Week of Money: Where I start to unwind a little

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up, tired. It is not that early or late, but I am just really fatigued.

6:20 a.m. — I make a cup of tea.

6:59 a.m. — I log in to work. People like procedures in place but then don’t realize it slows down other processes, and then they ask: But.. why isn’t it done yet? Why is it taking so long? ….. It’s because you asked for ANOTHER check to put in place before this one. *eye roll*

8:08 a.m. — I start a load of laundry, and then take a warm shower. I was going to use dry shampoo but it does smell (very perfumed), and I prefer the feel of cleaner hair. Got to stop being such a lazy pig.

8:34 a.m. — My partner gets dressed and goes downstairs to do something with the lockers, or the cars. No idea.

8:59 a.m. — He wants to start limiting iPad time for Little Bun, so I tell him he has to bloody step up and replace his activities on the iPad with others like HIM taking Little Bun to the park, or colouring with him, it cannot always be me entertaining him if it isn’t the iPad. *shrug* I’m not taking on full responsibility for this part. He’s angry at me now, but I’m right. If I don’t play with Little Bun, who does? He plays once in a while but not the way I do, and I cannot be a 24/7 entertainment machine.

10:12 a.m. — I am waiting for the 11 a.m meeting. So I make a cup of tea.

11:59 a.m. — I head out to go to Sephora to try on things and will have lunch when I am home. Little Bun waves goodbye to me. I want to go through a list of things to get during the sale, and decide on:

• Tarte Foundcealer brush $36 (to replace the crap one I have)
• Fenty Invismatte Blotting Powder – $32 (I have heard so much about this)
• YSL Liquid Matte Stain in Grenat 09 – $37 (I am eying so many colours actually)
• Sephora Collection Cream Lip Stain – $14 (I may get a bunch of these colours instead of one YSL or .. not)

..and that’s about my list. I don’t need anything else. Just blotting / setting powder, a new brush and maybe a new lip colour, and I even have a $60 credit to use to boot!

5:22 p.m. — My partner comes home with MegaBloks, originally $60 for a massive box, only for $15 at Toys’R’Us. Little Bun is BESIDE HIMSELF. He must have listened to my angry ranting about how if he doesn’t want Little Bun to be on the iPad he better find other things to do with him and to PLAY WITH HIM. FINALLY.

6:18 p.m. — I spend a small fortune in stocking up on The Laundress products. These products are perfect for high-end clothes and I have been avoiding the dry cleaners as a result. I pick up the whole range because I love my nice clothes. $422.25

(Use my referral link for $10 off)

7:34 p.m. — I watch Little Bun have a ball with his father playing with the blocks. I try to stay out of it, it is a Daddy + Little Bun Activity.

8:20 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $422.25

DAY TWO

??:?? — I wake up with Little Bun squealing in my face, telling me happily it is a new day.

??:?? — My partner brings in the milk for me so I don’t have to get up. <3

6:00 a.m. — I feed Little Bun his milk, then get up and go through my lengthy face routine of exfoliating, layering on BHA, AHA, serums.. the whole shebang. It has really kept my skin clear so I am pretty excited to keep doing WHATEVER THE HELL WORKS.

6:24 a.m. — I fall down the rabbit hole of researching undereye fillers. Yes. I have been self-conscious about my undereye bags my whole life and have always been told how tired I look even when I am not. This is why concealer is my bestie.

8:08 a.m. — OOo! Bite beauty liquified lipsticks on sale. I pick up Braised and Infuse because they are such great colours and super moisturizing…. $70.15

Colour: Infused

Colour: Braised

And two Clare V. bags on sale because I want to replace my makeup bag and my cards, etc. I pick them both up and realize they also match …. which I love.

9:47 a.m. — I am on a call. They’re asking me to finish a task. I politely reply I cannot, I am waiting on them for their new process of sign offs to do it. They ‘uhhh’ on the phone, and then exceptionally, approve the request over the phone so that I am not waiting until it is completed, so I don’t have to keep the client waiting. This is what I said yesterday but no one understood what I was saying when I said — there will be delays due to your new approvals process. Whatever.

9:51 a.m. — Little Bun is adapting very well to this iPad rule. I create a little notepad where he can colour off the blocks and he can SEE when he has a block left of iPad time or not. He likes that he can see how much is left and actually just wants to colour the blocks….

11:00 a.m. — These people are relentless. Honestly, leave me alone. I’ll get it done when I can, my brain has already been in overdrive for the past YEAR, and it’s like the most banal things have to get done THIS MINUTE when in fact, they do not. There are more pressing things like letting people take a break and let their brains wind down so they don’t burn out.

11:30 a.m. — Lunch time. I’m leaving this crap for later.

12:25 p.m. — Little Bun is “down” for his nap but when my partner comes home, he tells me he isn’t napping, so I just hand him milk and kiss him awake.

6:38 a.m. — Dinner. Little Bun is obsessed with these blocks. His father is making a lot of time now (I hope it lasts) to play with him and these blocks.

8:56 p.m. — Time for bed. REALLY late. But I had too much in my mind.

Spent: $70.15

DAY THREE

6:30 a.m. — I wake up tired. I’m always tired. Little Bun slept really well however, not having napped the day before.

8:45 a.m. — First call of the day. I get into a fight with a VP on the phone. Christ. Why do I care so much?

9:24 a.m. — I get back into work.

10:45 a.m. — I do the dishes and laundry.

12:08 p.m. — I head out to return items, and end up getting caught on a work call for 2 hours. I end up in a café and order food because I am going to be here a while. $20.19

2:11 p.m. — I finally manage to return the items.

4:33 p.m. — I get home and Little Bun is happy to see me. I was gone pretty much the whole day.

5:13 p.m. — My partner goes down for the condo meeting, and I am obsessed, watching Grace and Frankie like crazy. I LOVE THIS SHOW! It is fantastic. It really is. It is smart, so well written, and I truly adore all of the characters (except the wife of one.. don’t want to spoil it, I find her annoying.) Also, their clothes are to die for. I love both of their outfits and styles.

7:11 p.m. — Dinner. I eat my pasta and feed Little Bun. My partner is at a condo meeting and won’t be back until late.

8:26 p.m. — I love doing these quizzes. What do you have in your purse?

8:56 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $20.19

DAY FOUR

6:57 a.m. — Time to wake up. I slept REALLY WELL. Little Bun slept in as well.

7:14 a.m. — I make a cup of tea and my partner heads out to run errands.

8:08 a.m. — I start a load of laundry and find some great Adina Mills pieces (I LOVE HER WORK) and immediately jump on them. $326.58

9:45 a.m. — Time for breakfast.

10:28 a.m. — I also replace out my J. Crew Linen blazer that is all yellowed, and a size too small. My shoulders increased by about an inch after I had Little Bun (hormones), and I LOVE this style to death, so I pick it up like new without tags on Poshmark. $46

(It’s the blazer on the right!)

And the blazer looks like this now, all stained at the collar and no dry cleaning is going to get it out:

11:47 a.m. — Putting out fires. Lots of little fires.

1:00 p.m. — Time for lunch. I decide on going out for vegan.

1:14 p.m. — Mmmmmmmm burgers and fake wings. $20.65

2:40 p.m. — I get caught on calls.

3:26 p.m. — Lots of calls.

4:19 p.m. — I finally get back into the house.

7:23 p.m. — Time for dinner.

Spent: $393.23

DAY FIVE

??:?? — I wake up tired… I could have slept a bit more but Little Bun was squealing to wake up saying: Enough, Mommy. I had enough sleep. I slept enough.

7:00 a.m. — I try to log into my computer but the electricity is out. Great. Electricity Day!! No need to work. I wait until it comes back on because I need to access the servers.

7:31 a.m. — I make a cup of tea and then watch the new episodes of The Good Fight. I really love this show. It is so well written and witty with fantastic characters…

8:08 a.m. — Looks like there is no electricity until 10 a.m. I plan on hanging out until then.

1:15 p.m. — I finally finish my work and decide on a tartare lunch as a treat. $25.26

3:49 p.m. — I log off for the day.

5:03 p.m. — Little Bun builds massive towers with his father. He is SO excited.

6:49 p.m. — I do a load of laundry.

7:00 p.m. — We have a light dinner and then I leave the dishes for tomorrow. My energy is sapped.

7:22 p.m. — I do a few Activity Pages with Little Bun. He only wants the math ones and I am firmly trying to get him to be well rounded and do the English ones too. He isn’t bad at them but this is his first time learning about short vowels, long vowels and so on, so he is unsure and getting a lot of them wrong.

7:50 p.m. — I finish reading my book in peace as he plays on his iPad (we do 30 minutes at a time now) and he tells me proudly he is reading (when in fact the iPad is reading FOR HIM… ).

8:21 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $25.26

DAY SIX

??:?? — I am tired. As per usual. Not that I did not sleep well but then I had to break my sleep to go to the bathroom so that killed my rest.

6:00 a.m. — I hang out with Little Bun in bed, snuggling and kissing. He then gets tired of me and says: Moooommmmmmmyyyy… MILK!!!!! … and flops back onto his side, tucked up in bed and waiting to be served.

6:03 a.m. — I get up and make some tea. I feel drained, there is a lot to do and no energy, I have to still do my personal taxes but am waiting until the last minute to be SURE I get all of the forms because I hate having to redo things.

8:22 a.m. — I start on the dishes.

9:15 a.m. — I make a plan to return those orangey-red shorts today because I want to start cutting back.

12:28 p.m. — I head out downtown, to return the shorts because I have a massage appointment afterwards.

12:56 p.m. — Shorts returned! -$114.98

1:20 p.m. — I successfully resist the following:

A piece of cake (or three, really)

A large Starbucks white hot chocolate

A box of macarons

Why? Because I’m instituting my “I am about to stop working for a year rule”…. the rule where I won’t have income coming in very soon and I need to start returning items and cutting back, to save money.. and to get used to not spending because I’ve been kind of complacent lately with shopping (see: orangey-red shorts!) and definitely with the eating out. OMG THE EATING OUT.

3:28 p.m. — Time for my massage. I can feel the stress and the knots in my right side so I really need this.

4:09 p.m. — Massage over. $93.47

4:35 p.m. — I am home! With a pounding headache… I drink a glass of water.

4:41 p.m. — Little Bun immediately hassles me for food. I redirect him to his father because it isn’t ready yet.

5:01 p.m. — My partner throws the duck on the grill and I entertain Little Bun until I cannot and my headache gets worse so I set the iPad on a 30 minute timer and close my eyes.

5:30 p.m. — Food is ready. I drink the fizzy lemonade he makes by hand (yes.. freshly squeezed and all), and I devour the food.

7:34 p.m. — After dishes, I grab Little Bun and we read books together until it is time for bed, he sits on my lap cuddling with me.

Spent: $93.47

Returned: $114.98

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — Little Bun is crying about something. I cannot understand him. I pull him close and pat his bum

??:?? — He is awake and breathing in my face in an attempt to mimic my sleep but he isn’t really sleeping and just passive-aggressively would like to breathe on me to wake me up. This is the child I have raised. :-p

6:00 a.m. — Tired. Still have that lingering headache. Is it the weather again? Lack of sleep? The massage???

6:22 a.m. — Cup of Tea done, we do a few English pages together from his Grade 1 book. He doesn’t like it as much because he gets more wrong answers but I firmly push and encourage him to keep going.

8:08 a.m. — I get going to get some bakeware returned, and decide to treat myself to a matcha Starbucks, NO SUGAR added. I am really trying to eat out less, have less treats and sugar and failing all that, at least choose healthier options like sushi and sugarless drinks. $5.84

9:49 a.m. — About to call my friend ..

12:05 p.m. — I end up on the call for so long I forget to return the bakeware. I’ll do it next week.

12:07 p.m. — I get home just as Little Bun is being shuffled off for a nap. He says: Mommy, I feel very tired and I need a nap. I am yawning. Too cute. I’m amused and he goes down. My partner also goes down for a short nap while I eat my lunch.

1:45 p.m. — Little Bun is up from his nap, and I cuddle and kiss him. He feels much better.

2:17 p.m. — I start on dishes.

3:45 p.m. — My headache is killing me. I think it is weather-related because I can feel Spring coming and the pressure is changing which is what is screwing with my head. I’m nauseous right now and with zero appetite.

4:48 p.m. — I am lying down, reading books quietly to Little Bun. Then he gets bored and lets me just brainlessly scroll through Instagram. I am especially captivated by these @humansofny stories. Some are sweet, some are sad and they are all complex, compelling and touching.

5:33 p.m. — Really do not feel well. I can’t even read a book because I can’t concentrate which is why I am reading short stories on Instagram instead. And browsing ways to get rid of this arm and back fat.. I don’t think I’m fat but I do feel like I need to tone up in some areas. I really don’t want to lose too much weight because my partner gets sad if I become too skinny because he doesn’t think that’s very attractive (reminds him of skeletons). He would love me either way but I’d prefer to keep a little belly than to have a 6-pack.

6:12 p.m. — Sort of hungry. But not. I have an eye appointment tomorrow where they have to dilute my eyes and I cannot see or drive so my partner and Little Bun have to come help.

7:20 p.m. — Little Bun is so excited about having a Clinic Adventure and going out with both Mommy and Daddy that he is so happy about tomorrow’s schedule. He keeps repeating it.

8:03 p.m. — Meltdown. We did a few activity pages and then suddenly something flipped and he started crying about wanting 100 activity pages and sobs on my chest like his heart is breaking.

8:07 p.m. — My partner is very on the edge with parenting tonight and yells at him, to which I tell him to stop it because I’m handling it and he is just riling him up for no reason, and I have to deal with the aftermath.

8:15 p.m. — I cuddle him and manage to call him down by soothing him and making up a story about how a chair in our apartment came alive and ran away into the forest.

8:22 p.m. — I carry him like a baby koala all the way to the bedroom and tuck him in, asking him to wait for me. He nods and curls up on the bed, pink-faced.

8:30 p.m. — He falls asleep clinging to me and trying to half sleep on top of me, still sniffling from his crying jag, unable to get comfortable and then we all sleep.

Spent: $5.84

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