Week of Money: Where I get sick again and sleep for 7-ish hours in the morning

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up tired. Little Bun cuddled into my side and I snuggle him, kissing his soft little cheeks and petting his head.

6:37 a.m. — Little Bun plays with Crêpe Maker (?) he loves these silly apps and I drink my mug of tea. I feel drained from this week and it isn’t even over. From the virus, to the protests, to the overwhelming stress in my own personal life I haven’t disclosed, this has been truly the worst year of my life.

7:22 a.m. — I finish my tea, I help Little Bun play Two Dots and I get really engrossed in the game – this is something I can do with him, a fun connect the dots game AND a Scavenger Hunt of sorts.

9:15 a.m. — Little Bun tells me we are collecting clues to solve mysteries. He makes up Mysteries and so far they are:

• Why does the closet smell?
• Why does the laundry room stink?
• Why did the bowling pins break apart?

And then we come up with ideas or clues like – Oh maybe the Stuffies did it!…. and he told me firmly that the Stuffies were VERY kind, and VERY generous, and would never make such a mess because they love to help clean up and are great Helpers. I am glad to hear him say that because it is (a) him defending others and standing up for them but also (b) that is how he sees himself.

9:20 a.m. — My partner is cleaning, like DEEP cleaning all the windows inside and the windowsills. He does this 2-3 times a year, and grumbles at the terrible job the window cleaners for the building (they come 2-3 times a year) did. He sees cobwebs in the corners they did not get, and they left plenty of spots on the windows. He’s out there scrubbing the balcony and all the windows inside and out.

10:40 a.m. — I set up all my bills for auto-pay, check all my bank account balances to make sure they’re ready for next month’s bills, and get organized.

2:04 p.m. — I basically forget to eat. I quickly eat something before I faint. This is becoming a recurring theme, where I forget to eat and I get sick/dizzy…. so I have to make something fast.

2:16 p.m. — I start on my project to upcycle a cuff I bought but am bored of because it isn’t special. So, why not make it special?

I lay out the thread to see what I like:

And I start on the first corner:

7:25 p.m. — I spend the whole afternoon sewing. It helps take my mind off what is going on, particularly after this video, that as a parent, made me cry.

8:45 p.m. — I leave the dishes for tomorrow. I am tired. I spend the night having Little Bun read stories to the Stuffies… and I just fall into bed.

Spent: $0

DAY TWO

??:?? — I wake up tired. I could have used another hour. Little Bun isn’t well-rested either, he’s a little grumpy.

6:00 a.m. — No milk for my tea today. I have to basically suffer until my partner goes out for the groceries this week.

6:20 a.m. — I make the cup of tea anyway, and mix in some yoghurt in desperation. Kind of like a matcha green tea lassi.

7:25 a.m. — “Mommy, there are 8 days in a week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday… and DO NOT FORGET FUN DAY!!!!!”

9:03 a.m. — I clean up and kitchen, do all the dishes then make a quick bowl of noodles to eat just to tide me over. I have no idea what my partner has planned for today for lunch but at least that’ll be the last meal I eat for the day, as I won’t be hungry at night then. I am going to drag today.

11:15 a.m. — I spend the morning continuing our piano lessons. He can already somewhat read the treble clef with the notes, and he can match them to the keys. He just isn’t fluent yet, so it isn’t natural the way he learned his ABCs. I encourage him, I am so happy.

12:08 p.m. — I have been listening to Aqualung – Brighter than Sunshine on repeat:

And this song: Don’t Rush – Young T & Bugsey

And this one I discovered off an Instagram video: Sub Urban – Cradles which starts off slow but has a good hook

3:28 p.m. — I make more progress on the cuff

5:45 p.m. — My partner finishes all of the windows and cleaning, and the entire apartment sparkles like a jewel box with the clear, clean windows. He then gets changed, and starts cooking dinner, grilling vegetables and trying out new cabbages and radicchio (Little Bun and my partner reject the radicchio so I end up having to eat it all)

6:17 p.m. — I end up buying two pairs of these Gisele pyjama sets because I LOVE THESE PYJAMAS. I only need two sets. One to wear, one to wash. The old me would have purchased 5 sets… but I don’t need that much. I would also like to figure out what I can wear during the summer, as these are more non-summer sleeping sets. I need shorts and a tank or something, maybe not a fancy pyjama set but I keep it simple? I have to figure this out.

I had to get rid of the pairs I had because I cannot figure out HOW THE HELL they got this weird stanky, plastic smell permeating through them. It made me so nauseous to wear it and I couldn’t wash the stench out no matter what I tried.

6:17 p.m. — I play ‘camping’ with Little Bun and his stuffies, and they pretend to play “Hide and Seek”.

7:00 p.m. — I take a shower, then decide to curl my hair to feel ‘normal’ again.

9:23 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $227.79

DAY THREE

??:?? — Why am I awake? .. Oh. Little Bun snuggles on top of me, then rolls off 20 seconds later, then cuddles up and hugs my arm like a teddybear.

6:38 a.m. — I get up. I’m a bit grumpy – no tea for me this morning as there is no milk.

6:55 a.m. — I log in to check my accounts. I do this every day more or less, to see if bills get paid, sometimes my memory gets jogged for something else… It doesn’t hurt, takes maybe 2 minutes.

8:17 a.m. — We spend the morning doing the following in photos:

Conclusion: Kids don’t need much to have fun, just imagination. I am creative with Little Bun because I used to read voraciously as a child, 20-30 books a week, and he is also a bookworm as well (he sees me read my books often), so even though I had no children to care for or handle before Little Bun arrived, I had my experiences through books to make up stories and come with ideas that I hope he will also pass on to whoever he cares for in the future.

11:15 a.m. — Lunch time. My partner grilled more vegetables – cabbage and radicchio to eat with bread and some chicken; I’m the only one who got to eat the radicchio because they both disliked the bitterness…

1:15 p.m. — Still working my way up the cuff — I have been continually sewing like crazy

4:13 p.m. — I do all the dishes, and let them dry, then feed Little Bun and myself.

5:30 p.m. — He plays with the spools of thread I have out and groups them into “families”. My text in there basically says how he took like colours and made “Mommy + Baby” Groups, and the only colour that was missing a baby was number 427 (Navy blue) because “we have used up the baby thread..” … Someone asks me what this game is, and I laugh. I am just letting him play with spools of thread as if they’re toys.

6:11 p.m. — I go online and order some bar shampoos as my current shampoos are running out and I am trying to replace my plastic bottles of shampoo with bar ones instead to cut back on plastic waste. I try all the smells to see which one I’d like, and also order a new body lotion jar (running out too). $57

6:25 p.m. — I do laundry as well.

8:14 p.m. — I read a book to try and relax while Little Bun plays some inane game called: Bottle Jump 3D….

Spent: $57

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I am dragging today. It’s rainy outside which always creates a pressure headache for me because of the drop in barometric pressure, and there is no more milk in the house for my matcha green teas. On top of it all, Little Bun has woken up early, grumpy.. and I am not in a good mood either.

5:10 a.m. — I make a matcha green tea lassi, which is basically yoghurt +hot water in my case, mixed into green tea. I drink it, and it is awful because lassi should not be hot (super cold is best), and it is way too tangy for a morning cup of tea:

8:10 a.m. — I log into my accounts and realize I have been charged service charges!!!! WHAT!?!? I call immediately and get them reversed

 

10:59 a.m. — Something about the colour red in an outfit has caught my attention lately. I think it’s striking:

Red as a pop of colour against grey…

 

I would have never considered red and purple before but I love it.

A distressed look to a red blazer

Or a simple all dark outfit that is neutral, with a pop of red. I can recreate every single one of these looks, and am excited to.

9:08 a.m. — I go to bed and I try to sleep. I am exhausted. I give him the mini iPad with headphones and I sleep about an hour.

10:11 a.m. — I wake up feeling a bit better. We play together, then he gets sleepy.

3:00 p.m. — Little Bun wakes up from his nap and coughing. I am worried. How could he have gotten sick? I get into the bedroom, and by instinct, I lift his shirt up and see his entire torso covered in hives. O_o.. He hasn’t eaten anything different or done anything differently, and he has completely broken out.

4:11 p.m. — I dose him with Benadryl, and realize that was why he was coughing so hard the whole time – maybe his airways were closing up. I check him every hour. His whole torso is covered in big red/white raised bumps.

4:35 p.m. — I start to add in the orange in the cuff:

7:18 p.m. — I check him again and it looks like the hives are gone… I decide not to dose him for the night.

8:54 p.m. — We go to sleep.

Refunded: $60

DAY FIVE

6:04 a.m. — He is up SUPER EARLY. I am so tired. He didn’t sleep well all night, kept telling me he was too hot, and he was likely itching.

8:40 a.m. — We play together in the morning, doing workbook and spools of thread.

10:12 a.m. — It’s like I turn around, and then suddenly, I see his entire face is covered in hives. OMG. He looks diseased. I quickly dose him with Benadryl. It is like it came out of nowhere, he was fine and then his whole face was puffy in raised hives.

11:41 a.m. — He gets sleepy (he woke up early too), and dozes off in my arms. I try to let him down gently, and he tells me: “Mommy but I’m awake..“.. and I whisper “Shhh no, baby, go to sleep.” I hope he is just sleepy from the early morning wakeup and the Benadryl not helping. He seemed to eat and play just fine this morning, but there’s always a fear of a parent that I missed something you know?

12:52 a.m. — I check on him again. It looks like the hives are finally gone from the dosage. I will dose him again once he wakes up.  I check on him every half an hour to make sure he is still breathing. I almost want to sit in there and watch him breathe to be sure.

3:11 p.m. — I finally move on to the yellow:

5:00 p.m. — I take a coaching call for money, and in half an hour, try to help them as much as possible. I actually really enjoy these kinds of calls, as I have a lot of info to share/give.

6:16 p.m. — I make dinner for myself and then feed Little Bun. I check on him again, it looks like the welts are going down, but I will dose him again for bedtime.

7:24 p.m. — I have another call tomorrow, this time my friend Jordan’s podcast. Now that I have hit $1M in personal net worth, he wants to interview me again. Haha… also doesn’t hurt I have a decent Instagram following now (13K) versus before when he interviewed me, I had maybe 5K?

7:50 p.m. — I am convinced. I buy a tub of this clay mask that is under $20 in Canada (only $13 in the U.S.), that lasts forever and is supposed to be great for your skin. I add on some rosehip oil that I use for my skin and body to get free shipping. $46.21

8:40 p.m. — I check on my baby’s body again, and he looks a lot happier, less itchy and welt-y.

9:11 p.m. — I wait until the last minute to give him the medication so he will sleep well during the night as hives are very itchy.

Spent: $46.21

DAY SIX

??:?? — No squealing at all during the night but Little Bun wakes up scratching, and wiggling, his head buried into my side, then he has sneezing fits.

6:30 a.m. — I dose him with the rest of the antihistamine, and then feed him yoghurt. Poor baby. His whole body is covered in hives again, as it works out of his system. Should take another day or two to clear.

7:07 a.m. — I feel super sleepy. I didn’t sleep well but that’s how the cookie crumbles…

10:00 a.m. — I hop on my call with Jordan for a podcast – Highley Invested.

10:12 a.m. — My partner heads out to buy more Benadryl, we finished the bottle. When he gets back, I dose Little Bun again.

11:20 a.m. — My call with Jordan over, I play with Little Bun on our addiction – Two Dots, which is SO MUCH FUN for the both of us.

12:15 p.m. — We have lunch – homemade pizza again. He loves it so much. Then we play again, and then he goes down for his nap.

4:11 p.m. — I finally finish the cuff and am considering finishing touches because I see too much gold peeking out at the top:

5:30 p.m. — I dose Little Bun again, I see welts popping up on his back and thighs.

6:27 p.m. — I do all the dishes, and then I feed him and have dinner.

7:15 p.m. — I totally forgot to call the bank and handle all my To Dos today, as I wasn’t up to it. I’ll do it tomorrow.

8:34 p.m. — We play together in the bedroom, and then he does his nighttime routine with Daddy (read a book in second language, brush teeth), and we watch a few episodes together of If you Give a Mouse a Cookie

Spent: $0

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — I wake up with a splitting headache and pop two prescribed pills (metonia) for my barometric pressure headache. I know that’s what it is, it is storming pretty badly outside as well, and I don’t want to reach the point where I feel too sick or want to vomit.

6:20 a.m. — Little Bun wakes up right after and squeals because he doesn’t see me lying there beside him. He ALWAYS looks for me the minute he wakes up, and I must be in the same spot on my side so he can come and cuddle on me or near my side.

6:24 a.m. — We get up and I check him for hives. He looks clear, but I dose him again just to be sure. I won’t do it again for the day, and by 11 I should see if his skin is still reacting. Then he has some yoghurt, and I finish the rest of it in the glass jar.

7:34 a.m. — My partner heads out to handle the bi-weekly grocery run. It is a whole process, and it takes him at least 4-5 hours. In the meantime, I have to clean the house, wipe down and have the kitchen ready to go, so when he comes back, he isn’t trying to move things out of the way and has space to disinfect.

7:40 a.m. —I run through my list of errands:

• Contact Amazon for a refund
• Call the bank to apply for a new account
• Refill fountain ink pen
• Shower
• Vacuum entire apartment
• Feed self & Little Bun
• Clear the entire kitchen

7:40 a.m. — Shower done, now chatting with Amazon, while I fire up some hot water to finish off this terrible turmeric latte I bought, but it is the only hot drink I can think of to have today in lieu of not having my matcha green tea latte as there is no milk.

It isn’t great but it isn’t bad. At least it is spicy and hot.

8:25 a.m. — I feel a little sick after that drink. I may need to toss it, it’s making me nauseous.. like I want to throw up.

9:03 a.m. — I make some noodles to calm my stomach down.. hopefully this helps.

9:33 a.m. — I still feel sick. I end up giving the iPad to Little Bun and asking him to please care for Mommy and let Mommy rest. He very sweetly complies, and I even feel him looking over at me a few times to check to see if I am okay.

1:03 p.m. — I sleep and sleep and sleep until he taps me gently awake and says it is time for his nap. I move my pillow and blanket out to the living room, and end up sleeping there again.

4:16 p.m. — I sleep off all the migraine, the nausea.. and probably sleep deprived stress until he wakes up from his nap, runs out, and snuggles me on the floor as I am sleeping, and wakes me up.

4:34 p.m. — I feel so much better now. I really needed that super long “nap”.. basically 9;30 to 4 p.m. straight. This is what happens when I get motion sickness too, I just have to sleep it off and let my brain slowly right itself.

4:45 p.m. — Feeling much better now, I play with Little Bun, do dishes, and read a book.

5:15 p.m. — I finish the entire cuff. Took me about 6 hours a day for 7 days… I guess if I put it at my freelancer’s rate, this is a $5500 cuff. LOL … I wouldn’t actually sell it. It was done to keep my hands busy and to keep me from obsessing over blogging or Instagramming more, and getting me off the screens.

6:43 p.m. — I play with Little Bun and we play with the spools of thread, making up games together.

9:40 p.m. — Time for bed. Even though I slept a lot, I still feel tired, and we snuggle together as he asks me questions about the virus, about why the sun is so bright… andI drift off to sleep as he whispers: I am going to put Stuffie beside your pillow, please take care of him during the night so. I don’t lose him.

Spent: $0

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