I sum up:

So, yes, life got in the way. By “in the way” I mean, it came up and kicked me in the head and chest until I submitted and cried for mercy.

Since my last post, Ethan, Ian, and I have all been sick individually or concurrently with head and chest colds. Mark seems to have survived- so far.

Since I last posted we had a “decent” snowfall of 5 inches and during that time we hiked from Ethan’s school to the house we were planning on buying.

Since I last posted Ethan had an eye exam and got a prescription for glasses to wear when he’s sitting in the back of the class.

This week has been the coup de grace of the head kicking life has been giving me. On Monday we got word from the bank that held the first lien on the house we were trying to buy. They approved the short sale! Woo hoo! On Tuesday we had the home inspection and found out there were $38000 in structural repairs needed on the foundations and beams of the house. On tope of that the house had leaking pipes, a hot water heater that needed to be replaced, new washer, dryer and fridge, all the carpet had to be ripped out, the deck had to be rebuilt, the cracks in the drywall around every single window had to be repaired, the air conditioner leveled, and the whole back yard re-graded. There were also the expected move-in expenses of new paint, and, oh, eliminating the colony of mice living in the basement.

We didn’t walk away from that house deal, we ran screaming!

So now we’re back looking for a new house to live in while we struggle each day piled on top of each other in this (effectively, since one room is filled completely with boxes of storage) two bedroom apartment with elephants as upstairs neighbors.

But, Mark loves his new job and is so very excited to go in every single day. His office is so close he can come home for lunch and his evening commute takes seven minutes.

Ethan has made many new friends at school. While he is still behind his classmates in reading and writing skills, he’s making phenomenal progress thanks to the excellent teaching staff at Superior elementary.

Ian still isn’t potty trained. We struggle with that. He is, however, a hilarious little chatter box who keeps me entertained with his almost- 4- year- old wit.

And me? Well now that I’m not hacking up my lungs, or crying about the house, I’m doing good. I’ve re-launched my political blog, I’m slowly making friends with other moms at Ethan’s school, and I’m adjusting to the oddities of living in the Mountain Time zone.

Mark’s severance package and final termination from Mythic took effect yesterday, March 10th. We don’t feel the need to avoid talking about where we live or where he’s working. The Mythic phase of our life is officially behind us. The Colorado phase is already well under way and we continue to appreciate how blessed we are to have jobs, the opportunity to buy a house, healthy kids, and loving families.