Week of Money: Where I finally just take a day off.

DAY ONE

6:10 a.m. — I wake up and get dressed in a striped knotted dress with a belt, which I love. I should not have shortened it, to be honest. I should have left two inches on it because it now rides up when I sit.

6:13 a.m. — He however, refuses to get ready to go to preschool, stating that he doesnít feel well and he should not be forced to go to preschool (but phrased more as: I donít feel well. Donít want to go to preschool.) I manage to get him out of the house with a croissant bribe.

7:12 a.m. — We get to preschool, I drop my things and we walk to get a croissant around the corner. I pick up a pain au chocolat for myself. $5.93

7:30 a.m. — Back at preschool he happily sits down at preschool to munch on it, waving goodbye. Cheeky little…

8:04 a.m. — I get into work and literally it is nonstop until lunch.

11:58 a.m. — I eat my lunch, then head back to work.

4:23 p.m. — I pick up Little Bun after a truly exhausting day of meetings and thinking and quick things that have to be done, and then we sit in the lobby to eat his snack.

4:31 p.m. — He got a pretty blue helium balloon from a birthday party and he wraps it around his wrist in his hand, but then lets it go to eat his snack, and watches it float up to the ceiling. IMMEDIATELY his lower lip wobbles out and he starts to panic and squeals Mommy! MOMMY!! MOMMY!!!… I look up and it is already two stories high. I need a ladder to get this down.

4:40 p.m. — I manage to flag a janitor down and he tells me the maintenance guy went home, so this is not going to be until tomorrow. I try to fast talk Little Bun into waiting for tomorrow but he keeps shaking his head, tears welling up in his eyes that he wants it NOW not tomorrow..OMFG.

4:58 p.m. — I finally get him into the car, and tell him the balloon will stay there and wait for him. He repeats that the balloon is waiting for him and we make it home without a meltdown. WHO KNEW BALLOONS would be SO critical to life.

5:12 p.m. — At home, dinner….dishes…

8:52 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $5.93

DAY TWO

6:23 a.m. — I wake up, Little Bun is eager his father is staying at home and working remotely, and helps me do LookBook as well as take selfies because he loves my shoes, and then he waves goodbye to me at the door happily. “Bye bye Mommy! BIG HUG AND KISS!“. I wear my new secondhand white Theory wrap dress. Little Bun likes the wrap belt tie thing in the front and decides on a necklace for me.

6:46 a.m. — I start a load of laundry before leaving.

7:30 a.m. — At work, same as yesterday.

11:23 a.m. — Work nonstop until lunch.

11:59 a.m. — Eat lunch.

1:16 p.m. — After lunch, I get accosted by a very disagreeable colleague and she starts in on me about something I didn’t approve of. At the end of the whole exchange the entire floor is silent as I am professionally half-shouting (not a true yell) at her that I do not have time to do what she is asking because it is for AFTER this project, not part of THIS project. It is not as simple as she thinks (she is a simpleton for this area of expertise, by the way which ironically is my area). Everyone is super quiet around us, hiding, refusing to be part of this, and it ends with me leaving to take a walk around the building to calm down. My hands are shaking I am so angry. I can’t believe my team lead thinks she is AS COMPETENT as I am. This is a real insult.

2:37 p.m. — I vent to a colleague over tea (she hates her too, this consultant is not someone you would thin of as a consultant – friendly, competent, agreeable, and hardworking – she is the complete opposite and stays because my team lead has a soft spot for her because of some medical condition she has. That is bull-effing-#$(#*%).) We finish ranting to each other and I feel way better. She saw my face when I was furious and knew immediately I needed to release.

3:08 p.m. — I continue working, exhausted, and then leave to go home. I don’t want to even do any of this. I’m really tired.

4:47 p.m. — At home, I finish drying that load I started, start another load, and then make some noodles, do the dishes and then read books with Little Bun to calm down. He is my bright spot in my day when I am truly feeling down, a hug and a kiss from him especially when he is in a great mood, always picks me up and reminds me what is really important in my life.

5:44 p.m. — I bought these amazing Usborne Math Flip-Flap books for him and he is OBSESSED with them now, learning so much and opening the flaps. He is reading through all the flaps, pronouncing most words correctly (“Congratulations” was difficult for him), and he loves learning about cool numbers and mechanics of machines (I’m learning a lot too.) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and worth the money if your kid is curious about (you will know if he/she is, as they will hassle you constantly) and interested in such subjects.

8:42 p.m. —Then bedtime.

Spent: $0

DAY THREE

5:44 a.m. — I wake up still feeling sore about what happened yesterday and decide to take the high road and talk it out. I wear my power suit, so to speak. I love this two piece so much (Review on it here from MM Lafleur):

6:20 a.m. — I get ready, Little Bun stays at home again, and I head into work.

7:15 a.m. — At work, I corner this ornery colleague and because I am also keeping in mind that my team lead likes it when everyone gets along and is a family at work, I bite the bullet and do it for him because this is not something worth getting angry about. This is petty and stupid. I explain my point of view of changing things while I am trying to deliver on a project, and how that one little change affects what I was going to do because now I need a whole new set of designs drawn up to accommodate this “one little easy change” she is proposing. She nods, doesn’t apologize back or explain her position (probably thinks I’m aggressive and wrong, and hates me anyway), and I pretend to bury the hatchet, at least face-to-face-wise. I tell my team lead later that we worked it out and he is super happy. He likes it when people get along.

7:55 a.m. — I get back to work.

10:14 a.m. — I have no less than 3 people come up to me and tell me they LOVED my white shirtdress yesterday. How nice! <3

12:10 p.m. — Lunchtime. We all head out to eat some food at a local tavern, and I pick the fresh fish which I AM SO SURPRISED by and am very happy I did. I did not like the first meal I took the first time I was there (chicken) and found it lacklustre, but this one? For double the price, it is a much better deal. I also take some beignets (doughnuts) for the end. $40.99

3:07 p.m. — More work. It never ends. Endless meetings. Endless deliverables.

4:12 p.m. — I head home right after, I am so tired. I have been leaving later and later these days.

5:19 p.m. — At home, I start laundry, make noodles for us after feeding him some vegetable stew and pasta, and we all go to sleep after some math equations.

8:56 p.m. — Time for bed, after some noodles.

Spent: $40.99

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake up tired from everything. I need a break. It is not going to stop until this year ends.

6:16 a.m. — I want to wear my nice tuxedo silk skirt today, and Little Bun does not agree with my black top as a counterpoint and wants a WHITE top. I humour him in letting him choose it for the Look but in the end, I wear what I want.

6:25 a.m. — He doesn’t want to go to preschool and is dragging his heels. He keeps running into the bed, throwing his covers over his body and through muffled squealing says: NO PRESCHOOL. I cannot go to preschool today. I don’t like little boys. I’m not a little boy. I’m a baby. I’m feeling sick and I don’t feel well. Wanna stay at home. EMERGEHERD.

7:20 a.m. — I finally get him out of the house with a threat and a wheedling promise of stickers, and I head into work with a Little Bun who DOES NOT want TO BE THERE.

7:50 a.m. — We get there, he grabs his stuffed toy, and then asks to walk to the bakery for a croissant. I firmly put my foot down. This will not be a habit, and I give him stickers instead.

7:51 a.m. — I drop him off with a sheet of stickers, some Cheerios, a stuffed animal he loves (“Munchie”, whom I named), and I head into work.

8:14 a.m. — Endless. Freaking. Nonstop. Questions. Meetings.

11:59 a.m. — Lunch, I head out early to meet up with an old colleague. We go to a ‘fast food Asian place”, which is more expensive than normal and the food is not that great. I regret eating there. I took the Tom Yum soup and there wasn’t enough there for me, AND it was not worth the price. $20.72

1:00 p.m. — I head back to the office, and try to manage my team of people whom I am training. This is slow, painful but necessary.

2:13 a.m. — I grab a Green Tea Kitkat and eff off in the cafeteria to take a break. My brain is tired. I’m waiting for people to finish. I need to really power up on the blog stuff because I am off for the next 4 weeks and have ZERO posts scheduled.

2:40 p.m. — Back to work.

3:28 p.m. — I am about to head home early and someone stops me for a meeting. Nooooo….

5:00 p.m. — I finally leave.

6:16 p.m. — Traffic was killer. I get home and I make some noodles, then get everyone ready for bed.

7:47 p.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $20.72

DAY FIVE

6:03 a.m. — I wake up, my back complaining a bit. I’m taking the day off and only monitoring emails here and there. I need it, or I am going to go berserk. I really truly need a break. This is too much, working way too many hours, babysitting way too many people… f*#%. Why do I put this on myself as my responsibility to help and make sure everyone does their job? THIS IS STUPID.

6:39 a.m. — I track all my Amazon purchases for myself and my partner – apparently everything is arriving on Monday at the same time….  and I buy 2 more bottles of organic cold pressed rosehip oil for my skin. Love this stuff. I slather on a FULL dropper of oil on each limb, rub it in, then cover it with my super pricey locally made (by someone I know!) lavender body cream. This stuff is so luxurious…. $37.70

7:00 a.m. — I get ready to go and get my day started. It is literally open. I can go and do whatever I want. I plan on logging in and working a bit, and then hitting up Zara for a smaller sized pair of pants for Little Bun (the size we bought is too big and I can’t return it now), then perhaps a really fancy salad at this place I like downtown, and … who knows? At any rate, I have to work on the blog today.

8:08 a.m. — I head into work and start immediately. Lots of back and forth, people emailing non stop.

11:38 a.m. — I get a bit peckish and am trying to decide between a salad (a fancy one with mock chicken of course), or a sushi lunch.. I’ll probably do the salad. I haven’t had it in a while.

12:28 p.m. — I pick up a salad and am disappointed. First off, I am forced to tip 15% for essentially take out salad (no option on the screen), and secondly, the salad was not that great. Not like the one downtown. The tea drink was also worse than water. $29.52

12:56 p.m. — I finish my lunch, pick up pants for Little Bun and … of course, PANTS FOR MOMMY!!!! $66.47

3:22 p.m. — I also meet up with a guy who custom makes sunglasses, and I order my own pair. I want something light, cool and interesting, and this is it. I got to choose the wood, the lenses and to make sure it is the highest quality you can buy. They’re pricey but one of a kind. *shrug* They look and feel GREAT and I love supporting local artisans. $511.57

4:05 p.m. — My Director thanks me for this week (LOL he has no idea, I need to take 2 more days off to make up for my time), and I wish him a good weekend.

7:15 p.m. — Back at home, my partner is arranging and in some organizing frenzy. I leave him alone and grab Little Bun to do math. He loves his Times Tables…

8:45 p.m. — Bedtime. I’m in bed and Little Bun is running around like a banshee.

Spent: $645.26

DAY SIX

6:20 a.m. — I wake up, make myself some tea and some noodles because for some reason I’m hungry.

7:59 a.m. — Dishes done, Little Bun is happily watching ‘Google’ (again, same videos as on the laptop, but he can go anywhere he wants online within reason).

8:11 a.m. — I scan all my receipts and log my expenses in my book. I need to start doing this more often so that the mountain of receipts don’t pile up…

10:33 a.m. — I bang out about 5 blog posts. I need to write 15 more so that I have a buffer built up again. It is not that I am out of ideas, it is that I need TIME TO WRITE. I without a doubt, spend any extra time I have when I am not working, or Little Bunning, on the blog or blog-related activities… this is insane. I’m insane. 😛

1:25 p.m. — I head out and planned a whole day up north in a mall but saw traffic and changed plans. I go and get a pair of tweezers instead and stock up on KitKats (OMG YES SO SUE ME)…. $10.19

2:11 p.m. — I head to my lobby and start working, I have a ton of episodes to get through (new season of Elementary started and I missed it, I have been so insanely busy)… I crack open a KitKat and work.

3:05 p.m. — These heels are surprisingly comfortable for their height and I think it is the caged suede effect that really helps keep the heel on my foot, feel secure, comfortable, even at 4″…

5:22 p.m. — I head back upstairs after binge-watching as many episodes of Elementary that I can. I limit myself to TWO KitKats.

6:03 p.m. — Back at home, dinner, Little Bun wants to go play soccer but thunderstorms are on the way.. so my partner says they’ll go tomorrow.

7:22 p.m. — I get him ready for bed after a few Times Tables.

9:03 p.m. — Then we go to sleep. At least I TRY TO but he stays up until like 11 p.m. I have no control over this, I am too tired to care.

Spent: $10.19

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — He wants WATER? WATER!?!? I am so angry, I was about to fall asleep and get a solid night’s sleep, and he WANTS WATER!? My brain is all scrambled, tired, and angry.. I am screaming.

7:00 a.m. — Little Bun is up. I feel like death. I .. am… really… sleepy. More so than in previous days or weeks. I can barely keep my eyes open. I wake up tired AF. My partner is chirpy but I’m not having this.

7:21 a.m. — I force myself up and get ready to go out with him on the train.

7:23 a.m. — I slap on a Transderm patch to avoid motion sickness in the train and as I slowly get ready (zero energy) and decide a real North American breakfast is in order. We head out for pancakes.

8:15 a.m. — I get to the breakfast place I’m thinking of after taking him on the train. $2.75

8:34 a.m. — There, hot chocolate with whipped cream and pancakes… mmmmmm.. we share because I still need an appetite for lunch. Wow the hot chocolate is REALLY sweet. My teeth are itchy now LOL… We pay and then leave. $23.74

8:50 a.m. — We ride the train up and down and all around.

10:46 a.m. — We leave to go home and drop by the market, but Little Bun is tired, so I don’t linger. I do see a very cute pillow though, how cute is this!? OMG. a FURRY MOUSE.. I almost want to buy it just to look at it all day.

11:33 a.m. — We get inside, I take a nap. I can’t do this. From being drugged with Transderm to being super tired, I need a nap. I take a quick one, and plead with Little Bun to play by himself.

11:57 a.m. — I wake up from Little Bun asking me to go eat lunch with him. He likes sitting beside me, having me kiss and rub his back while he eats, and just being near me. He is VERY close to me, which is both great and bad.

12:26 p.m. — Time for a nap. I knock out almost immediately.

2:22 p.m. — I wake up from Little Bun asking for milk. My partner is out getting pants for Little Bun. He has to take care of all of that clothing planning because my brain is fried, I can’t do that. I have no capacity to handle clothes planning for sales and sizes, and he has to handle it all these days.

2:51 p.m. — I do the dishes while I eat two KitKats.

3:45 p.m. — I finish the dishes, watch Comedians in Cars getting coffee (some are very funny, others are too mellow and chill for this kind of thing), and I read Little Bun’s other favourite book these days – The Nice Book – he loves it and I think it’s actually teaching him good manners plus it is SO EASY to read which is a relief for us parents at night when we’re about to go to sleep.

4:09 p.m. — I just want to nap. I am so tired. I wish my partner would come home now and take him out to play soccer. I AM SO READY FOR A BREAK. Just having him OUT of the house would be perfect as a break.

4:57 p.m. — My partner is home and I am DYING FOR HIM TO TAKE LITTLE BUN OUT. He putters around putting things away, organizing, etc.. and I am just on the bed, giving him The Look.

5:23 p.m. — They leave. Finally. Thank goodness. I dress Little Bun happily.

5:38 p.m. — I hop into the shower, take a hot quick shower, feel much better, and start noodles, then put away laundry that was just dried, and steam my clothes…

6:49 p.m. — Toiletries organized, I pack everything away, and crack open my third KitKat…

7:14 p.m. — Okay, this nutritional yeast — I TRIED my best to like it but when it is eaten raw it tastes fine, but when it gets into food and mixed in with soy sauce (my favourite mix for vegan noodles), it turns into this strange, sour, rancid flavour, like it has gone off. This is the culprit by the way – Moulin Abénakis…

7:41 p.m. — And they’re home 🙁 …… when they leave it is like the possibilities of LIFE open up. I can take a shower alone! I can eat noodles alone! I can do laundry! I can lie down and read!! Ugh… motherhood.

Spent: $26.49

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