Modern Romance

Modern Romance by accidentalfashionista featuring hoop earrings

Not So Black Friday

Thanksgiving has come and gone, It's my favorite holiday and so each year I tend to throw myself into the prep. The Friday after Thanksgiving is usually my day to unwind, and yes occasionally par-take in the discount shopping. But this year we had a family day instead. My husband and I took Leila to Kidspace Museum. It was fun watching her enjoy each  activity. Once we finished up we headed over Foster Freeze for Burgers and Ice Cream, Yum.  All in all it was a great day.

Picnic in The Park

This past week Leila was home all week, thanks to California School cutbacks. But I welcomed the time with my little diva. On one of our Mother Daughter days we went to the Park and packed a Picnic to eat while we were there. It was a perfect day and one I'll hold close to my heart.

Wounded in Battle

The Admiral has always had the privilege of playing outside. But over the weekend he came home with two large cactus thorns in the back of his leg. I thought I had successfully removed all prickers, but on Sunday my daughter came to me with my old iPhone (her new toy) and photo of our Admiral's Paw. One pricker which I had never seen was still stuck in the top of his Paw but this one looked bad. So off to the Vet we went. What I hoped would be a quick visit and a small fee turned into a Stay for the Admiral, Minor Surgery, and a WHOPPING bill.  It will be a while before he's a back to 100%. For now the Admiral is confined to the Barracks!

At Least I can Bake

So as I have shared in previous posts I may not be a domestic goddess but I can cook. And lately I've been hard at work with my cooking, actually mostly baking.
Just a few photos of items I've made recently:

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch, even the Pumpkin. 

Caprese Salad Prep

Toaster Pastries-Apple, Lemon, and today I made Cherry

Cupcakes for my Daughters Fall Festival

Scattered Showers

It's been a strange week here in Los Angeles. One day we have a heat wave and the next drizzles. It seems Fall hasn't decided whether it wants to stay in LA.  At the very least I snapped a few Rainy day Photos.

My Little Rainy Day Diva

Cleaning Frenzy

So of the many stages of pregnancy there is one stage that I would say I'm really crap at. Nesting.  I go through it like all women do but I am a terrible house wife. I lack the one major skill of a good house wife. I suck at cleaning the home. I can do all the bonus things great house wives do, I'm a good cook, a strong baker, I can Crochet a blanket, hats, and a newscarf for  everyone in the family, Heck I can sew a Ball gown for you, but when it comes to cleaning I just don't have the will. I have to state that when I do clean it's fairly thorough, the parts I actually clean that is. For example I have a Pile of Dishes that need to be washed and a Pile of clothes that simply need to get put away. I will wash the dishes till they sparkle but leave the pile for a week, usually longer. I commit to the one task but give up on the fifty others that have to be done. I'm terrible.  

Growing up I had chores and I learned to do them correctly but I waited till the very last second to do them. I have always hated housework. My parents didn't really believe in housekeepers, why should they when they had four children. Not till those children got older did my mother start getting help occasionally from a cleaning lady but even that was short lived. My Mother-in-Law is a different story. She does the house cleaning but still brings in a cleaning lady every week. She of course has a very clean and  put together home. 

Photo found Here

So back to Nesting. I am in the nesting phase of my pregnancy and so I have been working hard (for me) at cleaning the home. But it's not enough. So I called in reinforcements. I've never hired a cleaning lady before, as I mentioned my Mother barely had one so I had no real experience. But my Mother-in-Law does, and she has a great cleaning lady, Hilda. So I asked Hilda if she could come in and give me a hand. I got so much more then I thought I would from Hilda. I figured a little vacuuming, dusting, polishing the wood, you know cosmetic stuff.  She did that but she did SO MUCH MORE. She moved the couch and cleaned underneath (SCARY), she moved my Stove and cleaned all around (EVEN SCARIER), and then she cleaned my toaster Oven (Whoa!). I am dumfounded and I really wish I had known because I would have cleaned more before she came... : /  

Which brings me to my current state....TOTAL GUILT!  

I feel like a real bum for asking this woman to come in here at clean my families mess. I thought it would be ok that it would be such a small job. But with the way this woman cleans I feel horrible. I had no idea we were this bad. Oh well the deed is done. But now I know what real cleaning looks like and how miserably I've been failing at it.  At least I can Bake! 

Photo found Here