Week of Money: I finally start to relax at work. Just a little.

DAY ONE

??:?? — Three night wake ups. I’m tired. This is in addition to having woken up at midnight to snipe an auction.

6:00 a.m. — Little Bun wakes up “late” but as he had two nightmares and a potty run this is not solid REM sleep.

6:03 a.m. — I grab his milk and he tells me sadly he is very tired and sick with a cold (he has a slight one but no fever, definitely gotten from daycare because all the kids there are sniffling). He cuddles against my chest and wants to stay at home with Daddy today. My partner already left and I have a big meeting so I can’t stay. I tell him we will work something out for tomorrow (I can stay back or my partner will).

6:14 a.m. — I give him kisses and start getting ready. I have a dinner tonight so my partner will be the one picking him up later. I tell him that so he isn’t surprised.

6:48 a.m. — I get him into the car with the promise of some Bio-K which he calls Mommy’s Medicine and loves because it is sweetened super-charged yoghurt.

6:49 a.m. — He takes some and seems fine — running around, jumping in front of the new mirror giggling at himself, and I get him dressed and out the door.

7:15 a.m. — I drop him off at preschool and he even offers up shy conversation like: “I really like whales. They start with the letter W.”

7:34 a.m. — I head into work and try to wade through a long list of work. In the morning meeting I repeat how they have to stop changing their minds for things and it affects me as I am downstream. The Director takes it on his list.

8:01 a.m. — I head back to my desk and spend half an hour explaining why I’m so busy. This is why I’m busy. People can’t see priorities and 6 of my managers are asking me for updates. Oh well this is why I’m getting paid, right?

11:21 a.m. — I leave early to go buy those noodles from that grocery store that I can never make it to because of timing (example: opens at noon on Sunday). $2.75

11:37 a.m. — I buy 16 packs of noodles and a lunch. $73.36

11:48 a.m. — I pick up some cakes too. $8.50

12:25 p.m. — I get back to the office and scarf down a quick lunch which everyone comments on being so colourful with all the vegetables (I supplemented with some of the teriyaki bowl from the grocery store).

12:26 p.m. — I get back to work and then take a break.

2:44 p.m. — I drop $100,000 into the stock market. One of my stocks did really well (Enercare) and the cash ends up in my accounts. I actually doubled my money on that stock and the dividends it paid out also was reinvested. I use it immediately, re-investing the money in other stocks I have on my list. They are all on a bit of a dip so this is a good time to plow money into the market. I contemplate throwing another chunk into the market (am so tempted!) but it is my emergency cash flow.

2:46 p.m. — Actually I should drop that money in. I’m certainly going to stay for a little bit longer on this contract, so I immediately transfer another $15,000.

5:12 p.m. — I get ready to leave for my dinner. Little Bun is being picked up by his father today so I have to be sure to hide. I text my colleague to walk over together because I don’t like being the only one there early. He is working like crazy so I leave him be…

5:26 p.m. — The “dinner” ends up being 5 plates of hors d’oeuvres. We all went home hungry. Cheap #(#%(… for all the money we make them (over half a million with all of us there), they couldn’t spring for ONE LUNCH? ONE LUNCH out of ALL the time spent??? Damn. They don’t even do anything but just send a bill. We are the ones working.

6:57 p.m. — I leave early, get home and my partner gives me a look. I tell him the story, and he says: What did you expect? THEY ARE CHEAP #%(#%)…

8:03 p.m. — We go to sleep after commiserating.

Invested: $104,000

Spent: $84.61

DAY TWO

6:43 a.m. — What cheap SOBs last night. I head off to work.

7:13 a.m. — Time to work. I am getting tired but am trying to take breaks as well. At least my outfit is cute today. I mixed and matched two vintage belts from my mother’s closet (they were custom-made for her) and the red and pink really are PERFECT to pop against my navy MM Lafleur Catherine Dress:

7:45 a.m. — Meeting.

9:30 a.m. — Another meeting.

12:05 p.m. — I eat my lunch and then get back to work.

2:14 p.m. — More meetings. YAY.

3:28 p.m. — I leave early and drop off all these returns. Postal office is on strike, so now my friend is going to get her package late, probably.

4:45 p.m. — At home, I do all the dishes and Little Bun sobs as I do them, clinging to my legs and crying a river into them because he doesn’t want me to do dishes and wants me to cuddle him. This is one of the things of parenting — you can’t always give them what they want, and things have to GET DONE.

5:16 p.m. — I then feed him a huge bowl of stew and rice (turns out he doesn’t like broccoli and only “liked it” because some nursery rhyme said it was delicious and yummy. Turns out it isn’t.. for him now, anyway.)

5:23 p.m. — I make a huge bowl of noodles for myself and he bursts into tears because I won’t give him sauce for it the way I eat it. I usually give them to him plain, without salt.

6:21 p.m. — I then go through, clean up my emails, do drafts on posts I have to schedule, and try to get a list of all the things I need to track and return and so on… I also need to spend time scanning all my receipts, I should do that this weekend, but I think my partner has a huge birthday lunch happening that he is cooking for, so I may set that aside for now.

6:40 p.m. — Afterwards, I do some piano keys with him, and download GarageBand (again) on the iPad so he can play with the musical instruments on there. I forgot that I could use it to teach him piano!!

7:38 p.m. — We all get ready to be and my partner and I unload our frustrations on each other from work. Time for bed.

Spent: $20.29

DAY THREE

??:?? — I woke up 6 times last night. Three bathroom runs, three complaints about a runny nose..

5:00 a.m. — I. Am. Dead. I will need extra makeup today, but perhaps will go as my own face for Halloween, with all the bags and fatigue being the perfect foil for a deranged, fatigued haggard banshee costume. Since it’s 5 a.m. I sit there and just cuddle Little Bun for as long as he will stay still. I’m half sleeping on him while holding him. Then he gets up and wants to play and do math and stuff, so we end up counting everything in the apartment “how many vehicles do you have!?”… “are any of them the same colour?”…

5:12 a.m. — If people think at work I am going to be able to function, they’re wrong. My brain is swiss cheese.

6:47 a.m. — I finally start getting ready, and change my top because I was going to wear this cute striped tunic but the sleeves are 3/4 and I am going outside today, so I need longer sleeves to stay warm. I also throw a James Perse cashmere cardigan shawl on to stay cosy (no need for a scarf then).

7:06 a.m. — I also don’t love the way this bibbed tuxedo shirt from J. Crew looks when it is unbuttoned (makes me think of a waiter or a penguin), so I take two small safety pins and pin down the collar to make it a v-neck pleat instead. It looks MUCH better now. I think I might permanently sew a little stitch to keep it like that forever so I won’t need to fiddle with safety pins.

7:12 a.m. — I go to leave and Little Bun bursts into tears. He wants to stay with me all day, he’s feeling sick (has a cold), and I tiredly try to calm him down but he is just clinging to me (literally gripping my fingers in a deathlike clutch).

7:18 a.m. — His father grabs him and I wrench my fingers out of his grip as he sobs in his father’s arms. I get in my car and get to work. They’re doing work around the area and it is causing me to have to get in early to try and go down a one-way street the wrong way to get to the parking garage. Ugh.

8:00 a.m. — In the office, my day is BOOKED. Solid meetings. I’m just going to dial in at my desk and work while I am on the call. I don’t need to physically be there.

9:30 a.m. — I make a tea, take my Bio-K and then munch on some green tea cookies while on call #1

10:07 a.m. — I am on call #1 while I am going to meeting #2. This is some crazy %(#&%(…. and as the meeting winds down, I leave early to go to another meeting.

10:32 a.m. — OMFG I AM IN THE WRONG ROOM. I booked it and went to the wrong place. So tired. This is not what I normally do.

11:40 a.m. — Lunch. It’s raining but it is fine, I have umbrellas and warm cashmere to keep me cosy… people don’t like to go out when it’s cold but it’s not that bad. It’s just rain.

12:46 p.m. — I speed walk to eat my hot bowl of Vietnamese pho. I really need it. Plus I want to pick up some chopped Peking duck for my lunch tomorrow. $11.50

3:00 p.m. — Another meeting.

3:49 p.m. — I work work work until it’s time to leave.

4:16 p.m. — I drop off the last return and pray it makes it with the strike.

5:15 p.m. — At home, I take off makeup, my partner put the towels in the dryer for me so I just pack them up and put them away, then feed Little Bun his dinner. I also rip open the Sephora package I got. I bought this Living Proof Restore Dry Scalp Treatment for my super dry itchy scalp (I do not have dandruff but my head and scalp is starting to itch and feel very strange), and it is smaller than I expected. I also picked up this MAC lipstick in Mehr to get free shipping… plus got a sample bag with mini trial sizes – most of which I am giving away to friends.

6:26 p.m. — Not hungry. I just do the dishes and drink some water.

6:34 p.m. — My partner comes out saying: He peed on the floor! …. and it turns out Little Bun pulled down his pants, peed a little on the floor (he was too excited, didn’t make it to the toilet) and then finally got on the toilet late. My partner is wiping up the floor as Little Bun is cackling like a maniac on the toilet, giggling like crazy watching his father clean up the mess. I stay out of it. I’m tired.

7:07 p.m. — I change Little Bun for bed, and then flop on the bed, closing my eyes while he crawls all over me asking me to do “Addition with Fractions”…. I throw out about 15 easy ones like: What is three fifths plus 2 fifths!… with him answering: ONE WHOLE!

7:57 p.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $11.50

DAY FOUR

5:12 a.m. — WTF. Little Bun. WTF. He tells me he doesn’t want to go to preschool.

6:36 a.m. — I soak my head with this DryBar Brunette Shampoo because I feel grimy but am too fatigued / lazy / disinterested .. in showering right now and feeling cold and sniffly all morning (no hairdryer remember? Eying this Dyson Supersonic hairdyer made out of unicorn hair and rainbows for a ridiculous price – maybe I can buy it refurbished or used).

6:56 a.m. — I finally get him dressed and out the door. I finally get him on board with preschool today, because I plan on staying home one day next week and it perks him up.

7:21 a.m. — He hugs and kisses me goodbye. I love him so much.

8:28 a.m. — OMG. OMG. FINALLY. I HAVE DECISIONS. I CAN CONTINUE……… oh blessed day. It is stressful to be pushed to the edge like that.

9:30 a.m. — I have another girl’s dinner tonight so I remind my partner to pick up Little Bun.

11:32 a.m. — Meeting over, I concentrate on finishing up my documentation. I had to schedule a meeting for tomorrow unexpectedly (I had been waiting until next week to not put so much pressure on the team).

12:04 p.m. — Lunch. I wanted to go out and get something extra for the meal but I was too tired / lazy.

1:23 p.m. — Back to work. I hide out in the cafeteria and work on my documents, just brain dumping on paper. Hum. Need a new notebook. Am almost done.

3:32 p.m. — I breeze out super early to go spend time downtown shopping around stores before going to the dinner. I end up stocking up on noodles, and pick up a few snacks especially my favourite Tomato Pretz. People are so addicted to this (like I am), that there are even iPhone covers in its image. $73.19

5:40 p.m. — Dinner time! How pretty is this area I am eating in??? I am so excited to be eating deep fried seafood it is ridiculous.

8:05 p.m. — I head home.

8:31 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $73.19

DAY FIVE

6:43 a.m. — I get ready and head to work.

7:19 a.m. — Time for work. I have a whole day of meetings and a whole day of going through a late entry of information which stresses me out because now I am in a crunch to deliver a design when I should have had more time before.

11:26 a.m. — I take a break for lunch.

1:45 p.m. — I head off to a meeting and my brain is mush afterwards. OMG… There are so many details… they don’t even know.

4:02 p.m. — I head home and cuddle Little Bun. We have a birthday lunch tomorrow that my partner is cooking for, and he made a gorgeous cake which perfumes the entire apartment. The other thing is also that he spent time using black soap on the apartment floors and they GLEAM. He said the bucket and mop came out black, and he said the floor (with a sideways look) must have been filthy. I keep my mouth shut. I can’t do everything and he has more free time than I do..

4:21 p.m. — I get ready and unload everything, starting a load of laundry. My brain is done. I need to take a break and that is what I am doing, reading books now. My partner heads out to run errands to buy groceries.

8:21 p.m. — My partner comes home after shopping for the birthday lunch and we go to sleep after chatting, and reading a little.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

6:07 a.m. — I wake up tired. Three MAJOR nosebleeds last night. They didn’t stop.

6:43 a.m. — I finish my one tea, and then I start on the dishes while chatting to my partner.

8:28 a.m. — Dishes done, and dried. The kitchen is clean for the cooking for the dinner today.

10:41 a.m. — I don’t go out today, my partner has to cook for the dinner and I have to wrangle Little Bun. I am also really tired.

12:28 p.m. — Delicious!!! We have a light lunch and my partner prepares the birthday dinner which includes this INCREDIBLE cake:

2:41 p.m. — Up from our nap… I am groggy. I have needed more and more sleep, and my body is just bottoming out. I see why parents are zombies who stay at home and don’t work for 5 years — YOU NEED SLEEP. Little Bun keeps waking me up during the night for things and it is killing my REM.

3:23 p.m. — I am half napping half reading while we wait for the guests to come over for dinner.

5:35 p.m. — They finally arrive, and Little Bun gives proper cheek kisses based on my stern, hissed warning to him….

5:50 p.m. — He sits patiently on my lap, nibbling on olive bread before he gets bored (it is all French) and runs away to colour. He is quiet for the rest of the night colouring as we chat, and until it is time to eat dinner (white wine creamy sauced chicken with potato gratin), and then the yummy apple cake.

7:47 p.m. — He is surprisingly calm and VERY good. He only starts clinging to me near to the end of the night when it get close to bedtime but he left me for a long time, chatting alone like an adult. #OMG

11:30 p.m. — They finally leave. I am exhausted. I already changed into pajamas and tried to get him to bed but it didn’t work because he could hear the guests were still here. They leave, I take out my contacts, and we’re in bed.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

6:40 a.m. — I wake up.. really.. really.. fatigued.. and.. tired.

6:41 a.m. — I make tea, and cuddle Little Bun and I just try to stay awake until I can get back to bed. We share a banana.

8:02 a.m. — My partner is up to do the cooking for the week. I go back into the bedroom and pass out on the bed half sleeping while Little Bun plays with some new math apps.

8:31 a.m. — I wake up to the whining of Little Bun about how hungry he is. I feed him stew, rice and bread. He gobbles it all down.

11:16 a.m. — My partner goes out to buy bread. I’m napping again while Little Bun plays on the iPad. I am SO. TIRED.

12:08 p.m. — My partner gets home with fresh bread, and Little Bun eats again — avocado and egg this time — he must be growing again to be eating so much.

12:28 p.m. — Down for our nap. We had a light salad and I am not hungry, the meal last night was very decadent.

2:56 p.m. — Up from our nap. I’m exhausted and groggy again. I start on dishes while he builds a mini city on the floor with blocks and boxes.

4:05 p.m. — Dishes done, I eat half a bag of real juice gummy fruits (I am addicted), and feel a sleep headache coming on. I need more sleep.. a lot more. Can’t wait for bed tonight.

6:36 p.m. — My partner is home from errands and he takes one look at my face and can see am I totally wiped out. I need way more sleep than he does AND he gets more sleep-in time in the mornings because Little Bun only wants me right now, so there’s no point in both of us losing sleep and being grumpy all morning.

7:18 p.m. — I make a note to wash all my cashmere tomorrow. I bought this amazing cashmere laundry soap – The Laundress Cashmere Shampoo – and throwing it in the washer on delicate, then letting them hang on plastic hangers (rotating every 3 hours or so so that the hanger doesn’t leave dents in the fabric or misshape it — you’re supposed to lay it flat to dry), has been such a quick and cheap non-dryclean way to clean cashmere!!!!

8:02 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $0

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