Week of Money: Where I shop a little bit…

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up sort of tired. I haven’t been feeling well lately, I think I have a cold. Hope it isn’t the coronavirus.

8:00 a.m. — Little Bun dropped at daycare, I come back home and feel bleh.

9:15 a.m. — I eat my lunch early, and then I read my book, while lying down. I really don’t feel great but I also have an issue with resting – I don’t / can’t rest because I’m so restless.

10:27 a.m. — I head out and go to the bank to do some banking. I will get my paycheque this week, distribute it for taxes, then invest the rest.

12:08 p.m. — Home, I log in and work a little.

4:17 p.m. — Time to grab Little Bun. I go super early because I’m feeling so fatigued.

4:35 p.m. — We check the mail, and the Rick Owens leather bomber jacket I got off Poshmark has HOLES all over it. In the sleeves, the cuffs… no one mentioned this was “distressed”. I don’t buy “distressed” leather jackets because I like the look in jeans, but in a jacket it just looks old if it isn’t done well. I mean LOOK AT IT. It looks terrible.

4:45 p.m. — In the elevator, this happens:

6:15 p.m. — We read 5 books together. We were going to do 6 but then he started getting antsy. I let him go.

7:50 p.m. — He tells me: Mommy look! I want to show you something. I read this sixth book ALL BY MYSELF quietly in my head!!! <3 …I hug and kiss him, he is so incredibly sweet.

8:00 p.m. — I cue him for bedtime, and then we watch an episode together, cuddling, and then go to sleep.

Spent: $0

DAY TWO

??:?? — I wake up tired but on time for yoga. Today is the first day in weeks I don’t want to go. I am definitely sick.

6:30 a.m. — I snuggle, whisper goodbye and kiss Little Bun before I head off to yoga. I am dragging today.

8:37 a.m. — Yoga over, I try to get a pastry but they’re closed and only open Wednesdays to Sundays. I struggle with the door until a guy points out that they’re closed. It was actually kind of confusing because the sign for CLOSED was there, but so was a sign that said OPEN.

9:03 a.m. — Home, I watch as he finishes an extensive drawing of a home for Daddy to archive in his art folder because he loves all of my artwork Mommy, and I dress him and then bundle him off to daycare. It is so cute that it is almost breaking my heart with love how much he loves making artwork for Daddy and having his work be saved / archived. There is something really special about the innocence of children and how proud they can be of their work.

10:05 a.m. — I log in and work.

12:28 p.m. — I head out to the cafe to take a break. I was going to read and have a tea and cake, but I forgot my e-reader at home. Sigh. I feel useless today. My brain is all cloudy. I have no energy. $10.17

1:40 p.m. — This guy is literally HACKING beside me in the cafe. I am about to leave, I cannot handle this. I will take another prune and pistachio tart to go so that I can share it with Little Bun. We have a night without Daddy so we can hang out a little.

2:18 p.m. — I head home, and scramble to find our swimwear. I only have one bathing suit, as does he (we are not really water people), but I want to take him swimming today as a surprise.

3:25 p.m. — I eat two molten chocolate cakes because I have zero self control. They’re frozen and 40 seconds in the microwave later, perfection.

4:30 p.m. — I go and pick him up and make him guess in the car what my surprise is. He tries with Food, Toys, and then gives up until I tell him Activity, and have to coax him into “What does a frog and a fish do?”…. before he clues in.

4:57 p.m. — We go upstairs, have milk, put away the lunch bag, get dressed and then he heads downstairs eagerly. I almost regret taking him because he is playing this new game of repeating everything I am saying and it is sort of annoying. I almost lose my patience and warn him to stop it.

5:03 p.m. — We get to the pool, take a quick shower before we get in, and I blow up his little swimming cotton water wings (yes, cotton.. we are not fans of plastic water wings and I found these incredible waterwings made out of cotton made in Germany from a swimming instructor that actually helps kids learn how to swim by not putting the wings on their arms but to float behind them like… well angel wings. I strap them on his body and he has his little Rubber Ducky to play with.

5:25 p.m. — I take him into the pool and we go a few laps around, with him clinging like a koala to me, but kicking behind… I finally ease him off me and he starts to sort of enjoy being “free” in the pool, with his hands still gripping me (he hates getting water on his face). After a few more laps, his hands are free and I show him how to scoop the water away from his body, which he does well, while kicking. It isn’t perfect but it is better than nothing! I then teach him how to blow bubbles in the water.

5:30 p.m. — A guy comes in to swim, and I decide not to bother him, plus we are turning into prunes. I want to take him into the hot sauna to warm up but he shrieks it is too hot and stays out with his Ducky while I warm up in the heat. Maybe I will do this tomorrow without him to relax.

5:33 p.m. — We go into the shower and I take this opportunity to wash him down (I brought soap), and clean the chlorine off him really well as I don’t want it smelling or soaking into his sink which is sensitive to eczema.

5:39 p.m. — We dress, he watches the man swim in the pool, fascinated, but I am getting cold and I want to slather lotion on him upstairs, so I warn him that I’ll leave him (AGAIN) if he doesn’t move it. He squeals: You can’t do that!!….. I eye him, and he puts his shoes on quickly.

5:49 p.m. — Upstairs, I slather him in gobs of lotion. I am tired but this was actually a lot of fun. I think I’ll take him every two weeks or so. I launder our things.

6:03 p.m. — I open the package we picked up at the mail this afternoon and I LOVE THIS YSL ARTY RING! I am enthralled by it. I want the whole collection now, that is how obsessed I am. I also like this one in a beautiful dark blue or this magenta one.. There is no comparison with the workmanship versus the rings – they are incredible. Oh and this one has no stone at all but look at how BEAUTIFUL it looks like little golden flowers..

Here is a nicer look at it:

6:50 p.m. — I feed him soup while he creates art on the floor, colouring in his workbook, and he insists on playing the Fractions Board game, which we do, and then we colour in fractions.

7:03 p.m. — I eat my dinner while he goes and writes a long note (he asked me how to spell Always) which basically says: Please take care of baby, he always loves to cuddle.

7:49 p.m. — After I cuddle him in bed, we decide to do more Math activities, and I put away laundry, and we sit on the floor, colouring together.

8:24 p.m. — Daddy home, I get him to brush his teeth, and we watch an episode of Baby Looney Tunes together, and snuggle.

8:56 p.m. — Time for bed after a Carrots the Bunny story – I can’t even remember what Carrots didn’t want to do in the story (I ask him for the plot each night and my stories are terrible, there is no real plot or point to it.. just random ramblings).

Spent: $10.17

DAY THREE

??:?? — I wake up with Little Bun rolling his head on my body, then flipping his entire body on top of mine, trying to “cuddle” on top.. (I am lying on my side so he falls off to the other side..)

5:47 a.m. — At least he “slept” in…

7:48 a.m. — I get him ready and out for daycare. I have some work to get done today.

8:25 a.m. — I log in and work.

8:25 a.m. — I take a break from work and finish reading a book. I have a call soon.

11:28 a.m. — Call happens – no matter how many times I have said this, it is like it goes in one ear and out another. They still didn’t do what I wanted. At least I am watching cute videos, like this adorable baby getting their face massaged.

11:50 a.m. — I decide to go for a swim, and a dip into the freezing cold pool – I heard it really invigorates your soul, then I’ll shower, curl my hair, and head out to the cafe to have a snack.

12:28 p.m. — OMG THAT WATER IS REALLY COLD…. I finish dipping (I forced myself to stay in there for a quick 30 seconds, but it was rough), and it takes a while for the cold to leave my bones even after a swim and a hot sauna dip.

12:56 p.m. — I head upstairs, shower, curl my hair, and while curling my hair, have to log in and work. I try out this new vegepate and am pleasantly surprised. It tastes like pate, just less liver-y but quite close to a pate in general.

 

2:13 p.m. — We finally complete the tasks!!!! Looks like screaming politely helps, and putting pressure on people.

2:40 p.m. — I head out for the afternoon to eat some cake at a cafe and read. I really enjoy this look… one of my favourites for sure.

2:57 p.m. — I pick up a cake but am disappointed. I thought it was apple, but it turns out to be chocolate and nuts, the gelatin glazing on top of it threw me off because that’s what you normally do on apple cakes not chocolate. $3.25

4:17 p.m. — I go and grab Little Bun from daycare, and we head home.

5:18 p.m. — We check the mail – no new mail, and then head upstairs where I build him a forest out of Megabloks. He tells me he needs a forest to clean the earth and save the environment (I think I said some of this but some of it must be daycare talk), and then I eat my dinner (he foregoes dinner, he wasn’t hungry), and we do laundry.

7:21 p.m. — I do all the dishes then take a break to check on my portfolio – I am trying to organize my investments and focus in on what I want to buy in terms of dividend picks, but there are SO MANY it is hard to narrow it down.

8:05 p.m. — I cue Little Bun that it is time for bed, and he very sweetly finishes his colouring, then brushes his teeth with Daddy and we watch an episode together, cuddling on the bed. Then we do a flashlight story and I am out like a light.

Spent: $3.25

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake up with Little Bun tapping me on the belly – he tells me: It is 6! I checked!

6:00 a.m. — I grab his milk, and head into the living room where I log in. I have a few things I have to get going today before I head out for my appointment and for the day. Of course, it is raining…. after all that snow and ice, everything is even more dangerous and slippery with a coating of rain.

7:09 a.m. — I make a cup of tea, Little Bun eats his fancy pasta (from our pasta-flette meal before, which is basically a fancy French macaroni and cheese), and then he watches Baby Looney Tunes with his stuffies.

8:08 a.m. — I finish the work for the day, more or less. I am blocked in a few areas due to some missing paperwork but… hey.

9:34 a.m. — I end up on a call. I wasn’t going to join but I knew if I skipped it, I would end up on more calls later. This is me eliminating the workload. People on the phone are literally arguing against LOGIC. I personally am not even “right” or “wrong”. I AM STATING FACTS because it is impossible to do it the way they are proposing, and these guys are in the business 30+ years? DO NOT MAKE ME LAUGH. This is how I justify my rate – I am smarter than them because I have actual experience and knowledge, not just pushing paper around and collecting titles as they climb the ladder to become project managers.

12:34 p.m. — I log in at a cafe and work. OK DONE FOR THE DAY. No more working. I drink my tea in peace. $5.97

12:28 p.m. — I head out for a little vegan burger treat. Then I treated myself again to 6 “chicken” wings. The bone is a bamboo stick, and it is mushroom but SO DELICIOUS $30.90

2:11 p.m. — I head home, and my partner and Little Bun made pizza again for me. D’oh! I FORGOT IT WAS PIZZA DAY.

2:25 p.m. — My partner is swearing in French doing his taxes at the last possible moment. WHY? WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF? I had mine done a month ago. He is like… really pushing the envelope here to make it at the LAST POSSIBLE MINUTE. Literally the LAST DAY.

3:14 p.m. — Little Bun up, he has his milk (Daddy did it), and then comes out and crawls onto my lap: Mommy Mommy, can I tell you something? I had a dream where ….. [wanders off into a rambling trail of words strung together that make absolutely zero sense as a plot or a story and I cannot even begin to recount what he said]. I nod and mumble encouraging noises.

3:40 p.m. — We play “Train Hide and Seek”, where… the train hides.. and the other seeks. Literally, that is the game. We made up little Megablok “walls” in his dollhouse and I hide the train in one room then the other with the walls, and each time I have to ask the other train to “close its eyes” (Little Bun puts it upside down on the carpet to “close” its eyes), and I pretend to trick it by hiding it in the other room and having the train check the now empty room. This goes on for literally 20 minutes. He is laughing his bum off, and I am amazed at how little it takes to entertain a child.

4:13 p.m. — Enough of this. I cannot keep doing this mindless game. Sorry baby. I suggest he works on colouring with Daddy while I do the dishes and laundry.

4:50 p.m. — I eat some of my pizza. I feel very very tired. A little feverish. Maybe I have a cold or something, but I do not feel well. I would love to go to sleep right now but I cannot because if I do, Little Bun will want to sleep too, and it screws up his bedtime routine / schedule. He only wants to sleep when I sleep, and with me. He won’t stay out with Daddy otherwise.

5:35 p.m. — I suck it up through my fatigue and play with him – more activity books, colouring, then we play a Nursery Game with his stuffies where we change their diapers but he warns me: Mommy, remember. They aren’t babies any more, they are Toddlers now, but they still like to play Baby sometimes…

6:47 p.m. — He repeats what I am saying (a new annoying trick he picked up), and I tell him: You’re cute! … he responds: No YOU are cute! … and I say back: How am I so cute? … and he says: Because I am cute! And I am cute because YOU are a cutie! <– Voilà, the logic I encounter at work, is literally something a child comes up with.

7:09 p.m. — Time for laundry. I take it out and start folding it. He tells me: Mommy you fold it and I will put it away. TEAMWORK! and he watches me eagerly as I fold everything and then pounces on the pile to carry it off.

7:22 p.m. — I make oat milk but am not loving it. I hate homemade oat milk. I just don’t like it. I like it purchased in a store, with the other additives, but not done like this…

7:46 p.m. — I am dragging. I really want to sleep. I foist him off on Daddy to read a book, colour, etc. I go and lie down and mindlessly scroll through Instagram. I can’t even read, my brain can’t even process words right now.

7:58 p.m. — We play the metro choo-choo train game where he and I move the trains up and down the lines:

8:25 p.m. — Time for getting ready for bed. He panics because we are “late” and I reassure him that we have plenty of time for an episode together, cuddling, and then time for two Flashlight stories.

9:20 p.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $36.87

DAY FIVE

??:?? — So early. Little Bun is patting me (he woke up first, checked the clock and then ran back). “Mommy, it is 5:19!”

5:19 a.m. — I grab his milk, I cuddle him on the floor to warm him him underneath my sweater, and he traces the pictures on my shirt while cuddled underneath my sweater like when he was a baby.

5:22 a.m. — Why does this pimple hurt so darn much on my eyebrow? I want very badly to pop it but I know it will just be blood at this point, I have to wait for it to run its course, but it HURTS.

5:40 a.m. — I keep him quiet with some videos but then he shuts down on his own and wants to play Train Hide and Seek, but this is noisy and will wake his father, so I suggest we do something quieter.

6:20 a.m. — My partner is up, and I am logged in and working. I shut down after an hour. Not much I can do now at this point.

6:37 a.m. — I make matcha tea with my oat milk from last night, but I don’t love it. It tastes thin, a little grainy…

8:11 a.m. — I head out to run errands. I drop by the bank to deposit my cheque, drop off a return of this Rick Owens bomber jacket I WAS SO EXCITED to get but then it ended up having holes all over the place. It did NOT say in the description it was damaged or “distressed” because even if it was intentional I would have never purchased a hole-riddled jacket as I do not think they look as intentional as in distressed jeans, etc. I want my credits back.

9:20 a.m. — I head into a cafe and log in to work a bit more. Just 20 minutes.  Then I log off for mostly the day unless something urgent comes up. I am tired.

10:31 a.m. — I want to drop by a few thrift stores but I also don’t want to because I know I will end up finding something and I am not in the mood to spend any more money. (I KNOW, SHOCKER!!)

12:10 p.m. — I shut down – my laptop is dying, and I decide to wander around a bookstore.

2:15 p.m. — I head home, Little Bun is still sleeping. My partner goes out to run errands and I wave his tax returns at home (for corporate). He tells me he’ll drop them TOMORROW (literally the VERY LAST DAY..) are you kidding me? Ughh.. He is torturing me.

4:26 p.m. — Little Bun has been given milk, cuddled, and now we are cleaning up the living room area.

6:56 p.m. — After a while of playing on his own, he asks me: Mommy I think this would be a good idea if we go into the bedroom and cuddle. How can you say no to that? I go and oblige. He squeals softly like a baby in my arms, and I kiss and cuddle him.

7:28 p.m. — He announces: Good ghosts can’t say “boo” so they say “goo”, and bad ghosts say “boo”. Goo for Good, Boo for Bad.

9:05 p.m. — Bedtime. Usual routine. No trouble.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

??:?? — Tired… I feel dizzy.

6:00 a.m. — I get up, make tea… and we clean up the apartment.

9:59 a.m. — We spend time vacuuming (he loves this), and at the end he says: MOMMY! 3 out of 6 dust bunnies survived!!! (it comes from Richard Dawkins app – The Magic of Reality – where you can choose frogs to breed / kill for evolutionary purposes). At each stage you “kill” 6 frogs… so he took it from there.

1:10 p.m. — I head out for the afternoon.

1:25 p.m. — I wander around Anthropologie and admire their setup, their clothes, and everything.. it is so pretty, and I kind of want it all. I settle just for admiring and making notes for future secondhand purchases.

I really like this dress… it looks so pretty especially perfectly styled – both retro and geometric at the same time…

I have a similar paint splatter sweater, but this one is wider, oversized…. less fitted and very cool with the bell sleeves.

I am also more into lacy / feminine touches of shirts so I can pair it with leather jackets and other more menswear or masculine inspired pieces:

A very cool, effortless jumpsuit. I love the sort of wider, open top section that floats away…

Their Anthropologie marketing team is amazing — they have the most beautiful setup that looks incredible. I love the way it looks and how they market it all.

I used to love reading Astrology when I was younger, but I no longer believe in it. I wonder if reading those star signs as a kid or teenager (they were in every girls’ magazine!), shaped me into what the self-fulfilling prophecy was. You know how when you’re told you’re a certain way as a child, and that’s the way you act? I wonder if that had a lot to do with it.

I am trying not to do that with Little Bun unless it is positive – I tell him he is creative so that he works on being more creative. I tell him he is a hard worker and a good saver, so he works on that. I try not to tell him he is a certain way – whiny, or lazy, or any of those things that I heard growing up, because some kid really absorb that message (like my sibling) and that’s the way they see themselves forever.

Parents have such a strong influence and power to shape their child with the way they see them, and sometimes it isn’t for the best. Children accept those messages and I want all of his to be positive from me.

4:59 p.m. — Home. I always try and come home before 17:00 for him.

6:11 p.m. — We set up a “shop” for his stuffie to buy ‘toys’ (blocks) and I seize the opportunity to pretend to give him a budget, and a price list for each block. One block = $0.50, Two block = $1 and so on… He “spends” all the money with his stuffie, the other one checks the big Stuffie out and cheerily chirps: All ready to go! Have a great day!

7:26 p.m. — We have a vegetarian meal – salad, eggs, homemade bread, and Little Bun does the most disgusting thing and dips his salad into the orange juice and then DRINKS THE JUICE afterwards with all the balsamic vinegar and olive oil mixed in. I am so grossed out right now, I am gagging as I write this.

8:15 p.m. — We work on a Problem Solving book – Grade 3, that he found on the bookshelf I had saved for later, and he starts doing the problems on his own. He isn’t 100% on them. He still reads the words but doesn’t quite get the comprehension which is fine, because I spend time explaining it to him instead, and explain what they want when they say certain words like “What day” means not to put the answer of 53, but to put “Friday”.

For instance, he read this, and missed “if she uses up all the money“… so he just listed the cheapest items to save as much as possible, and wrote that he saved $6. He tells me later: I am Saver Mommy! Look how much I saved!

8:26 p.m. — We get ready for be – brush teeth, wash face, read a book with Daddy, watch a video then sleep.

9:00 p.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $0

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — I wake up tired because.. it is 5 a.m. or near 6 a.m. I am sure.

??:?? — Little Bun pats me on my belly: Mommy, it is 5:45 a.m. and I am awake.

5:46 a.m. — I go out to the living room, turn on the lights and wait for Little Bun to come out with his finished bottle of milk so we can cuddle in the hallway, with him underneath my sweater, snuggling against my chest to “get used to the light” from being in the dark.

Those are his little feet peeking out as he is sitting on my lap and snuggling under my sweater:

7:59 a.m. — My living room in the morning:

8:08 a.m. — Yoga time. I head off and have an AMAZING class. I am sweating, I feel great. I stay behind a bit more and practice my side splits — they are there, and good, but I don’t get down right to the ground where I should, I can still feel like there is a bit of a stretch, so I am working on this, along with Middle Splits.

12:08 p.m. — Home, in time for lunch. Just a light salad, bread, and that’s it.

1:40 p.m. — He goes down for a nap and I mindlessly watch “Get a room with Carson and Thom” <– I love these episodes. Their design is so good, they’re funny, they work hard.. All things I love in a show. I’ve always enjoyed style in all areas even interior design, even if my home doesn’t reflect that – I like seeing how things come together.

4:40 p.m. — He is up. We play together, then clean the closet, and I sell a few things so he helps me pack them up, and then I do all the dishes and wipe them. For dishes – I use bar soap to clean everything, not dish detergent and this helps cut down on the kind of gross, musty, disgusting smell that I find happens with dish detergent. With this bar soap, I have zero stink, and it is more eco-friendly:

6:15 p.m. — Dinnertime. Little Bun spies the smoked salmon and screams: A FEASTTTT!!!!!!.. We eat at most, 2 meat-inclusive meals a week out of the 21. The rest of the time it is vegan / vegetarian.

6:56 p.m. — My partner floats the idea past me of staying home full-time and working remotely, and taking Little Bun out of daycare because of the virus. I am on the fence. So far, no cases of it here in Quebec, and I am unable to stay at home for certain meetings, or calls. I sort of eye him. I tell him no, that I need to go into the office twice a week, and this is not really an option for now. If it becomes dire, yes.

7:04 p.m. — GASP! I love these earrings. And this gorgeous cuff, and this one too…

Okay and this one and this thinner one.

7:14 p.m. — Little Bun’s ears are burning and they prick up when they hear Daddy say that “Little Bun gets sick all the time from daycare“…. and he tells me: Mommy can I tell you something? I really do get sick all the time when I am in daycare. Maybe I should stay at home with you and Dadddy all day long. OF COURSE HE WOULD LOVE THIS. I am not so keen. I have things to get done that I need those 3 Little Bun-free days for, and this isn’t a serious contagion yet.

7:49 p.m. — He tells me it is time to cuddle and watch a video, so we do, after brushing our teeth, reading a book with Daddy, and getting organized.

9:00 p.m. — Little Bun loses his babiest stuffie and I am ABOUT TO SLEEP so I am super cross with him. He insists on finding him, and I am searching like a madwoman in the covers. Finally I tell him — IF WE CAN’T FIND HIM, WE SLEEP WITHOUT HIM… He says very softly: Okay, maybe we will look for him tomorrow. I feel bad instantly but I am still so cross, sleep-deprived and tired that I snap back: YES. MAYBE WE WILL.

9:05 p.m. — We find the stuffie. He is the same colour as the blankets so in the haze of sleepiness and annoyance, I missed this tiny toy completely.

9:08 p.m. — I calm back down with the lights off. I then whisper in the dark: I love you. ….. (I am feeling so guilty for snapping at him and he was so sweet and not at all angry at losing his stuffie, just wanted to know where it was..) He whispers back: I love you Mommy. …. and I tell him: I am sorry I snapped at you. Mommy is very tired, feeling a bit sick and I am a little cross right now from everything. I am grumpy. I am sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. … He tells me: Okay Mommy.

9:10 p.m. — Bedtime. I conk out almost immediately.

Spent: $0

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