Hi Chris, that's great that you are loving the gym. I need to get back into a serious gym programme also. I used to instruct aerobics {worked in a gym for 4 years} but then had my last bub and got lazy! Good luck with the girl's eating their veg :o)
 

I mix vegies into other foods, like Spag Bol, stew, hamburgers, foods where you cam 'hide' things, I grate them and make them small, Josh is a fussy eater, and only likes junk food, so I will make spag bol, and grate carrot, celery, and zuccini into it and cook it down, and he eats it all up.
I have also cut out his afternoon snacks past 3 in the afternoon, and if he eate his dinner he gets something naughty.
Also if he hasnt had fruit yet today, and he wants a lollie or something bad, he has to eat a piece of fruit first.
Good luck with it, it is almost like a science!!
 

good luck with the whole food thing chris and if you find something that works let me know please...kait is the fussiest of eaters and the specialist has given her 3 mths to put on 1 kg - times almost up and she had LOST 300gms when we last weighed her.
good on you for getting yourself off to the gym - i love the feeling of accomplishment i get when i have been too - it's just the getting there that does me in.
i wouldn't alter the pic at all...it is gorgeous as it is in my opinion
have a great week

xxoo
 

Go gym girl!! I can't wait till I have this baby and my veins settle down so I can go exercising again, I really miss it.
I am on the same track as Anthea with the "hide and conquer" approach ATM with Ivy. She loves mince thank goodness, and grated carrot+zucchini+squash can be hidden in there (for spag bol + taco mince), she esp. loves mince in those Tortilla wraps - she even eats tomato & shredded lettuce if I give her those! Also if the girls like cheese (ivy loves it) maybe try mixing shredded cheese in with different things, that works on her at times.
Like Anthea, I also do the something "naughty" treat if a set amount of food is eaten - esp. if it is a "new" food. Ivy gets to have a small scoop of vanilla icecream (yep, I am a meanie!!) if she has eaten the amount of food I set for her (ie a set number of spoonfulls or the whole serve depending on what it is). She quickly learnt not to muck around "too" much (still happens about 1-2 times a week though). See how you go though, after changing arvo snack time the girls might be dinner ready. Lately when Ivy has been asking for food in the afternoon I'll put three things on the bench and she gets to choose - usually fresh fruit, a slice of cheese + some jatz, and a tub of diced fruit or yogurt. She generally is happy to be picking from that stuff if I tell her those are the only options or wait till dinner time - but as every kid IS different, you just never know what will work for you so GOOD LUCK CHRIS!!!
Cheers, Lee L :)
 

Gorgeous photo.. i like it the way it is.. and don't think it needs any help!!

Good luck with the food thing!! I think it sounds like a great idea what you are going to try!!!

And have fun at the gym!! I love the feeling too :)
 

hey Chris... I like that one blurry, has lots of warmth.. good for you getting to the gym too

As for food I can't help you there I have one good eater and one that eats toast and sultanas, they don't snack though but then they are only 2 and 4 I have many hurdles ahead I am sure. Their big weakness is juice, we are mean about it otherwise Riley would just drink it constantly.. he is standing here asking for juice.. juice mum juice mum, when I said ne he went to daddy!
 

Hey Chris, yah for getting back at the gym, will be a junkie in no time :)

I agree with you with the eating. My kid have a quick snack after school most afternoons, but I wont let them have anything after 3.30, AND they eat all their dinner. Previously they were snacking until about 30 mins b4, and could barely get through a third of their dinner .... made me feel like i had just wasted my time.

For my kids they help my buy the vegetables and prepare them as well, ...... they always want to eat something they chose or helped cook.

wish I could help, but mine are all pretty good eaters, probably because they are involved in the process i guess. Good luck with it!
 

I love the photo, it's cool. Good luck with the gym, I should go too but no time at the mo.
 

Chris, I think most parents have food issues with their kids!! I chose my battles. Some nights I just make sure I feed them something I know they will eat. Other times i put food in the middle of the table and they choose what they want. That way there is no excuse for them not eating it - they chose it, they eat it!
I'd use the blurry pic and maybe go with a title or journaling along the lines of 'when all else seems a blur, love shines through' or something like that so it becomes part of the design element. Good luck with it.
 

you can try using the effect 'oil painting'which should be in any basic photo computer program..i find it helps to disguise blurriness quite well, as does sepia sometimes.
 

I love that photo!!!
It's 'PERFECT' just the way it is.
Can you work a bit harder for me at the gym too!!! You go girl you good thing!!!!
Hope the eating is going well with the girls??
Rach
 

Chris, for the photo I would suggest (and you probably already know) but print it onto Canvas paper or Bazzill as it will hide the blur. Its a gorgeous photo and one you should use.

Good luck at the gym and with the new eating arrangements for the girls.
Adel
 

My Kids are so the same at meal times, it is very frustrating, especailly since you have gone to so much trouble to cook it up & hide the vege's (that could have been good scrapping time!....lol)

I'm with you on the gym...I love my fitness classes, Body Combat rules!

Do you have Adobe Photoshop? because you could do a few things in there to take away some of the blur....
 

Awe I recon the pic has a warm and fuzzy feel to it just the way it is!!
 

I agree with the other comments about the photo, Chris. It's just beautiful the way it is. It's so candid and loving.
Good luck with the eating battles. I'll look on with great interest.
And.. good on you for getting serious with the gym.
Kathie
 

I like the photo, leave as is!

Good on you for going to the gym on a regular basis! Soon there will be scrapping gym junkies everywhere!

I had my first day at Curves today.
 

Hey Chris!
I have 3 kids, 7yo, 5yo and 2yo. My 2yo still does the fussy thing.. I serve vegies on her plate mot nights knowing it'll get thrown away, but she doesnt get anything else if the kids have bikkies or something for pudding.

With my other 2, they don't snack. There are 3 meals a day, and sometimes they get morning and afternoon tea, depends what we are doing. They dont eat after 3.30pm.

Try serving up a really tiny meal and make it one they like.. and go overboard on the praise (I mean verbal praise, not lollies!) and fuss when they finish. Offer them more if they are still hungry. Then the next night make the meal a little bigger and add those vegies in there in discreet ways. The theory is that they will enjoy eating their dinner in the end. And remember that they are little, dont serve them up a portion that is way too big anyway. KWIM?

I respect their individuality too. Braden hates cooked broccoli, but will eat it raw. So I'll leave his raw. Braden hates Asparagus, so I wont make him eat it, but jacob loves it.
They eat most other things, so I am happy. Apart from my 2yo, and that will come. It did with the others.

nic
 

I hear you on the eating thing Chris...mine are the same. It's frustrating when you go to the trouble to cook a meal (often with their tastes in mind) and it just sits there. Think I might have to cut out afternoon snacks as well. I've tried making them eat their last nights tea for breakfast lol..that didn't work either. Shaylah is so stubborn, she would rather go without ALL day than eat leftovers rofl.
 

Good on you for going to the Gym, I would love to be able to go but living 20 min out of town and having a 4 1/2 year old dosn't allow me the time, hopefully when Jen goes to school in July I might be able to get the time.

So glade you brought up the subject of eatting....I have the same trouble with Jenna so I am going to take everybodies suggestions on board and give them a go.

later
M