Number 5 on her way

Yes, you have read it correctly. My amazing wife and I are expecting our 5th child on December 30th and yes the baby is suppose to be a little girl. Baby number 5 will be named Eden Marie. Alison picked out the name and at first I was up in the air about it but the more I thought about it I realized it was a nice name. Stay tuned for more.

Life's little gifts

Okay, so when everything is going well I can expect something to go wrong. It never seems to fail. My family in a whole was doing well, Alison and I are now expecting our 5th child. Her first appointment will be on Wednesday 6/23. I know it's early but I cannot wait to see this new little one. In truth, I'm nervous. I hope everything with this baby is fine. I know that no matter what Lexi and I will love the baby no matter what but I just cannot help be nervous.

Then all of a sudden our hot water start getting air in the line. I'm thinking that one of the pipes in is starting to plug up because of the hard water and that the hot water tank isn't filling all the way up causing the air in the line. Any way we haven't really dealt with that yet.

Then to top things off my grandfather got sick about two or three weeks ago and just got worse until this weekend (6/19/10) he passed away. I feel like crap because I never took a moment out of my schedule to go see him before he passed away. I really feel bad for my mom. All her adult life she helped her parents. I mean for almost 15 years we lived right next door, which was actually like living in the same house. Mom did everything for them and then when she moved away her biggest worry was not being able to make it back in time before he parents passed. Then when her father got sick she thought she had enough time to get back but she was wrong and she really feels bad about it. Now, after all that my grandmother had to go to the hospital yesterday because her diabetes could not be stabilized. Due to stress or something else beyond her control her sugar dropped to 40 and would not raise. Oh and I didn't mention that now grandma needs to have blood transfusions because her blood count will not raise to a normal level.

Okay, now that I have vented let me just say I cannot wait until this baby is born and don't tell Alison but I'm going to be the one to name this baby. Well, until next time take care and may God take care of you and your family.

Been a while

Well, it's been a while since my last post. I have been real lazy lately. I haven't gone to the gym in about two weeks but, I am still eating well and am slowly dropping some weight. Not a lot has gone on.

Noah is playing spring soccer and baseball. Poor Alison runs him around all week and then has to work on the weekends so she hasn't really been able to watch him play. This weekend Noah's soccer team played in a tournament against all 12 year olds. They lost all their games but, they managed to hang in there. I would have to say the last game that they played was there best game all day.

Owen isn't playing any spring sports but he did sign up for swimming and soccer. Owen has really blossomed as a reader. Every time I see him reading it just amazes me how quickly he can read an the fact that he can tap out words that his brother has difficulty with. I think that if Owen really wanted to he could read the Harry Potter books. I'm really thinking of suggesting that he read the Percy Jackson books. Also, I'm thinking that we should probably try teaching him things over the summer, I really think he would enjoy it if we made it fun.

Lexi, well what can I say. She is her own person which is good. However, lately she thinks that it's okay to haul off and hit her brothers if she gets mad at them. I have tried telling her not to but it doesn't work. Oh yeah, and she really has her own style. Most days I just let her pick out her own clothing and try to keep it tame. Lexi is really excited that she gets to go to preschool next year. She asks me at least once a week if she can go to school.

Liam, well the little man is doing well. He got his brace for his leg. At first he didn't really like it but now he doesn't seem to mind it. In fact there are some days that he even tries to help you put it on. Liam is now pulling himself up and as long as he's holding something he can walk/take steps. I am really surprised at how fast the little man adapts to all of the challenges he faces.

Vacation

Okay, so I went on vacation with the family on 11 April and we got back home on 25 April at around 0200 hrs. Vacation was a blast and we all had fun. It's to bad that the vacation had to end but at least we had fun. We spent a week in Louisiana with my Meanie and Papa Bear then we went to Virgina and spent 4 days with my sister and her kids. Now we are back and its time to begin the old routine again. Sometime this week I will need to get the lawn mower out and get it ready for this season. Then I need to mow the lawn.

Okay so on vacation I didn't due any type of workout and ended up gaining the weight that I had lost back again. Now, I need to work harder than ever to change my life long habits. I'm tired of being fat and I cannot stand the way I look when I look at myself in the mirror. I really don't know how my wife can stand looking at me. I am afraid that if I don't do something soon that I will make my life so miserable that I lose the ones I hold dear to my heart. I can already feel myself pushing them away and that is not what I want to do. I need to overcome my issues and I feel that by tackling the weight problem first it will help me build the confidence that I need to overcome the other obsticles in my life.

Week Three

Okay, So I lifted on Monday and boy did it kick my butt. I guess I went to heavy to quick but it felt good while I did it. Now I'm just sore. Oh well time to stop crying and get my butt to work. On Monday, I rode my bike at home for 25 minutes and then went to work to work out. I did Squats, Dead lifts, rows and biked for 30 minutes. Then managed to keep moving all night while I was working. I ended up taking some over time for a day off. I took the 30th off and I didn't do a thing. I know I should have at least rode my bike but my excuse for not doing anything was I was up from 0630 on Monday until 1000 on Tuesday (27.5 hours total) without a nap. Today, I hopped on the exercise bike and rode for just over an hour and got 10.5 miles in. All in all I think it was a good work out. Hopefully tomorrow I will get my butt out of the house early enough to work out again and get a bike ride in as well. When I go on vacation in 10 days I'm going to have to find a way to keep moving.

Weight is still 255 but I'm feeling better and have more energy already. All I need to do is get rid of these aches and pains and things will be good.

Week Two

Okay, so this is week two of my life changing plan. Let me start by saying that things haven't gone as I had planned in week one. I haven't been keeping track of everything that I put in my mouth. I have however started to be more aware of what I eat. I have started bringing oatmeal and protein powder to work with me. At some point in the night when I get hungry I make my oatmeal and put one scoop of protein into it. I'm finding that this is helping me feel more satisfied and full longer. The next thing I'm trying to do is cut down on my coffee and soda intake. So far I have not had a soda in over a week. As far as coffee goes I'm down to two cups a day on the average. Which is pretty good seeing as just a few weeks ago I could drink a whole 12 cup pot by myself.

The second change I've made is I'm starting to workout a little each day. The day of my first blog entry I rode my bike for 43 minutes and did a total of 6.3 miles. I have also been trying to do push-ups, dips, and squats when ever possible. There have been times at work over the past week when I would do sets of 20 to 25 push-ups almost all night with about 30 minute breaks between sets. I'm averaging about 125 to 150 most nights. Then on my days off when I have a little more time I'm trying to hit the bike once or twice a day. So far today I have done 4 miles in 30 minutes. I plan to ride again tonight after dinner. I'm starting to feel better and already want to do more things.

I'm hoping that this weekend Noah and I can go down to the bike trails and ride our bikes or just walk. Then maybe the whole family can go to Rouses Point or Plattsburgh and walk around. I really don't care just as long as we get out and do things.

Now to answer the biggest question. How much have I lost in a week. Well, as of 1100 hrs on 3/24 I am down to 255. Yes, that's a total of 5 pounds lost in a week. I know that I won't have numbers like this every week or if I actually got off my butt and did more I could of had a better number but I'm happy with just what I've done.

The goal for next week is to get three days of cardio in and two days of weight lifting in. Until next week .

The Begining

Well this is the first of hopefully many posts. I have decided to lose weight so that I will be around to see my four children grow and teach them everything they need to know. My starting weight is 260 pounds and I'm 5'10". I haven't always been this big. When I was a young child I was average weight then in grade school I gained weight and was on the heavy side of average. By middle-school I was over weight. In high-school I struggled with weight loss. I tried all the diets and even starved myself. Then during my senior year I started running 6 miles five day a week. At this point in my live I dropped down from 260 to 210. I felt good however by this time in my life I was only eating on meal a day if I was lucky. It caused all kinds of trouble. I had several sports related injuries that needed surgery and I fell off the wagon, so to speak. Now, I'm 31 and weigh 260. I have four beautiful children, a loving wife, and a good job. At this point in my life I feel as if things are slipping away from me. I want to do things with my kids but am to out of shape to enjoy any of it.

My goals are to:

1. Update the blog weekly

2. Start keeping track of what I put in my mouth.

3. Adding more exercise to my daily routine.

4. Start my Weight loss by striving to lose 10% of my current weight.

5. Treat myself to something special every time I reach a weight loss goal.

6. Surround myself with positive influences.

Until next week. Remember to keep the ones you love close and cherish every moment you have with them.