friday . . .

All I can say is sick, sick, sick . . . first it began with Nicholas, then Ryan, then Justin, then Ryan got better, then Nicholas got worse (double ear infection), then Justin got better, then mommy got sick :(  Everyone is better but mommy :(  I am tired, exhausted, but surviving.  Unfortunately Justin just had surgery (nothing serious) but he is unable to lift anything & is pretty much bedridden right now so he can't really help with the kiddos so no sick day(s) for mommy.  Just plugging through the runny nose, coughs, sore throat.  I have a mess of pics to share from the past few weeks - unfortunately I really struggled with my Halloween pics.  I just couldn't get any night shots - so many blurry pics.  Even though I took the class last month, I really need to review through everything & take some serious time to practice - oh to find the time . . . anyways - captions are below pics - enjoy :)





It looks like a crawl . . . just kidding Nicholas is still doing the army crawl - this is just for show :)





Yes, we are in the upright position - only on knees though :)





Side by side, my two little men :)





Seriously - could you ever resist this face :)





Spooky cookie graveyard making & spooky faces :)





Snow in October - say what???





First time exploring the inside of a pumpkin :)  And yes, he tried really hard to eat the seeds but mommy said no :)





Our pumpkin collection - I did the "Boo" one :)





Pre-trick-or-treating snuggles :)





Nicholas investigating his cousin :)





Is it bedtime yet???





Batman - ready for action :)





The only decent pic of my "little bat" - the quality, not so good, cuteness factor, fabulous :)





In all fairness this is not my husband's costume - it's mine :)  I stayed up until 3 am the night/morning before Halloween to make my flower costume.  A wood ring, cardboard, and some Jillibean Soup patterned paper along with a lime green sweatshirt for the stem/leaves.  I didn't get a pic of me but my husband did try it out so I snapped one of him :)





Ryan got this adorable monster hat from his Aunt & Uncle for Halloween - just had to catch some shots of him in it.  He was doing a "monster" pose, but it looks more like John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever.


Now, on to the scrappy front :)  I was asked to create a sketch and sample for a special challenge over at Citrus Tree Studio.  This is my second year doing this for them  - the owner Cindy is super sweet & I was given an adorable kit full of papers & embellishments from the Three Bugs in A Rug Collection Deck the Halls to work with.  Here is the sketch I created . . .




And the layout I came up with using the fabulous November CTS kit . . . 





And a card using the kit as well . . . 





Interested in playing along????  Here are the details . . .


Contest runs from November 1st through November 30th at Midnight (Eastern).  Each participant (registered member) should create a layout and card using the contest sketch and upload both to the "Sketch Contest" area of the CTS Gallery for a chance to win the Crate Paper 12 x 12 "Peppermint" Collection.  A separate (new) set of creations may also be entered for the Sketch Contest being held on the CTS Facebook page for a chance at January 2012's guest designer spot!!


Please note:  One entry per participant for each Sketch Contest and the same creation cannot be used for both contests.


For more information head on over HERE!!!  Hope to see some of you play along!!!!


ttyl - julie :)