the fire out - you'd think I'd scrap my 100 small things list - huh? 

well, you better take a note from my good looking husband and just give me a sideways glance and do the 'ole check in of  asking, "tab?" because you'll get the same little ambitious eye twinkle and smile and "I know." that he got. 

100 Small Things 2021

1. 1000 hours outdoors 
2. Create a year long phenology wheel
3. hang ferns in the upstairs bathroom
4. finish 2020-21 family yearbook
5. plant a real garden
6. learn to can
7. make jam
8. use animal fertilizer in the garden
9. participate in a month long yoga challenge
10. read 24 books
11. buy holiday themed books for my little loves
12. run a 5k
13. eliminate the 'missing a pair' sock hamper
14. make brownies (that aren't a disaster)
15. fireplace the back porch
16. declutter 1000 things (thank you for the inspo Ashley!)
17. buy a proper winter coat for myself
18. restock half a cow 
19. restock whole pig
20. hang all swings in the pasture tree
21. mailbox makeover
22. remove old retaining wall
23. make driveway circle around the back
24. map out our homestead dreams
25. get a pixie cut
26. donate blood at least twice
27. buy a new vehicle
28. get a new front door
29. use basement and/or back porch door as main entrance
30. hang hooks on back porch (coats)
31. create shoe/boot organizer for back porch
32. make blackberry pie with Violet
33. drink a glass of water before coffee each morning
34. read Wonder as read aloud and watch the movie together
35. complete a 1000 piece puzzle in the winter as a family
36. make fried plantains
37. take a mini volunteer trip with Grey
38. Do a full moon kayak with Gemma
39. get a new kayak
40. organize our kayaks
41. watch the sunrise from Mt Davis overlook tower
42. restart 12 months of kindness
43. nsfw
44. AKT playdate
45. celebrate my mom & dad's 40th wedding anniversary
46. take a whole family mini "babymoon"
47. sell my standing mixer
48. donate to St. Francis Helping Hands
49. grow Shiitake mushrooms
50. crab leg dinner date with B
51. go to the drive ins with our cousins
52. family camping trip at Lake Erie ("the beach")
53. new carpeting upstairs
54. write 100 blogposts
55. make at least 4 recipes from Make the Bread, Buy the Butter cookbook
56. Learn how to make gravy from Dad
57. visit Buttermilk falls 
58. learn to finger knit
59. purge old make-up
60. monthly candle purchase with a local vendor
61. buy hat & scarf from Floodcity Stitch (local)
62. update family photos after new babe
63. update staircase photos/frames
64. clear out the dining room built-ins
65. eat dinner at the dining room table regularly (instead of using as a catch all)
66. Blog everyday for a month
67. successfully 'skin the cat' on the chin up bars
68. get picture frames for Red and the new baby for the living room
69. put a shelf on the "mount wall" in the living room
70. inventory the deep freezer and throw out anything that is old
71. organize my classroom closet
72. map out curriculum for 2021-22 school year
73. figure out childcare for 21-22 school year (!!?!!)
74. purchase a laptop for Grey's move to the middle school
75. clean out and donate children's book collection
76. clean out and garbage holiday decoration as needed
77. re-instate SCF sleepover
78. clean dishwasher
79. have "card night" with the kids once a month (spoons, smack-it, war, etc)
80. take the kids to the zoo
81. have a stash of greeting cards handy (birthday, anniversary, thank you, sympathy, congrats, etc)
    
82. clear out and update spice cupboard
83. purchase more spices from The Sprinkle Factory
84. teach Gem to make cake-mix chocolate chip cookies all by herself
85. buy a lamp for the girls' room
86. buy a camping mattress for me and B
87. buy a proper sleeping bag for me and B
88. find a solution to coffee at camp
89. buy a floating tube or a paddleboard
90. finish the steps on all the porches
91. sell at least one time at the local farmer's market
92. Set up a Kiva loan sponsored by our Spanish club
93. research beekeeping
94. Read 3 Spanish novels
95. make our church donations direct withdraw
96. use lotion after every shower
97. teach Rusty & Violet to rollerblade
98. make campfire scones
99. buy new bedding (sheets & quilts) for all the beds
100. write a proper love letter to B

Bring it on 2021. 

I got plans. 

who knows what you might have up your sleeve. 

Let's see how this shakes out, shall we?