Losing the baby weight

I have to write about losing the baby weight because it seems to be on my mind alot lately. So, I am going to be brutally honest on here, which as a woman is hard to do, so here it goes......I usually weigh around 135 give or take a  few pounds and wear a size 4-6 depending on the store. With this last pregnancy I gained about 35 pounds which brought me up to 170. Since my baby only weighed 4lbs10oz. not a whole lot was lost through the birthing process (maybe 7-8 pounds total). I was consistently stuck at about 158 for three months after birth while breastfeeding. Apparently I am not one of the lucky few who lose weight while breastfeeding (what a surprise!). So, since I stopped breastfeeding and started counting calories and walking with a friend for an hour a few times a week I have lost a little more, bringing me to 149 and a size 8. So that is where I am now. I have a good 10-14 lbs. left to go and at least one pant size, although at this point I will settle for just being under 140. Here is my exercise/eating regime : I have been trying to keep the calories under 1500/day and exercising at least 4 times a week either walking for an hour or doing the elliptical for 20 minutes followed by some weights for arms and legs and of course crunches to get my stomach back. So, I need to stay motivated to continue this (especially with the eating, since desserts are my weakness). I will keep updating about my progress once a week....Words of encouragement or other weight loss stories are greatly appreciated :)

A Little Bit about me

I guess I should tell you a little bit about myself before I really get into this blogging. I am a stay at home mom of 3 from good old Kansas. I have a 5 year old (Alexis), a 2 year old (Aiden) and a 4 month old (Jacob). My husband (Ben) is a full time firefighter for the City of Merriam and a part time worker at Burns and McDonnell. We live in a small city about 25 miles south of Kansas City called Gardner. Our lives with 3 kids gets a little hectic alot of the time and I am lucky to see my husband for a whole 10 minutes at a time these days.  I pride myself on being thrifty and holding the household together and I consider myself to be a pretty strong individual overall, although I do have moments where I want to just lock myself in my room for a good cry and a few minutes of silence. I am a typical mom struggling to figure out how to balance kids, my relationship and where work fits into this crazy puzzle! When I have the answer I will be sure to let you all know.......