In Which the Stroller Mom Returns to the Internet

Well hey–howdy-doo!

It has been a hot minute since I’ve written an update. Remember when I closed down Dandelion Pie, and launched the Stroller Mom back in September? How I was full of promises of lots of posts, and launching an Etsy shop? How I was brimming with ideas and enthusiasm?

And then remember how I dropped off the face of the internet for oh—six months?

Good times.

Now that I am starting to get my sea-legs…ahem…my blogging legs under me again, I wanted to share a good old-fashioned update detailing where I’ve been.

Why I Didn’t Blog Much Last Year

2018 was a tough year for our family, and I really struggled to blog about all the serious/not fun things that were happening. I, also, struggled to blog about anything pithy because it just felt so unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

My hubby launched his own business, and we stepped out unto the tenuous branch of full-time self-employment, which was hard! We had health problems in my family that had us all worried and prayerful. And we had other things going on behind the scenes. I would open up my blog, and not be able to write about all the hard things, and not really want to write about all the sunny/breezy/happy things, and so I would close my laptop and listen to a podcast instead.

When I Found a New Part-Time Job That I Loved

In the fall of 2018 I was searching for another part-time job. I LOVE my virtual assistant work, and I wanted to add on a few more hours in an additional job. I finally interviewed for VIPKid (teaching English to Chinese kids online), and after getting through the arduous interview process, I started teaching. I went from teaching one hour a day, to three hours a day to adding evenings. It felt so good to be able to make money, and I loved meeting these kids. I started this job as a way to bring in dough when we were tight, but I quickly fell in love with it. Since I sang, played with puppets, and read stories to and with these kids it was a perfect job for my Theatre major heart. November and December were all about VIPkid, and struggles with Gideon’s sleep. While I was getting up at 4:30 a.m. to sneak in three hours of teaching before I assumed he’d wake up, he was waking up within a half hour after I started teaching, and crying for me. Saia spent his early mornings shut in our tiny bedroom trying to calm the fussy toddler who was crying out for me (I was on the other side of the wall, sweating bullets, because I was hoping my students couldn’t hear my toddler and feeling guilty for not being there for him). I LOVED teaching for VIPkid, and I kept hoping that eventually Gideon would get used to me being gone in the mornings, and sleep normally. We were all extremely sleep-deprived. Eventually, I cut way back on my hours to attempt to find peace in my home life again.

Why We Spent The Winter Months in Texas

Then Saia got a job in Texas. We had been worried about what he’d do to earn an income over the long Nebraska winter when masonry was not a viable option. When his brother John got recruited to play for the San Diego Fleet, and asked Saia if he would consider running his roofing business down in Dallas, TX for three months we decided that would be a great option.

Saia would drive down before Christmas, so the plan was that Gideon and I would stay in Nebraska for ten days to celebrate Christmas with my family, and then would fly to Dallas in early January. So I stopped teaching for VIPkid, and decided I would resume once I got down to Texas, since I was to nervous to teach when Saia wasn’t here.

Christmas was tough. We’d just found out I was pregnant. We’d already made our plans for Saia to head to Texas first, and G and I to fly down later. As soon as Saia left, I went from feeling normal to the most intense pregnancy-fatigue I’ve ever experienced. I was suddenly very grateful that I had shut down VIPkid for a few weeks while Saia was away, because I knew it would have been so overwhelming to keep that up what with my need to sleep twelve hours a night plus a nap in the afternoon. At our Christmas celebrations, I searched for the nearest chair to sit in, because I was just sooooo tired.

Baby #2

It wasn’t that much of a surprise to find out I was pregnant, we had been open to having another baby since Gideon turned one, but you just never know when it will happen!

We somehow made it through the Christmas holidays, and Gideon’s first ever flight (which scared me, but ended up going great). And made it to Texas.

The Sad Month of January

For the entire month of January I was utterly exhausted. I slept 10-12 hours every night, and napped 1-2 hours every day. Basically any time that Gideon was sleeping, I was right there next to him. The rest of the day I tried to think of food that I could stomach, and I lay on the couch trying to entertain Gideon. It was a sad month, full of sad food, and sad thoughts. I would spend all day opening up the Walmart Grocery App, and searching through all the food to find one item that looked remotely appealing. I felt pretty depressed because I was just so tired, and hungry. In the middle of that first trimester, it is hard to believe that you will ever feel good again!

In Which I Live Again

In February, we drove back to Nebraska because I needed to come back for a midwife appointment, and G and I stayed in Nebraska for three weeks while Saia went back to Texas to work. I wanted to be there for my parents’ homeschool melodrama production, and I was missing home. Luckily, my energy came back right at about twelve weeks pregnant (miracles do happen)  which directly corresponded with Saia heading back to Texas. Gideon and I spent several weeks dejunking our apartment, baking food that (glory be!) sounded good to me, and hanging out with my family.

Which Brings Us to Today

So, you see, the past six months have been a bit nuts-o. I have gotten hired to a new job, taught over a hundred classes in two months, got pregnant, survived the first trimester, flew alone with a toddler to Texas, driven back to Nebraska, been a single-parent for three weeks in Nebraska, driven back with Saia to Texas, spent three weeks there, completed some big virtual assistant projects, flew back to Nebraska, searched for a two-bedroom apartment, applied for that apartment, and have started the search for a minivan.

What About the Future?

One thing I learned from my six month break, is how much I really do value this little writing space of me. There is nothing like blogging. I just don’t get the same satisfaction from a well-crafted Facebook or Instagram post. So I will be showing up here more often, and I will be sharing about my pregnancy, our self-employment, and our busy little life.

But until then…

Tell me, friend, what have you been up to? I’ve missed you!