{visiting back home} the 1st blue egg...& we missed it!

{visiting back home}

our chickiegirls start laying eggs!

we totally babied our chickiegirls when we brought them home.

kept them indoors under heat lamps, held them constantly, helped them roost...all the good chickie owner stuff!

spoiled them eventhough we knew they wouldn't lay for at least 6 months (like we were supposed too!)

then of course He sends us this pic

(while we are still away from home mind you)... 

the chickiegirls 1st eggs!

we only have 2 chickiegirls left Fluffycheeks & Georgia, but they have been producing well.

so He send me this pic...

which said

"i'm actually starting to like the chickens."

(quite a big deal for Him.)

the chickiegirls have been happily running wild in our backyard "free ranging" while we have been away

(the dogs are with us, so they are safe).

they started laying on the ground so he made them this cozy laying box.

he's been such a good chickiedaddy, feeding, watering, gathering eggs every morning,

then he sends us this pic...

OMG! 

Fluffycheeks 1st blue egg!

yes, we've been waiting for the egg laying,

but even more exciting was waiting for the 1st blue egg!!!

we missed it all! 

AHHHHHHH!!!! 

WE NEED TO HURRY HOME!!!

{friday flowers}

spring is on it's way

i took these pix from my Blackberry while the girls & i were out walking the doggies.

nice to find nature even in the city.

martha's delish strata...but my style :)

before

after

today our family had a funeral brunch for my Grandmother's brother.
i never follow recipes (accept for baking), but i used

martha's strata 

recipe loosely as a guide...then pimped it.

i have made this dish different ways & it's great for bringing.

so what's different?

(sorry i HATE typing recipes, so you will have to refer to the link above)

*of course i have more people to serve so i increased all the ingredients. i decided to add even more cheese too.
*i used a mexican cheese blend along with the parm.
*i tore the english muffins into pieces too make them go farther. which makes the strata into more of a casserole.
*i used turkey breakfast sausage instead of canadian bacon. have used turkey bacon & turkey ham before.
*i sauteed a white onion & bellpepper before i browned the turkey sausage. cooled it & added it to the milk & egg mix. usually i add other veggies or a jalapeno at this step too.
*i also added ortega chilis, a dash of soy sauce & garlic powder to the milk & eggs mix. usually i add worcestchire sauce, but i dont have any here.
*for full effect i let it all soak in in the fridge overnight.

*DOWNRIGHT FANTASTIC*

i heart my doggies {a special winter coat treat}

I heart my doggies!

yesterday i took the big doggie girls to the self wash. it was a fun little outing & a few mile walk in the sunshine.

But man the bath took about 2 hours & was ALOT of work. their hair just kept coming out. i had to unclog the drain like 20 times.  when we were done the place was covered from floor to ceiling with hair.

the guy said "this was the longest dog wash EVER!" & "i've never seen a dog shed so much"

(me either sir!)

don't know if it's the new food we are trying or the major change in temps, but this morning i made my girls a special treat to help get their winter coats back in shape & help with the shedding.

back home in So Cal the weather changes are milder, they feast on our avocados & get other goodies like flax, omega oils, etc...

i was very surprised to learn that raw eggs were not good for dogs (like everyone, including me thought), but are great when they are cooked.

i actually like cooking for them (anyone really).

after i cooked turkey sausage for our breakfast, i used the same skillet & fried one egg each for the girls in olive oil. added a omega-3 fish oil tablet & plopped it all on top of their food. (don't worry i shared a few bites with little Ollie too).

a cooked egg a few times a week & the fish oils daily should do the trick in time!

think they enjoyed it?

our old girl Kahlua...loves ALL things food!

our new girl Mahalo loved it too.

she came to us in October...

 (after A LOT of work)

  she's a keeper :)

 UH DUH!

it was gone before i could even snap the pic!

Kahlua's has always has major shedding. i heard about this brush, did some research, read the reviews & i am thinking it may be a good investment.

our gluten & dairy belly blues experiment

can not believe im posting this pic that makes me look like im totally pregnant [not.a.chance]

but ....

...it shows my point.

i've had stomach probs for years & my 5 yo ALWAYS complains about her stomach, but even more so recently. i thought she just had a nervous stomach.

 about a month ago i felt absolutely terrible, bloating, nausea, stomach aches esp at night, etc...(i'll spare the details).

i started researching gluten, celiacs disease (which is becoming extremely common in my age group), wheat intolerance etc...& journaling what 3 & i ate.

i self diagnosed the two of us. then decided to go gluten-free, we're not dairy people but cutback even more on dairy & coffee for me (even though i only drank 1/2 a cup occasionally not daily).

(also with my water keifer in addition)

with the way we eat, it was actually pretty easy. i'm a label reader anyway. trying new products is fun for me as is coming up with new food ideas. 

within just a few days we felt tons better. even the physical transformation was amazing. FLATTER STOMACH!!! 

AHA! right?

BUT in order to prove the test, this week i added gluten & little dairy back.

& VIOLA! 

you get the picture above & we feel terrible again! 

so after a little detoxing 3 & i are slowly going as gluten & dairy free as we possibly can. 

(except for plain yogurt maybe).

*according to my research you should not remove gluten from your diet unless you are bothered by it & the others don't seem to be affected (except that one guy, but he wont admit it!)

*ok, ok...i will admit to putting on a few pounds this trip...unlike our little So Cal village THERE'S TAKE OUT HERE & we've been visiting our faves!!! AAAAND my mama's delish homecooking...she fries everything, bakes the best desserts & LOVES her chili dogs nights & fish fry!

Family fun day{before saying goodbye}

family fun day {before saying goodbye}

today before He left we wanted to enjoy the weather & have some family fun.

 so we went to a park & their new-to-us bike complex.

1. pretty parking lot ponies

first a little treat for 2.

we got to say hello to these pretty ponies as they passed thru the parking lot from the horse trail.

2. bike track

 among other things, there is an awesome BMX track & bike trail. my girls are awesome on their bikes & have been dying to hit the track. we already cant wait to go back.

you would not believe this little 5 yo girl & her amazing bike handling skills.

 she is fearless, loves to jump & fly & always has something to prove.

gotta keep up with her older sisters & the competition is fierce!

3. dog park

we stopped by the parks doggie park on the way out. it was so much fun. happy happy tails wagging all over the place. we ended the fun saying hi to ALL of them. we cannot wait to bring our doggies out.

they will def be in doggie heaven on earth!

 4. nap in the truck

THE END :)

surprise surprise {we absolutely love this man to death}

MY MAN IS HERE!

yesterday He surprised us by showing up much earlier than we were expecting him.

its at least a 5 1/2 hr drive from our home. he sent me a text that said "leaving"

(he said he would text me when he was on his way).

then about 15 minutes later he walked thru the door. ahhhhh!!!

we were & still are so extremely happy he's here.

there is almost not enough of him to go around with us 4 girls.

he's staying until Monday & every since he stepped foot in the door we have all

...including him...

been saying we dont want him to leave.

we absolutely love this man to death.