Countdown to the birthday party

I have exactly one day and a half (the party starts at 3 on Saturday) to prepare for Nathan's birthday party. Whew, what a lot of work involved. Cleaning, cooking, decorating, etc. I think I have my menu planned, unless I change anything. Keep in mind that mostly my dh's family is coming and they are Italian, hence the Italian meats. But I am planning on serving Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Meatballs, Italian Sausage (with peppers and onions), veggie pizza, corn casserole, pasta salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, fruit salad and dip, a relish tray, veggie tray, cocktail shrimp and of course birthday cake.

I have to finish cleaning the house, including cleaning out the fridge and freezer. Get the kids to clean to playroom, family room and their bedrooms, since those rooms are where they make the most messes.

I have finish shopping for the decorations and food so I can start that too. Who knew that planning a birthday party could be so much work. Every time I plan one, I think I'll never go through all that again and the next thing you know, I'm planning another one. I try not to get too fancy, but that doesn't always work either.

I just hope that everything gets down and it all turns out nicely.

My baby turned ONE!!

My little baby is a whole year old! Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was holding a newborn in my arms. He struggled the first few months, for which I feel so horrible. I was nursing him and he wasn't getting enough nutrition, so he went from 7lbs. 12 ozs. all the way down to 6 lbs. Poor baby! I felt like a complete failure for not being able to nurse my own baby. This has happened with my fifth child too.

Nathaniel means "Gift from God" and I truely believe he is a gift. I feel so blessed to have that little boy in my life, to have all my children in my life. I'm just getting sappy, cause my youngest and last is turning into a big boy!

Here are a few pictures (if it works)

All six of my children



A few of the Birthday Boy

Finally....Results (and hopefully more to come)!!

I have been struggling with my weight for years. Even when I wore a size 5 and weighed 115, I still battled with it. After having my children, I not only kept the weight on, I gained more weight on top of it. I ballooned up to 205 pounds about 6 years ago and it was frightening (I am only 5'2", so you can imagine how awful I looked, plus other major factors included my father having juvenile diabetes and my mother having high blood pressure, among other things). I managed to lose about 40 pounds, but then got pregnant again and gained it all back. I then went on to have one last baby and now I am trying to lose all this weight once and for all. Back in February, I started at 198, lost a few pounds, and stuck.

About a month ago we went to a birthday party and in the thank you card that they sent they also included some pictures. I saw one of myself and I broke down and cried. I looked hideous!! Like a huge blob of fat! I was so disgusted by what I saw. Add to that, a week ago, I went to a bridal shower and my sister was there too. She used to be heavy as well. But she looked fantastic. She lost a huge amount of weight. I was so upset that when I got home, I sobbed. Then I realized that I could feel sorry for myself, or I could do something about it.

On Sunday, July 16, I weighed myself in the morning. The scale said 190. I thought I would try the South Beach Diet, since I had done it once before and lost about 10 pounds (gained it back when I got pregnant). That very morning I started and in these last few days, I went from 190 to 182 (what I weighed in at today). So something is finally working. I only hope I can keep it going!

I will share some before and after (or during) pictures later. Our scanner/printer is broken. I really hope that things will turn around. I am experiencing all sorts of health problem based on the fact that I am overweight. I have asthma, copd, depression, and a few other things. I think that if I can lose a significant amount of weight that some of the health problems will heal on their own. How nice would it be to walk up a flight of stairs and not get short of breath?!

Now I just need some motivation to start exercising!!

and so we begin...

So, I decided to start a blog. What was I thinking?! Expressing my thoughts on the web, for all to see, yikes! But since I have a lot of thoughts rolling around in the old noggin, I thought what the hey, why not go for it.

As a mom of six (infant to teenager), I get easily distracted, so starting a blog might just help me keep some thoughts, ideas or what have you in check. I've been thinking about starting one for a long time, but alas, never had the time.

So here we go....