intro for a newbie :)

hello all! my name is paula, i joined this site yesterday evening at the request of my sister (kellibean13 hehehehe) and i gotta say....it's awesome! i've joined other weightloss/diet/healthier living sites (like spark people, and some other ones i have completely forgotten about already) but none of them stuck and they were all about the same things over and over again. basically informational on how to get started and stay on track, which is good...i needed some of the articles i read. i REALLY like the way this site is set up though; it's more of a social network around the basis of wanting to live healthier and lose weight. i'm already finding myself addicted to it as much as i am facebook....so i NEED MORE FRIENDS! lol
i'm 24, married, have 2 step kids that raise hell for me every chance they get, have a 2 yr old of my own with my husband am a stay at home mom, and have gained at least 30 pounds since high school. most of the weight i gained was from my pregnancy and i still haven't lost it, mostly because i felt comfortable in my post-baby body...but now *sigh* now i'm fed up with the flabby belly, flabby arms, and i'm not even going to get started on what sort of dairy product my butt & thighs look like LOL
i really want to get in shape so my step kids will stop saying i'm fat constantly, but mostly so my 2 yr old doesn't grow up thinking it's okay to not go outside, that outside is boring and indoors is more fun. i want her to have a healthy childhood that will blossom in to a healthy life. she's already got the cleaning part down, now it's time to make sure she STAYS active with all this energy 2 yr olds are notorious for
now i'm just babbling, so i'm going to leave it at what i've written.
feel free to message me or befriend me....whatever you feel like