A Week of Money: Shopping Frenzy Ahead!

DAY ONE

??:?? — Toddler kicks me in the spine.

??:?? — Toddler is breathing into my ear. Ugh.

6:08 a.m. — Tea. TEA. TEA PLEASE.

7:59 a.m. — My partner heads off to do grocery shopping, and has a sweet, sweet escape from toddler mayhem.

8:08 a.m. — I decide to take Baby Bun to the park and run off his energy. He is driving me mad.

10:18 a.m. — We come back from the park, I’m more exhausted than ever but at least he had a good time.

11:02 a.m. — We eat lunch together hungrily, waiting for my partner to come home with some bread and something.

12:08 a.m. — I leave without getting Baby Bun down to nap, I’m outta here. I need new pants that fit that are high-rise and I have a lot of walking to do. I hop on the metro. $2.25

12:28 a.m. — I stop and scarf down a delicious soup at my favourite thai place.

12:56 p.m. — I end up racing around the stores desperately searching for a pair of pants that would be high-waisted and in my size. I think it is less that I put on weight, because the pants zip up and are only a tiny bit too tight, and more that I cannot stand tight pants any more especially if they are mid-rise. I find a single pair of Theory pants (the Hartsdale K version in a navy blue), and buy it in a size 2 just in case I cannot find anything else that is cheaper and/or better. I wince as I hand over the card. $425.50

1:12 p.m. — I happen to walk by a local Quebec brand called and they have a buy one, get the second 50% off sale on. I go in and immediately fall in love with a pair of their flats that has a cute little ankle strap and a very high vamp (much easier to walk in). I try on the grey pair but they don’t have my size, and the blue pair in my size looks nice, but I feel like I am more drawn to the grey for some reason even though I loooooove cobalt blue. I put them back regretfully.

1:44 p.m. — I visit other stores, and I am immediately drawn to the Alessia silk dress by in a gorgeous cobalt and white stripe, and a very . I hand over my credit card to be charged at their sale at 15% off. $948.75

2:18 p.m. — I keep visiting store after store.

2:22 p.m. — Nothing. Are these those $400+ pants the only option I have!?

2:48 p.m. — Oh dear… it looks like I’m going to really have to shell out $400 at retail. GAHHH.

3:45 p.m. — I stop at Starbucks to refuel. I am STARVING. I order a Chicken & Artichoke sandwich and scarf it down. I use my Star Reward for this, so I don’t pay anything. $0

4:15 p.m. —

4:45 p.m. — I get on the bus, not realizing how late it is and how far I am from home. I am exhausted. Marathon shopping when you want something so specific is ANNOYING and stressful. At least I found one pair of pants. $2.25

5.35 p.m. — I get home pretty late, I lost track of time. Baby Bun is already in his chair, snacking.

6:37 p.m. — We finish eating, and I quickly do all the dishes and recount my adventures in trying to find pants. My partner laughs, he hates shopping, but I think it’s fun.

7:37 p.m. — I try to get Baby Bun to sleep, but end up falling asleep before him, and my partner gets him to bed.

8:27 p.m. — I sleepily wake up just enough to pat his bum to sleep.

Saved: $6.99

It tastes better when sandwiches are free.

Spent: $430

Pending: $948.75

DAY TWO

??:?? — What the!?… His toes are in my eye.

??:?? — Baby Bun is sitting up staring at me. How creepy. I wake up from his gentle petting on my face, saying “Mommy? Mommy up?”

5:08 a.m. — WHY. WHY.

8:19 a.m. — I take Baby Bun to the park to get him out of the house and to breathe in fresh air.

8:29 a.m. — We play, and I get him to jump a lot like a kangaroo. He just wants to stand around and read signs but I make him push swings, and basically exhaust himself.

10:08 a.m. — We come back in, and Baby Bun demands lunch. I feed him a vegan stew which he calls “soup”. I’m really hungry…

10:48 a.m. — My partner finishes cooking.

11:02 a.m. — We sit down at the kitchen counter for lunch, partly what my partner finished making and with the addition of some old bread from the day before. He has started buying two loaves the day before so he doesn’t have to rush out to get bread for our lunch on Cooking Day. It’s a bit stale but it is more a convenience thing at this point, because by the time we’re hungry, NO ONE wants to get in a car and get a baguette.

12:36 p.m. — My partner is out the door for his errands as Baby Bun goes down for his nap.

1:12 p.m. — I Google the brand L’Intervalle from the day before and realize they have all the sizes online, and they are EVEN ON SALE now at $79.99 instead of their $138 Buy-One-Get-One-50% off deal but don’t have the blue pair. I pause. Then I hem and haw. And then I immediately place an order for the grey suede pair in a size 37. I hate paying for shipping ($10) but these are really comfortable, nice shoes which are made in Spain. $103.45

1:22 p.m. — I think twice about that dress and skirt. I am starting to have buyer’s remorse and I haven’t even purchased it. I don’t need a new dress nor a new skirt. What I need are pants only because what I own is now too uncomfortable, being mid-rise and my tolerance for muffin top fat has diminished completely. I decide to go and cancel the order completely. -$948.75

1:25 p.m. — I feel much better about the whole thing of cancelling that order. I really love the dress but I saved myself $1000. The Old Me would have not bothered to cancel anything. I feel like this may be a New Leaf I am sitting pretty on.

2:05 p.m. — My partner comes home. I decide to head out for another round to check if there are more options. $2.25

4:16 p.m. — I am starving. I didn’t realize running around and shopping would be so much work. I gulp down my bottle of water and give in to a sandwich at Starbucks, choosing my favourite – Chicken & Artichoke. I’ve tried all of them and this is the only one with actual chicken in it, although even that is debatable because based on the texture, there is no way it is 100% chicken, real chicken when cold and reheated does not have this texture, there is no way. It has to have at least some soy protein added in there to keep it so moist and even in texture even while it is being reheated. $6.99

4:26 p.m. — I decide to drop my watch off to repair the battery. $18.40

4:56 p.m. — I hop on the bus and head home. No luck. $2.25

5:26 p.m. — I vacuum the entire apartment. It was getting too fuzzy with dust balls to the point where Baby Bun started saying: “FUZZIESS!! MOMMY FUZZIEESS!“. Tip to all parents: When your child starts naming the dustballs in the corner and deciding to take them into bed to be his new pets, it’s time to clean the apartment.

6:12 p.m. — I finish vacuuming and sort of try to tidy the place up. Meh. I give up.

6:42 p.m. — Dinner. NOMZ.

6:45 p.m. — Baby Bun hassles me for food but I am trying to cut and prepare his portion while eating my own. WTF CHILD.

7:24 p.m. — I do all the dishes, and take a long hot shower.

8:12 p.m. — Bedtime.

Saved: $891.25

Spent: $131.09

DAY THREE

??:?? — He woke up, sat and stared at me sleeping, which woke me up, and then he wanted to sleep on me. Again.

6:24 a.m. — Daddy wakes up.

7:00 p.m. — Daddy leaves for work. I sit down with Baby Bun to read a book or two.

7:24 a.m. — I finish the book (finally)… and we play with letters, spelling out words. I wonder if I am doing enough with him. It seems like we keep doing the same thing over and over again, but is it enough?

8:24 a.m. — I tell Baby Bun I need to “work” — he says “Mommy work!” and I log in to reply to emails and field questions, and MORE changes to the trip coming up. NO MORE CHANGES PEOPLE. END OF THE LINE.

8:55 a.m. — I drift off into surfing internet land and stare at pretty things online. I half-heartedly try to set up things ahead of time so I don’t have to rush to post or Instagram, but I just don’t care right now.

9:35 a.m. — Okay enough. I log off and we have a tickle fest and play “Picnic” with his animals and fruit.

10:55 a.m. — Lunch. I guess all that “picnic” play has made him hungry. I eat my vegetarian pasta. I wish I went to the real cheese shop to buy Parmesan cheese cuz this stuff from the grocery store (I am even grating it) has NO flavour. It’s like lightly salted sawdust.

12:04 p.m. — Baby Bun is down for his nap. I spend the next few hours seriously working on blog stuff. I want to get more posts scheduled and organized so I don’t have to stress out especially if I start working next month.

2:23 p.m. — Baby Bun is up, bottle of milk is in his mouth and I hastily finish my task.

2:55 p.m. — I make Baby Bun clean the place up (he likes to take things like puzzle pieces and just throw them up in the air in a big messy shower. UGH. Then it goes under the fridge, etc…

3:45 p.m. — I log back in quickly to check if anything has popped up. I get sidetracked by Instagram. I try not to look at my follower count for anything but it is hard when it is front and center when you log in. I really don’t care about numbers per se, but it is depressing to see it go up and down so erratically.

4:15 p.m. — OMG! I finally got the papers to sign for the contract! YAY! This is the nerve-wracking part, really.

5:05 p.m. — I finish reading all the papers. Baby Bun is hassling me but I am standing up at the counter so he can’t get his paws on this stuff.

6:05 p.m. — My partner comes home, and I wave the papers excitedly in the air, proof that we now need to celebrate. We have a nice little snacky meal and he asks me: But.. how are you going to get used to working, you’ve been off for so dang long?  FUNNY GUY. /George Costanza sarcasm

7:15 p.m. — I do all the dishes and clean the kitchen so it’s nice and clear.

8:25 p.m. — Bedtime.

Saved: $0

Spent: $0

DAY FOUR

5:11 a.m. — I’m up. I swear. I’m up..

7:11 a.m. — Daddy leaves.

8:01 a.m. — I start powering through posts but I just can’t help but worry that I forgot something.

10:11 a.m. — I continue googling more about helping seniors in the U.S.

12:11 p.m. — Lunch. I feed Baby Bun as I try to read my book. I really hope she has more money in the bank than we think.

1:31 p.m. — I aimlessly watch more shows while eating my lunch, now I’m depressed again about the whole situation with my aunt.

2:11 p.m. — Baby Bun wakes up from his nap and we do a little cuddling before he wriggles away and demands his milk.

2:13 p.m. — I feel like I need some fresh air. We go out, and I just enjoy watching him play and be a little boy. He’s not even really a toddler any more, frankly. He’s a little BOY.

2:31 a.m. — He starts to get whiny at the playground and we have a little discussion about how if he wants to go out and play, he has to play nicely, or tell me that he wants to go home and not be at the park any more.

3:01 p.m. — He comes to me and tells me he wants to go home. This is a first!

3:11 p.m. — But then we’re distracted by helping snails “cross” the pathway. I always feel terrible accidentally stepping on them and I try to help them so that they don’t get squished accidentally. Baby Bun loves “helping snails“…

4:11 p.m. — We’re finally in the door. We helped 7 snails today.

5:37 p.m. — I lie down and try to doze off without actually sleeping so that I don’t feel as fatigued but I am still tired enough to sleep at night. I’m one of those Unable-To-Nap-Properly types. My “nap” is basically a 3-to-4-hour substitute for night sleep which then turns into No-Sleep.

6:38 p.m. — Daddy! We have a light dinner of mackerel on toast and chat. Baby Bun wants my attention 100% of the time and it can be frustrating to have a conversation with a child constantly whining or mumbling off to the side. I can’t turn my brain off and block him out, I just can’t concentrate.

7:01 p.m. — We finally finish dinner after a few threats of us eating his share if he doesn’t behave with playing with his plate and cup like they’re toys. Which they’re not. We aren’t establishing that as a thing to do. Toys are toys, dinner things are dinner things.

7:51 p.m. — All the dishes are finally done and drying on the counter, luckily my partner snagged him to go play “Flags” (naming them) and I got a mini mental break.

9:31 p.m. — We’re not really that tired (see: Nap-ruining-Sleep note above), so we sleep quite late.

Saved: $0

Spent: $0

DAY FIVE

6:01 a.m. — He “slept” in for me…

8:01 a.m. — I decide I have to log in and actually get stuff done. I have a list of things to do but I don’t really see how I’m going to ever get any of it done.

11:07 a.m. — LUNCH! He loves eating his soup, which is more of a pureed stew.

12:31 p.m. — He gets himself down for a nap, and before I leave, I kiss him and he says: “Mommy no patch bum. All done!” (Mommy doesn’t pat my bum).. and he closes his eyes. How does this kid have such long eyelashes? Jealous.

2:01 p.m. — He wakes up, and I manage to have worked a solid 1 1/2 hours getting things done. I feel quite accomplished. I guess if I set a schedule down and stop meandering around the internet, things can get done pretty quickly.

2:11 p.m. — I log off and we start cleaning. I do the laundry, I clean the bathroom, I vacuum and I wash all the dishes.

3:57 p.m. — Everything done, I take him to the park for a short jaunt.

I point out pretty flowers to him, like this dandelion about to turn into fluff and fly away to deliver more seeds. I don’t even get why we classify dandelions as weeds when I find them rather pretty.

4:17 p.m. — He tugs on my shirt and wants to go home. I guess he wants to play at home with his toys or read instead of staying at the park today.

5:07 p.m. — Daddy! He’s home early, this is nice.

6:03 p.m. — We have a nice light dinner, and talk about the day.

7:30 p.m. — I finish all the dishes from dinner, and leave him with his father to try to sneak in a half hour of reading in the other room.

8:07 p.m. — Bedtime. I’m rather tired today, even with his “sleeping-in”.

Saved: $0

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

??:?? — Got a head butt to my head. This kid has a head like a rock.

6:01 a.m. — Baby Bun is up.

7:01 a.m. — I decide after his father leaves, to take him out on the metro as a trip. He LOVES the bus so much, it isn’t funny. He runs around grabbing his shirt, shoes, and socks, and hands them all to me. $2.25

7:15 a.m. — Finally on the bus, he starts reading out numbers and things, fascinated. We head to the train station to watch the trains come and go. I explain to him about how tracks work, how the train doors open and close, where everyone is going, and how the tunnel system works with the map.

7:35 a.m. — We study the Montreal train map together and he makes me name all the stations we go to and what we do there.

8:51 a.m. — Back on the bus back home with a return transfer. I’m tired, but happy I got to do something interesting with him today. $0

9:35 a.m. — We’re inside, I’m wondering if I should clean the house or something today. I feel too lazy for this. I take the laundry from yesterday that I forgot to dry, and toss it in the dryer.

11:01 a.m. — Baby Bun and I get fed. I make an eat a delicious omelette.

12:01 p.m. — He puts himself down for a nap this time, having had a great morning watching trains.

3:01 p.m. — He wakes up, having slept 3 hours. I was pondering whether I should have woken him sooner but sometimes he needs more sleep. We’ll just sleep later tonight. I feel as though as parents we’re too focused on trying to force sleep schedules, making our kids independent, strong, and all this stuff on them when it’s sometimes just OKAY to let them sleep and wake up on a different schedule. In other countries, sleep scheduling doesn’t exist and the kids turn out fine. Of course, we want to be sure they always get a lot of sleep but I hate getting stressed over this.

3:29 p.m. — He wants to go to the park and I tell him to clean up his toys, books and puzzles. There ain’t much (see: Baby Bun toys & things), but he takes forever.

4:00 p.m. — Still waiting for him to put everything away.

4:09 p.m. — He finally speeds up the process, and I make him do the laundry first before we go (taking it out, and then “folding” the napkins flat to hand to me).

4:19 p.m. — As he’s putting away the laundry, I hear water……Annnnd.. it’s raining. I point to the outside and tell him it’s too wet to go outside, so we’ll stay in and do something else instead. He nods and agrees it’s too wet.

6:29 p.m. — DADDY! I wonder why he’s late, and slightly peevishly ask why. He tells me the bridge was jammed on the way home because of major roadworks. The bridges here are NEVER clear at ANY time and rush hour is the worst. I know what it was like, I sort of forgive him, but I was really counting down the time. At least he brought food.

7:22 p.m. — I do all the dishes from our dinner and vacuum the floor, then I go to lie down and try to read / talk to my partner / play with Baby Bun. This triple multi-tasking doesn’t  actually work.

8:33 p.m. — Bedtime.

Saved: $0

Spent: $2.25

DAY SEVEN

6:11 a.m. — He must have had a fulllll belly when he slept yesterday because he was out like a light. WOO HOO!

10:11 a.m. — I don’t even realize the time has flown by, I was in the zone scheduling and doing posts to the point where I didn’t even realize I had been at it for 3 hours. This is what blogging does to you.

11:01 a.m. — Baby Bun and I get fed. I name all the vegetables he’s eating, and he spells it on the floor for me.

12:17 p.m. — Baby Bun naps. I take a break to watch videos, I feel like I’ve earned that right.

1:31 p.m. — He wakes up from his nap. I quickly shut off the video, we’re not against video-watching for him, but we don’t want it to be a habit at his age. Plus, we don’t really know if it’s any good for their brains yet. Better to err on the side of caution just in case.

3:41 p.m. — I finish tidying the place, and organize all my files. I am sorting them, scanning them, putting them aside to make sure they’re all ready to go.

4:41 p.m. —I ought to shred this pile of paper I have, it’s about 1 foot thick but I have been so lazy to put it through the shredder. I make a mental note to do it sometime this weekend or coax my partner into doing it for me as he does his shredding (he does it regularly, so it doesn’t pike up).

4:56 p.m. — I FINALLY lie down on the bed and we start reading books together while cuddling. I think this is my favourite part of the day, the cuddling & reading. He’s also super kissable right now with his cheeks being so round and chubby.

6:04 p.m. — DADDY! I am too tired to get up, but he makes a delicious candied salmon + avocado french baguette “sushi” and I can’t ignore it.

6:24 p.m. — As we eat, my partner gets super animated about his work day and his omelette gets cold. Baby Bun eyes it hungrily, giving my partner what he calls the “Baby Bun eyes”, and gets a few pity forkfuls from his efforts.

6:44 p.m. — My partner pulls out a treat of yoghurt and Baby Bun goes BANANAS. He LOVES yoghurt. He hops from one foot to another, and jumps around the entire apartment in glee.

6:54 p.m. — I quickly eat my share otherwise I know Baby Bun will be after me for a few bites.

7:04 p.m. — I do the dishes and leave them to dry for tomorrow. I could probably wipe and put them away but I can’t be bothered, it’s another step for nothing, when I can just let them air dry.

Saved: $0

Spent: $0