Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Vacation--Moeckli Style

Well, it is just 10:00 am and I am the only one up. Both my husband and three-year old are still sleeping.

Yes, we Moeckli's know how to relax.

This week so far has been a combo of relaxing and organizing. We got home from 29 Palms on Sunday to a mostly clean house, but then we had all the fun unpacking/laundry to do. Coming home from a trip is always onerous, but it's especially so when you have to sort and put away Christmas presents. However, we somehow managed to go to Target that evening. But we got pizza. Surprise!

Monday we slept in super late, which was nice. Justin and I attempted to go to work, which was a resounding FAIL on both accounts. Justin couldn't even get into his classroom, so he drove to Stockton for nothing. And I brought Em, who had both a poo and a pee accident. Nice. The day wasn't a total loss, as Em and I went out together for a mommy/daughter lunch.

Yesterday we took Em to see Princess and the Frog. I'm not entirely sure if she is ready for movies. She seemed to like most of it, and she definitely liked the popcorn, but she got really upset when a character got hurt. Yeah, it might be awhile til we see the next one. Plus, it's dang expensive. We had a gift card, but still, ouch. I saw huge families at the movie, and I don't know how they could afford it.

We finished off yesterday by organizing Em's toys. We bought her a new shelf with buckets and we categorized her stuff. This is part of my new effort to teach her how to clean up after herself. Talk about the blind leading the blind. :)

Today we are going to hang out with some friends. As soon as I'm done with this, I will hop in the shower and then head to the store. I am in the mood to bake. Uh-oh.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Heading Back Home

We have had a very pleasant Christmas, especially the last two days.

On Christmas Eve, we headed to my brother-in-law's step-dad's house that he shares with his new wife. Craig's mother also came along. This was a situation fraught with potential akwardness. However, everything went very smoothly. Craig's dad and his wife were incredibly gracious, and the evening was nice. We ended it with driving down "Candy Cane Lane," one of those streets where everyone goes bananas with the lights and holiday decorating.

Christmas Day was very nice and relaxing. We started with breakfast. Haley and I knocked out sausages, eggs, fruit salad, and egg-nog french toast. (Very tasty by the way, but I recommend using low fat egg nog.) And of course, there were plenty of champagne drinks. :)

Emerson cracked me up because both Justin and I were up before her, but once she got up, she was very excited. She played with her stocking toys for a good hour. Got to love the one-dollar section of Target. Eventually, after breakfast, we got to the present opening. She was very excited for her Hello Kitty items. The Madeline book I got her...not so much.

Later that afternoon, we drove the hour to Palm Springs and had some appetizers and drinks at a restaurant that had booths that were big swings. Odd, but fun. And the appetizers--fried green beans and bbq pork flatbread--were delicious. The mango mojito was not too bad either.

We drove back to 29 and enjoyed a ham dinner. For the first time in my life I had the traditional green bean casserole and sweet potatoes with marshmallows. We ended the evening sitting outside by a fire drinking Mexican hot chocolate. If anyone wishes to try this, I recommend using Ybarra's and tequila and kaluha. Very tasty.

Today we are heading back. It will be a long drive (ugh), but I am happy to head home. Time to rescue my cats, get back to a reasonable diet, and do that wacky thing I haven't done in so long...exercise.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

A Traveling Christmas


This year we are spending Christmas with my family, and we decided to do things a little differently. We are spending the week in 29 Palms with my sister's husband's mother.

Keeping up?

Last Friday, my husband and I were packing and wrapping monsters. It seemed like an impossible task, but somehow after a crazy long week of teaching and running around, we were able to pack up, wrap a mound of gifts, make four salsas (that was Justin, of course), and clean the house all in time to leave on Saturday morning.

Saturday we headed to my mom's for her family's early Christmas Eve party. The party is a tradition that we have been doing for years, but this year we had to move it up a bit because of our trip. And Justin and I were able to actually GO out. In public. At night. Without Emerson. Whoa...

Sunday was a pretty relaxed day. Justin helped out my mom a bit with her yard work, and I played with Emerson. I actually got to take a nap. Sweet. I had to watch Cars AGAIN, but that's a small price to pay for some quiet toddler time.

Monday was another flurry of activity again as we got ready to make the nine-hour car ride down to 29 Palms. The morning was a bit unpleasant, but once we got in the car, things were fine. Justin actually drove the whole way down. I was not complaining, as this provided me more napping opportunities. Emerson watched movies on her portable dvd player (THANK YOU Rachel and Gary!), so she was happy. And she got fast food and twizzlers (cherry sticks to her.) Hello, 3-year old dream land!

We got to 29 Palms in good time to have dinner with Jody, my sister's mother-in-law. It's always a little weird to stay at someone's house for the first time, and it can be doubly interesting when you have a toddler in tow. Will she sleep? Will she go potty okay? Will she be a complete brat? Etc. So far, everything has worked out okay. Em is a little off her potty routine, but she is sleeping great.

Yesterday we drove through the Joshua Tree National Park and went on a hike at a place called Mecca Hills. Again, I was a bit nervous about how Em would do on a hike. I was not terribly surprised when she dropped down and said she could not walk anymore. So I stayed back and we played with rocks, lots of rocks.

Today, Justin accompanied our brother-in-law on a golfing trip. Justin is not actually golfing (we are barely passable at video game golf), but he went along for the ride. Can't wait to hear his report. Should be interesting...

We will be here til Saturday and then it's back to home for us. I'm sure the cats will have left things a mess and the tree will be mostly dried out, but I'll be excited to head back. Even if it means watching Cars AGAIN on the way home...

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Thanksgiving Pics






This year we had Thanksgiving at our house. It was a wonderful, long weekend.

Halloween Pics





I am a little behind posting pictures. Oops.

It's been awhile...

Since I have posted anything. I have been busy, true, but that is almost always the case. In fact, July tends to be the only month in which I am not impersonating a tornado.

But I have remained quiet for different reasons, one being I don't have a whole lot to say. The other being a need to be quiet and alone.

I noticed feeling this way particularly when I got home. The only thing I'd want to do is turn on the t.v., watch three hours of Ghost Whisperer, and go to bed. I had very little interest in hanging out with Justin and Em.

This went on for about three weeks--the time between Thanksgiving and my holiday break. I could see that Justin was worried; he tried to get me to engage more, which only made me feel irritated. I struggled with post-partum depression after having Em, during which Justin was super supportive. However, that last time I went too long before getting help. Since that situation, Justin seems to pay more attention to my mental health.

But now I feel I've actually snapped out of it. There were a couple things that helped me feel more engaged. One was getting ready for the holidays. It is so dang fun to buy presents for a three-year old, and she is way into all the decorating and songs, etc. Second was getting the opportunity to apply for a vice principal job. Even if it goes nowhere, it is exciting to apply and imagine myself in a new position.

I could tell I felt better and more myself because I decided to blog. Now, I'm not sure if blogging can be considered a good indicator of mental health, but oh well. :)