Week of Money: Where Little Bun finally learns Monopoly

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up and instinctively want to log into work for status calls but realize I am still on holiday.

8:25 a.m. — It can be hard to not work for me, when I am on a project because I am always thinking about everything I have to get done, even when I am not “on the clock” so to speak. My brain doesn’t shut off until the project is over and I am off contract. Even then, I need a week or two to wind my brain down.

8:47 a.m. — I make a tea and work on the blog.

9:15 a.m. — Little Bun corners me for another game – he is really getting much better.

11:48 a.m. — We break for lunch and take a break before nap time at a good pause in the game.

1:01 p.m. — Down for his nap. I take a break and continue beading.

2:58 p.m. — Up from his nap (he did not nap), he asks me if EVERY SINGLE CHILD naps in the world. I tell him some do, and some don’t, but he has to. And he needs quiet time, just like everyone else (more the parents that need it).

3:30 p.m. — We continue the game. My whole holiday I knew, would be filled with Monopoly games, so this is not new to me. I had braced myself for endless Monopoly.

5:12 p.m. — Dinner, then a break. He watches some Shaun the Sheep while I work on things, and then he drags me back for another game of Monopoly. He has an obsessive behaviour towards things he loves, and I can understand that because once I get into something, I am the same way. I just work and work and work until I take a break, and then it is more reasonable after I get it out of my system.

8:51 p.m. — Time for bed. We talk about our day. He tells me that Meltdown Day of last week, rated a 4/10 (it was my rating too) but today was a good day, an 8/10. Not incredible, like when we go sledding, he tells me, but pretty good.

Spent: $

DAY TWO

??:?? — I wake up to Little Bun snuggling me. I am not tired but not super rested.

7:35 a.m. — We hang out together while I work on things, and make a tea.

8:59 a.m. — The day passes by with me playing with him with Stuffie Adventure games, then I take a break and read while he reads beside me, and then it’s time for lunch.

11:30 a.m. — After lunch, he asks for a game of Monopoly but I tell him after his nap we will start.

1:05 p.m. — Nap time!

3:04 p.m. — Up from his nap, we start on Monopoly, a new game. He is really getting good at it now. He does forget to ask me for rent, so I warn him a few times but then I just don’t tell him until after he has lost the rent. He however, is so sweet and honest, he looks at my properties and gathers rent for me even though I do not ask for it. He is so kind at his core. Like a little marshmallow of love.

4:28 p.m. — We look at an image (each), and find words that will define our 2022. It’s just a silly game, but also interesting what your mind / eyes go towards first.

Kids. My words were all around self-care. If you want to try it, the post is here:

 

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A post shared by LOVE IS MY MISSION (@brandencollinsworth)

5:25 p.m. — Time for dinner, then dishes, laundry, cleaning. I am scrubbing the oven down. It is exhausting how dusty and dirty a home gets in just a day or two, it seems. This is a full-time job.

6:47 p.m. — We continue Monopoly.

8:47 p.m. — Time for bed, and we talk about cool things we saw or are interested in. Sometimes he asks me things like – Do you want to know the life cycle of _______? and of course I do. He is such a curious little boy.

Spent: $0

DAY THREE

??:?? — I wake up to Little Bun snuggling me.

8:13 a.m. — After a tea, I am working on the blog. Just in the morning and then I feel less guilty taking the rest of the afternoon “off” to do other things.

8:23 a.m. — He plays dominoes with his father in the morning because I am just tired. I need a break on my own.

9:54 a.m. — I continue my other beading project. I have started really getting into making these items and I am pretty excited with where it is going.

10:57 a.m. — I am rewatching old TV series because my brain needs a break. I am truly trying to take this holiday off as a real break.

12:46 p.m. — Time for lunch.

5:26 p.m. — He gets a new pre-sharpened set of pencil crayons from his father, and he is SO EXCITED that he now has all the colours:

6:24 p.m. — He works on a gingerbread house for the Stuffies:

He takes a break from colouring because he says his hand is cramped and it is hard work!!!

7:13 p.m. — We start a Monopoly game. While we play, I sort of tell him about cavity bugs and eating through teeth, cavities, and dentures. I hope I scared him enough to brush properly.

8:58 p.m. — I take a break from the game. Time for the bedtime routine – he brushes his teeth alone (I watch him). Then we go to sleep and discuss a question from one of his magazines – What are the 3 things you look forward to every day?

Little Bun: Having a good day

…. then he tells me he cannot think of anything else!!!

Babiest Stuffie: Cookies, Cookies, Cookies.

(This sends Little Bun into peals of laughter)

Biggest Stuffie: Snuggling Little Bun, Cookies, Blocks

Teddy: Squishy Mountain (it’s my down duvet), Cookies and Snuggling Little Bun.

Mommy: Morning snuggles from Little Bun, my Matcha Green Tea Latte, Night Talks with Little Bun

(all true)

Spent: $0

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake up to Little Bun crying out: NO BUT ACTUALLY…. I try to ignore it. I am very very tired.

??:?? — He cries out again. I get up, go over to him, pull the blankets around him (remove him from this burrito stranglehold he has around his body and loosen up the blankets), tuck him back in, kiss him and give him a sniff. He calms right down and goes back to sleep.

7:30 a.m. — I have been trying to clear my credit card as much as possible to get the maximum benefits but for some reason it will not clear it to the full balance even though I have OVERPAID the account. Frustrating. I decide to just go ahead with the order and split the cost on two credit cards, as the extra 0.5% I get on this card that I am missing off $1000 of purchases, is only $5. It isn’t a huge amount of money.

7:59 a.m. — I (every morning) have been remembering to do my LED mask regimen. It has really helped my skin, except for the masked area which is always a struggle. I have to remember to do it on my hands as well. I make a tea while I work on the blog.

8:48 a.m. — I finally stop working on the blog and have a cup of tea. I don’t allow it until I am done “work” so I can enjoy it.

10:05 a.m. — Oh good a refund from a return. I have a store credit of about $80 I am trying to burn. Sigh. I didn’t realize what I got was a sale item that only gives store credit, not refunds. So now I am stuck with $80 to spend on things I do not want. I should have read the fine print, I blame only myself. Maybe I will get some basic tops or something to layer like tank tops.

12:28 p.m. — Lunch!

1:10 p.m. — Down for his nap.

3:28 p.m. — After his nap, he gets the mini iPad back from lockdown. His father just hands it to me. He immediately goes to get his rewards and restart on things.

5:25 p.m. — Dinner, and he tells me he wants to take a break from Monopoly because he kept landing on one of my properties that had a hotel on it, and he couldn’t pay the $1000+ rent each time, and had to keep giving up properties he bought (WHICH I THINK IS SUPER GENEROUS OF ME, considering they were $200 properties initially).

7:56 p.m. — At night, he exclaims: LOOK! (to his father), and it looks like there is a face of some sort on the wall:

8:22 p.m. — We read some of his magazines together, learning about the biggest corn mazes in the world (A Maize Maze!) then go to sleep.

Spent: $0

DAY FIVE

??:?? — I wake up to a snuggly Little Bun.

7:25 a.m. — He tells me comics he loves in this book – Heart and Brain – he has his favourites memorized

7:59 a.m. — I work on the blog as usual.

9:07 a.m. — I finally finish blog work, and I have my tea. I also start planning out my 2022 budget because I am a money geek. I look back at previous years’ spending and see if it is realistic or not, I put in all the major categories first like Condo Fees and so on, so that the basics are covered, and then I add the extras on top that include Wardrobe, or Upcycling “Entertainment” items.

11:59 a.m. — Lunch time.

1:08 p.m. — Down for his nap, I watch a show and bead.

3:00 p.m. — Up from his nap, he plays on the iPad which gives me a break, and I work on cleaning up my desk area. I have a lot to scan and shred.

4:26 p.m. — I contemplate ordering some chiffon silk flowers to make earrings and things out of. I wonder how hard it is to make those kinds of earrings versus simply buying them. I suspect the supplies are maybe $100, to make 3-4 pairs of earrings but to buy them finished, they’re $100 each pair.. so 75% less if you DIY.

5:03 p.m. — I hunt for something to buy on this site – Get Plenty – which has kind of hipster, Gen Z brands, and the quality is highly suspect as borderline fast fashion. I only got suckered in because of one top made in 100% cotton that I didn’t realize was a sale item and therefore only returnable on store credit, and now I am stuck trying to find something. My problem is that everything can be found SECONDHAND on Poshmark (use code SHERRYISH for a credit), for WAY cheaper than at retail, so I cannot stomach buying jeans at $200+ when they’re $50 secondhand.

6:45 p.m. — Dinner, then cleanup.

8:24 p.m. — We read through his magazines together. He particularly likes this artistic pie page, and so do the Stuffies:

9:34 p.m. — Bedtime. He starts brushing on his own, and I warn him to brush WELL.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

??:?? — I wake up to Little Bun eying me. When he sees I am awake, he breaks into a smile and throws himself on top of me for a snuggle. “Hi Mommy Mums“, he chirps.

7:22 a.m. — Blog work again. Then I’ll have a tea and start the rest of my holiday.

8:57 a.m. — Blog work done, finally having a tea.

9:35 a.m. — Still trying to find something to buy on that site. I think I am settled on some basic tank tops or shirts. Can’t go wrong.

10:47 a.m. — I watch this documentary on Amazon Prime – Generation Wealth – made in 2018. I watched it already, but it is a nice reminder to rewatch it again. She even has the book which I am contemplating buying because I really like photography books that talk about two of my favourite topics – FOOD or MONEY.

My favourite food photography books are like these ones – What I eat – the photographers have done other books in a similar fashion as well:

12:08 p.m. — Lunch.

4:28 p.m. — After his nap, he was super quiet. I wondered what was going on and stumbled in on him drawing out characters from his favourite duo:

He is actually pretty good!!!! I would not say this to him otherwise because I am a realist. If he isn’t great, I tell him that he has to work harder. I wouldn’t lie to him because not everything he does is amazing the first time around, and he should learn that so that when something IS really good, he knows I am being genuine.

6:36 p.m. — Dinner. Clean up, vacuuming, I still have to spend time cleaning my shoes and things and conditioning the leather but I will leave that for later.

8:56 p.m. — Time for bed.

Spent: $0

DAY SEVEN

7:20 a.m. — I woke up before Little Bun but we basically woke up together because as I got up, he did too.

7:24 a.m. — I work on the blog as usual.

8:58 a.m. — Done. Time for a tea!

9:37 a.m. — We clean the home, then settle in for a reading break together. He plays on the iPad and I read. Sometimes he gets bored and he puts the iPad away and reads instead beside me, or draws. I try to encourage him to add more to the Stuffie Manual: The Life of Stuffies – he is creating and to draw or colour interesting things instead. He doesn’t like doing it unless there is a purpose, like it is being sent to someone.

12:08 p.m. — Lunch time. After lunch, we take a break and I am beading.

1:07 p.m. — Nap time. I take a break and watch mindless TV. I cancel my Amazon Prime membership – I paid $10 to have it because my mother needed something urgently and did not want to go out to shop or leave the home because of the contagious Omnicron variant. I don’t need it.

2:53 p.m. — Up from his nap, he is beading with me and creates this pretty ring:

4:56 p.m. — He helps me set up for another beading project by picking colours, and then we have dinner.

6:55 p.m. — Dishes, cleaning, laundry, after dinner.

7:33 p.m. — We watch Shaun the Sheep together, but I am on my phone scrolling and trying to let my brain decompress.

8:53 p.m. — Time for bed after we read a few pages from his favourite books on science and math. He seems to enjoy facts and researching, maybe he will do that in some capacity. I hear researchers are the happiest people in the world as they do what they love.

Spent: $0

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