Happy New Year! Recap of 2014's goals

A few days late, but Happy New Year!  We had a great Christmas holiday and a nice break from school.  The weather was nice, so both girls had fun with friends and family!

I don't have many holiday pictures…there were also a lot of doctor's appointments over the break.  But that's for another post.  I have been thinking of our goals from last year, our goals for this year, and how we can best achieve them (given the hit to E's mobility/upcoming surgical options).

First, I'll recap last year.

1.  INITIATIVE.  Check.  Elena has been more responsible in getting her homework done, getting ready for school, etc.  It's been a gradual process, but it's definitely improved.  Her homework nook and a few changes around the house has made it easier.

2.  Summer of Independence.  Check. And it helped a lot with goal 1.  Sure, with her crouch issues/pain, we've had some setbacks, but overall she knows we expect her to be as independent as possible.

3.  Have another stretching trial.  Check.  We use her stander regularly at home, and she uses one in school.  I can't say it's helped much, but we tried.

4.  SWIM LESSONS.  CHECK!

5.  Have a playdate twice a month.  Half-check.  Drama club helps with her social development, and takes a lot of time.  Twice a month is a bit much, but E has had more playdates than ever (still not tons, but some!).

6.  Take a trip to visit a friend.  Nope. 

7.  Go camping in our new tent!  CHECK!

8.  Run a race.  Nope.  Viv did one with me but we didn't think it was a good idea with E's intermittent knee pain.

9.  Go to an aquarium.  CHECK!

10.  Go kayaking.  CHECK!

11.  Go up and down the stairs, with one hand on the railing, the other free, regardless of footwear, on a regular basis.  Nope.  She can do it, but not on a regular basis--only when she's feeling really good.  With her knee/tightness, she's already fallen down the steps twice this year--so the pressure is off of this goal.

12.  Do the cha-cha slide (or other dance) without crutches.  Nope.  This was a little ambitious.

13.  Write a story/poem/comic and submit it to a contest (there are a few we like, either in the paper or on radio).  Nope.

14.  Ride her bike (with training wheels) independently.  Meaning, if she has to brake, she does.  If she has to get on/off, she does.  If she falls, she gets back up and on the bike.  Right now, she's done everything but the fall independently, but with very close supervision.  Nope.  We did get toe clip pedals, which help riding and make it difficult for her to get on/off.  We've taken a break from her regular bike and concentrated on her trike.

15.  Hunt for shells at the beach--standing up, carrying a bucket.  Nope.  We did try, but it wasn't successful.

16.  Try to FaceTime (or other video chat) with a friend.  Half-check--we did a lot of this with family.



New Years Goals for Vivian:

1.  Make her own breakfast (cereal, toast, or some other low-maintenance option).  CHECK!  She's a whiz with the toaster and frozen homemade waffles.

2.  Put her laundry in a clothes hamper.  Check!

3.  Ride a bike without training wheels.  Check!

4.  Roller Skate with her new skates.  Check!



New Years Goals for Me:

1.  Have a regular exercise regimen.  It doesn't have to be the same thing every week, but the frequency of activity should be more than once a week.  Check.

2.  Do two large races.  I've already signed up for a bike race (ride, for me--I'm not racing).  I hope to enter a short triathlon as one of them (but we'll see).  Mostly check.  I decided not to do long races, but shorter ones.  So far I have logged nearly twenty of them.  My plan is to do forty, before I'm forty (in one calendar year).  I am about halfway, right on target.

3.  Reduce clutter in the house/clean the house.  I'm doing a good job on this, but I'm not finished.  Check.

4.  Make some sort of beach shoe for Elena to wear with her KiddieGaits.  I have some ideas we'll be testing out before our summer beach trip.  Nope.  I spent too much time on crutches and tried to find a good shoe.  A good try, but a failure on both counts.

5.  Grow a garden for food and flowers.  We didn't get much to grow last year.  Half-check.  I grew a lot of leaves, not much actual fruit/veg.

6.  Volunteer at school.  Check.

7.  Add enough fiber to our diets (specifically, Elena's) to try to eventually discontinue use of her laxative.  Still a work in progress.

8.  Read five books (or more) this year.  Check! I've read over 14. I lost count.

9.  Visit a new city, with the kids, on a school break.  Check!  We took the kids to Boston!

10.  Go out for a family movie.  Check!


Overall I'd say we did very well on our 2014 goals!