No More Radio Silence

Hey Humble Readers...

If you are here now, you are probably very aware that I needed to take an extended break away from the blogosphere.  Honestly, I was in a bit of a downward spiral and I didn't feel motivated to share how low I was feeling.

Spring and summer were very challenging for our little hobbit/ent clan.  Here's a bullet point list of what has gone on over the last few months...

• my Beloved was laid off in late April and we were without any income for a month and a half.
• He got a temporary gig working for the company he worked for a few years ago, helping their accounting department get out of a serious backlog.  He's still there, as the woman who was promoted to replace him two years ago has had to go on medical leave.  HOWEVER, this is not a permanent gig (as his boss likes to remind him), it does not pay what we need him to make and there are no medical benefits.  He is still applying for positions, and interviewing whenever something comes up.  We are still concerned that we may end up having to leave the Shire and move to one of the larger centers to the north or south of us.  Not really wanting to do that, but we know we will go where we have to in order to support our family. 
• Just before my Beloved started his temp position, he drove the wee-lings and I to K-town.  He drove back that same weekend (10 hours each way) and the wee-lings and I stayed for a couple of weeks visiting my mom and her boyfriend.  It was a very difficult trip, with lots of conflict between me and Mom's boyfriend, hereafter called the Cactus.  It has put a strain on my relationship with my mom now too, and I miss what used to be. 
• I have had to go back to work.  I'm back at the bookstore where I used to be a manager, working four nights a week, from 9pm-1am doing stocking/inventory stuff.  The work itself isn't hard, but the change in my sleep patterns has had a negative affect on my health (blood sugars aren't anywhere near where they should be, and my blood pressure is through the roof).  Working nights and caring for two wee-lings during the day is challenging, to say the least.  I know that a lot of women do it, and do it well.  Apparently, I'm not one of those women. 
• Three weeks ago, my Beloved and the wee-lings went to the wee-town south of here to visit my MIL, while I stayed home to work on a project that needed quiet and focus.  While they were there, my Beloved and Pippin (out for a drive to get little mister to take a nap) ended up in a car accident.  Thankfully, no one was injured, but Tilly the Toyota was totalled.  The last few weeks have been a constant battle with the insurance, car rental company, and the car dealership where we ended up getting our new car.  Can I just take a moment here and express that this was my very worst nightmare come to life?  The thought of them far away from me and hurt or worse puts me into a panic. 
• One of my very good friends was diagnosed with cancer... it's treatable thankfully, but means major surgery for her and is scary no matter how confident the doctors are. 
• And last but not least, my little balcony garden that I was so very proud of took a major beating during a hail storm in the same week as the car accident, and has turned into a withered mess.  I still have a few cherry tomatoes ripening, but other than that it's a washout.  No big batches of basil for pesto this year... and the carrots didn't grow more than an inch. 

We were hopeful for a position here in town that my Beloved interviewed for a couple of weeks ago, but in the end, it went to someone with a bit more education that my Beloved.  It was definitely the best interview/interaction he's had so far, and we are praying that the right position is just around the corner. 

The insurance payout on the car was actually a bit of a windfall, in that it paid what was still owing on the Prius, and left us with a few thousand dollars.  In the end, we decided to put that money on our ever increasing credit card balance, and take advantage of the excellent interest rates available through the dealership for a car loan.  The majority of my little income is going to our credit card balance as well, so it feels like we might be making a few small steps forward. 

The wee-lings have managed the stress this summer rather well, I think. 

Ginny had a regression in the potty training department while we were in K-town (another stressor between my mom and I), but has since done very well, with no more poop accidents and only a couple of wet accidents while she had a cold and wasn't feeling well.  She's still in pull-ups at night, but I'm hoping to tackle that in the coming months.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Pip's vocabulary had a major explosion at the end of June, and while he's still in speech therapy, I am seeing some real progress.  He's starting to use multi-word phrases and sentences, and his words are becoming more and more understandable.  He's also showing some interest in the potty, and so we may make a first attempt to potty train him in the next few weeks.  We also transitioned the wee-lings into a set of bunkbeds (Pip out of the crib)... that was a frustrating couple of weeks, but they seem to be adjusting now. 

I hope you are all well, and that you had a much better summer than we did.  I hope to be back with good news soon.