They're here!!

Yes, I am talking about Peeps! I have been a huge fan of the Peeps since the Easter Bunny started putting these babies in my basket. I remember trading with my sister to get more. I love to eat them stale. I slice open the package, then stick them in the trunk of my car to get stale. I try to resist the urge to eat them before they are nice and chewy. Sometimes I do, soemthimes I don't! There are tons of fans clubs of other people who do this as well. No, I am not that crazy, but I have heard about them. A few facts:

--They are the top selling non-chocolate eater candy

--They have been around since 1954

--Each peep has 32 calories, no fat

--the color purple was introduced in 1995.

My favorite peep is the purple bunny. Off to devour one!

The heart pumps 100, 000 times a day!!

Today Pete and I gave a talk to Joey's class about the heart. Actually, Pete did all the talking as I do not like to talk in front of people, including 5 and 6 year olds. He was awesome, as always! He was fun, loud and animated. He taught them lots of fun facts about the heart, then we had them color a heart, highlighting the "red" and "blue" blood. It was a great coloring page we found on line. We then passed out disposable stethoscopes to all the kids to listen to their own and each others' hearts. It was a lot of fun and the kids were cute!

Pete in front of the kids
Joey coloring his heart
Joey using his stethoscope
Joey's class

The Scrutinies

I am now at the portion of RCIA called "the Scrutinies". I believe this is the 3 Sundays prior to Easter. The topic today was " The Living Water", ie. the water offered to the Samaritan women at the fountain by Jesus. The next 2 weeks highlight other events in the Bible. I was again called up to the alter. Father Larry gave me a smile and whispered, "Ah, up here again." I chuckled. He knows it is uncomfortable for me to be in front of people, and I am up here every Sunday!! Anyway, it was a brief ceremony with me kneeling down in front of the alter as prayers were read. My sponsor Mike has his hands on my head, then Fr. Larry came over and layed hands on my head. My biggest concern was the back of my jeans. Jeans these days tend to sit a bit low, and mine are no exception. I have heard the phrase "Mommy, I can see your butt!" uttered more then once in my house as I am bending over to pick something up. I was afraid I was going to flash a little crack at mass! Alas, I did not!

We are home!!

We are back from our ski trip to Deer Valley, Utah. The trip was bittersweet, as it was probably our last trip there. We have gone every year for the last 4 years and stay with my Aunt Dede and Uncle Harry, who have a fabulous place. Their house is for sale, so will be sold by next season. Joey is obsessed and very dissapointed about this and spent the week trying to come up with scenarios in which we/he buy the place! So much happened to have to write down, so I will list some of the highlights, in order of how they pop into my head.

-- the weather was gorgeous, up to 30 degrees and the snow was incredible!
--Pete and I took a private lesson one afternoon and improved tremendously. My legs didn't burn at all after the lesson since I was doing it right. The down side, of course, is that it was a much better work-out when my form sucked!
--We had an awesome, sit down lunch 3 out of the 4 days. Got to love the posh resort!
--Peter saw and chatted with Steve Carrell
--Joey lost his first tooth on the last day. He has no idea when or how or what happened to the tooth. Oh well, the tooth fairy understood
--My uncle Harry's niece and her family from England were there as well. The kids all had a total blast together. I guess they are cousins of sorts. Turns out British girls are into Hannah Montana and HSM too!
--It made me too nervous to ski behind Zach. I had to ski in front, followed by Zach, then Peter. I was a nervous wreck, afraid he would go to a black diamond run, or fall off the side of the mountain. I kept yelling at him to slow down, make more turns, stay away from the edge, etc...

We did 1 black diamond run and lived to tell about it!
My little ski boys
Zach and Joey with their British "cousins" Isabelle and Eleonor

After a fabulous lunch at Steins
Zach and Izzy jumping out of the hot tub into the snow. Brrrrr!!

A huge thank you to Auntie Dede and Uncle Harry for an incredible 4 years of skiing. Thank you for opening up your home to us and awakening our love of skiing. We promise to keep it up and get the boys out every year!

Rite of Election

Today was the next step on my jounrey to Catholicism, the Rite of Election. This portion is only for those who have not been baptised. It started with a small ceremony at my parish during mass. My sponsor is asked if I am ready to move on. I half expected Father Larry to say "Speak now or forever hold your peace". I then had to sign the Book of Elect.

I then had to attend another mass later in the afternoon at a huge cathedral downtown. The church was absolutely stunning! The following picture does not do the ceiling justice. This mass was presided by the Bishop of the San Jose diocese, Fr. Patrick. There was about 200 or so people from other parishes all there to be elected. There was a small mass, then a procession with each parish walking up to the alter, having our names read, then bowing to the Bishop. It was all pretty cool (except all the incense which made my allergies go haywire!).
This is after the ceremony. I actually managed to get up to the Bishop to have my picture taken!

The next big step is the actual baptism, confirmation, and first communion which all takes place at the Easter vigil. I hope I don't have to get all the way in the fountain!

My 5 favorite things

I have been tagged by my friend Suzie to make a list of my 5 favorite things. I was tempted to take the easy way out and list my husband and 4 kids, but didn't. The following is a list, in no particular order, of my 5 favorite things.

1. My Dirt Devil Kurv:
I bought this in an attempt to cut down on all the food under the table and in the minivan. It really is helpful and has helped me keep things a bit neater. It is great for cleaning food out of Christopher's high chair as well. It is like having a dog around without the smell and hair!

2. my running shoes:
There is nothing special about these shoes, but it is more what they represent to me. I have gotten back into running recently and am loving it again. It is really one of the cheapest sports out there. I am reminded of this as I am currently packing for an upcoming ski trip, which is a ridiculously expensive sport in comparison!

3. Our neighborhood/street:

We love the community we live in. We have the greatest neighbors and tons of kids on the street, mostly boys. We even have a babysitter on the other end of the street, who is fabulous. Our neighborhood has a cabana club with lots of organized activities. Pete and I have commented that even if we won the lottery, we would not leave our neighborhood. Of course we never actually play the lottery, so that is a purely hypothetical situation.

4. Our house:
We bought this house almost 4 years ago. It is 38 yrs old, all original. It needs a ton of work. I picked out colors and painted almost every room in the house by myself. Last summer we landscaped the back yard and painted the house. Slowly, but surely we are turning it into our dream house. I am proud of all we have done, and am excited for what is coming!

5. My new Wacoal bras!!:

After 4 children, my breasts resemble the picture down below. No kidding. The words National Geographic come to mind. I recently splurged for some nice Wacoal bras after Christopher stopped nursing. They are incredible!! They put everything back where they belong! Woo hoo!So, that is my list. At least for now, those are my favorite things. Anyone reading this who also writes a blog, consider yourself tagged! I will be checking your blog for your list soon.

Vinnie's birthday party

Geez! I feel like Vinnie's birthday is never going to end! Today was his birthday party. We decided to have an old- fashioned, at home, no waiver needed party. How hard can that be right? Play some games, eat some pizza and cake, and off they go. Turns out it is pretty hard to keep a bunch of four year olds interested in games. Longest 2 hours of my life!!

Vinnie doing the egg walk:
Vinnie and Maximilien doing the freeze-dance:
Singing Happy Birthday:

Who needs a fork when you can just do this?

Marshmallows and glue anyone?

I was cleaning the kitchen after dinner tonight, enjoying the fact that Christopher was actually playing quietly in the toy room. Wait?! Christopher playing quietly? I ran into the toy room to find him eating the marsmallow teeth out of Joey's school project on the mouth. I don't remember how old the glued on teeth are, but I think it was sometime in October that Joey came home with this. Yumm!

I am not sure what is worse. The fact that he ate most of the teeth, or the fact that I considered letting him finish off the molars since he was being so quiet!

Vinnie's Birthday Bear

Grandma Liz is visiting for Vinnie's birthday party this weekend. In the past she has taken both Zachary and Joey to Build-a-Bear for their birthdays'. Today was Vinnie's turn! He had a special day with Grandma at Build-a-Bear where he chose and made his special bear. He named him Maximillian, after his best friend in preschool. After Build-a-Bear, Grandma, Vinnie, and Maximillian headed to McDonald's for lunch. The day was a huge success!

Choosing his name:
Ready to go home!
Thanks Grandma Liz!!