Week of Money: Where I become obsessed with (not) spending

DAY ONE

6:10 a.m. — Little Bun is up after rolling around and climbing on and off me, saying: “Little Bun needs to go potty.”

6:13 a.m. — I take him, and forget that my partner is fixing my bathroom and found major cracks and holes he has to repair this weekend and I re-route Little Bun to my partner’s bathroom (yes we each have our own, I “share” with Little Bun).

6:21 a.m. — Afterwards, I go to lie down as he has his milk and after he is done he says: “Mommy it is still night time. Everyone is sleeping.” … EVERYONE BUT YOU apparently! But I’m not grumpy, I’m tired but I pull him close for kisses and cuddles before I take him out to the living room to do a puzzle.

6:35 a.m. — I make two cups of tea and think that I’ll re-organize my closet today and keep de-cluttering. I am renewed with a sense of excitement and rejuvenated with my friend having messaged me to confirm she is COMING TO VISIT! *SQUEE*.. I have so many plans.

7:39 a.m. — I call her after I get Little Bun situated with a few games, animals, and yes.. an iPad (the secret mini one he covets), and call her to chat. We chitchat and time just speeds by.

9:40 a.m. — Off the phone, I try to fix the problem I have with my Visa (umm yeah, I AM ordering stuff off Amazing and YES it is being mailed to another address for my mother), but they are on holiday (oh right! Thanksgiving!) and I will call tomorrow instead.

9:58 a.m. — I schedule a quick beauty post…..

10:01 a.m. — Little Bun squeals for the potty, and as we get there, he pees all over the seat and his underwear, saying: “ELEPHANT PEE PEE!“… (as in an elephant trunk.. you get the drift). I don’t realize what he is saying until I see it’s all wet, and to my credit, I stay calm (it did not shoot up to the ceiling this time), and I just calmly change him without reacting loudly, and wipe down the seat.

11:02 a.m. — My partner finishes working (HE MUST GET THIS BATHROOM OF MINE FIXED because I NEED TO SHOWER..), and we have a lunch together of pasta he made last night and reheated. Little Bun of course, eats his share and points to my plate saying: “Want moaaaaah?? Moaaah dis? MOAAAAHHHHH PEASE!!!“..

12:08 p.m. — We finish eating, I try to get him down for a nap and refuses, but ends up finding his cardboard ball to roll around on the floor (his father found it hiding I bet, in some bag), and plays with that until I tell him firmly that his toy is just a baby who wants to nap but cannot nap without Little Bun beside him. (HAHA! TRICKED! He loves his toy! How can his toy nap without him? #MommyLogicWin, now he HAS TO NAP).

1:28 p.m. — He’s finally down. I need to schedule posts this week or else I can’t wander around downtown doing nothing. I’ve decided that YES, dry shampoo IS a necessity for a working mother, and I WILL buy some at Sephora (putting it on my wish list), and use it sparingly, not as a regular thing. (“So she says, as she suddenly stops washing her hair out of fatigue and lack of time…“)

1:30 p.m. — OOo..  I sort of want this Remarkable tablet that looks and feels like digital paper. If only it was slightly cheaper and at least backlit. :-\ I need them to come out with version 2, or 3 before I bite.

2:23 p.m. — Little Bun wakes up with a squeal and I RUN to him. I try to pat him back to sleep but he won’t have it. So I get his milk.

2:52 p.m. — We spend the last half hour taking selfies together, Little Bun and I, and then I tell him “Mommy has to do dishes”, and ask him to find something to do.

3:04 p.m. — Little Bun surprises me by doing “math” with his puzzle pieces and as I am scrubbing a pot, he says: “Mommy? 5 plus 5 equals 10!!!”…. O_o .. I only just started with basic math a few weeks ago. Kids learn REALLY fast…

3:44 p.m. —  He continues doing math by himself and I finish up the dishes and start cleaning the stove down. I make a cup of spearmint tea and am about to cook some eggs as a snack when I realize my partner probably means to boil them and have them with an avocado for our dinner tonight. I pour the boiling hot water on the sponges to disinfect them instead.

4:14 p.m. — I wipe down the counter and my partner emerges covered in sweat, and construction dust, to work more in the living room. Groan. More construction dust.

4:48 p.m. — I read more of my book the The Andy Cohen Diaries (quite funny), and once he is done, he strips down, starts a load of laundry and takes a shower.

5:02 p.m. — I start hand-wiping the entire apartment and vacuuming, and he gets ready to go out and buy stuff..? Before he leaves he tells me to take a QUICK shower because the mastic is still drying. Okay. I toss some towels into the wash (have to do 3 loads today)

5:55 p.m. — I finish cleaning up, and take that shower, making sure to tell Little Bun where I am. BIG MISTAKE. As I am in the shower, Little Bun comes in, and starts blubbering. He starts wailing, sobbing, crying, Hulk Smashing against the shower (glass) doors, and freaking me out. I get so frustrated in the shower, trying to get him to calm down and wait.

6:00 p.m. — Yes, it was LITERALLY 5 MINUTES. 5 MINUTES in the shower and he LOST IT. I toss everything I was washing into the dryer as he is sobbing, and start a new load.

6:15 p.m. — He calms down, I tell him he has to wait when Mommy is in the shower, and it makes Mommy very upset and frustrated. He shakes his head blubbering: MOMMY BE HAPPY. Mommy. Happy. Mommyyyyy Happyyyyy.. Not upset. Mommy Happy …. As frustrating as he is, he is also very cute and sensitive to my moods apparently. I don’t want to be this terrible mother, knowing that my relationship with him determines how healthy his relationship will be with his partner in the future, so I grit my teeth and try to calm down.

6:25 p.m. — My partner comes in with wine and some food. I’m already tuckered out for the night. I try to file my feet (they’re really getting terrible, and yoga is starting to make me self-conscious about them), and decide I need to buy this rechargeable foot filer because I cannot, simply cannot continue with batteries any more. I really have not purchased batteries for many reasons for many years, and this is the only device that takes them and annoys me when they’re about to die out, and still have some power left, but don’t spin / file as fast as when it is charged. I put that on my Wish List for the end of the month. THAT’S RIGHT. I am putting all my “Wants” on a WISH LIST and then reviewing it at the end of the month to make choices about what I really want. It’s my new method to get myself to stop spending so much. Unless of course, I do need it.

6:37 p.m. — We start noshing on nuts while he prepares the eggs, avocado, the salad, and the bread… it usually ends with some cheese and bread too, it’s pretty vegetarian tonight.

7:07 p.m. — I put away the clothes from the dryer, and start another load of towels. We need to buy more kitchen towels. This is bananas.

7:41 p.m. — After dinner, I start on the dishes, he plays quietly doing letters and matching on the iPad while asking me questions, then switches to matching flags, and I wipe everything down to put it all away.

8:07 p.m. — I put my feet up (finally), and read more of my trashy celebrity book. LOVE IT.

8:59 p.m. — Little Bun does NOT WANT TO SLEEP. I have to basically coax him to get his pull-ups on and come to bed by promising to re-read the book I bought “My Room” from John Thackwray. He likes seeing people in their rooms, calling out the countries (he reads them for me), and basically learning who these people are even if he doesn’t understand what I am saying.

Saved: $0

Spent: $0

DAY TWO

??:?? — I wake up way before 6, out of habit and lie there listening to Little Bun snuffle and snore. Then I somehow get back to sleep and then my partner wakes me up half an hour later, by going to the bathroom.

5:45 a.m. — Little Bun wakes up shortly after and gets milk. I start getting ready.

6:05 a.m. — I prep my lunch, get my tea ready, and Little Bun sees me putting on outside clothes and horrified, starts on his: “No Mommy work, Little Bun stay at home!!!”… and I make him ask his father if he can stay at home to which he gets a “No” as well.

6:07 a.m. — I let him play with the iPad on some word game and then get ready, drink my tea, check my emails quickly then making a note to review my friend’s resume for an interview she is having today (and going to NAIL!).

6:45 a.m. — I get Little Bun ready under protest and we head off to preschool.

7:17 a.m. — We get there and inevitably, tears and clinging to my leg as I try to leave. Sigh.

7:25 a.m. — I get to the office, make a note to mail Little Bun artwork to my mother today, and just don’t stop working except for 2 tea breaks and a bathroom break. I’m just HASSLING everyone today as I have a deadline to hit.

7:55 a.m. — A colleague asks me about yoga, he is a runner and thinks it would help him run better to which I agree. I tell him I go daily, and he gives me a look like I’m nuts. :-p I just keep working and don’t even look up.

11:13 a.m. — I head off to yoga early after doling out work, and have to remember to go to the bank too. So much to do. I feel like I need a day off just to get other junk done.

11:33 a.m. — This girl has the CUTEST strappy yoga bra top. I wish I had a body like that to rock something so cute. You need flat abs, no back or arm fat, a larger chest to balance the look, and confidence. I only have confidence and none of the rest. LOL … still. Very cute. It looks like this….

1:25 p.m. — Yoga was SO GOOD!!!! I managed to do the Crow Pose for 3 seconds and I was so surprised, I fell down and couldn’t do it again. I had the perfect balance, it was AWESOME. I even managed to hold my Wheel Pose a little longer than usual. I’m getting much better. I’m so excited now that I know I can do it. I’ll work on that, the Headstand, Wheel and Handstand. I’m getting stronger.

1:37 p.m. — I head back on a high and spend the rest of day chasing people. Literally my job should be “Task Chaser”, because that is what I do and I’m always amazed they pay me to do such mundane crap, like “babysit” others.

2:19 p.m. — I snag some Jelly Belly beans (let’s face it, I bought them for ME LOL)… and then grab Little Bun to head home. I have one last person to hunt down but he is gone today. Tomorrow morning he is Person #1 to Hassle.

4:44 p.m. — I pick up Little Bun, he kept his underwear dry all day and I decide to take him to the park as a reward.

5:10 p.m. — We drive home (traffic, natch) and park the car. Oh. The entire garage is almost black. We lost power. Someone cut a wire while working, I’m sure.

5:17 p.m. — I go home, change and then wait for the elevator for 20 minutes before I give up and we take the stairs down — it is good exercise.

5:29 p.m. — I get to the park with Little Bun and he eats the oranges his father prepared for him.

6:03 p.m. — After the park, we head back home (it is getting chilly), and jump all the way back like a kangaroo.

6:49 p.m. — I do all the dishes and wipe them down, only leaving glassware containers and the lids to air dry because I absolutely hate drying every crevice on a plastic lid.

7:01 p.m. — I make a cup of spearmint tea after realizing that it may do something because my skin broke out with 3 cysts when I stopped. Superstition? I have no idea but I’m back on the spearmint tea nightly bandwagon with a small spoonful of honey.

7:24 p.m. — I go through my skincare routine (lamenting my new acne of course), and then read my book as Little Bun plays with his father.

7:37 p.m. — I try to feed Little Bun some soup and oatmeal, and he refuses it after about half a bowl. I suspect he stuffed his face at lunch so he is fine.

7:45 p.m. — He goes back to playing and doesn’t want to stop rolling this cardboard “ball” (it is just a flat circle that they roll on the floor together), and wants his father to play with him. This is such a cute moment that I don’t really want to force him to sleep because he is bonding so well now….

8:23 p.m. — After a few more rolls he is happy to go for his bedtime routine and then my partner collapses into bed, ready to sleep.

8:27 p.m. — I practice The Crow from earlier in the day, excitedly recounting how I did it, and I managed to do it again once or twice but not for very long. I’m beyond ecstatic, I’ll be practicing nightly until I get the hang of the balance. Then I can proudly do it to show how far I’ve come in just a short time.

8:51 p.m. — Then I read a book to Little Bun, explain the outside and we all go to sleep.

Saved: $0

Spent: $0

DAY THREE

[ Editor’s Note: This morning may be a tiny bit TMI but .. that’s why you’re reading right?? ]

5:47 p.m. — I wake up and have some alone time with my partner…. only to have Little Bun come thunder stomping out to the other bedroom saying: “Mommy? Daddy? Mommyyyyy???”, and rubbing his eyes. Ugh. Children are such …. you know.

6:02 p.m. — I unlock the door and see him standing there all cute and sleepy, saying: “Mommy? Mommy!!!!!!!! Nuuuudie. NUDIE!!!!!!” LOL … I grab his milk and he goes back to bed. At least no one has been traumatized this morning, but it was a close call.

6:04 a.m. — I get up and get ready. I have a cinq à sept (5 to 7, slang to mean Happy Hour) today and I don’t want to miss it.

6:46 a.m. — I drink tea, I hang out a bit with my partner… Then get dressed.

7:40 a.m. — I get to the office and realize in the bathroom WHY I feel like I look so strange and unfinished today. I forgot my eyeliner. EYELINER. The #1 thing I actually wear and I forgot it! I look very odd. I need to go nip out to a pharmacy and fix this.

8:00 a.m. — OMFG it is COLD. Why did I stupidly think going without a jacket would be okay????? Brrrrrrr.

8:09 a.m. — I buy some brown Annabelle felt liquid eyeliner and sort of hate it after I open and use it but have no choice. It feels like an actual felt marker (no soft brush or give) and the colour payoff is a lighter brown, not dark, smooth and intense. I may have been better off with a brown fine tip Sharpie. It looks terrible. $12.18

8:11 a.m. — I feel like my face looks complete now. But I feel like I need a darker eyebrow pencil, as now it looks like I have no eyebrows to frame my face.

8:34 a.m. — I pop into a Starbucks afterwards because I’m freaking cold and a hot drink would serve as an internal body warming jacket. #Justification. $5.11

8:47 a.m. — As I’m walking back I’m eyeing peoples outfits (what, like you don’t?!?) and it sort of makes me sad when people don’t hem their jeans and you see this massive swathe of extra bunched up fabric at the ankles ruining an otherwise very pretty, stylish outfit. PLEASE HEM YOUR JEANS. It costs what, $10? Makes a huge difference.

8:51 a.m. — LOL this lawyer has a cute lunch bag with an owl that says “Let’s Read Together”. It looks like a kid’s bag. Little Bun would love it. I’ve noticed that women tend to have these sort of childish cute things and not care but men seem very self conscious about anything “young” or kid-like as part of their professional ensemble even as just a bag.

9:03 a.m. — This woman in front has a rubber bag stamped with trompe l’œil of a fake Hermès Birkin, complete with buckles, straps that are open and studs. Even a fake stamped key and padlock. It is interesting…. I think. I’m not sure I like it, but I appreciate it.

9:09 a.m. — At the office, I stamp out the final fire and get to work on my other research presentations for my boss I’ve been setting aside in favour of fixing $&@!!

10:30 a.m. — I make time to tease some male colleagues about calling to match each other this morning (they’re both wearing my favourite violet), and the funny this is that I wanted to wear my own violet dress today but decided against it. Haha! We would have been triplets.

10:37 a.m. — Mm. Should I eat my salad now? Not hungry but if I don’t eat I may be starving during yoga…. I decide against it.

11:34 a.m. — I complete the first draft presentation and head off to yoga EARLY.

12:45 p.m. — I get there and stretch out and wouldn’t you know it, halfway through I am STARVING. Dang it.

1:27 p.m. — I get back to the office and scarf down my lunch. I add a generous amount of hot sauce to the salad and … I like it!

2:44 p.m. — And I snag a few jellybeans while checking in on Little Bun at preschool on the webcam.

3:02 p.m. — I head out for a mini break to surf the web (avoiding shopping sites of course), and feel like I have a ton to do but not enough time to do it in. If only I could teleport home for half an hour to clean, and then teleport back, I’d be so happy.

3:13 p.m. — My doctor calls to leave a message for me at the clinic that I have to go and pick up. What a hassle, don’t they realize in this day and age they should be doing secure mail or something? Sigh. I need to make an appointment with her anyway for a check on my thyroid (suggested by a dear reader), as I think I’ve been losing hair, have been fatigued, gained weight a little (?), etc.

3:53 p.m. — I love how emails I send out to ask a question go in a circle, make the rounds and come back to me, asking me “if I know the answer”…… IF I DID I WOULDN’T HAVE STARTED THE GAT DAMN CHAIN!!!!!!! Ugh.

4:34 p.m. — I put everything away in my car to prep to go out to the Happy Hour with everyone and it is only after the night is done I realize my entire face was like an oil slick (ugh! The curse of oily skin!).. I chat and have a great time, we even had free appetizers paid for by the Director who organized this, and had a few laughs.

6:25 p.m. — Another Director jokes that he tried a yoga class and thought he could do it but it was NOT HAPPENING. They also all think that guys who go to those yoga classes are there for the girls. I’m not so sure… guys like yoga too, and some are very good at it.

7:09 p.m. — After chatting, I walk with a few guys back to the garage and they wave goodbye as they go towards the metro, as I get inside to get into my car and get home.

7:39 p.m. — I get home, Little Bun is giggling in the other room but doesn’t run out to greet me because he is having too much fun learning words with Daddy on the iPad, learning all the masculine and feminine (le + la) beginnings of words.

7:57 p.m. — My partner and I chat about what happened that day, as I get my makeup off, and then take a long hot shower.

8:45 p.m. — I wash all the dishes, dry them, prep my bags for tomorrow and wonder if anyone is going to make it in (the Director who organized it got sort of trashed. I hope he didn’t drive home…. what would his kids say!?)

8:54 p.m. — I cuddle up with Little Bun, curling around him like a cat…. and Little Bun, who does not want to stop learning words now that he is realizing there is a lot with Daddy, and manage to finally wrench the iPad away from him, read a few pages of My Room (his favourite Mommy Book), and then we go to sleep.

Saved: $0

Spent: $17.29

DAY FOUR

5:56 a.m. — I wake up to Little Bun running around and jumping on the bed, going behind my head, and making the rounds while saying: “Mommy.. Daddy is making noise”. LOL….!!!(My partner was snoring but then woke up).

5:57 a.m. — I get up and grab his milk, and get ready for work. Little Bun checks the clock and says excitedly: “No school today! Thursday stay home with Daddy!!”… WISHFUL THINKING. I tell him: “No. Daddy has to work today. Go ask.”, and he goes to his father. His father tells him no, it’s tomorrow, and stars prepping Little Bun’s lunch. Little Bun hovers near his father hoping for some freshly squeezed orange juice, his new addiction.

6:02 a.m. — I get ready, make tea, and decide on a skirt and boots today. Only when snow hits the ground will I switch to pants.

6:42 a.m. — I wrangle Little Bun into an outfit, and sing to him all the way to the car, in the car, and all the way there.

7:15 a.m. — At pre-school, Little Bun loses it. He doesn’t understand holidays and how Daddy can stay at home one day but not the next so he is frustrated he hasn’t had a day off in between the week. Poor thing.

7:17 a.m. — I try to sing to him to distract him but once “5 Little Speckled Frogs” is done, he bursts into tears again. I peel him off my leg and head into work.

7:29 a.m. — I start working and end up finishing half of my tasks for the week. I’m really not in the mood to work.

8:10 a.m. — I walk out and withdraw some spare cash ($925) from a bank I have been meaning to transfer to another bank account. It costs $2.50 to e-transfer but free to withdraw. $0

8:20 a.m. — I avoid Starbucks (proudly patting myself on the back), and head back to the office.

10:18 a.m. — I continue working, snag my lunch and surprise a manager that I’m ALREADY eating. I’m a pig, surprise! I’m always hungry.

11:08 a.m. — I think that Happy Hour thing helped build a bond amongst us because now more people who were shyer before are saying hello. It is always a good thing build bonds. Apparently (I asked), this doesn’t really happen in France. I find that a bit sad…. my partner gets confused with these work things because he isn’t FRIENDS with colleagues. I remind him that we met at work and became way more than friends, but he pooh-poohs it saying that was different. Mm hmm…

11:32 a.m. — Off to yoga. I work out in an easy flow (I really went tough yesterday), and discover an album for yoga I’m now obsessed with called Dreaming in Sanskrit which is surprisingly catchy and upbeat, like yoga club groove pop. I love these 4 tracks: Jaya Radha Madhava, Maha Devi, Hanumanji. I have no idea WTF they’re saying and I don’t even care. It’s calming and great to work by. I buy it online and cannot wait to get it on my iPod. I love supporting less mainstream art when it sounds THIS GOOD. $10.80

(THIS IS MY OBSESSION RIGHT NOW!)

1:39 p.m. — Back at the office I work. Nail two issues.

3:16 p.m. — Decide to head out to the other bank to deposit the money.

3:57 p.m. — I deposit the $925 and walk back. Today is such a beautiful day and I dressed like it was going to snow because I was so traumatized from yesterday. GAHHHH.. weather in Canada is so weird.

4:16 p.m. — I get back to the office, putter around my emails and take off early to grab Little Bun. Park time! Before snow hits, I plan on making the most of this “nice” weather.

4:35 p.m. — We snag a snack and head to the park. It is cool, slightly sunny and perfect to hang out and eat snacks. I finish eating Little Bun’s garbage (a tangerine), because he wanted the digestive biscuits Instead.

5:06 p.m. — I wrap my cosy cocoon of a James Perse cashmere around myself and cuddle in it while Little Bun plays.

5:50 p.m. — We finally head home and at least tomorrow Little Bun stays with his father. Finally. I will go to the library after work to do … more work. Blog work, that is.

5:58 p.m. — I’ve been getting in early as of late and leaving late, so I will leave much earlier tomorrow, after lunch probably.

6:25 p.m. — I also plan on doing a load of yoga laundry. I have a good process down — I wash it all, and roll up a cloth, with a matching shirt and pant within each roll, ready to grab every morning for yoga at lunch.

6:44 p.m. — I feel like I have a ton of things to do and nothing to do at all, all at the same time.

7:06 p.m. — At home, my partner makes dinner, we eat it, and I just leave the dishes for tomorrow. Little Bun refuses most of the dinner, and only eats a quarter of what he normally chows down. I think he’s getting sick.

8:00 p.m. —  I updated my iPod Touch while we were eating, and now I’m too engrossed in setting it up, organizing my videos on my iPod, fixing my music, and making sure I have that new Sanskrit album on there for tomorrow.

8:16 p.m. —  I ask Little Bun to be quiet (he keeps singing the SAME REFRAIN over and over again), and he decides to sing it while saying: “be quiet! be quiet! be quiet! be quiet! go go go go go quiet quiet quiet!” ZOMG.

8:29 p.m. —  I finally wrangle him into pull-ups and get him ready for bed after reading a few pages from My Room, and letting him play some giggling blanket game with his father that involves roaring and tickling.

9:11 p.m. — We all go to sleep. I conk out almost immediately.

Saved: $0

Spent: $10.80

DAY FIVE

??:?? — I wake up before Little Bun again and just lie there.

??:?? — He squeals like he is having a nightmare and wiggles, so I quickly pat his bum, whisper “Shhh Mommy is here”, and he calms down instantly. I cover him with a blanket.

5:45 a.m. — I get up and start getting ready.

6:05 a.m. — Little Bun wakes up shortly after but doesn’t come to me directly, he crawls and snuggles up against his father’s side and then crawls on top of his legs.

6:10 a.m. — He realizes I’m still at home so he comes and wants me to get his milk instead of Daddy.

6:29 a.m. — I get his milk, make my tea and get ready to go.

7:13 a.m. — At work I start and take a few breaks for tea. I can’t figure out this problem of something not appearing where it should … and it isn’t until yoga time that I realize it is because it doesn’t even exist, which is why I can’t find it! $&@!?

10:35 a.m. — I go and see someone to help them on an issue and then head off to yoga.

11:56 a.m. — Hmm. Men have issues with pant hens too. It should break at your shoe, not be cropped to your ankle. Too short and it just looks weird… and guys don’t even have an excuse because they don’t wear heels and need different lengths.

1:24 p.m. — After yoga I head back to the office.

1:37 p.m. — What is this song playing in the cafeteria? I need to find out the name of it. I listen to the lyrics and make notes about what they’re singing.

1:45 p.m. — I get back to my desk and Google it and realize it is Matstubs – Kings And Queens Of Summer is SO GOOD! I feel like I’m really finding some good songs this autumn. By accident of course. I sing it in my head.

2:48 p.m. — I leave early and head to the library to work.

3:05 p.m. — At the library, I start formulating posts, but mostly watching videos to relax and calm down. Like this particular clip from Ali Wong makes me laugh like mad:

3:26 p.m. — Or this one about Trapping her husband. LOL!

5:59 p.m. — I head home after finishing off my work as much as I can. I really just needed this time to relax and calm down from the week.

6:13 p.m. — Oh! Little Bun is out! I AM SO EXCITED. I run home and put all my things away, organize my things and then hear Little Bun come home. Oh. Oh well.

6:29 p.m. — Little Bun starts whining. Why is he acting like this? He must have missed me the whole day and now is taking it out on me. *sigh* I end up dealing with some major tantrums while my partner is trying out a new marinade and grilling chicken.

7:19 p.m. — We sit down for dinner after Little Bun calms down (after a few punishments of course, time outs), and he plays with his puzzle, red-eyed, snotty-nosed from all the sobbing and screaming. I AM TIRED. AND HUNGRY.

7:23 p.m. — ….Even so, I prepare little bites for him, and move from the table to his little table where he is doing his puzzle, and hand-feed him while he quietly plays and calms down. I don’t want him to go hungry. I know he won’t but I love him and I want him to still eat and enjoy food with us, but he needs alone time and doesn’t want to sit at the table with us.

7:47 p.m. — I don’t want to do the dishes….. but I also don’t want to do them in the morning. I decide to wash them all, let them dry, and have a clean, calm morning. I suspect he will wake up early because of tonight. He is very sensitive when he is upset the night before and doesn’t sleep well.

7:50 p.m. — I put on my Bose QuietComfort headphones (LOVE THEM), and listen to these tracks Jaya Radha Madhava, Maha Devi, Hanumanji on repeat, and dance while I am doing the dishes (makes the time go by faster).

8:36 p.m. — I get everything finished, laying out to dry, and then I go through my skincare routine, and get Little Bun ready for bed.

8:41 p.m. — Bedtime.

Saved: $0

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

??:?? — Don’t even know what time it is. Little Bun as predicted, is up, and crawling all over my face, my head, my body, and wiggling, meowing like a cat. He finally asks to go to the bathroom 5 minutes later and I get up.

5:30 a.m. — I stumble out of bed, and put everything away. I snuggle him, and he is in a CRANKY, GRUMPY, TERRIBLE mood. Very whiny. I tell him to stop it, and I hug him tight. I hold him, I kiss him, I pet him and then we play together with his Thanksgiving animals and make them go on all the metro stations in Montreal (McGill, Peel, etc). LOVES THESE ANIMALS!

6:22 a.m. — I make a cup of tea, and start putting away the dishes.

7:09 a.m. — Dishes finally put away, I start a load of kitchen towels soaking to wash, and I wipe down the counter.

8:08 a.m. — My partner wakes up and starts working on the bathroom. HE KNOWS I AM DYING TO GET IT BACK.

8:18 a.m. — I feed Little Bun vegan stew and oatmeal, and then I make myself a salad with some leftover chicken.

9:00 a.m. — I struggle with Skype and end up giving up, just calling my mother who wanted to thank Little Bun for the sweet painting he made for her of autumn leaves with Q-Tips at pre-school.

9:42 a.m. — I talk to my mother on the phone who unloads the frustrations of her life and work on me, and I listen sympathetically.

10:22 a.m. — I log off after Skyping with my mom and my dad (they both love seeing Little Bun), and Little Bun starts rubbing his eyes, whining and crying. He is TIRED. I ask him if he wants to go play “Baby”, and he nods, curling up against my chest, hugging me tight.

10:38 a.m. — I lay him gently down in bed (yes, I carried him the whole time), and rub his back, and watch him drift off to sleep.

10:42 a.m. — I get up, and go work on the blog (have to maximize this nap time! have no idea how long it will last), and my partner comes home.

11:40 a.m. — I tell him Little Bun fell asleep. Just as I am saying that, Little Bun stirs, and wakes up. Uh oh.

11:42 a.m. — Little Bun lies in bed. He is still tired but can’t go back to sleep. No nap for him today I guess. We eat some cheese and bread and my partner starts working on the bathroom almost immediately after.

12:02 p.m. — I start to get ready to go out and ask my partner if I can leave (sensing the answer is no as how is he going to watch The Bun and work?!?)… and my suspicions confirmed, I sit down and work a bit on the blog and wait.

1:16 p.m. — About an hour and a half later he is done and I make my escape. $2.25

1:56 p.m. — I get to the tailor and ask if she can fix and chop the shoulders on the MM Lafleur dress I snagged in a size 4 but has odd shoulders that cut off at the top for my size 6 frame. She says the tailor is only in Monday to Friday so WTF. I need to find another tailor.

2:14 p.m. — I wander around until I find another one and she inspects the dress saying it is very well done. A little too well done. They put a binding on all of the seams to hold the shape and as a result if she cut the sleeves and made a new straighter boxier cut up top, she may not get the same shape or hold of the dress afterwards without redoing the binding. Also, she has no binding, and it is hard to redo a binding. GAHHH..

2:16 p.m. — I try on the dress and decide against ruining it. I like it but I’m truly a US 6 now for comfort. Good to know. Even the bottom in the US 4 fit PERFECTLY but I would have been happier with a size up to a 6. -$23 saved!!

2:55 p.m. — I head over to Sephora to pick up some dry shampoo. It has been two weeks since I’ve been thinking hard about buying one and I’m realizing after yoga I need something to keep my hair going, I am not about to start drying out my skin and hair by showering daily and restarting my eczema. I just need a little hair lift.

3:01 p.m. — I’m tempted by a Ted Baker dress and try it on, but luckily it is so low cut and the skirt is so strangely cut (it’s revealing) that it is a hard pass. Pretty, but too shiny.

3:23 p.m. — I try out 4 different dry shampoos on different parts of my hair (Bumble & Bumble was the worst of the 4, Ouai was okay, Living Proof was better but the absolute WINNER was Drybar, in the Brunette tint.) I tried it at the nape of my neck where it was the worst and it was like my hair fluffed and styled itself. It felt great and the most “washed” and dry of all. Only drawback is that it stained my hands brown so I’d need to be near a bathroom or have wipes on hand for this. Total winner. $19.54 (used up my gift card and paid the diff.)

3:40 p.m. — I head to Indigo to read magazines and browse through stuff but decide against it and start to walk back to the metro. Before I go, I try this spruce root beer. It tastes like you’d expect a pine tree to taste. Imagine the smell, distilled into an essential oil and added to root beer. It was different and not bad at all. $4.89

3:46 p.m. — I go to a kitchen store and pick up two cork rivets. Little Bun has been obsessed with rolling this cardboard ball on the floor (flat circle) with his father but it is starting to look a little worn. I remembered that cork rivets would be perfect because they are sturdy, cork, round flat circles and great toys for children in addition to being handy for placing hot pots on. $2.30

3:56 p.m. — I’m listening to music and trying not to dance while it is on. No one can hear the same music so it would look very strange.

4:15 p.m. — I make a mistake of stopping by MAC and end up buying their makeup wipes (to try out), and get suckered into a paint-splattered makeup bag which.. in hindsight, I will return because $43 is ridiculous for a makeup bag. $85.10 – DEFINITE return to get back $43 + taxes.

4:34 p.m. — I get on the bus back home. $2.25

5:15 p.m. — YAY! LITTLE BUN IS OUT!

5:18 p.m. — I take the opportunity to shower and wash my hair luxuriously alone and happy.

5:42 p.m. — Little Bun comes back home with his father as I am ironing and listening to music. He screams bloody murder when he sees the iron and I am forced to pack it up and away (it is too hot and dangerous to have a kid running around me, screaming).

6:48 p.m. — We settle in for a dinner. Little Bun stuffs his face with olive bread and then has no room for the actual meal (salmon), but gamely eats about 10 major bites before asking to get down. He goes and plays with his iPad, learning on the new apps I downloaded yesterday.

7:48 p.m. — I get hassled to buy the app for math because …. BECAUSE LITTLE BUN. $11.98

7:55 p.m. — I do all the dishes and then start ironing the rest of my clothes.

8:35 p.m. — Finally finished! Little Bun was fairly occupied with his father so I managed to go through my entire ironing load (about 20 items), having been slacking off on it for a month at least.

8:37 p.m. — I get hassled to buy this OTHER app. WHOA. $32!?!? …#%*&@#(%#… I grit my teeth and buy it because it does look very good and the little person in there talks to explain what to do which is helpful. $38.39

Saved: [Pending] $43 (definite return of that bag)

Spent: $166.71 – This iTunes app thing is going to get $$$$ for Little Bun LOL

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — Little Bun. Is. Up. And. Is. Not. Going. Back. To. Sleep.

5:40 a.m. — Really? *sigh* I am so tired. I could have slept in another hour at least. This is why I leave on Saturdays for a long stretch of time; my partner gets the mornings and the nights to just collapse and “sleep in” until 6:30 or 7. It’s only fair.

5:59 a.m. — I start making tea, put away the cooled-down iron, and am totally amazed that my skin looks.. GOOD today. After the last week (hormonal acne, I stopped the spearmint tea and paid for it), I was really despairing the spots cropping up on my cheek and my forehead, but now they’re flat and I am NOT MISSING A SINGLE CUP OF SPEARMINT TEA AT NIGHT.

6:09 a.m. — “MOMMY! Octopus!“… *opens and closes his mouth, while wiggling his hands*….. Where did he learn that? I burst out laughing it is so cute. I want to record this.

6:26 a.m. — I start drinking my tea, and replying to emails, entering amounts into my budget (I am going to be vigilant this month; it has already crept up to $1200 as of today)…

7:38 a.m. — I call my friend and we chat. About everything. I love the developments happening in her life and she is proud I am working on my professional, filtered self to not be so frank at the office. Yes, it’s a problem.

10:42 a.m. — Off the phone, (I had to wrangle Little Bun A LOT while talking to her, I am sure her eardrums have been shot to hell from all the screaming).

10:48 a.m. — We eat a simple vegetarian lunch (omelette and bread), and I am still hungry afterwards. I don’t eat any extra food though because it is good for my body to feel hunger once in a while. It makes me appreciate food, and the ability I have to be able to pay for said food comfortably. Call it “hippie gratitude granola crunching crap” if you want (yes, someone told me that), but a little starvation has never hurt anybody and it does make me feel quite grateful.

11:28 a.m. — I take Little Bun into the bedroom after we eat and we read The Grouchy Ladybug and The Cow that Laid an Egg. He refuses to nap, so I let him play with trains (yes metro stations again), and then on the iPad doing more math apps.

12:16 p.m. — Okay he really needs to nap soon. I give him one more shot at finishing a game and then he goes down. He wiggles and curls up around me, and yawns, and I tell him: 5 more pats and then no more! (this gives me more Alone Mommy Time as he then takes longer to fall asleep), and I head out to blog. I want to nap too but I feel like that would be a bad idea.

12:42 p.m. — I need to prep my list of things to sell. So tired. Need to get this done. I don’t feel like it so I schedule link love posts instead. Last month, traffic was REALLY down across the board, even my other friends were saying that online. I saw a huge hit in advertising revenues but I am too tired to give AF. I am just trying to keep it together. Blogging only happens full-time if I am not on contract. Right now, my main source of income is my job and I focus on MY JOB which means making sure I sleep, and am able to work AT MY JOB.

12:20 p.m. — I feel like this woman’s money diary life who makes $210,000 is closer to mine. I feel less guilty. She is fixing her house up too.. and I did not plan on a $5000 – 10,000 budget every year to do this.

1:38 p.m. — Little Bun thunders out, asking: “Mommy? I want fun now! FUN!!“. I GOT NOTHING DONE. NOTHING I tell you. I just watched videos and yawned.

1:42 p.m. — Little Bun keeps asking for “fun”. I tell him we’ll have fun at home because it is cold and rainy outside. We cuddle and I frantically try to make up something to do. Luckily, he is distracted and wants videos of himself.

2:48 p.m. — Okay. He’s bored now. We make up games and stories. Do a little math….

3:06 p.m. — I cave and give in to his demands for more videos of himself. I really need to do the dishes to have a clean kitchen because I hate having it at the end of the night and my new policy is to clean & wipe down EVERY DISH the minute I see it dirty, to see if it helps alleviate the workload.

3:42 p.m. — Little Bun is very well behaved now. He loves his “Baby Bun” videos… it’s adorable. He narrates to me what is happening, what he is saying, and translating what his father says, as if I don’t speak the language.. LOL Very cute.

4:10 p.m. — I finish wiping down the last dish. Completely clean, empty counter. I feed Little Bun his vegan soup and oatmeal (omg it smells so good…and garlicky.. I think my partner added raw garlic in this for antioxidants).

4:42 p.m. — Happily fed, belly full, he plays by himself on the floor, and then when his father leaves to go pick up dinner (baguette and whatever he feels like doing tonight), and I guiltily let him watch nursery rhymes (he loves this stuff!), while I make a quick post on what I am selling and try to clean up my blog. I need to get ahead of this.. I only have a month scheduled ahead of time.

5:00 p.m. — I end up starting a load of Little Bun laundry (his stuff is so small that I keep forgetting that it will never make a massive load of laundry like my clothes, but he does need new stuff to wear!).

5:30 p.m. — I hang up, roll and fold the rest of my yoga wear (matching top, with the pants and a little face towel), and pack them neatly into a backpack which I will bring to work and unload into my drawers so I can grab a fresh roll of yoga wear each day before going.

5:50 p.m. — I organize the desk top, and Little Bun having caught on that Mommy has a magic card and fingers to “get this app” for him, starts asking for ALL the locked apps to be unlocked, particularly this one that was “created with child psychologists and guaranteed to secretly eff up your child in diabolical ways”, to which I suspect to be true. He has no concept of this costing money and the reason why Mommy has to work to now pay for these exorbitant apps.

6:02 p.m. — I stave off a purchase (the last app cost $30!!! I can’t do this monthly. He wants ALL THE APPS.), and tell him Mommy will look into it (consultant speak for: “This is not happening any time soon so don’t hold your breath and pass out”).

6:49 p.m. — He plays with his father but for the most part, jumps around like a kangaroo and clings to my leg. I manage to get in some book time (15 minutes! A luxury!) while he sits on his father’s lap to browse websites.

7:15 p.m. — I get ready for bed (bathroom still under construction and I’m starting to come unhinged at sharing a bathroom with my partner with no space for all of MY crap).

8:00 p.m. — I get Little Bun ready for bed as well because now he doesn’t want Daddy and I don’t want to fight with him nor put out his father to be part of this power struggle because he basically worked the entire day NON-STOP starting at 7 a.m. and not stopping until 5-ish, cooking our meals, fixing the bathroom, sanding and fixing the bedrooms, vacuuming (he broke a glass and cleaned it up), and then going out to get our dinner. He needs a break.

8:12 p.m. — I read three pages of My Room to Little Bun (he loves these Millennials), and then we go to sleep.

8:42 p.m. —I basically conk out immediately and so does Little Bun who had QUITE A TIRING DAY getting punished multiple times (too many to list and count because it was almost every 2 hours).

Saved: $0

Spent: $0