On a personal note....

A little over a year ago I had an appointment with my doctor.  I had Charlie three months prior to this visit and he was meeting with me to check on my postpartum health.  he was very concerned with my weight and consequently my sugar levels.  He figured that I may be pre-diabetic.  The thought of this was obviously very scary to me, especially given my family history.  I came home from this check-up with a request for some blood work and quite disappointed in myself.

While I was on facebook I noticed a status posted by a friend that she had lost 51 pounds and only had 9 more to reach her goal.  That was all the kick in the pants I needed.  I decided that it was time to start taking better care of myself.  So, I found a few fabulous apps for my ipod: "My Fitness Pal" and "Couch to 5K."  These were ultimately the tools that lead to the success story that has been my last year.

Here is a family picture taken on our vacation last summer (September 1st, 2011):

Steve and I both began to watch what we ate and started to exercise more.  It was not necessarily hard work but it did take dedication.  At the end of the year, we lost over 90 pounds between the two of us.  we fell just short of our combined goal of 100 pounds.   I honestly don't think I could have done it without his help.  He has been so supportive and wonderful throughout this whole thing.  I am very proud of the hard work he has put into our new lifestyle.

Here is the family picture taken on our vacation from this summer (August 28th, 2012):

Today I participated in the Run for the Cure.  I ran the 5K with a friend of mine and we both finished in just under 30 minutes.  This is a huge accomplishment for me on so many levels.  First of all I ran in honor of my Aunt Bonnie who bravely battled breast cancer.  Not only did she fight it as a blind woman, she beat it!  She was such an amazing woman and I am sad that she could not be with us to know just how wonderful I thought she was.  I hope that somehow she knew and would have been proud of my run.

After the year of dedication to making myself a better me, it seemed like a good way to end it.  Also, I had my 4 favorite men, Mom-I and Pop-I as well as 2 nieces and a nephew there to cheer me on.  I also had a few friends who participated and some who were there to cheer for us.  To top that all off, a lot of my family supported my run with donations that are going to such a great cause.

Only time will tell but I cannot wait to see what the next year will bring...

Fun at Quinn Farm - Apple Picking

We decided this morning to go out to Quinn Farm to do some apple picking with the boys.  We had so much fun!  I`ve been wanting to take them for a while and was so happy we went.  It was a little chilly but other than that, it couldn`t have been better.  The boys loved the apples and ate a few while we were picking, including Charlie.  He made sure he had an apple in each hand almost the entire time.  He finally stuck with one and ate the whole thing!  It took him almost an hour and would not give it up until it was done...

Here are a few pictures from our day...

While we were there we also picked some pumpkins...

Peanut butter has officially been kicked to the curb

I have Charlie's 15 month check-up coming up on the 9th of October.  I decided it would be a good idea to give Charlie his first taste of peanut butter prior to see his pediatrician.  I figured if he was anything like Zachary, Dr. Katz would want to have him officially tested.

So, I gave Charlie some toast and a tiny bit of peanut butter for lunch.  Within minutes of me putting the plate in front of him, he has broken out in hives.  He started to scratch and cry.  So, I called Mom-I and asked her to come over to stay with the boys while I took him to the clinic.  I gave him a dose of anti-histamine.  But, the scariest thing for me was when his lips started to swell.  I was worried that it would turn into something much worse than the simple hives.

Within 5 minutes of being at the clinic, there was a doctor in checking him out.  His oxygen levels were good and he was breathing well.  They gave him another 2 doses of anti-histamine and had us stay for about 45 minutes so they could keep an eye on him.  He eventually fell asleep.  As we were leaving the clinic, I got him into his car seat and he started to vomit.  I cleaned him up (as best as I could) and brought him back into the clinic just to be sure nothing more serious was wrong.  The doctor was happy he threw up since it would help him purge his system of any remaining peanut butter.  I took him him and he napped for a good 3 hours.  He woke up looking worse for wear but much better.  He got another dose of anti-histamine before bed and is much better this morning.

Here is a picture I snapped of him napping yesterday afternoon... He is really in love with his Buster...

So,, needless to say there will be absolutely no peanut butter allowed in this house...

New session of swimming lessons...

Zachary and Nicolas started their new session of swimming lessons this morning.  They are now going twice a week at a local indoor facility.  It is a gorgeous place that has an Olympic sized swimming pool.  It also has the most ideal section for swimming lessons.  I left Charlie at Mom-I's so that I could focus on the big boys.  I was a bit afraid that I would have trouble getting them into the water given that it would be at a new pool and with a new teacher.  However, they surprised me.

Zachary was very excited when he woke up this morning.  He was anxious to get to the lessons and start swimming again.  Nicolas was less pleased and I finally got out of him why.  He does not like going under the water and he was worried he would have to put his head under.  I told him we`d talk to his new teacher and let him know.  This seemed to make him much happier.

When we got to the pool, we found out that they were in the same group as their cousin Alexandra.  There are 6 kids in the class and all of them have obviously been in this level for a few session.  I am happy about this since I know the boys will advance more quickly being surrounded by others that are better than them.  We also lucked out and got Dan (Alexandra`s favorite instructor).  He is wonderful with children and is so good at making them comfortable.  Here are a few pictures from our fun first lesson!

Nicolas splashing his instructor Dan (I love the look on Zachary`s face):

Nicolas enjoying himself:

All of the kids practicing their kicking:

Nicolas, Zachary and Alexandra on the side of the pool:

Zachary out for a swim:

He even managed to get Nicolas to go under the water with him.  I was shocked and very impressed!

Zachary practicing his swimming without a bubble.  He did better with Patrick this summer....

Charlie loves his Buster...

Charlie has taken to carrying his Buster around just like his big brothers.  He hugs and kisses him all the time.  It is too cute for words...

Charlie trying to fall asleep...

After we put Charlie to bed last night he started to talk to himself and the stuffed animals in his crib.  He talked like this for over an hour.  It was so funny and cute that I decided to take a little video of what we were hearing through the baby monitor...

A play date at the park with Thomas and Seb

My neighbor has two sons, Thomas who is 3 months older than the big boys and Sebastian who is 14 months older than Charlie.  The boys love to play with them and so we planned a play date.  We started at our house and then headed to the park.  It was quite the sight to see us walking down the street with the 5 boys.  They play so well together and have so much fun.

Of course I snapped some pictures of our fun morning...

A New Ride

We just got our new van last night and the boys were so excited to go for a ride in it.  So, off we went this morning to take it for a spin.  Here is a picture of the new in the new ride...

Fun in the sun... and the sprinklers...

We started out playing in the sandbox...

And then, Zachary and Nicolas decided to try out their new bathing suits in the sprinklers...

New pictures of the kids...

Here are just a few pictures we took of the kids today...