2025: 100 Small Things

It has been a few years since I made a list for 100 Small Things (not since 2021!) But I'm feeling like I'm ready for a little more direction for myself this year. 

I am hoping it might also work as a helpful distraction when I'm feeling like I'm so small in this great big world where there is so much noise and so much out of my control. But I can control me; what I'm learning, where I'm choosing to put my time and effort, how I want to take steps into raising our babies right now where they are. I can control that and if I don't make a plan I'm afraid I'll just let myself get swallowed up in the chaos that swirls outside of me. 

So in case you're wondering or looking to find some inspiration on small ways you can gain control - here's where I'm looking to keep my eyes on the horizon of my goals this year. 

1. Birthday letter: Gemma 
2. Birthday letter: Violet
3. Birthday letter: Rusty
4. Birthday letter: Reddy
5. Birthday letter: Olive
6. Donate blood in the winter
7. Donate blood in the summer
8. make pasta from scratch
9. 1000 hours outside (at least 800 for me!)
10. make our wills and last testaments officially
11. No Buy January
12. romantic getaway with B
13. Erie trip (rescheduled!) with the Kochs
14. Church donations set up to automatic withdrawl
15. set up /assess / correct kids' savings accounts
16. Meet with our financial advisor for a check in 
17. New carpeting upstairs
18. Secure the boys' bunk beds for safety
19. new siding for the house
20. get osa spayed
21. run a race (5k?)
22. get a headboard for our bed
23. bike / walk the Jim Mayer trail
24. bike / walk the Staple Bend tunnel trail
25. Plan for the fall for Red and Olive 
26. NSV - wear engagement ring comfortably
27. draft up goals for Studerbabies Farm & Free Play
28. collect Christmas trees for the goats
29. collect pumpkins for the goats
30. create a mini store for the driveway in the summer (eggs, veggies, baked goods)
31. update all the kids' baby books (notes and pics)
32. 2024-2025 Family yearbook
33. unfollow random accts on Instagram until down to 300 
34. complete the SCF Challenge
35. plant mini pine trees in the front porch planters
36. start Project Lit at Somerset
37. attend the North Star musical
38. attend the CT musical 
39. Make goals / decisions about The Hunting Daddies llc
40. Attend 6 book club meetings
41. Redesign the flowerbed at the run in the driveway
42. Scrub the kitchen table and chairs
43. donate baby clothes 3T and younger (!)
44. donate snow / winter clothes 3T and younger
45. purge the shoe collections all around the house
46. Install water pressure booster
47. drop the bubbas and binkies (Olive)
48. 1st Holy Communion outfit for Rusty
49. mini shed at the farm for hay/ food
50. baby chickies! (get at least 10 more)
51. unsubscribe from at least 25 junk emails
52. update the kids' memory boxes with art projects, etc
53. purge Children's book collection (unloved, broken, etc)
54. Host a Studerbabies event this summer
55. Create a personal email for Gemma
56. birds & bees talk with Violet
57. get a pedicure
58. grow zucchini
59. find an afternoon snack solution for myself
60. visit Yoder Falls with the kids
61. move / relocate the goat house in the pasture
62. get another great Pyr (!!?)
63. Save money for a Friends beach trip in 2026
64. family beach vacation this year
65. buy new wrapping paper for Christmas
66. Sourdough starter (!!)
67. hang up outside Christmas lights
68. build a Christmas star 
69. Go to Mass at least once a month
70. Sign Gemma up for official babysitter certification class
71. buy a new "momma blankie" (oversized cardigan)
72. teach Red to swim
73. teach Olive to swim
74. teach Red to ride a bike no training wheels
75. find a soup that the kids like
76. start framing out the window seats in the living room
77. cut out a half wall between the kitchen and dining room
78. hang string bulb lights from porch to the firepit
79. 180 days content of Miss Big Sis
80. Digital product for Miss Big Sis
81. Host a cousins sleepout in a tent in the backyard
82. get a new address book
83. put new ink in the return address stamper
84. AKT plus kids weekend
85. Research the expectations for prospective college athlete social media / stats
86. NSV: wear a two piece confidently
87. Mentor a new Spanish teacher 
88. Curriculum map for 2025-26 and collaborate with co-teacher
89. Inventory / Organize / Purge pantry
90. I / O / P medicine cabinet
91. I / O / P attic
92. get a Christmas tree for the basement den 
93. finish basement bathroom 
94. fire place for living room
95. update family photos in living room 
96. re-paint the kitchen
97. support Violet on an art submission
98. paint the back porch shutters
99. new kitchen curtains
100. new tattoo! 

Here's to moving towards becoming the person you hope to be! 

Around Here Week 2: 01/05 - 11

 A glimpse into what it is like to be in our family just this moment. 

selfie cred: Miss Emma

photo cred: Aunt Uch

photo cred: Aunt Uch

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 3+ hours (of 1000)
A lot of snow! The kids were overjoyed to get all this snow and are having a blast sled riding, tackling, and attempting an igloo build outside. It has been an even bigger farm chore to get fresh water and food to the animals while we trudge through the knee high snow. I shoveled a path for the chickens and even pushed the shovel the whole way down to make a semi-clear path to the pasture from the house. Osa is loving the snow though and bounds through it and then joyfully lays down chews on her bone while watching over the goaties. 

Reading The Martian by Andy Weir which is a borrow from the kids' math teacher Mr. Kramer (thank you!) After reading Project Hail Mary this summer, I am excited to read another Weir book that makes me excited about math and science! 

Listening to The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Visit with the Vorndran family who joined us at Rusty's swim meet to watch and cheer him on. After the meet, we all went out to brunch together at a local bistro. The kids had their own giant table and the adults got to sit and chat with only occasional interruptions from kids wandering over to ask random questions (hah). Tare and I got to laugh about all the Fourth Wing memes right now with Onyx Storm's release date nearby. She and I are book nerds, so we can go on and on about books while B and Dobber just shake their heads at us. It is always so good to see dear friends, so grateful they made the trip (thank you and love you guys!)

Stuck, stuck, stuck in the Honda Pilot in our driveway. Jillian the Pilot doesn't have winter tires and it was very apparent when I left to take the kids to school on Tuesday morning (I had a virtual day, but they had school). The car so easily slipped off the driveway and we slid out into the yard but I was able to maneuver back onto the driveway and get them to school. I was a little shaken up about it but figured maybe it was because this is our first year with millings on the driveway (?) Then later in the afternoon when I went to go pick up Grey from basketball practice, Jillian again slid off the driveway when it caught the edge of the ditch and just kept sliding. I tried and tried to get back up, but every time I tried I made it worse. I texted Grey and he got a ride home and walked up the driveway in the snow (thank you Carson for the ride!) and then B came home and tried to pull Jillian out with the truck...no luck. Then he had to go buy a come-along and he and Pappy stayed out in the driveway until 11pm until they finally unstuck Jillian! It was a disaster and I felt so bad about it, but winter tire appointment scheduled (there goes all the money we planned to save during No Buy January!!?!?!) Ugh, adulting. 

Trying to readjust to non-holiday schedules, especially with the snowy back to school weather. I don't know if maybe I might have actually preferred a toss right back into the schedule over this wishy washy restart of cancellations and half starts. I am a planner deep in my bones, so having to look at my schedule this week and multiple times have to re-do the logistics and plans was a little disorientating since I tried so hard to make sure we were ready (LOL, life in a nutshell). 

Sending Gem to help babysit the nephews. She spent the day at Aunt Uch's house hanging out with the boys and watching Wicked with Uchie (aka best day ever). Then the Moores brought her home and stayed to hang out and play at our house for the evening which made it the best night ever. Wins all around when cousins and sisters are involved! 

Kitchen / Shower leak fixing attempt with B, Pappy, and Mr. Darren. They made the hole in the kitchen ceiling a little bigger to try to fix the pipe and spent most of the afternoon in there tinkering about to try to get it fixed. It seems like it's holding up (fingers crossed). We still need to fix the ceiling

Teaching a strange back to school week because the snow would just not let up. We had a Flexible Instruction Day on Monday then another one on Tuesday - so I still hadn't seen my students in person since December 20! Finally on Wednesday we had a 2hr delay which meant I didn't have elementary school classes (!) but I did get my high school classes in that day. Then we finished up the rest of the week with two full days of school (LOL). My elementary students reviewed the verb Hay and did a 'write the classroom' for winter vocab words. Spanish Expo started their geography week. Spanish 1 got new vocab words (clothing!) and did some writing activities; making sure to check their adjective - noun agreement. Spanish 2 worked on Somos Unit 13 which includes the Selena song El Chico del apartamento 512. 

Sporting with a swim meet in Kittanning for Rusty (he swam in the relay, 25 yard Freestyle, 25 yard Butterfly, and the 50 yard Freestyle with all new PRs!). Rusty also had two swim practices too. Violet had her Sparks soccer tryout practice. Gemma had two basketball games and three basketball practices. Grey had a baseball pitching practice, three basketball practices, and two basketball games. We reserved and paid a high school student to work our concession stand duty for Grey's game (thank you Ellie!). Thankful for the option so we were able to watch Grey play in the JV and Varsity games that night. 

Making frozen pizzas, pirozhki (beef hand pies) with buttered noodles, peas, and parmesan cheese, sheet pan chicken fajitas, chicken / veggie / biscuit casserole (I had to make cream of chicken soup from scratch because we didn't have any...actually not too much of a pain, but still), spaghetti, homemade stromboli, and chicken / bacon / ranch roasted potatoes with shells and cheese and candied kielbasa. For breakfast on the snow day I made egg sausage casserole. For an I'm-sorry-I-can't-drive-in-the-snow-down-our-driveway-without-sliding-into-our-ditch surprise apology dessert, I made cake batter chocolate chip cookies for B while he in a serendipitous surprise showed up with stop-worrying-about-the-ditch-incident-it-could've-happened-to-anyone take out sushi for me the very same night (!)

Around Here Week 1: 01/01/2025 - 01/04

 A glimpse into what it is like to be in our family just this moment. 

photo cred: Onara C

photo cred: Olive

photo cred: B

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 2+ hours (of 1000)
Woke up to snow on New Years day! I'm really trying to be even more intentional about my outdoor time because I know how good it is for me. It has me looking up, breathing fresh air, moving and active- all the best things for my mental and emotional health! So I am trying to push myself for 20 minutes a day during the winter months (tracking in my planner). That means helping with farm chores and heading out with the kids to watch them sled. I am NOT a cold weather gal, but it does make me feel so much better to move and breath fresh air and most of all get away for a minute from chores or screens! 

Reading kind of nothing. Taking a little breather while I try to organize my planner 

Listening to The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 

No Buy January to try to get ourselves back under control from the spend, spend, spend of the holidays. Our self-imposed rules are bills, gas, groceries, farm food, emergency needs all allowed. No extras - no restaurants/take out, no clothes, no "oh-I've-been-meaning-to-get-that" purchases, no books, no 'oh, that's cute' or 'but I really want it.' Here's to self control! 

Starting our annual January puzzle and finishing it in only two days! Violet and Gemma (especially Violet) were completely locked in. B says we've outgrown 1000 piece puzzles! We left it out on the table to admire it but we're thinking of pulling out an old one so that we have one out for the rest of the month. The kids wanted to buy a new one - but I was like, "Guyyyyyys, it's No Buy January!" (hahha, they hate us)

Watching Mountain Monsters at Greys' suggestion and we have all been cracking up yet totally invested in the investigations and traps (it's on MAX)  All 8 of us on the couch (we fit!), sharing blankets, and belly laughing at the adventures of Trapper, Huckleberry, Wild Bill, Buck and the rest of the crew has been some of my favorite moments of this holiday break!

Grading, planning, and organizing and trying to remember that I have a job and need to function like a contributing member of society next week. LOL

Annual bloodwork done for B and I before our annual check up. We went in early on a snowy Saturday when barely anyone was out running errands. Lucky for us, we were literally in and out in less than 20 minutes - it was amazingly efficient! 

Operation ground deer meet at Uncle Rays' house. B took some of the kids over to meet Pappy and Uncle Ray to grind up one of our harvested deer into ground meat. We've been adding it into our ground beef recipes (half/half) and the kids don't notice, so praise the Lord, we've doubled our ground meat supply! 

Feeling so grateful for this very long holiday break with everyone. We still had plenty of to do and kids coming and going between time with friends and sports. And even though I had to prep, make, and clean up so many meals (hah) - it was such a good, cozy time with all of us together at home. B took off most days of the break too - so it was truly all of us together. I am not so far from the days of grown up kids who don't live here anymore (!!) so I can appreciate it now to see how lucky we are to be living right now in a house of all six of our kids under one roof. These are the good 'old days. 

And here I am starting another year of Around Here weekly updates. I don't even know who is reading these anymore (hah), but the truth is - I am! I have been writing Around Here weekly updates since 2016! And one of my guilty pleasures is to look up the current week I am living in, but back in time in an Around Here post to see what my motherhood journey was like a few years back. It makes me feel so thankful that I have a written description of my worries and gratitudes and what I was cooking (!) or what we were celebrating and how we spent out days. It is legitimately unbelievable that I have been writing these journal like posts for 9 years (how?! why?!) but also - thank goodness because it makes me so happy to look back on this blur of chaotic beauty of raising these kids up. 

Sporting with only 1 swim practice for Rusty. Gemma had two basketball practices and Grey had two basketball practices and a shoot around. Grey and Gem each had a basketball game postponed due to weather too. 

Making buffalo chicken dip with veggie dippers, haluski with baked deli sammies, slow cooker cream cheese taquitos, chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes, and hot dogs and bacon, cheddar, ranch roasted potatoes. For breakfast I made oatmeal, pumpkin, chocolate chip muffins (with pepitas on some for me too! I have a real obsession with pepitas). For dessert, I made peanut butter cookies with Reese's pieces on top (Christmas candy leftovers!)