happy halloween

(click to enlarge)

i will catch up on this thing one of these days! too bad i can't plug my brain into my computer and download all my thoughts! anyways, we had a SUPER fun time trick or treating...heck, even getting ready to go was fun! all the makeup and costumes! very fun!





kids are tuckered out (but not from excessive candy! lol) they kept me moving!





poor little ella was so sad to have her makeup taken off...the tears just poured down!





here's a fun one of my crazy child...more to follow...got some really nice shots of the girls!





right now, i am headed to bed! i am WHOOPED i tell ya! later~

buried deep

well we got it good.... well over a foot of heavy, wet snow. my back is killing me. i haven't bought the snow blower yet. i paid for that mistake! lol! but thankfully i have been shoveling in shifts (every couple hours) and its been manageable.

and the driveway is clear at this time. which is a good thing.

the back deck might need to melt on its own. i can't even get out the door. and the snow drifts that piled up on it are almost as tall as me!

but we didn't lose power. and that is the most important thing!

and if that isn't enough excitement for one day...the rest of the basement carpet is being installed today (including the stairs) woohoo!! i am SO excited!! i can finally put things in their places and unpack some things and really move down there!

i have taken pics but will post later...abby is out of school today and with the workmen here too, its too much for me to try and do right now! be back later!!

the picture above was taken with the kitchen door open (see the nice wall of snow at the bottom)...this is looking at the grill on my back deck. more to come later!

it's coming...

today has been a good start to the week. had to start the day off with grocery shopping which is never fun, but it wasn't bad. until the hail started falling in the parking lot. shesh! crazy weather around here...and that seems to be the main topic! we are getting ready to have our 1st major snow "event" of the year (as they say on the weather channel). 6-12 inches by wed morning...

i am thinking i need to go get that snowblower now...

but more importantly...i need to dig thru the trashed basement and find the winter coats and boots! the girls are beside themselves!

i'm sure i will take pics...curious to see how much we end up with. the only thing i don't like is that its starting out as rain and then changing over...which means the potential for a major power outage!

not.good.

will keep you posted. i am treating myself to an early night of sleep tonight. will post some pics tomorrow!

the very long sunday...

my morning started before 6am, before the sun rose..much, much earlier than i would have cared to start it. it really stinks when you are the night owl parent of an early bird!

so i decided to give the girls a "sunrise surprise"...i made them grab their coats, throw on their boots and jump in the van. they were a little surprised to be in their pj's and going somewhere. we ended up at dunkin donuts (drive thru:) for some munchkins. they were just tickled.

i wish i could say the whole day was a bed of roses...but with 2 mischievious girls (who sometimes **gasp** BICKER) there are no guarantees.

we did manage to carve our pumpkins...that was a huge hit. not only that, but it was entertainment long after the carving was done. we went with basic jack's...so while i was busy cleaning up, the girls were using the carved pieces like puzzles...popping the eyes in and out...on and on. talk about cheap entertainment! they had so much fun. ella was actually upset that we had to leave them outside! lol!

here are some pics from today:

and here are some projects i finished this weekend. the layout is from my class. another one on balance. sketch provided. the halloween treat containers are for the girls parties at school. i didn't make the containers (thank god for micheals! lol)...but i did make the cute little spiders on top.

enjoy~

we now return...

to our previously scheduled program. sorry about that. sometimes i get blips in the emotional radar so to speak. am back up and running now.

been having a lot of nightmares. something new for me, since i don't usually dream or remember my dreams. and these nightmares are awful. so hopefully they just go away. makes me dread going to sleep at night.

ella is having a really rough go and as much as i am trying to hold it together...its breaking my heart to watch her choking sobs.

for the most part, our days are pretty uneventful and on auto pilot...but then when we have a quiet minute to think, it comes crashing down. the girls were able to talk to matt this morning, and that always seems to help...but nighttime is the hardest for all of us. just need a little more time.

matt has been fine. he has been doing lots of training, getting very little sleep. he is ready to move to his permanent place so that he can have the rest of his things and settle in. plus he won't have 300 other room mates to worry about making noise. most of our calls lately have had to do with me picking his brain for what i should do about this or that. questions about the basement, etc. this project was 90% him...so i am at a loss to finish it. no matter what, it will get done. one way or another.

well thats a quick wrap...hopefully more pics to post tomorrow...we should be carving pumpkins!
later~

falling off the planet...

be back shortly!

happy hump day!

this is another layout for cathy z's class. its actually from week 1 and its on balance. you had to follow the sketch, but all the other decisions like colors, embellishments...are your choice. i really love how this turned out and can't even believe i am already scrapping disney pics!

journaling reads:

we didn't know how you would handle meeting the characters. we thought you might be scared of them. well that was not the case. you were a little shy at first, but when you saw that Minnie Mouse had signed your book and dotted her I's with hearts...you were completely won over.

this next pic is a quick glimpse into the basement bedroom. the painting is done (except for priming the doors and window frame). the color is a little funky, but the lighting was bad, it was cloudy and the overhead lights threw a funny cast. but you get the idea. the blue is actually a very pale blue. the door to the right goes out to the main area and the straight ahead is the bathroom.

ok...thats all for now:) happy hump day!