Week of Money: Where I finally cave and buy new headphones

DAY ONE

??:?? —  I wake up warm. I went to bed frozen last night, but now I am okay. Little Bun snuffles and then snuggles into my side, falling back asleep. I try to catch more sleep as well.

8:03 a.m. — We are awake at a decent time! My body likes 8 a.m. … even if we are sleeping at 10 p.m. now.

8:15 a.m. — Call after call, even before my scheduled conference calls. This is insanity. Honestly.

11:30 a.m. — I break early for lunch. Little Bun is not interested in my lunch ever since it turned into mashed potatoes, grilled carrots and brown rice. All the more for me!

12:08 p.m. — I order some herbal tea online. I cannot always drink black tea, but I do miss having a hot mug of something to drink, and I do not want something sugary (white hot chocolate, no cocoa because of the caffeine), nor something too difficult to make. I go for broke and order two really super fancy tins of herbal tea of chamomile and lemon, and lemongrass. We will see how they stack up against the cheaper ones I have purchased in the past for 1/4 of the price. $97.87

I won’t buy teabags any more. They are not only wasteful, but also contain microplastics. (Read: BBC – Premium teabags full of microplastics) Full-leaf teas in a strainer are better for the environment but also don’t let microplastics into your body and I cannot be bothered to check each time if they could or could not have plastics. Best to just do a full-leaf and be done with it, plus it tastes better. Who knows what else they put in those teabags, no matter what they say? I want to be able to see what I am brewing, and it should not be powdered tea bits.

12:28 p.m. — Lunch time. Little Bun only eats the brown rice, and I savour the rest.

12:56 p.m. — Time for his nap, I log into my next call early to work while waiting for everyone to join.

4:20 p.m. — Little Bun shows me how he is re-enacting certain chess moves with a sock ball and a Stuffie. He built a psuedo (?) chess board out of two open book covers, and pretends each toy is a certain piece, like a rook or a knight.

5:44 p.m. — I log off for the day. It’s a lot. In the meantime, I discover Carla Rockmore who has the most incredible closet, sense of style, she even makes jewellery too and is into vintage & secondhand items!

I embedded them below but her Closet Tour #1 is here, and Closet Tour #2 is here.

@carlarockmoreI’ve outgrown my favorite pants! 😜 Here’s a trick to keep them in rotation. ##fashionhacks ##fallfashion ##foryou ##fyp ##fashion ##overfiftyfashion ##ootd♬ original sound – Carla Rockmore

@carlarockmorePart 2 of my closet tour! PS: I used to live in an apartment about this size. 😂 #closettour #fashion #foryou #styletip #fashionadvice #foryoupage♬ original sound – Carla Rockmore

And her advice is useful and exciting. She seems so fun and nice with an interesting personality rather than being boring like some other curated IG accounts. I also like watching her get dresed.

@carlarockmoreI’ve outgrown my favorite pants! 😜 Here’s a trick to keep them in rotation. #fashionhacks #fallfashion #foryou #fyp #fashion #overfiftyfashion #ootd♬ original sound – Carla Rockmore

8:40 p.m. — We start our bedtime routine – teeth, reading from our books, then bedtime.

Spent: $97.87

DAY TWO

??:?? — I wake up with Little Bun into my side. My back is hurting, I twisted it last night so I try to lift my knees up to flatten my back out a little.

7:44 a.m. — I log in and start working. Little Bun makes me sweet notes all day while he works on his pages:

This one says: I love you infinity percent. … I did not understand the infinity percent symbol he drew either but now I see it.

11:44 a.m. — Lunch. Little Bun doesn’t wander around my lunches this week any more because he doesn’t want mashed potatoes or carrots, so he sidles up to his father cutely and says: Papa? Allo Papa!! *imagine hearts coming off his face*.…. and we all know what that means when he comes close to us with his cute little face, sweet voice, and sharp little eyes, assessing the lunches we have prepared for ourselves (he has his own!!), and wanting to know if he can “hang out” near us and hope that we will split our lunches with him because he’s our cute little baby boy (he totally plays this up). It’s adorable, conniving and it works. I call it the Little Bun Food Tax so I always prepare 30% more food than normal.

1:20 p.m. — He goes down for his nap while I am on calls.

3:28 p.m. — Up from his nap, I am still on calls.

6:51 p.m. — Little Bun does all the cutlery as I do the dishes. I end up ordering some new undergarments online. $182.13

6:58 p.m. — Little Bun almost bursts into tears: YOU NEVER PAY ATTENTION TO ME! …. because sometimes, I do not listen to him yammer on 24/7.

8:45 p.m. — Little Bun: *dramatic gasp* Look Mommy, a waning gibbous!!! Then it becomes third quarter moon!!! *very excited*

Me: *how does he retain this useless info*… “That’s great baby”

9:03 p.m. — We get ready for bed, reading, and then talking about our days.

Spent: $182.13

DAY THREE

??:?? — I wake up with Little Bun whispering in my ear: It’s almost the weekend. Wee wee! (his baby noises)

7:10 a.m. — I make a tea and log in to start working.

7:51 a.m. — First calls of the day.

8:40 a.m. — Lots of stuff going on. My brain is sort of spinning.

9:55 a.m. — Ooo. I take a break and browse Pinterest and am inspired to wear my scarves as decoration over my coats now:

12:08 p.m. — My partner comes in the door.. hands empty as I am on a call. I am confused. I gesture to him to explain why he came back with no food.

After I am done my call, and we are eating lunch, he launches into a whole ordeal about how as he was driving, you know those pins that they put in semi trucks at the back to keep the doors closed? Well one fell off, was in a tiny hole or at an angle on the road, and he drove over it EXACTLY at the angle that it needed to puncture my car’s tire. Long story short, as he has no cellphone (he’s a Luddite), he managed to get the car into the parking lot, and went to look for a cab, which he took home. He thought he would find one within the first kilometre, but in the end, instead of asking someone to call a cab for him (????) he decided to walk 5 km to a place where he knew there were taxi stands.

So he’s back, eating lunch while I am dealing with this.

12:10 p.m. — I call roadside assistance, and within 2 hours they text me back that everything is fixed (we didn’t even have to be there, just gave the location of our car) – they replaced the tire to exactly the one I had before (right size, make etc), and sent me a bill to pay online, which I gladly do so. $661.10

This is the reason why I think being financially secure is so important.

1. You are able to pay things like this out of your emergency fund
2. You are able to pay for premium services like this that cost money that are stress-free and hassle-free

1:03 p.m. — My partner leaves to get groceries in his car instead. I am on calls.

4:55 p.m. — Back home, he puts everything away, and then we get ready. We head out to pick up the car and my partner drives his own home.

7:25 p.m. — Time for dinner. I do dishes, laundry…

9:04 p.m. — Time for bed – we read more about quantum physics.

Spent: $661.10

DAY FOUR

??:?? — Little Bun squeals: IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP MOMMYYYYYYYYYYYY

7:25 a.m. — I log in, start working, and plan on finishing my day early today. I swear.

11:25 a.m. — Lunch while on a call.

2:04 p.m. — Time for me to leaaaaaave. Call over, day over, I log off. I head out and pick up some treats like these Chimes Toasted Coconut Toffees

They’re so good! I will buy packs for everyone for Christmas. I also get some Wow Key Lime and White Chocolate Soft Baked Cookies

Which.. are AMAZING

I also treat myself to an ultimate vegan bagel:

Spent: $34.56

4:15 p.m. — Back home, after a break, I discover these incredible invisible earring clip on converters. I try them out and they are AMAZING. I can now wear light-ish earrings (feathers, tassels), and they will not hurt my ears AT ALL.

5:51 p.m. — We have a yummy dinner (Little Bun calls it a feast if it isn’t our normal eating), and then I do dishes and laundry.

8:46 p.m. — Time for bed. We read books together, we act out the things we are learning, and then we snuggle in bed and chat about things we want to talk about.

Spent: $34.56

DAY FIVE

??:?? — I wake up with Little Bun snuggling into my side, breathing into my face.

7:25 a.m. — We get up, I make some tea and we talk about what he learned, what he is learning, questions he has.. he discovered a new Youtube channel – Colossal Cranium which is like Dr. Binocs, and he has started telling me facts from his videos.

7:23 a.m. — I log in and start working.

11:08 a.m. — Lunch. I eat it while on a call. I am logging off early today.

2:45 p.m. — Last meeting of the day with a VP, and my project manager. I answer what I can, but we are all tired and waiting for the weekend. You know? When your brain is just tired? And all you can think is – when is this call over? Can’t we talk about this on Monday?

3:15 p.m. — OFF!!!

3:46 p.m. — I start cleaning, doing laundry, dishes… If I get ahead of the workload, then it isn’t so stressful when we start running out of kitchen towels for instance.

5:54 p.m. — I am trying to hang things up to dry more often rather than letting them go in the dryer. Only towels go in there, if possible.

6:54 p.m. — I pick up the All Good Mineral sunscreen which is 25% zinc (the best I have found) AND comes in a recyclable tin rather than a tube (hard to recycle) or with any plastic., and to be able to get free shipping rather than pay $7.50 (pretty much half the price of the item!!), I also buy the vintage reproduction of Monopoly in a book-style format so it can store neatly on our bookshelves. The houses are wood and the playing pieces are metal, just like in the original version. $77.95

8:44 p.m. — Time for bed after dinner, and Little Bun is VERY excited as we are acting out the processes in the Quantum Physics book.

Spent: $77.95

DAY SIX

??:?? — I wake up with Little Bun telling me sadly it’s raining outside. I whisper back that it’s to cold to play in the park anyway, so we will go for a drive instead. He perks up.

6:00 a.m. —  We have a tea, then breakfast, then head out for a drive.

8:24 a.m. — It’s raining like crazy, we run an errand first and then we drive around the countryside, looking at areas we could live in. It’s all going to be a change for me as I am used to a lot more people packed in one area, but I think Little Bun would love the woods.

11:50 a.m. — At home, lunch.

12:08 p.m. — Little Bun tells me in between bites that Math and Science as his two favourite subjects because they’re interesting with activities. I remind him that English is equally as important because you need reading and comprehension to read these math and science textbooks too, and it is the core of all learning. He mulls it over.

12:28 p.m. — After lunch of yummy fries and eggs, he goes to play on the iPad and I am doing all the dishes.

1:05 p.m. — Down for his nap, I make a tea and go through my list of To Do. I have a lot, and I keep putting it off. TODAY IS THE DAY TO DO IT ALL. I return emails, check up on refunds, return messages, etc.

3:07 p.m. — Up from his nap, we are in the closet upcycling. He wants to make a key for this random heart-shaped pendant lock I got that I think is too glittery and glitzy for me. It’s more suited for a little child, and I gave it to him. He wants to make a clay key to fit in the lock, then we spend a few minutes trying to get the clay he pushed into the lock, OUT of the lock. Instead, I ask him to just make a clay key on the side that looks like it would fit but no need for an exact one.

4:11 p.m. — I go to steam a skirt and end up realizing there is a TINY little orange stain on the back, barely noticeable, but in a new item, this should not happen. I email customer service, and right away they offer to exchange it, or let me keep it and give me a $30 refund. I take the refund and my chances with the stain, which I now soak to pre-treat in an attempt to get out. -$30

5:30 p.m. — Ever since discovering those earring converters, I went on a bit of a buying spree and snap up earrings I have longed to wear for years, along with light fun, feather ones from local shops online. After I buy everything I want, the damage is eye-popping and I decide to make the rest of my earrings out of clay with Little Bun as a fun activity afterwards. $474.73

6:27 p.m. — I take a break from shopping and we clean the second bedroom, vacuum, and hang out together, chatting and talking about things. We also start a puppet tournament where they battle / run against each other through an obstacle course Little Bun created.

8:50 p.m. — Time for bed after dinner. We read more of the books, act out as if we are atoms, and simulate particles. What do I mean by this? Here are examples:

That experiment of how they figured out that gold had atoms and to try to decipher why particles acted differently:

This is the page we were recreating:

Refunded: $30

Spent: $474.43

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — I wake up with Little Bun growling and snoring, then flopping on me, then flopping back when he gets too warm.

6:29 a.m. — Awake, we head out to the living room. He tells me that I can stay and sleep while he goes to play alone, but my Mommy brain cannot let him out there alone without being with him, so I wake up. He insists on letting me sleep because he knows it’s early, I tell him – If you’re awake, I am awake as well. It’s just a nervous (?) habit I guess. I am certain he is fine alone but I want to be awake with him just in case he isn’t. If that makes sense. The only time I can switch off is if I physically leave him alone with someone – anyone, even at daycare, etc – and am not with him in the same room.

But it was really sweet for him to offer, wasn’t it?

7:59 a.m. — We are doing pictures together, and the sticker picture workbooks I bought as a pandemic purchase to keep him occupied while I was on calls (AND QUIET), but the problem is he wants to do them together with me.

He calls out the numbers as he hands me the stickers to paste into the book.

11:15 a.m. — Lunchtime, dishes, laundry. Seems neverending.

12:56 p.m. — I finally give in, as my last pair of Airpods dies, and order two sets of the Airpods 3. I like them the best because Apple makes the best headphones. Even though cheaper versions at $30 even $100 look like they are the same thing, they are most definitely not. The battery drains like crazy and dies within a month, the calls are full of static with the other person saying: “I can’t hear you…!!” … it isn’t worth it to cheap out.

I also cannot wear anything with silicone ear tips or anything that blocks my ear canal (triggers my motion sickness especially as of late), so the AirPods design is the only one I can actually wear and not feel like I am about to throw up if they aren’t playing anything in my ears to distract my brain from the lack of airflow.

Lastly, I like 2 sets because I use them like crazy, and while I am waiting for the others to charge up, I can use the charged pair. Life is too short to be cheap when it will immensely improve your quality of life. $549.58

12:50 p.m. — My partner and I have a fight, and Little Bun is upset because he normally never sees us fight, so ANY kind of loud disagreement or discussions, where he feels like we are both getting heated, makes him sad. He really dislikes conflict.

1:16 p.m. — I hear a wail in the bedroom where he is lying with with his father, and I go to see him sitting up, sobbing. We are both confused why he is crying.

I pull him into my arms and ask what is wrong. He tells me: ” I am feeling so sad and upset from all of the fighting!!”… I tell him that this wasn’t a big fight, it wasn’t a big disagreement for us. He pauses and says: “But I FELT like it was a big disagreement and it made me really really upset and sad.”

I console him, let him cry it out to have his sad feelings and kiss him. I tell him that fighting is normal, healthy and we have to learn how to fight healthily and not do things like not say anything, or throw things. Those are unhealthy ways of fighting. We should fight by talking, even though things get heated, so that we both get to voice our opinions.

Then we talk a little more about the disagreement and why I see it wasn’t a big deal. He asks what will happen in the future, and I tell him that this was a tiny fight it wasn’t a major one, and the future is fine. He nods, and asks more details. I give them to him, and then he gets a huge hug from me, as I see his eyes welling up with tears again. I kiss him, snuggle him, and then check on him again to make sure he is okay before I leave him.

1:32 p.m. — Back out in the living room, going through my wealth plan. I am trying to figure out the best time to smooth out the income for the upcoming years, not knowing (A) how long I will live, (B) how healthy I will be, (C) who else I have to pay for, (D) what I may need to cover in addition to living. Who knows what things will cost in the future?

3:00 p.m. — He’s up and I check in on him to ask him if he wants to talk some more. He nods, and we chat some more.

3:20 p.m. — Then we start reading from the How to be great at Math book – I promised him we’d do this after our chat in the bedroom to console him, because we have extra time to do more pages, and I have time to concoct activities and quizzes from them for him to do. He has been very excited for this moment to learn more about math and to do fun things. I’d do more of these pages with him but (A) time after work is precious and I need time to unwind as well and (B) I don’t want to go too fast or rush through concepts and have him not “get it”.

5:28 p.m. — We finally finish the math pages and activities I came up with on the fly to learn the concepts. I ask him for a break, to please do something with Daddy while I lie down and read. He tells me he wants to be beside me (physically), and drags the iPad over to play Mind Pal beside me. Mind Pal is a new app he found that lets you find crossword puzzles, do math logic puzzles and the like. It’s actually quite educational.

6:44 p.m. — Time for dinner, then they watch a film together, while I read my book in the bedroom. It’s Sleeping Dictionary and it’s just… incredibly sad, well-written, and such an accurate but fictional depiction of India in the 1930s under British Rule.

It’s fictional but I have learned so much of real history from these sorts of books – that’s the way I approach learning and teaching with Little Bun as well, because if it isn’t fun or interesting, I don’t see how anyone learns.

7:50 p.m. — Well this is really pretty. I like the lotus lamp and the whole vibe of this room. I am collecting Closet-Office ideas right now:

8:51 p.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $549.58

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