Saturday Musings

A few layouts that I wanted to show you but forgot in my last post! Enjoy!

Friday Musings

Hello everyone! We've been busy, busy, busy getting ready for our big move next week. One week from today we begin our Adventure to St. Louis! WOW - time flies! I had to pack up my office today and ship everything to my new office in St. Louis which really made this whole moving thing feel REAL. and scary. and exciting. and did I say scary? lol

In honor of the move, I found a wonderful lady on etsy.com who makes the most adorable necklaces and she agreed to make me a ROCKIN' little momento of home which arrived today and is even better in person than it was in the picture that she sent me. I immediately put it on and plan to wear it to remind me of home when we move. Here's a picture of what she made for me -

Isn't it FANTASTIC?!?! I know, you're asking yourself, who is this lady and how can I get her to make me something just as wonderful? Well, never fear - you can find Kristen (aka matsudabunch) at her etsy shop here. I highly recommend her and I know you'll LOVE anything she creates for you. She's made several other pieces for me recently (which I can't share yet as they haven't been given to their new owners yet but I promise you they are fantastic!).

I've got a lot of laundry to work my way through since we've been traveling around so much in recent weeks to get in visits with family and seeing all of our favorite places/things/people before we move. So, I'll be back soon with some pictures from our recent trip to Pennsylvania. And I'll tell you all about it! More tomorrow, I hope!

Tuesday Musings

Things are really gearing up here for our big move to St. Louis at the end of the month. We're trying to cram in as much time as possible with everyone we love while also trying to purge more of our JUNK from the house. I'm also trying to stay on top of things at work which is pretty busy as I've just been assigned a brand new project and am heavy into another one. It's good to be busy, right?

The movers came out to do a walk through of our house and a analysis of our belongings which was interesting. Makes you realize how much 'stuff' you have all around you that you practically don't even notice until someone points it all out!

The move is becoming more and more real to me as I begin to try to figure out my moving to do list and get all the arrangements made for us. Yikes. This is big stuff! I'm feeling all over the place about it - excited, scared to death and totally/utterly overwhelmed. It's such a big thing for a girl like me who has never lived anywhere but here.

My friends Sarah and Peggy threw us a farewell dinner last weekend and some of our friends were able to make it to wish us good bye! It was great to see everyone but it really brought home that this is happening. I know it seems strange for me to say that but sometimes it feels like this move is happening to someone else. But, saying goodbye to the people you love and care about reminds me that this is real. We really are leaving! I hope to have pictures soon which I'll post so you can see some of the many people I'm going to miss after our move.

The kids are doing well - Meighan is sassy as ever and Alex is a ball of energy! Keeping up with these two is EXHAUSTING! They certainly keep us on our toes. We've been having some behavior issues - not listening, saying NO, doing things they know are off limits. So, we've reinstated the Naughty Mat/Time Out thing and it seems that it might already be helping somewhat. These are two very headstrong children and managing them is hard enough when they aren't being defiant. Meighan is almost 100% pottytrained during the day. She rarely has accidents any more. Alex isn't interested in the potty most of the time. He's a boy and I hear they take to potty training a bit more slowly so we're just giving him time ...

The next few weeks will be CRAZY. This weekend we head to Pennsylvania to visit with Paul's family and see a couple of his friends. Then next weekend is our LAST (yes, I said last) weekend living here so we've got several things planned - my friend Crystal's baby shower, Paul's going to get together with his buddies for the last time and my mom & Dave are taking the kids to the pool. Then, the movers are here packing us the following week and we close on the house on Friday of that week. And then we're heading for the midwest! Unbelievable!

I haven't had a ton of scrapping time lately but I did pull together a few pages that I can show you ...

This one uses a new kit, Summer Breeze, by ChereKaye that is so summery and fun!

And this one also uses some ChereKaye goodies - I love this photo of my grandmother and her friend Grace who were friends for a lifetime. I had to document their friendship for my heritage album!

And this one uses a freebie that my girl ChereKaye created that is COMING SOON to The Daily Scrapper which is a cool new international digital scrapbooking newsletter.

And one of my new favorite layouts - this is the FACE - the one that makes my heart melt. Who could resist that?!?!? This one uses more ChereKaye goodies from her portion of the Funky Playground Collaborative kit. That alpha ROCKS, by the way!

And last, but not least, I want to point out an incredible new kit by Rose Farver which knocks my socks off. This is what I intend to play with tonight if I have time to get a page done. It's called Just Hangin Round and can be found here. RUN over and pick it up. You won't be disappointed!

Have a good night and I'll be back soon with more Melniczenko Musings!

Saturday Musings

Happy Saturday! I've had a very nice day today. Mom and Dave took the kids this afternoon so I've had a whole afternoon to myself to run errands, do some laundry, put together a couple of pages and I even snuck in a little nap! Love those days. They are few and far between these days. Paul and I were chatting after dropping them off and we are amazed by how much free time we had before having kids. And we never really appreciated it! It's amazing just how much your life changes when you have children. They become your everything and all of the things that seemed to matter before just fade into the background. I just can't imagine my life without them but I have to admit that I relish the occasional free afternoon where I get to do what I want to do without have Noggin on in the background all day!

We're trying to get ready for the big move which will be happening the week of June 23rd. We'll be having a moving company come in to pack us up, load us up and then we'll be in a hotel until we close and hit the road for St. Louis. Our corporate housing will be ready for us on the following Monday. We'll be in corporate housing for up to 60 days while we find a place to live. I can't seem to think about the whole move in very real terms or I start to freak out. I know this is the right thing for us but I also have to admit that I'm scared silly at the idea of moving so far from Virginia! But, I know that this is the right decision which makes it a little easier to accept. Because I'm also thrilled at the idea of a fresh start and what this could mean for me at work. I'm choosing to see the adventure and ignore the sadness! It's an adventure, right??? LOL

I only have one page that I can share using some MandaBean goodies. I love how playful her designs are and how they stretch me each time I use them to create bright, fun pages! I also have a couple that I've done for Bella Scraps Magazine's June issue but I can't share those until after the issue is released (come on June 15th!)

More Tuesday Musings

I thought I'd share some recent pictures since blogger seems to have fixed the issue I was having with posting pictures - YAY! I'm sorry that these are out of order but I'm too lazy to go in and fix them! Sorry!!!

First, here we are at the cottage in Reedville on Sunday. The girls were warming up after getting in the freezing water. Seeing them at the cottage makes me remember back to when they first met 10 years ago and made friends immediately. Here they are now - still friends!

Our Megs - isn't she adorable in that bathing suit!

My three girls - I can't believe that Sami and Elizabeth are both 12 yet they are so different in terms of size. Elizabeth is almost taller than me now (which I know isn't hard since I'm a shorty!)

Yikes - look at her! She's a beauty which totally scares me since she's just 12 and looks like THIS already! :)
Fishing with her Daddy! She was having a blast until she realized how much waiting is involved in fishing. Patience is not her strong suit!

He was having a blast watching Dad and Nina's puppy run through the water - he ran back and forth giggling for most of the time we were there!

Alex getting his turn at fishing. Again, he was not a fan of the patience requirement. He wanted to reel and reel and reel!
While we were visiting Dad, Nina and Elizabeth in Kilmarnock, we stopped by Elizabeth's horse show in hopes of seeing her ride. Unfortunately, the twins were not patient enough and needed a nap! But, we'll try to catch her at another show before we move! Isn't she a cutie!?!? She's so talented and sweet! I'm so proud of my little sister. Hey, when did she grow up on me?? Seems like yesterday when I held her in my arms for the first time!

Alex loves his Nina! The twins just adore their Pop Pop and Nina! It's so great to see them get to spend time together! We love having them so close by now! It's one of the things we'll miss most when we move - getting to see them more often!

This is the face that greets me when I come home from work or come back from an errand. This face is what makes my world turn! I love my little guy!

This is from when we were in VA Beach last weekend. We met up with Mom and Dave who were in town for the Beach Music Festival and ran down to the ocean to get our feet wet.

Playing in the yard, having a popscicle!

More pictures from VA Beach -

Grandpa helping Meighan build sandcastles!

And a couple more layouts to share ...

Have you seen this kit by MandaBean, Robin Carlton and Kay Miller? It's called Raggedy Annie and it is incredible. I can't say enough about how wonderful it is! You can grab it at Sweet Shoppe Designs!

And I am so excited to get to play with Audrey Neal's newest kits (can be found over at Scrap In Style TV) - she has such a unique style and I love everything she does. She's magic & makes putting pages together a cinch!

Tuesday Musings

Yikes. I need to be better about updating this darn thing!!! Things have been so chaotic that I just haven't had time to come on and give a good update. Let's see ... lots has been happening in the land of Melniczenko. We are officially moving to St. Louis at the end of June. We've sold our house. We're going to stay in corporate housing for awhile until we find something there that we like. Lots of traveling for me lately. Although the next 2 weeks will be nice since I'll actually be home with no trips until June 11. Then, we'll be in PA for a long weekend to visit with Mimi, MomMom, Paula and her family! We can't wait to see everyone! Then, we'll be in our final weeks of getting ready for the big move. I'm so overwhelmed with the idea of moving but I'm also very sure that it is the right thing for our family right now. The twins are doing wonderfully! Growing up so fast and getting to be so smart! They are hilarious and argue with each other like a little old married couple! It's so funny. Meighan's new thing is to tell me that I'm her best friend which just warms my heart. And Alex is still all about SpiderMan. He's obsessed I tell you. They are such great kids and we are so lucky to have them in our lives!

My birthday was yesterday and we had a great weekend celebrating it with everyone! On Saturday we went to Kilmarnock to see my dad, Nina and Elizabeth. We had a great time with them and we went over to the cottage for some sun and beach time on Sunday. Then, we headed back to Richmond and the twins and Sami spent the night with my mom and Dave. And we all met up yesterday at the pool over at Pocahontas State Park for a day of pooltime. It was a lot of fun to see the kids playing in the water! Then, we wrapped things up with caramel cake (homemade by my very talented mom!) at Mom and Dave's house. It was such a nice way to spend a long holiday weekend!

I promise to try to be better about updating the blog, particularly since once we move this will be a great way to show everyone what we're up to. So, I'll work on doing a better job keeping this updated!

I have a lot of pages to share so here we go ...