Christmas in Pictures

Ryker notices there are cars in there.

Xander and his Spiderman helicopter.
Xander's Robot thingy.

Ryker waiting patiently for his toy to be opened.

Xander and Optimus Prime.

Ryker taking a break from opening Santa's presents.

Merry Christmas!

And by the way...our Christmas cards are going to be New Years cards. I'm a little behind. =)

Hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday.

Odds n ends

Boys in a box.
We heard giggling, which we all know means that they are doing something they shouldn't be, and this is how we found them.

Then we have the fact that the husband "Mr. Star Wars fanatic" has a boy sized Darth Vader. With a Santa hat. Because "At the Carriveau's" we're all a little (or a lot) crazy.

So... Boys with Vader.

Oh, and we made Christmas Cookies with the help of my Grandpa, the neighbor kids, my Mom and Val.

Happy Monday!

What little boys are made of...

I don't know what they are made of but I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to it.

Boy4.3 is stubborn (caramel?) and apparently incapable of sensing wetness or urges to utilize bathroom facilities (teflon?). Boy4.3 will be oldest child ever not potty trained. Boy2.5 is excessively loud (potato chips?) and can't decide if he wants to show up/beat Boy4.3 (angelfood?) or use 4.3 as his model (gum on your shoe?). At any rate, potty training is going well. (Note sarcasm)

This makes Mama30.9 want to be made of chocolate and alcohol and run far, far away.

It's been awhile but look how productive I've been...

So I'm going to be sending off a message to faculty announcing the cancellation of about 25K in print journals on Monday. I'm going to be adding a ton of other stuff they want but I hate that print vs electronic conversation. Bottom line: they don't use the print unless they have to. Ug.

In other news, we are pretty much done Christmas shopping and packages are wrapped under our tree which is almost completely decorated. Sometimes we are so organized. =)

Here is my plan for the weekend: grocery shopping early Saturday, watch snow fall while finishing tree, hibernate. Good plan, huh?

I'm really looking forward to the holidays this year. I think a lot of it has to do with really needing that week of vacation that I'm taking.

So happy end of November, beginning of December. =)

Good Weekend

I had to work today and I still am going to say it was a really good weekend.

I got to go to a neighborhood baby shower yesterday where I believe it was determined that the 4 or 5 of us with little ones should have a Mommy club and leave the little ones with their Daddys. HA!

Today I went into work for an Open House we had at the library. We are now housing a collection for the WI GFWC and it was a huge success. College is happy. The women's club is happy. The library is happy. Ane is happy. Did I mention there were brownies and apple cider?

To top off the great weekend, I got to watch a really funny movie (Evan Almighty) and the kids haven't been awful. (This in itself is amazing). So here's hoping that next week isn't bad. =)

If it wasn't for Survivor...

So yesterday was a sad day since Halloween is over and won't be back for a whole year but Survivor last night did an excellent job of pulling me out of my post Greatest Holiday EVER funk.

If you don't follow Survivor you should. It is really my favorite addiction. Someday they'll stop making it and I'll need to go through a 12 step program. Anyway, last night was awesome because what I like to refer to as "the evil ones" did something really stupid and one of them got voted off. I was literally bouncing during tribal council I was THAT excited.

So today I'm much happier because although Halloween is over, at least I still have Survivor. Thanks CBS.

Happy Halloween!

Guess what we did this weekend? Yep, carved pumpkins today. The boys each got to pick their pumpkin and the face. Ryker's is the little one and Xander's is the big one. Stay tuned for their Halloween custumes.

I also made an apple pie (first time ever). It's soooo good. And banana bread. Can you tell that I had a bunch of fruit I needed to get rid of?

H-Sorry the picture doesn't show it well but I ended up getting red added into the brown and blonde I had already. It looks really quite nice.

Relaxation

I took a vacation day today because I wanted a day for my brain to unwind and the stress of the last couple of weeks to go away.
So here's the agenda for my day of relaxation (no stress allowed!):

• Catch up on blogs, email and facebook. (check)
• Go shopping for new black leather boots
• Buy Ryker a winter coat
• Get my hair cut
• Color my hair because I need something new

I like the list. Looks manageable and there is nothing on it to overtax my poor tired little brain. If I have time left over maybe I'll watch some Days of Our Lives or start reading Wicked. But I don't want to do too much. Maybe I'll just take a nap since it is so gloomy. =)

grr. arg.

Yeah, it's been one of those weeks (and it's only Tuesday). Xander got sent home yesterday morning because of runny poo. He was fine the rest of the day. Ryker got sent home today with a fever. We took him in just in case it was an infection from the surgery but it looks like its just a cold bug. Regardless, he can't go in to daycare tomorrow.
Jason's swamped at work and I'm supposed to be leaving for a conference tomorrow...

grr. arg.

The Ryker Update

Sorry for the delay in this. Ryker had his adenoids removed and new ear tubes put in Thursday. He handled it really very well. (Better than me, I think the nurses wanted to sedate me). He is pretty ticked off about not being able to eat what he wants and really doesn't like his pain medication but overall he's getting back to his normal little self. It's been a rough week though because he doesn't feel the best and has been really whiney. And we all know how well Jason and I handle whining.

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts, prayers and support. It means alot to us.

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

You can call me Captain

My pirate name is:

Captain Anne Vane

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You tend to blend into the background occaisionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

It's Thursday and my mind is mush.

This week has been super busy. Mostly because I'm trying to get my plate cleared off for the unexpected three days off in the next two weeks (thanks to Ryker's ears). This is a terrible time of the semester to be gone. It's supposed to be my catch up time from the mad instruction dash at the beginning. Instead I've been swamped with committee work that has to be done before next week (you know when I'm going AWOL for a few days). ARG.

In other news here are my random thoughts for the week:

• If the DOT is going to re-route 2 exits worth of traffic onto the road that leads to exit 3. Then said road should not have one lane closed during rush hour. DOT = not smart
• I am convinced that whoever created those elastic pull things (with the buttons) for little boys pants should win a Nobel prize. I love them. They keep Xander's pants up.
• Toddler clothing is not designed for skinny toddlers. Ryker's clothes need said pull things desperately.
• Toddlers are clutzes. Ryker had 4 ouch reports from daycare in 2 days.
• Survivor starts tonight. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

It's gotta be the genes

The older I get the more I realize that I inherited the "must worry compulsively" gene from my mom. It's a really well established gene on her side of the family. It's the reason we marry men who roll their eyes and say things like, "it will be fine."

The reason for this latest bout of worry is Ryker. He had his ear checkup and hearing test with the ENT on Friday and it didn't go as we had hoped.

1. He needs a new set of ear-tubes.
2. He's got a bunch of fluid behind his eardrums that are muffling sound. (Which explains why he always sounds like he's mumbling). He can't hear whispers at all.
3. Since this is his second set of tubes (and he had a ton of infections with the first set), he has to have his adnoids out and stay in the hospital overnight.

So needless to say, I'm not particularly happy with any of that. We can't let it slide, he needs the surgery so I have to suck it up. Jason, of course, is fine. He spent the weekend telling me to stop looking at Ryker like "that." "That" is apparently some sort of sad, worried look.

I'm not worried about the tube part. I know that part will be fine. I'm not really that worried about the other surgery either. I'm worried about the overnight in the hospital and not being able to eat the stuff he likes to eat for close to two weeks. Xander would be fine. He could eat yogurt and applesauce all day. Not so my Ryker. He wants food.

By next week Thursday, I'm going to be a wreck. Ah, the joys of motherhood. Keep us in your thoughts. Thanks.

Happy 4th Birthday

Xander had a wonderful birthday. It's cool at 4 because he can tell people what he actually wants for his birthday. He got "Herbie" (from the movie), Superman toys, Batman toys, a Batman "computer", Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys, Spiderman toys, a cool radio control car and lots of clothes. Can you tell he likes superheroes?

He was so good for me at the doctor today too for his checkup. He passed his hearing and vision tests. 41 inches tall and 34 pounds. He's gained 3 inches and a pound since last year. No wonder all his pants fall down! He also had to show Dr. his Batman computer.

I took the whole day off so he'd have more time to play with his toys and he's having a ball. I haven't seen a favorite emerge just yet, but the fact that he's playing with everything makes me quite happy.

Thanks to everyone for making Xander's fourth birthday fun!

Busy, Busy, Busy

(Progress is being made)

Before: (White)

Over Labor Day weekend, we decided to redo our bathroom floor. Not bad results, huh?

Yes, I know, I like quizzes too much

Your results:
You are Supergirl

Supergirl 88% Spider-Man 80% Wonder Woman 78% Green Lantern 70% Iron Man 55% Superman 50% The Flash 45% Robin 43% Hulk 40% Catwoman 40% Batman 20%

Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Yes, I survived

The first two weeks of classes are done and I'm still going. Completely exhausted, but still going nonetheless.
Thus far I have 9 things on my to-do list for next week, 4 meetings and 2 classes to teach. All in all I'd call that manageable. Well, at least more manageable than the last couple of weeks. That sounds a little pathetic, doesn't it?
The boys are going to go see my folks tomorrow until Monday which will give us a chance to get some deep cleaning and yard work done in preparation for the big birthday bash next weekend. Apparently we're having a Herbie cake. Xander's been pretty steady on that point.
I'm going to go crash now and eat me some Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Panic. (Which is so very good).

Have a wonderful weekend.

And the race is on

The semester begins next week. I spent this entire week in meetings. I'm spending half of next week in meetings. I'm looking forward to the second week of class when I start doing library instruction and settling into the rhythm of the students being back.
There's been a lot of change at work. Mostly good but it still requires planning and adjustments and well, frankly, work.

On the homefront, the kiddos are growing like weeds. Xander is trying to decide what kind of birthday cake he wants. It keeps changing but he comes up with cute combinations. Superman-Batman, Herbie, Herbie with Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT with Superman. We'll see what we land on September 8 when I need to make the cake. =)

Jason wants to make sure I include that he got an early birthday present (PS3) and that I think the blue-ray dvd is cool.

And now, I'm going to try to not think about the to-do lists at work and enjoy my weekend.

This is fun

You're The Hobbit!

by J.R.R. Tolkien

All you wanted was a nice cup of tea when some haggard crazy old man
came into your life and told you it was time to do something with yourself. Now you're
all conflicted about whether to stick with your stay-at-home lifestyle or follow this
crazy person into the wild. While you're very short and a little furry, you seem to be
surrounded by an even greater quantity of short folks lately. Try not to lose your ring,
but keep its value in perspective!


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

8 things about me...

Because Heather tagged me and told me to do it. =)

1. The only way I'm capable of being truly functional is through ingesting large quantities of coffee. If you want me happy too, you better add chocolate.
2. I have a deep, abiding aversion to housework and a equally deep aversion to living in a pigsty, and that's how my house gets clean.
3. I made a goal after grad school to only read things I really want to read. I made it to avoid the "scholarly" stuff I overdosed on in school, only to find that I know actually read that stuff because I do want to.
4. I'm convinced that God makes kids cute so we don't kill our young.
5. I love the time I spend commuting because it's time spent alone which is tough to get when you're a mom. I find this ironic since I hate to drive and wish I lived closer to work.
6. I find it very refreshing that after 12 years together, Jason still gives me reasons to smile (even if he can be a royal pain as well, maybe number 4 applies to husbands too?)
7. I'm a very passionate person. I feel things strongly and I've learned to bite my tongue to stay out of trouble.
8. A perfect evening would involve a warm bath, good book and glass of wine. Doesn't that sound delightful?

And that's 8. I'll be nice and not tag anyone!

My boys are growing up

And here is the latest evidence (Ryker's twin bed):

Now I am not silly enough to think that this wasn't going to happen. I'm fully aware that it was going to happen sooner or later. I figured I could put it off until he was 3. But no. He wanted to sleep in our bed or Xander's bed. So I've consented and we've had fewer issues since it got put up on Thursday. Jason likes to tell me that he was right and Ryker wants to be a big boy like Xander, BUT seriously he's my BABY!
And he's helping clean off the table and set the table and I'm completely unprepared for any of this. On the upside, I'm hoping that this means he'll be easier to potty train than Xander has been.
Fortunately, I'm on vacation this week and I am relaxing and trying not to pay attention to the fact that in addition to these new Ryker tendancies, Xander's grown like a foot. (Well maybe not literally but he's definitely getting taller).
I also finally got down to IL to see my friend and her twin boys. Wow, does she have her hands full. I got to have one sleep on me and while I loved it, I'm glad that my boys are older. Which just goes to show how crazy I am. I like them being older and more independent but I so miss the snuggling sleeping babies they used to be. Call me crazy but I'm just a mom.

My favorite author

For those of you who share my addiction to good romance, we have one book left to look forward to from Kathleen Woodiwiss. It will be published posthumously in October since she past away on Friday.
For those of you who have never read a Woodiwiss novel, may I suggest So Worthy My Love. I've read it four times and still love it. Not that she's ever written anything I don't love (or haven't read more than once).
Thank you Kathleen for continuing a wonderful addiction to reading and rest in peace.

Happy Birthday America!

We took the boys to see the fireworks last night. We missed last year's because Jason was in New York (or somewhere), so this was Ryker's first time.
Here's a breakdown of how it went:

• Pre fireworks beginning (locals lighting firecrackers): Xander scared and wants to go sit in the truck / Ryker excited and wants to see everything
• Fireworks begin: Xander excited (thanks to Mama's Oh-Oh-Spaghettios for the loud noises) / Ryker tired, jumpy and refusing to watch
• Fireworks midpoint: Both watching in awed silence
• Fireworks mid-end: Xander tired and wants to go home / Ryker really excited and wants to stay until the end.

So we had about a 10 minute interval where they both wanted to watch pretty nicely. Sigh. They did have fun though. Xander would have been better except he refused to take a nap. GRR.

In other news, my diet seems to be working. I hit 159 this am. That's the first time I've seen the 150's since I had Ryker. 7 lbs down and 14 to go! (J's also doing well, about 15 to go). Yippee!

Long, long ago I had a brain

Toddlers are ... something else. I truly think my boys are trying to drive me mad. At one point, I was a fairly intelligent person and then these two cute little boys came around and now I can't even scold them properly. I've spent the last three days confusing their names. Jason has even caught on and is doing it too.
They have apparently decided that they REALLY like to pound on each other. Which makes it difficult for the parents whose job it is to keep them in one piece.
We did see a bunch of Jason's family this weekend and I saw what having a 4 and 6 year old looks like. Still pounding on each other but they at least seemed to listen a little better. Sigh. I so want them to grow up and yet I so want them to stay little.
Like I said, I used to be a fairly intelligent person. I still manage to fake it at work but by the time I get home I'm just too tired to care.

Don't mess with Ane....

One of my friends from grad school sent me this and it's just too funny. Take the test and find out what superhero YOU are!

You Are Trinity

"Touch me and that hand will never touch anything again."

What Superheroine Are You?

Summer sick

Last week Ryker came home with an ear infection. It's to be expected. It has been two months after all. Then Tuesday Xander came home with a raging fever. OK, some kind of virus. Yesterday we picked Ryker up from daycare because he threw up.
So today I'm home with both my boys. And I know they don't quite feel up to snuff because they are currently napping.
Sigh, you shouldn't get sick when its nice outside. =(

I'm going to need some training

So I just got back from a users group meeting for our III software, which I'm in charge of. I spent the day listening to people talk about Opacs, open url resolvers, css and java. What I took away is that I need to either get some training or do some updated self-training before I get left in the proverbial dust.

Like I don't have enough to do...

See Mom, we can get along!

I thought I'd share a moment of rare peace from this past week.

Note how no one is hitting or crying or any of the 100 other things little boys do to each other.

This is in direct contrast to Sunday, when Xander shoved an M&M up his nose. No, I can't make stuff up that is THAT funny.

Productivity and firsts

Well, we've had a very productive last couple of weeks. We got the drywall up in the garage and over the long weekend we got most of the seam/screw patching and painting done in there. We should be able to finish it on Saturday. How were we possibly capable of getting all this done you may ask?

Well, its because my boys spent 3 nights away from home for the first time. 2 nights at my folks house and 1 night at Jason's folks. All had a wonderful time. Mom and Dad took the boys to the zoo and they had fun seeing the animals and feeding the goats. Apparently the goat tried to walk away from Ryker and he followed going "here, here!" Jason's folks took Xander to see his first movie in a theatre (Shrek 3). I guess he just sat there in awe looking at the great BIG screen.

When we picked them up on Monday everyone was tired and happy.

We also got to take time for fun this weekend and went for dinner and a movie. We saw Pirates 3 which was great. So many handsome men, so little time. =)

Happy end of May!

My Baby is 2

And he seemed to enjoy himself immensely yesterday at the big party.

Here he is with his Elmo cake (or as Ryker says "Melmo").

He got to eat one of his eyes. Big brother had to have the orange nose. (Everything has to be orange with Xander of late).

After cake, we opened lots of cool presents that the boys played with a lot.

Did you know that birthday parties are a LOT of hard work? Well apparently they are because here's what happened at about 6:00.

So I've been a little busy

You may have noticed that I have been MIA lately. Why, you may ask? Well since you asked, I'll tell you.
I have been swamped at work preparing for the presentation I told you all about. Which I did last week and it went wonderfully. People laughed, asked questions and generally paid attention to their lovely presenter.
In addition to that we have all the end of year collection development stuff going on and a hundred different things of that nature. Needless to say, I've been working through lunches a LOT.
We've been equally busy at home with bowling, birthdays (niece Alexis turned 1), baptisms (Madison), Easter and general family business. And somewhere in all this business my Ryker has turned into quite a little boy.

Yes, somehow the child has started picking up words in leaps and bounds. Yesterday he finally figured out that Daddy has a car and Mama has a truck. He's also been pointing out a lot of things that are "high." Apparently they must have learned about that last week at daycare.
It all makes me a little sad. I'm losing my baby. Xander is getting to be quite a big boy now and I forgot how quickly things start going that way as the 2nd birthday rapidly approaches. Sigh.

That's ok, I have two nieces that I can get that cute baby stuff from for a couple of more years. In the meantime, I'm going to fully take advantage of the two best huggers ever (before they decide that hugging Mama isn't cool).

When Daddy drives a Mustang...

You have little boys who love cars. Combine that with Grandparents who spoil them and you get this:

Little boys in Corvette...with headlights that turn on...and a working radio...and cupholder (not just any cupholder, one that pulls out from under the radio).

We need a bigger garage. =)

The Last Free Weekend

At least the last free one until mid-May. Here's how it went:

"Ryker, give Xander back his blanky."
"Xander, get off your brother."
"Ryker, we don't hit."
"Xander, no head-butting."
"That's it, you both have a time out!"

Repeat for 2.5 days. Because I have two pig-headed, strong-willed, rambunctious little boys (I wonder where they get those qualities from). Ryker likes to pick on Xander and Xander responds by tackling Ryker and pounding him into the ground. The last round was around 7:30 last night at which point the Mama and Daddy had enough and put them to bed. Which involved lots of crying and promising to be good and theatrics aplenty. We then had the discussion that usually follows this kind of weekend where we want to go back and tell our 25 year old selves to be satisfied with coupledom.
Lucky for those boys their cute and know how to snuggle us. And the big one says "I love you Mama." - Golden.

Thankfully next weekend we have to bowl and we can send them to the Grandparents for 4 hours. A blessed 4 hours where we don't have to yell at them or pull them off of each other or take things away or give time outs. MMM...sounds like a little piece of heaven.

Professional development & Volunteering

So around October I volunteered to do a program at an upcoming conference on assessment, library user satisfaction and evalutating what we do. I was thinking at the time: we are doing two surveys on services, collections, facilities etc and I should be able to easily put together a program.
Well, I did the literature search this morning to try to connect us to the broader world of libraries and came up with 27 articles/books that I should take a look at to really make this meaty. Which leads me to believe that what actually happened in October was me being hit with the stupid stick a lot harder than usual.
Because you see I have a month to prep for this BUT I also have a book sale and 1st Friends of Lane Library meeting March 30th and deletes to finish and evaluations to do and you know MY JOB to do between now and then.
Why do I volunteer for this stuff? Oh yeah, because I need to "contribute to my profession." And when people ask me to do stuff I think "well I can do that - no problem."
I'm going to spend the afternoon with 3 packs of CHOICE cards and do collection development. Nice calming activity and it needs to get done because I have faculty liaisons waiting for the cards we don't pick!

INFLUENZA

Officially sucks. But after 6 days of it kicking me down, I'm almost back on my feet. Next year I am so getting that flu shot.
Ane, she is smart, she learns, she doesn't like da flu.

Couldn't we all use some good news more often?

So I have realized that the older we get the more the bad news - good news ratio gets shifted in a negative way. Illnesses, accidents, relationship problems, and deaths seem to far outweigh the happy times of the not so distant past. So in the spirit of changing the cosmic negativity, here are the things in my life that I am very grateful are positive:

• two wonderful little boys who are sassy like little boys should be and other than having an inordinate amount of cold/flu symptoms are healthy
• two beautiful little nieces that bring a smile to Aunt Ane's face
• a husband who can still surprise me and make me laugh after 5 years of marriage and 12 years together
• parents and in-laws who love and support me
• a job that I truly enjoy
• getting that promotion to Associate that I've worked my tail off for
• friends that are there for each other through thick and thin (even when we are physically far apart)

And finally, for the ability to say thank you all for being a part of my life!

A "little" piece of news

Well a piece of news that's about 7 lbs 5 oz and 20 inches long that is. My brother-in-law (Ryan) and his lovely wife (Jessica) had their baby on Friday morning. A sweet little girl named Madison Lynn. I'll post a picture once I have one. She really is a cutie and she was good enough to wait until after I could see clearly again to make her big entrance into the world. Parents and Madison are all doing very well.

So now I have two lovely nieces for my boys to pick on. =)
I'm a very proud aunt.

Well, I can still see

So far, so good. I can see fairly well considering I just had my LASIK surgery less than 24 hours ago. The computer screen is a little fuzzy but over all I can see. Without my glasses. That hasn't happened since I was 7.
So I'm pretty excited.
For my appointment this morning the doctor thought that I was doing very well. The little flap thingy they made is still in place and my vision should get clearer as the swellling goes down.
The results in my opinion are nothing short of amazing. What miracles we have available to us today! The surgery itself was nothing short of terrifying (not because of pain just because you have that startle response when stuff is by your eye). But definitely worth it.
I can't wait to see how things look tomorrow.

Wish me luck

Tomorrow I'm having LASIK done. I'm excited and terrified at the same time (reminds me of when I was pregnant).
So wish me luck and fast recovery and clear vision. And if you don't hear from me for a while I'm probably waiting for my vision to clear up!

Love you all. -- Ane

Anniversary Night

Well after 5 years Jason is still capable of surprising me. He arranged for his sister to come watch the boys and took me out for a nice dinner at Outback. He had a steak and I had the salmon which was excellent. Then he told me we had one other stop to make before we went home. Turns out it was the mall to look at steins (or so he said). When we got to the corner with Kay Jewelers he said, "ok go pick out your mother's ring."
For those of you who know Jason well, this is the 2nd piece of jewelry that I've gotten from him that wasn't related to our wedding. So I was very surprised. I'm still totally floored. So in about 2 weeks I'll have the lovely family ring I've been looking forward to since we had Ryker.

All in all a wonderful anniversary. (And Jason was pretty smug about surprising me too.)

5 years and counting

So 5 years ago today I stood before family and friends and agreed to love a certain gent no matter what and amazingly enough, 5 years and 2 kids later we are still happy and love each other. Things haven't always been good, we've had our rough spots but overall I'd say we made a good choice and I look forward to the next 5 years.
And the 5 after that and the 5 after that.
So happy anniversary to the man that makes me laugh and keeps me sane! (which is really quite a talent with two wee ones)

A plague on my house

Quite literally in fact. It's a nose running, sneezing, coughing (hacking, gross disgusting), feverish, chilling, headachey plague that kicked my butt royally Friday through Monday and that the boys seem to be in the middle of. Jason of course with his super human "no sick" genes seems to be fine. I spent the weekend alternating between feeling like I was going to die and just wishing I would already.

On the upside, today I can breathe again (almost through my nose even) and the fog has lifted enough for me to return to work where the piles of "to-do" are trying to kick me back down. But I shall perservere. Afterall, I'm not a work-aholic for nothing. :)

I was overdue

Every day I drive on one of the busiest roads in the area with a LOT of accidents. On the 441 bridge there's at least one accident a day. So I guess I'm not surprised that after 5 years of driving it everyday I got rear-ended. Fortunately no one was hurt and I didn't have the boys and my car is still drivable and it was the other guy's fault but the whole situation still sort of sucks. Once they get the parts it's going to take 8 days to fix. Argh.

But overall, I feel very fortunate. Hopefully this means I'm done for a few years. Really makes me look forward to moving to the other side of Appleton (where I won't have to cross said bridge twice a day).

Survived Day 1...

So I have survived my first day as a 30 year old. Which according to all of the youngsters I'm related to is an amazing feat.

In general though I'm surprised at how I am where I wanted to be at 30. I have a job I love and the husband and family I've always wanted. I had the two kids I wanted before 30, I own a home, a car, and have a all around good life. Great friends, loving family. I guess the big issue I have now is that all my major goals were ear-marked to that age (30). I guess I need to start planning for the next decade.

So, where do I want to be at 40? I better start planning. I have less than 10 years to figure it out.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

As you can see, Santa was very good to the Carriveau boys. So were the grandparents, aunts and uncles, distant cousins :)
We had a lovely holiday. It was only marred by Ryker having a nasty fever Christmas afternoon. He ended up with a sinus infection and pink eye. But we had a lovely last week of 2006.
The first day of 2007 hasn't been too shabby either so here's wishing you and yours a wonderful 2007.

Ryker's presents (A sampling)

Look Mom, Santa brought me a zebra to ride and a snowman!

Is this cool batman tent really mine?

Xander's presents (well some of the dozens)

Xander opening his new dinosaur. It roars and moves!


He got a talking Mater. He's pretty excited here.