Week of Money: Holiday Week!

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up.. tired. Doesn’t feel like 4 a.m. but with this cold I am sure I will feel fatigued all week.

5:23 a.m. — Little Bun checks the clock, tells me the time, tries to go back to sleep for another half hour but I give up. I know he won’t. So I get up, grab his milk, and make my tea, and hustle him into the living room where we play Starbucks for Life, and then he watches Tom and Jerry while I catch up on emails.

6:58 a.m. — My partner is up and takes a shower. I put away the rest of the dishes.

8:19 a.m. — I head out to run errands quickly. I need to buy this cat picture I saw in a thrift store for a friend who is coming up and doing a stopover in Montreal, and I hope I can get a deal / get there in time!

10:15 a.m. — Turns out that cat photo is glued to cardboard and there is no way you could roll it up to tote it back in a suitcase. Oh well. 🙁

11:12 a.m. — I pick up a chai latte for that Starbucks Free Play. Still using my credit! $0

1:15 p.m. — Little Bun goes down for a nap while I eat my pizza that they made for me.

3:55 p.m. — Where did the day go? OH RIGHT. I did laundry, vacuumed, played Stuffed Animal Caring Games (he loves this game), listed more things on Poshmark, etc.

4:50 p.m. — I basically handle Little Bun the rest of the night, and very willingly foist him off on videos after a few hours because I need to do dishes, and BE MENTALLY ALONE.

6:15 p.m. — I do laundry, clean up the bathroom, and just in general, feel exhausted, yet my brain is spinning a thousand miles a minute. Then I make something to eat after I feed Little Bun.

8:38 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $0

DAY TWO

??:?? — Tired, but I slept a little at least.

5:34 a.m. — I make tea, Little Bun plays Starbucks for Life, checks the weather (all of this is his normal morning routine). He then plays somewhat quietly on the floor with blocks while my brain tries to kickstart.

6:42 a.m. — I list a few more things on Poshmark, and try to clean up my phone’s Camera Roll.

7:08 a.m. — My partner is up and they start making the cake batter together.

8:25 a.m. — I take him into the bedroom, and I clean up all my clothes I am selling and list two leather jackets I don’t wear as often.

9:56 a.m. — I feed him a banana, he eats some pasta, I eat a banana, and I have a little bit of cashew milk.

11:21 a.m. — My partner heads out to buy potatoes for the big Christmas meal tomorrow – potatoes, cream, cheese, shallots and bacon. <3 VERY HEAVY.

12:10 p.m. — I doze off, I am so tired, I couldn’t stay awake, and he is playing with iPad apps beside me.

1:02 p.m. — I wake up just in time, feeling refreshed and he goes down for his nap. Little Bun goes and grabs his father for the nap.

7:02 p.m. — I basically handle him until bedtime. My partner is still studying (?) for his courses coming up in Spring and technically I am “off” but this means the only break I get is if I leave and go out. My friend is visiting in a few days so my partner knows he has to take Little Bun 24/7 so I guess he is making up for that time right now. That, or we are about to have another screaming match.

8:23 p.m. — We feed his stuffed animals “smelly sock pies” and then he makes them “vomit” all over the floor and bed, just pretend retching and hurling… O_o

Spent: $0

DAY THREE

??:?? —

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6:00 a.m. — “Mommy, the sunrise is moonset and the sunset is moonrise“. O_o… it is too early for such deep thoughts.

6:19 a.m. — When I turn on the laptop, he fake yawns to show the computer is waking up because it was sleeping. I had no idea what that was, it sounded like whining to me until he explained. Everything children do sometimes, sounds like whining.

8:08 a.m. — We watch Tom and Jerry and just cuddle together. I am half sleeping while sitting, it means I am truly exhausted.

12:07 p.m. — I feed him vegetable stew for lunch and then give him ONE cookie to eat. He thought he was getting two, but my partner side-eyed him and said “one only”.

1:50 p.m. — “Mommy will love me forever, no matter what“, he says, as he hops over the blankets, going in a circle around and around until I am dizzy.

2:13 p.m. — I play with the Google Translate app and love how you can just use your phone to scan over another language and it translates for you. HOW HANDY. Technology is amazing. Now I don’t have to worry about what is in packaging or instructions when they’re in another language.

3:20 p.m. — We build a condo building as his side hustle and an elevator on the side.

8:04 p.m. — Sleep. I pop a nighttime pill. It is what is getting me to sleep. DRUG ME.

Spent: $

DAY FOUR

??:?? — It is early. He is wiggling and checking the time but I know he won’t go back to sleep. He’s awake and that means so am I. I ask him what time it is, and he tells me it is 4:35 a.m. I tell him if he is awake, tell me, otherwise go back to sleep. He tries to go back to sleep knowing I like it when he wakes up at 6 a.m. but with all of this wiggling and movement, I am NOT GOING TO SLEEP, and he wants to check the time every 10 minutes it seems like, so that he knows when he is “allowed” to be up. I just get up and get his milk.

4:35 a.m. — No wonder I am a zombie. Waking up at 4 a.m. every other day is starting to take a toll on my body.

9:59 a.m. — Waking up early also has sanity tolls because I have zero patience, I am tired, I am grumpy, he is also tired and starting to be cranky around 10 a.m. We have our first of many sobbing fights today. I am about to really f#*$ing lose it.

10:40 a.m. — He is sobbing on and off throughout the morning. I set him up with Tom and Jerry videos, and we cuddle to watch them together. I am literally sleeping while sitting up because I can’t even keep my eyes open. I end up falling onto my side, and wake up to him giggling like crazy and piling boxes, napkins, stuffed toys and bottles on top of me as I am sleeping.

12:20 p.m. — We have lunch, time for a nap. I get him down for a nap, and he is so grumpy, he wants to “have more fun”, but he is rubbing his eyes, crying, and he is DEFINITELY IN NEED OF A NAP. I NEED A GODDAMN BREAK. I angrily tell my partner that he has to go on nap duty and sleep with Little Bun because if I do it, I will not sleep tonight and feel like crap.

12:28 p.m. — Great. I think I have bronchitis. Again. All of this weather where it rains then snows then rains then snows.. is taking a toll on my lungs. I pop a cold daytime pill. I am going through these things like candy, they are the only things that get me to sleep.

12:56 p.m. — He is finally down for his MUCH NEEDED NAP.

1:16 p.m. — I loved this video about Luxury behind the mirror while having a little dessert and cashew milk.

1:11 p.m. —

3:57 p.m. — He is up from his nap and much, much better. I know he is also a little sick, like I am, and this is not helping things.

4:56 p.m. — I list as much as I can on Poshmark to resell, with Little Bun’s help.

5:43 p.m. — Started a load of laundry, washed and wiped all the dishes.

6:11 p.m. — We play the “Stuffed Animal Caring Game” and he tells me they’re all ready for diaper changes before the game starts. This is the cutest game ever. He tucks them into the nursery, I have to make one cry, and then he picks them up, checks the diaper, or feeds them milk, burps them, and/or snuggles them if they’re feeling lonely. Then he plays games with them to entertain them, and even reads books to them (all my idea – the games and books).

7:30 p.m. — I am flagging. I get ready for bed, and flop into it, after taking a night pill – I am already feeling drowsy.

8:07 p.m. — Time for bed. At least I am, but Little Bun is running around with a flashlight, making handkerchief “cherry sock ball” pies, and checking on the Stuffed Animals in their nursery, looking for “clues” on the floor.. I am dozing in and out and completely out of it to pay any attention.

8:29 p.m. — Eventually, he crawls into bed and falls into a deep sleep beside me.

Spent: $0

DAY FIVE

??:?? — I wake up somewhat rested, but still drowsy.

6:00 a.m. — Little Bun checked the clock and bursts into tears. He wanted to wake up at FIVE so that he would have time to watch videos before Daddy gets up. OMG. I tell him SIX is perfect, even LATER would be great… please just give me a break.

6:45 a.m. — After tea, we cuddle in the chair and we watch videos together with him on my lap, snuggling. This is his favourite activity.

7:20 a.m. — My partner is up. I clean up a little ,organize things, and then sneak off for a break. My outfit is one of my favourites, a thrifted Marciano sweater and casual jeans

8:18 a.m. — At Starbucks, I reload my card and get a drink. I am only doing these challenges for Little Bun so that he gets those daily plays, which he loves so much. $25

10:16 a.m. — I answer a LOT of emails and messages, and plow more attention into scheduling/creating content for the blog and Instagram up until the end of February so I can have some breathing room.

11:05 a.m. — I am extremely excited to do my net worth posts now, seeing how close I am to $1 million. I have to basically sit on my hands and wait until the 1st of the next month so I can see the full picture with interest income, etc.

12:22 p.m. — Home, we have lunch. They made a pizza <3 .. and I eat a quarter of it, but then store the rest away for dinner later.

1:01 p.m. — Little Bun goes down for a nap and I relax by watching some comedy specials. One of my favourite comedians is Kevin Hart, mostly because he is funny 80% of the time, but he is just a hardworking, kind person. If you watch his series – Don’t F*ck this up – you will see how much work goes into what he does. He just seems like a genuinely solid, good, loyal, person. Loyal to his friends anyway, because I am not keen on how much he cheats on his wives. His first, AND his second. Seriously?????

3:47 p.m. — I hear wailing in the bedroom and I go and bring his milk to him and slowly stroke his hair.

4:09 p.m. — His hair is getting VERY long now. I need to start trimming the edges, hacking off bits and pieces so they stop itching him. We always razor his head about twice a year, down to about a fourth of an inch of hair, but during winter this is a bad idea because his head gets very cold. His hair helps keep his head warm, so we let it grow out until the winter lets up.

3:47 p.m. — Time for a shower. I explain to Little Bun that it is time to shower (I do this every single time), and the last time I bathed him, I got soap in his eyes because he got water on his face and went to go wipe it off with his soapy washcloth. I explain that I made a mistake and I will not do that again, no more soap for his washcloth on his hand, and we will bring Ms. Ducky in to bath.

4:02 p.m. — He takes the rubber ducky, sniffs her and says: EWW! SHE SMELLS! SHE NEEDS A BATH!… and he is so excited now to take a bath again, even after last time’s traumatizing experience. Kids are so resilient.

4:15 p.m. — I set up the whole bathroom, towel, mat, even the lotion IN the bath stall so that the steam doesn’t escape, he doesn’t get cold, and I can rub lotion on his dry eczema-prone skin while it is still damp to lock in the moisture.

4:48 p.m. — He brings in Ms. Ducky, he bathes her, cares for her, while I take care of him and tell him I will go slow, and I gently lather up his hair, tip his head back and slowly rinse it all off. THERE! NO TROUBLE! He proclaims this a “Super Fun Shower“, and that “it doesn’t have to hurt any more“!…. O_o I am personally exhausted from having to bathe him. He isn’t even that much trouble but it is the setting up, the cleaning up, etc.

4:59 p.m. — I take a shower as well. Might as well.

5:12 p.m. — I slowly dry off his hair, and try to get it as dry as possible so he doesn’t get head cold while he watches videos. I just recently introduced him to Looney Tunes and he loves the Roadrunner and the Coyote (which he pronounces as – “Koh-Yoht” not “Ky-Yoh-Tee”)

5:20 p.m. — I work through all my emails and messages. They keep piling up. I see now why people have full-time social media / blog managers.. O_o

6:30 p.m. — Dinner time, he has some yoghurt and has recently complained it is too sour, so his father has been working in a tiny bit of sugar.

6:49 p.m. — I do all the dishes, wipe them down, clean up around the area, and just try to sit and think if I have things under control and what I need to get done, like deep clean the bathroom before my friend visits. My brain is so fogged up though I can’t even do that. I feel like there is a damper on my brain.

7:18 p.m. — We play “Catch” with the sock ball and a box, we watch a few videos (then he got bored), we do pages of Math because he really enjoys doing activity books, I try to sneak in some time to read a book but he is running around like a banshee and keeps distracting me. I do some stretching (he sits on my back to help me do deep stretches), and then we play “Stuffed Animal Caring Game” again (these animals need a lot of diaper changes), and before you know it, it is bedtime.

9:03 p.m. — Bed. We talk about our favourite things from the day, and he asks me mine, and I remind him how much I love him.

Spent: $25

DAY SIX

??:?? — This is not six a.m.

4:03 a.m. — I cuddle him back to sleep. I plead with him in a desperate, fatigued, very stressed out voice: LITTLE BUN. PLEASE GO BACK TO SLEEP. 

6:52 a.m. — He wakes up, checks the time and wails. “Now there is no time to watch videos“, he screams…  I quickly placate him (he has a routine), and tell him we will do it in the bedroom while Daddy is in the kitchen having coffee. Okay?… He nods tearfully. Children are very tied to routine, and he loves quiet Mommy Time in the morning before the day starts, watching videos together. This is his thing, and he will eventually grow out of it so I am trying to enjoy it. Sort of.

7:45 a.m. — I sell two things on Poshmark, and end up having him help me package it all.

9:00 a.m. — I head off to drop it at the Post office, and grab a Starbucks to relax while I run errands, and drop by a thrift store.

8:08 a.m. — This is why cheap coats are not worth it — they look terrible after a season or so.

These heels are from a good brand in Montreal, but not my style, and not comfortable.

These were uncomfortable but also EXPENSIVE. $18!?!?

Aldo shoes – absolute crap but looks ‘cute’.

I like the boot style but Aldo shoes are crap and this colour is not great.

These looked cute but were a cardboard sole and not very comfy.

I spy these buttons on the rack and you can see mother of pearl buttons, which for me, is a sign of $$$$$….

 

It was a 2X but someone shrunk it because it fit me perfectly.

Then I spy this coat, touch the wool and see how well it is made, and ceramic buttons!? WOW. That is serious attention to detail.

And this is how it looks – I couldn’t resist, it was a grandpa cardigan.

I end up with two sweaters – $8

11:58 a.m. — At home, lunch, and then he goes down for a nap after we play “Stuffed Animal Nursery” again.

3:15 p.m. — He wakes up from his nap, I give him milk and then snuggle him.

4:40 p.m. — I now snuggle him and we do math games and do activities.

7:22 p.m. — We basically spend the whole evening playing “games” – like Ms. Ducky Maze where she goes through a maze and lives in different parts of her home, and so on.

9:15 p.m. — Time for bed after a few videos, snuggling, and more “Stuffed Animal Nursery” games.

Spent: $8

DAY SEVEN

5:56 a.m. — I wake up early with him, and then grab his milk, we have tea, and watch videos.

7:24 a.m. — My partner gets up and I head off to yoga.

9:01 a.m. — Today was a Yin Class and it is really not my style. It is long poses, a lot of breathing and mantras. I leave not really any more refreshed and just annoyed.

11:08 a.m. — I head over to a thrift store and find these incredibly rainbow espadrilles and they are like new, and very comfortable. Very strange because they’re so cute, and COMFORTABLE. I feel like I scored a deal. After discounts.. $12

3:15 p.m. — Lunch – I feed him vegetable soup after his nap and then we play games.

4:28 p.m. — I take another break and repackage up everything I just sold, and organize the “Selling Room” full of things to organize.

5:18 p.m. — “Mommy, a clock has two hands but can’t carry anything.” Hm.. must have been something he read in a book.

6:25 p.m. — We go through the activity book and he tells me: Mommy please help me colour in the clock I don’t want to colour in the numbers by mistake! .. so I help him.

8:56 p.m. — Time for bed. We talk about how it is a great day, and he tells me he had a wonderful day.

Spent: $12

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Want more? Read all of my previous Week of Money Diaries.