Where did January go?

It seems like it has been a long time since we posted something but the pictures in our last post are from Christmas and that was just a few days ago, right? Maybe its just me but January was a complete blur. Abe had his second round of radiation and was able to get lots of things done around the house during is forced exile. Work has been incredibly busy and I'm counting down the weeks until I can be done. I actually did the math the other day and realized that technically I could take the next 5 months off and still get paid based on all the overtime I have been working lately. Unfortunately there is too much to do and HR doesn't seem to like my plan too much.

Other than work, getting the house ready to put on the market has been the most time consuming task lately. Abe did an amazing job of redoing the front and back porches. They were in pretty bad shape and now look great. We enjoyed hours of patching, painting, cleaning, organizing, and staging. But now the house is officially on the market. So bring on the offers. I thought this would be a good time to do a little comparison of what the house look liked when we moved in.

The living room before. Note the lovely blinds.The living room after.

The kitchen before. I do not miss that tile.
The new and improved kitchen.

The dining room. Sorry the light fixture went to goodwill.
Abe did such a great job on this floor!

Our bedroom.

The master bath. Ethan and Taylor's room.
The kids continue to do wonderful and are very excited about our move. Ethan has gotten into the packing process. We were loading some stuff to put in storage and he wanted to know what we were doing. We explained how we wanted the house to look cleaner by getting the clutter out. He said "so stuff is going to the attic like in Toy Story". We said yes that was pretty much it. Then he grabs a box and starts loading his toys in. He told Taylor "come on, we are going to sell this stuff at a yard sale and get some money." He is always thinking. The other day he was watching me as I was getting ready for work. I put on a pair of hose only to realize that they had a run in them so I took them off. Ethan wanted to know what I was doing and I explained about the hole and how I couldn't wear them. So he say "So I guess you're going commando today?" Thanks Abe for teaching that concept to Ethan. Tonight as we were trying to leave the house I was trying my best to convince a stubborn Taylor to go to the bathroom and she wasn't having it. I finally told her that Ethan and Dad were going to leave without us if she didn't go. Ethan's eye got wide and his face got very serious. He said "Hold on here. I am not going ANYWHERE without my sister." I love the moments when they love each other so much.

So last Saturday was Taylor's 2nd birthday. I can't believe another year has passed by. Taylor is so much fun and such a handful at the same time. While playing teaparty today Ethan was making a lot of noise while "drinking" his tea. Taylor said "Ethan that isn't very good manners." Just what I was thinking, she is like a mini me some days. Since I am completely overworked and lazy we decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday. Ethan and Taylor had a great time. I'm worried that this picture is a flash forward 14 years.No worries, it's just Abe, not some creepy mountain man trying to abduct Taylor. Abe thinks he is trying to get in as much time with a beard as possible before the army regulations kick in June 7th.



All day long on Taylor's birthday Ethan was letting Taylor pick everything. She got to decide what they watched on tv. He let her go first at everything. And this was all his own idea. So Sunday, the day after her birthday, she said something that she wanted to play with. Ethan took the toy from her and said very matter of factly "Taylor, its not your birthday any more."