This is my seventh year with the practice of 100 Little Things.  I can honestly say that this practice has changed my life for the better.  That sounds a little ridiculous and extreme, but I believe it to be true.  This list allows me time every summer to sit with my to-do list and my dreams and create a wonderful mixture of both.  It keeps me focused on the memories that I’d like to create with my husband and children.  It keeps me from throwing money away at the Target Dollar Spot because there is a list of things I’d really like to purchase.  It keeps my own health and self-care on track so I can pour from a full cup.  It is just a little list, but it is so, so good.

Thoughts on Round Six: The final goal was 52 tasks accomplished, which I think is a personal best!  I really feel like I hit my groove with this one and it seemed to be a nice balance of fun things and necessary things.  Last year, I had written: “I tried to focus on the goal of noticing (my one little word for 2019), especially taking care of the things we already own, taking care of myself physically and spiritually, and taking care of the people in our community.”  Even without completing all 100, I think I accomplished that.

Thoughts going into Round Seven:  I was really inspired with the idea of increasing my skills as a creator versus a consumer, so homesteading skills, gardening and even some handicrafts have a strong presence on the list.  There are a handful of tasks that need to be tackled and half-finished ones to be completed.  And because after three really hardcore years of debt reduction, I allowed myself to dream a little about home projects and purchases too.  So fun.

Here’s my list for August 2020 – July 2021:

1. Complete Baby Step #3: save six months of expenses
2. Refinance the mortgage
3. Pay one extra payment on the mortgage
4. Make homemade Greek yogurt
5. Learn how to make pickles
6. Make cinnamon rolls from scratch
7. Make a cookie cake
8. Make a new flavor of homemade ice cream
9. Make homemade vanilla extract
10. Bake a two-layer cake
11. Make and can tomato sauce
12. Invest in half a cow
13. Learn how to make a homemade caramel macchiato
14. Sew cloth napkins
15. Sew a piece of clothing
16. Learn how to darn a sock
17. Set up a clothesline
18. Make my own laundry detergent
19. Expand the garden
20. Grow herbs
21. Plant flowers along the outside perimeter of the garden
22. Finish painting the garden fence
23. Build a wood shed
24. Build a chicken coop
25. Get chickens

31. Learn how to crochet
32. Learn block printing
33. Finish the scrap quilt
34. Finish the princess cross-stitch pillow
35. Finish the flower garden quilt
36. Finally finish my “winter” cross-stitch
37. Complete a new embroidery project
38. Make citronella candles
39. Finish the 1000 Item Declutter Challenge
40. Buy a new couch
41. Decide what to do with the first floor textured walls
42. Paint Sophia’s room
43. Replace the tile in Sophie’s bathroom
44. Hang the dining room chandelier
45. Grow paperwhites indoors
46. Purchase new electric candles to put in the windows for Advent and Christmas
47. Choose a new piece of art for our 15th anniversary present to each other
48. Make sure every bedroom has its own crucifix
49. Buy outdoor lanterns
50. Make a firepit
51. Finish painting the second floor shutters
52. Fix the basement drywall
53. Buy a snake plant for the master bedroom
54. Plant lavender under my bedroom windows
55. Install more shelving in the laundry room
56. Buy a master bedroom headboard
57. Get Lucy a new dog bed
58. Whitewash the fireplace
59. Sew a slipcover for the living room chair
60. Add another bookcase to the school room
61. Finally finish the Bible reading plan
62. Get to 50% on my 20th Century Reading Challenge
63. Read Don Quixote
64. Read The Pilgrim’s Progress
65. Read another book from Agatha Christie
66. Read another book from Wendell Berry
67. Get Goodreads TBR to under 375
68. Say five different novenas
69. Celebrate the kids’ feast days with special dinners
70. Pray a 54-day novena
71. Read the Catechism of Saint Pius X
72. Learn about a new Marian apparition
73. Print pictures of all of the kids and make photo books
74. Hang a few family photos on the walls
75. Make another Extraordinary Ordinary video
76. Make a “1 Second Everyday” video to share on the blog
77. Find a new dentist
78. Invest in a new pair of winter pajamas
79. Buy myself a pair of snow pants
80. Invest in a new pair of spring/summer pajamas
81. Buy new slippers
82. Go to the eye doctor
83. Order new glasses
84. Find simple stud earrings
85. Invest in a high-quality linen dress
86. Read Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family
87. Send someone flowers, just because
88. Send Christmas cards
89. Donate to our local volunteer fire department
90. Donate to the food bank
91. Donate to a semi-local veteran retreat center
92. Sell the remaining inventory from my little Poshmark business and officially close
93. Participate in Project Feeder Watch
94. Thank the mailman
95. Thank the workers at the dump
96. Finish my self-defense DVD course
97. Get a haircut
98. Help place Christmas wreaths on veterans’ graves at the cemetery
99. Take the kids to the beach
100. Use Amazon as little as possible

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I’ve been steadily working on my 100 Little Things list and am ready for another update!  (This is the original list and this was the first update.)  Here’s what I completed in October, November and December:

#65. PRAY A NOVENA.  I prayed the Saint Therese novena with Pray More Novenas for a special intention at the end of September.  While I didn’t receive a rose, J did bring home this holy card for me from his CCD teacher’s prize box.  He had no idea I was praying the novena and didn’t even really know who she was.  He said, “She just looked beautiful and I know you like flowers.”  It felt like she was saying, “I got you.  I’ll bring your intentions to the feet of Christ.”

#90. READ WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON AS A READ ALOUD.  I read this book to the kids for school and we really loved it!

#30. REPLACE THE AMERICAN FLAG.  Our poor old flag was faded and ripping.  We grabbed a replacement and made the switch in minutes.  So happy to get this task crossed off the list!

#35. PLANT BULBS IN THE FALL.  For my birthday, I asked for something a little unconventional: I wanted 100 daffodil bulbs!  My boys worked so hard to dig a new flower bed around one of our big trees.  They even planted them for me too!  I can’t wait to see them bloom in March or April. 

#44. HAVE FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN. and #79. SEND CHRISTMAS CARDS.  We decided to take our family photos ourselves this year and they actually turned out okay!  I ordered my Christmas cards through Basic Invite – I worked with them last year and really liked their website and options.

#16. ORGANIZE THE EMERGENCY CLOSET.  Another task that I’m so grateful to cross off the list.  Ever since the Wind Storm Fiasco of 2018, we are very proactive about keeping a full emergency closet, just in case.  We slowly replenished the non-perishables, batteries and bottled water and got everything in its place.  One new addition this year was the investment of freeze dried meals – super pricey, but gives me peace of mind that my children won’t go hungry if we run out of other provisions.  And bonus: they don’t expire for 30 years!

#80. SUPPORT THREE ETSY SHOPS. and #69. ROLL BEESWAX ADVENT CANDLES.  Crossing off two tasks in one: we purchased beeswax Advent candles from Beeswax Candle Company and rolled them on December 1!  A really fun memory for our family.   

#78. DONATE FOOD TO THE FOOD PANTRY.  We made birthday boxes.

#83. DONATE TINY GOING HOME OUTFITS TO GRANT’S GIFTS.  For Giving Tuesday, we donated little preemie outfits to a wonderful organization called Grant’s Gifts.  I sent them directly from Amazon because finding preemie outfits in stores turned out to be much more difficult than I expected!

#25. LEARN A NEW CARD GAME.  The kids got a book about card games for Saint Nicholas day and “Doublet” was the first one we tried.  Simple enough to teach the littler ones (TJ is five and got the gist quickly) and really fun.

#35. WATCH THE LOCAL CHRISTMAS PARADE.  One of the highlights of December!  We finally made it to our town’s Christmas parade and it didn’t disappoint! 

#84. THANK THE MAILMAN.  My mail carrier does so much extra heavy lifting with my Poshmark and ebay packages, so I made sure to say thank you during the Christmas season.

#70. MAKE THREE NEW KINDS OF CHRISTMAS COOKIES.  So technically, I personally did not make three new kinds of cookies, but my oldest boys did, so I’m still counting it as done.  They picked recipes from the back of A World of Cookies for Santa and baked them all by themselves.  Two new favorites are Hermit Cookies from Canada and Pineapple Bars from Hawaii.

#22. COMPLETE A DECEMBER DAILY ALBUM.  This was my second year participating in December Daily with Ali Edwards and I really enjoyed recording our Advent stories this way.  I’m so pleased with how the album turned out too!  Can’t wait for next year. 

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It’s been two months since I posted my 100 Little Things for this year and I’ve had a strong start!  Here’s what I’ve completed so far:

For the first week of school, we made an A is for Apple Pie using the recipe in one of our favorite books!  I wasn’t paying attention and almost burnt it, but it was still delicious.

We celebrated D’s first flag football game (and his first win!) with root beer floats!  Super easy and special.

Partial Completions

#75. COMPLETE A FULL YEAR OF “EXTRAORDINARY ORDINARY” POSTS.
Two out of twelve complete: August and September.

#80. SUPPORT THREE ETSY SHOPS. (2/3)
I bought another shampoo bar from Shady Nook Bee Farms and a soap saver from The Bearded Bee Homestead.

#88. PAY OFF THREE STUDENT LOANS. (1/3)
After a year of chipping away, we can finally knock one off the list!  This particular loan had a 12.875% interest rate (can you even believe that?!) so it was really important to me to throw all the money we could on this one first.  The extra money I earned from selling on Poshmark this summer really helped.

#94. READ AT LEAST ONE PICTURE BOOK TO THE LITTLE ONES A DAY.
I’ve missed a few days, but am still considering this a win!

This is my sixth year doing 100 Little Things and I still love it just as much as the first time!


Thoughts on Round Five:
The final number was 36 tasks accomplished.  That sounds like a failure of a year, but it’s really not!  Looking back over the list, it almost feels like a time capsule: I was in love with baking sourdough bread.  I had just come back from helping my cousin with her new baby and had thoughts of becoming a postpartum doula someday.  I was considering getting “gazelle intense” with our finances, but also had grand home improvement plans.  I had not even signed onto Poshmark yet. People grow and priorities change.  What matters most to me is that I allowed myself to dream about 100 things, even if many of them didn’t happen.

Thoughts going into Round Six:
I tried to focus on the goal of noticing (my one little word for 2019) this time around, especially taking care of the things we already own, taking care of myself physically and spiritually, and taking care of the people in our community.  Other sections include home improvement projects, reading, blogging, debt reduction, and Poshmark.

Here’s my list for August 2019 – July 2020:


1. Buy a spice organizer
2. Find something to organize the potatoes in the pantry
3. Find something to organize the onions in the pantry
4. Deep clean the oven
5. Clean the Dutch oven
6. Powerwash the siding
7. Clean the grout in the kitchen
8. Clean the grout in the master bathroom
9. Paint the second-floor shutters
10. Finish the front landscaping
11. Clean the carpets
12. Buy kitchen curtains
13. Get a hanging plant for the master bathroom
14. Hang a boxwood wreath
15. Find a slipcover for the living room chair
16. Organize the emergency closet
17. Make a framed chalkboard
18. Hang a hammock
19. Make my own laundry detergent
20. Mend a piece of clothing
21. Make a quilt
22. Complete a December Daily album
23. Make a photo album with our wedding photos
24. Knit a hat with a Knifty Knitter
25. Learn a new card game
26. Start a milk glass candlestick collection
27. Add another vintage globe to my collection
28. Buy a new couch
29. Find a free piano
30. Replace the American flag
31. Hang a porch swing
32. Plant ferns by the front door
33. Plant lemongrass for the back porch
34. Line the porch steps with potted plants
35. Plant bulbs in the fall
36. Name our farm
37. Hang a mason bee house
38. Build raised garden beds
39. Get chickens
40. Participate in a CSA
41. Buy a deep freezer
42. Invest in half a cow
43. Finish the little boys’ headboards
44. Have family photographs taken
45. Potty train P
46. Reach the halfway point in the Amerithon Challenge
47. Run a 5K with M
48. Run a 10K
49. Bake a pie
50. Make root beer floats
51. Get my sourdough starter going again
52. Go apple picking
53. Help place Christmas wreaths at Quantico National Cemetery
54. Take the kids to the beach
55. Watch the local Christmas parade
56. Visit the Virginia Safari Park
57. Make DIY geodes
58. Make homemade playdough
59. Get a haircut
60. Do 90 days of no sugar
61. Go to the eye doctor
62. Order new glasses
63. Get a yearly physical
64. Attend a holy hour at least three times
65. Pray a novena
66. Make a rosary
67. Finish the Into the Depth of Catholicism Reading Challenge
68. Learn how to make a cross from a palm branch
69. Roll beeswax Advent candles
70. Make three new kinds of Christmas cookies

72. Start a traveling book club
73. Add Christmas books to my Homeschool Resource page
74. Leave a thoughtful comment on 50 posts
75. Complete a full year of “extraordinary ordinary” posts
76. Start a Little Free Library
77. Send someone flowers
78. Donate food to the food pantry
79. Send Christmas cards
80. Support three etsy shops
81. Support three Teachers Pay Teachers shops
82. Donate to the local pregnancy center
83. Donate tiny going home outfits to Grant’s Gifts
84. Thank the mailman
85. Thank the trash guys
86. Thank the workers at the dump
87. Pay off the car
88. Pay off three student loans
89. Read a nature-inspired nonfiction book
90. Read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon as a read aloud
91. Get to at least the halfway point in my 20th Century in Books challenge
92. Read something by Wendell Berry
93. Read There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather
94. Read at least one picture book to the little ones a day
95. Read The 15:17 to Paris
96. Join a book club
97. Take a self defense course
98. Upgrade my Poshmark photography setup
99. Buy a steamer
100. Make $5,000 in sales

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Time for a 100 Little Things two month update!  The current total is 7.5/100, which is pitiful, but big things happen little by little, right?  Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far:

#4. BAKE THREE NEW KIND OF COOKIES. (2/3 COMPLETE)

• In mid-August, we made Oatmeal Toffee Cookies.  I slightly tweaked the recipe with a tad less brown sugar and a bit more flour, used my big ice cream scoop and baked for 13 minutes until just golden brown.  
• At the end of August, we tried Toasted S’More Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I modified it a bit and just made my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe instead.  The kids added the s’mores toppings at the end of the baking time and it was perfect.  Definitely sweet, but so good.

#17. CREATE A PHOTOBOOK WITH THE INSTAGRAM PHOTOS FROM OUR 2017-2018 SCHOOL YEAR.
Last school year, I took a photo every day, showing what the kids made or learned, and posted it on Instagram.  IG is a great place to keep them all together, but what good is it if they only stay on the app?  I used the Instagram Photo Book from Blurb, easily uploaded my photos, and made a little 7×7″ book in no time.  Simple but filled with memories.

#44. BUY A NEW PAIR OF JEANS.
I’ve been in desperate need of a new pair of jeans but always procrastinated because…what if I suddenly lost a lot of weight?!  HAHAHA.  Since that’s a ridiculous reason (and apparently not happening anytime soon), I found and bought a pair of Kut from the Kloth skinny jeans on Poshmark in my current size for less than $20.

#48. MEASURE FOR NEW (NON NURSING) BRAS.
This took more time than I planned.  It was a little hit or miss – I used three different infographics online and got three different sizes!  Thankfully, I finally found the right fit, but I think I may go for an in-person measurement next time.

#55. HANG A GALLERY WALL OF KIDS ART IN THE BASEMENT STAIRWELL.
We’ve had these Ikea frames stacked in our coat closet since we moved in last June!  I finally dusted them off, replaced a few art pieces with more recent ones and hung them up.  It took less than an hour.  Such a satisfying project and bonus, it was free!

#57. FIND A LAMP FOR THE HALLWAY CONSOLE TABLE.
After browsing for months, I found the perfect little white ceramic lamp for the hallway – and it was on sale too!

#68. BUY NEW DRYER BALLS.
My previous set of dryer balls somehow didn’t make the move last summer.  I’ve had this task on my to-do list since we moved in and am so happy to have finally made it happen!  I ordered these dryer balls and have been pleased so far.

#89. BRING SOPHIE FOR HER K IMMUNIZATIONS.
Since we’re homeschooling, I had been dragging my feet to get this accomplished.  She was terrified, but so brave!

Today’s an exciting day – it’s my favorite post of the summer! 

This is my fifth round of 100 Little Things, a huge inspirational list that helps me be intentional with my time and resources.  The tasks on this list, like always, are a mix of silly things and important things. They are things that really need to get done and things that just sound like fun.  They are things I’d like to do and things I really should do.  They are things that excite me and things that scare me.  I’m positive I won’t check off all 100 things before next August (in fact, I’m only averaging around 40-45 each year) but completion really isn’t the goal.  I enjoy the process as much as reaching the finish line. 

Here’s the list for August 2018-July 2019:

1. Learn how to grill a steak
2. Make homemade vanilla extract
3. Bake a two-layered cake
4. Bake three new kinds of cookies
5. Buy a proofing basket
6. Start a weekly “soup night” in the fall/winter
7. Make two new flavors of homemade ice cream
8. Make five recipes from my sourdough cookbook
9. Make a new recipe from Run Fast, Eat Slow
10. Go through the millions of recipe printouts and use or toss
11. Take a manual photography class
12. Learn how to photograph low light interiors correctly
13. Make a quilt using Memere’s fabric
14. Make a “little things” notepad (and maybe sell it?)

23. Finish a cross-stitch project
24. Finally pay off the car
25. Start a new car fund
26. Pay off three student loans
27. Read three finance books
28. Check out Aldi
29. Have professional family photos taken
30. Read Kristin Lavransdatter
31. Read Don Quixote
32. Finish my “Into the Depths of Catholicism” reading challenge
33. Read the entire Bible in a year
34. Finish the Jackson Pollock biography
35. Start reading a few books from the doula reading list
36. Blog everyday for a month
37. Invite someone to guest post
38. Finally work on the tabs in my header
39. Create a “homeschool favorites” page
40. Decide if I want to upgrade the blog to a “.com”
41. Buy a new pair of jeans (or two)
42. Invest in a piece of clothing from Everlane
43. Get a haircut
44. Organize my closet
45. Get an updated glasses prescription
46. Order new glasses
47. Go for a yearly physical
48. Measure for new (non-nursing) bras
49. Learn about stocks and investments
50. Identify the trees in our backyard
51. Plant shrubs in the front flower beds
52. Have the first floor painted
53. Install a porch swing
54. Hang a gallery wall of black and white family photos in the living room
55. Hang a gallery wall of kids art in the basement stairwell
56. Buy two more chairs for the dining room table
57. Find a lamp for the hallway console table
58. Hang a curtain in the laundry room
59. Reseal our driveway
60. Stain the front porch
61. Replace the outdoor lanterns
62. Finish our emergency kit closet before winter
63. Put a Mary statue in the garden
64. Decide where we want to install a garden on the property
65. Grow cucumbers
66. Grow tomatoes
67. Plant wildflowers
68. Buy new dryer balls
69. Paint Sophia’s room
70. Paint TJ & P’s room
71. Paint the school room
72. Save up for a new sectional
73. Save up for two new chairs for the living room
74. Buy a new mattress and set up the guest room
75. Remove remaining dead trees in the front yard
76. Propagate my Christmas cactus in a new planter
77. Get the generator serviced
78. Beat my personal best 5K time
79. Reach the halfway point on the Amerithon Challenge
80. Run the Turkey Trot again and beat my first time
81. Run the Historic Half again and beat my first time
82. Complete a month-long “running streak” challenge
83. Do a pullup
84. Try a shampoo bar
85. Start a compost pile
86. Sew a linen bag to hold sourdough loaves
87. Sew some fabric napkins
88. Make my own laundry detergent
89. Bring Sophie for her K immunizations
90. Adopt a dog

93. Go see fireworks
94. See an outdoor movie
95. Help place Christmas wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery
96. Attend the local Christmas parade
97. Go on a date with Mark quarterly
98. Visit Jamestown
99. Go on a cousins weekend trip
100. Try out the local farmer’s market

100 Little Things Round Three was a bit of a dud.  Moving automatically deleted almost a dozen home improvement items.  A lack of time, funds or excitement had me dragging my feet with many of the rest.  And like with Round Two, I was WAY too liberal with the multi-part items.  When will I learn that those take up so much time?

Anyway, I’m ready to take the lessons learned from last year, tuck that list away and start fresh.  I’m excited.

1. Re-read all the books in the Little House series
2. Read a book over 500 pages
3. Re-read all the books in the Anne of Green Gables series
4. Take the Catholic Mindfulness course
5. Finish reading the Catechism by January 1
6. Bake a new quick bread
7. Try a new dairy-free recipe
8. Run the Historic Half again and beat my first time
9. Run a 10K
10. Try a new breakfast spot with the “Fab 4” and my Dad
11. Meet a blog friend
12. Visit the Virginia Safari Park
13. Hike in Shenandoah National Park
14. Have another cousins weekend trip
15. Learn about Georgia O’Keeffe and try her techniques
16. Learn about Jackson Pollock and try his techniques
17. Learn about Edward Hopper and try his techniques
18. Learn about Maya Lin and try her techniques
19. Make lavender sachets
20. Learn (and be able to recite!) a new poem by heart
21. Make a photobook with our wedding photos
22. Start a Q&A journal for my kids
23. Blog everyday for a month (Write 31 Days)
24. Read aloud 1000 books
25. Send out 50 vintage postcards
26. Start a commonplace notebook
27. Build an outdoor dining table for the back porch
28. Participate in the International Correspondence Writing Month in Feb
29. Make a mini album
30. Make a “1 Second Everyday” video
31. Place an order on Mochi Things
32. Learn how to play cribbage
33. Learn a new card game
34. Come up with a solution for recyclables
35. Get a shorter haircut
36. Potty train TJ
37. Take an Epsom salt bath
38. Go apple picking
39. Complete a Week in the Life photo project in the fall
40. Complete a Week in the Life photo project in the spring
41. Sign up for a Blessed is She membership
42. Make kindness rocks with the kids
43. Learn the definitions to 20 SAT-like words
44. Clean my makeup brushes
45. Find a type of sushi that I like
46. Make a big batch of homemade taco seasoning to keep in the pantry
47. Buy a plant for the master bedroom
48. Buy a succulent
49. Join a CSA
50. Learn how to make baguettes
51. Bake bread in the dutch oven
52. Buy an ice cream maker
53. Grow tomatoes
54. Grow cucumbers
55. Buy another vintage globe for the collection
56. Pay off the car
57. Paint a piece of furniture with chalk paint
58. Try kombucha
59. Make a calm down glitter jar
60. Plan out flower beds for the front of the house
61. String lights throughout the back porch
62. Research composting
63. Paint the shutters and front door
64. Paint the entire second floor
65. Complete a December Daily project
66. Wrap and read one book everyday during Advent
67. Make a popcorn garland for the Christmas tree
68. Watch the Nutcracker (or see it live!)
69. Buy a piece of original art
70. Make a Kitchen Recipe Binder
71. Try a new essential oil diffuser blend
72. Host a brunch
73. Join Catholic Book of the Month Club
74. Add three saint picture books to our collection
75. Hang a gallery wall of family pictures
76. Camp indoors with the kids
77. Create a bird watching kit
78. Buy a rug for the master bedroom
79. Buy a rug for the school room
80. Eat dinner by candlelight
81. Try using the freezer paper stencil method on a t-shirt
82. Read a biography about Dorothy Day
83. Begin a monthly “Crafternoon” with the kids
84. Learn to paint with watercolors
85. Finally finish Sophie’s princess cross-stitch
86. Complete a new cross-stitch project
87. Make a quilt
88. Replace the dining room light fixture
89. Make a fire pit
90. Bake a cake
91. Complete the PiYo program
92. Paint the little boys’ headboards
93. Make oobleck
94. Try a new tea flavor
95. Hang a porch swing
96. Plant a Mary flower garden
97. Make root beer floats
98. Learn how to dehydrate fruit
99. Create a huge highway using painter’s tape
100. Make a new wreath

#79. Find a skin routine that works and stick with it.

#1. Read 35 books. (19/35 completed)
Five finishes this month: The Little Book of Hygge, The Summer Before the War, Elizabeth is Missing, Different, and Blast to the Past: Washington’s War.

#40.  Cook through the “30 Recipes You Should Know By Age 30” list. (2/30 completed)
– Roast a Chicken: the recipe on the website was okay, but I prefer the one in Dinner: A Love Story
– Lemon Thyme Chicken Thighs: yummy and easy

#71. Pay off car debt. (1/2 cars)
We used some of our tax return to pay the last bit of Mark’s car off.  Love that feeling when you see a $0 balance!  One more to go.

#4. Read The Birth Order Book.
This book was a recommendation from my cousin.  I’m not sure how “official” the science is, but it was definitely an interesting read and fun to think about my family and how they fit into the different roles.  I especially benefited from the sections about perfectionism.  #soguilty


#60.  Complete a 30-day walking streak.
Part of the Mutu System is walking every day.  Since it’s way too cold outside and I can’t get on the treadmill as frequently as I’d like (without talking to/threatening/freaking out at my toddler who’s tempted to touch the moving machine!), I decided to just set the timer on my phone for 20 minutes and pace the house.  I’ll check blogs on my phone, read a book or shush a fussy baby, but it was pretty easy to get this in!

Mark and I decided to try this challenge in January as a way to kick-start our debt reduction and savings goals.  We have some big dreams and wanted to get started with a bang!  Our “rules” for the challenge were pretty simple: we designated a grocery budget, but committed to using up things we already had in the freezer and pantry.  Since Mark commutes and I drive the kids to school everyday, we also had a gas budget, but tried to stay close to home as much as we could.  Everything else was off-limits: no eating out, no impulse Amazon purchases, no coffee on the drive home, etc.  


Like life usually is, the result wasn’t exactly as we planned.  We had hoped to be able to save a bunch of money to then put on our debt, but instead we received a handful of medical bills from P’s birth.  We also had some sick kids (pink eye and colds) and a visit from the Orkin man.  Thankfully because of this challenge, we were able to pay them all right away instead of starting payment plans or charging them.  But no extra snowball money this month, which is a bit of a bummer.


BUT!  We also learned some great lessons and are excited to implement them in the months to come.  Turns out if you put something in your cart and then wait awhile, most of the time, you don’t really need to buy it!  We’ve had many conversations about toys vs. experiences.  We’ve rediscovered the fun of cooking meals together.  All good things.

#1. Read 35 books. (14/35 read)
I was on a roll this month.  Six books completed: The Birth Order Book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, The Awakening of Miss Prim, Gift from the Sea, A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning, and Yes,Chef: A Memoir.

#19. Pray 5 novenas. (3/5 completed)
With our old house going on the market, we prayed the St. Joseph novena for his intercession.  


#54. Make a dent on the movies on Common Sense Media’s “50 Movies Every Kid Should See before age 12” (at least 50%) (24/50 completed)
So close to finishing this one!  We watched: ET (typical 80’s movie with tons of swearing), Hugo (we watched this after reading the book), and Song of the Sea.

#85. Create a postpartum wardrobe that makes me feel confident and not frumpy.
I got a small start on this with my Christmas money.  I purchased everything in my current size, no wishful thinking purchases!  Part of my 2017 goals is to purchase 75% through secondhand or ethical companies, so I found jeans and a few tops from Swap.com and ThredUp, all with tags or in like new condition!  I also found a great pair of jeans with a birthday giftcard (thank you again, A & S!!) to Stitchfix.

November was a blur!  I feel like we had Halloween, I blinked and here we are at December’s door.  Time flies when you’re having fun.  Due to some unexpected health issues, I wasn’t quite as successful as I had planned, but still felt relatively accomplished for being hugely pregnant.  Current totals: 13 completed and 8 partial finishes.

• Brooke at Grace and Light
• Tabitha at Team Studer 
• Nell at Whole Parenting Family
• Hannah at Gokie Notes 
• Kitty at Wash the Plate
• Jen at Into Your Will
• Shelly at The Cunningham Family 
• Mary at Let Love Be Sincere
• Ginny at Small Things
• Sheena at Bean in Love

October was a weird month for me.  I had the best of intentions, but no energy for follow-through!  I had a good laugh when I looked at what I had accomplished – with the exception of the pie, everything was done sitting down, hah!  Oh man…I’m definitely just limping along at this point.  On to November, where I’ll hopefully get a little crazy nesting fever back.  Current totals: 9 completed and 9 partial finishes.

#1. Read 35 books. (3/35 completed)
After a significant reading drought, I was proud of my two finishes this month: The Gap of Time and Father Elijah.  (Book report here.)

• Bobbi at Revolution of Love 
• Jenny at Mama Needs Coffee 
• Sarah at Clover Lane
• Britt at The Fisk Files 
• Tabitha at Team Studer 
• Cristina at All Things Reintjes
• Shelly at The Cunningham Family 
• Brooke at Grace and Light
• Julie at These Walls
• Lisa at And a Pinch of Zest 
• Hannah at Gokie Notes
• Christina at A Gentle Mother
• Rebekah at Treasuring the Little Things
• Kelly at Kelly+Kelly+Kids
• Rosie at A Blog for My Mom 
• Sarah at This is our Story
• Anna at In Honor of Design
• Theresa at Ordinary Lovely
• Camille at Cams & Co
• Colleen at Martin Family Moments
• Kallah at Oakes’ of Righteousness

#42. Make 10 different pies. (2/10 completed)
What’s more perfect for fall than apple pie?  I blindly picked a simple recipe on Pinterest and it was pretty good.  I do think the crust was maybe too flaky (if that’s possible) but still delicious with ice cream and whipped cream.


#52. Watch 15 documentaries. (5/15 completed)
Every Second Counts: The Story of the 2008 CrossFit Games: Really slow moving.  I’d definitely recommend Fittest on Earth instead. CrossFit has come a LONG way since 2008.


#68. Grow Big White Farmhouse’s Instagram followers to 400+.
I had a major (pride) hit this month – for whatever reason, our account has gained and lost about 15-20 followers.  Since our following isn’t exactly huge to begin with, that’s been a little hard to swallow.  None of these accounts were close to being our “ideal” customer and I suspected many of them only followed to be followed back anyway, but still.  With so many other things going on, I definitely haven’t put much time into Instagram and the numbers show.  Still haven’t hit the goal, but we’re a teeny bit closer: we went from 356 to 370 followers.


#83.  Complete an embroidery project.
Remember that cross-stitch project with Disney princesses that I worked on last summer?  With just three princesses left before completion, I put it away and hadn’t touched it since!  On a whim, I grabbed it from my closet and am determined to finish before the baby arrives.  Sophie is thrilled!