Week of Money: Where my Mother’s Day is the best EVER

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up pretty refreshed. Little Bun slept, didn’t squeal much except for a cry or two, but my partner handled it because I was consciously trying NOT to squash my deep sleep cycle (the minute I am out, it takes me 20 minutes to doze back to sleep).

5:30 a.m. — I get up, make myself a cup of matcha with chia seeds (forgot I had those!), and my partner prepares my lunch and his, and Little Bun’s.

5:35 a.m. — Little Bun of course, refuses to go to school. He doesn’t want to go, he wants to stay at home with Daddy and he says home is a lot more fun. He tells me he wants it to be Friday. I say: I KNOW. ME TOO.

6:03 a.m. — After a little cuddling and Little Bun-ness, I get ready for work.

6:29 a.m. — With so much time to spare, I do the dishes from last night but leave them to dry on the counter instead of drying and fully putting them away.

6:57 a.m. — This leaves me just enough time to dress Little Bun and be out the door JUST before traffic snarls and gets crazy. Even 10 minutes makes a huge difference.

6:59 a.m. — Little Bun tells me that it is June. I tell him not until May is over. He is really looking forward to summer and June because I promised him when it got warmer we would start doing train rides again which I am ALSO looking forward to as well.

7:02 a.m. — I get in the car and can’t find my sunglasses. Later, I find it buried at the bottom of my bag. Ugh. I need to put a spare pair of car-only sunglasses so I don’t go through this again and squint in the morning sun while driving. This’ll sound vain, but that causes wrinkles, squinting…

7:24 a.m. — At preschool drop off is fine. He asks for lip balm but I forgot it at home. My whole purse is a mess. I need to reorganize and throw out things I don’t need, and consolidate others.

8:00 a.m. — I get to work, and my computer won’t start. I call IT and they’ll come fix it. In the meantime, I go to make a sandwich and FORGOT TO BUY EGGS. Grr… have to do that for tomorrow. I eat my sad sandwich with only chicken breast (I didn’t read the package carefully) and cheese which I melt a little in the microwave.

8:22 a.m. — I make a cup of chai latte with chia seeds and then head back downstairs.

8:25 a.m. — Computer fixed, finally booting, I start on emails.
10:59 a.m. — My co-worker gave me a huge package of KitKats because he knows I love them. This guy is great (and no worries about unrequited love, he is also gay so there is nothing there to go on.) I also give him dark chocolate on occasion because I know he loves it; we share chocolate with each other.

11:48 a.m. — I work until it is time to go to Costco. I didn’t realize we were going to eat lunch there too, but gamely take two hotdogs. $3.46

12:08 p.m. — I pick up arugula, kale, eggs, bread and head to the cash. My colleague pays and I reimburse her in cash. $14

1:15 p.m. — After lunch, we head back to the office, I toss the bread into the fridge and get back to work. I have a huge project starting that I thought was at first, no big deal, but now is going to suck up 50% of my time.

2:05 p.m. — Oh. It is ANOTHER co-worker who bought me the KitKats. I invite my friend over to eat some to help her day and she says: But.. Why was he so nice to you!? I don’t get it That is SO NICE of him. You don’t even really know him. …. I shrug. It is partly true, I don’t really know him. He was just being nice and I thanked him.

2:26 p.m. — I go online shopping for Little Bun at a new store I discovered and end up buying a cute zebra shirt (he loved his last one as a baby until he got too big and his belly started showing), and a pair of shorts for summer (he only has 2 pairs), along with a growth chart made of organic canvas that I have been looking for! $112.50
3:20 p.m. — I crack open one KitKat.

3:30 p.m. — Then a second.

4:19 p.m. — After my meeting and finishing my second KitKat I leave to pick up Little Bun. I’m a bit annoyed. They put people with zero knowledge in charge of something very technical and didn’t check $&@! .. and now I have to re-organize that AND my stuff? OMFG. This is turning out to be 3 people assigned and only one doing the work — myself, that is. It is a shame I am far too professional to just “let it go” as everyone else has suggested I do. “Let it crash and burn.” I will however, ask to not be on these two other projects because I am only one person. I’m getting overloaded.

4:27 p.m. — I grab Little Bun and head to the park. Beautiful, sunny, 15 degrees and cool. I’m wearing my secondhand Parker leather jacket with the knitted sleeves and back and I love it.

4:56 p.m. — I hand Little Bun his “Eights” which is just two hair bands he puts together to make the number 8.

4:59 p.m. — He eagerly climbs and plays at the park while I take a break.

5:20 p.m. — I already did the dishes before I left so I’m safe in only having to put them away when I get back.

5:29 p.m. — I hotspot my iPod and see I used about 700MB of my 1GB data. I’m a dumbass and I don’t think about it before I put another 200MB to cover overages. DUH. 1000 is the max I wasn’t even CLOSE to being over and t restarts this week. Duh. I decide to make the most of it at the park this week to use it up. I’m an idiot. $8.05

5:30 p.m. — I remove it quickly for the next billing period to make sure I don’t make a second mistake.

5:45 p.m. — We head home from the park (he asked), and at home I get undressed, remove my makeup and I start a load of delicates laundry.

5:57 p.m. — Little Bun plays with his BBQ again and rolls cans around the floor. He squeals in delight and makes LOTS OF NOISE…  While he does that, I feed him soup and pasta, which he devours (no joke, he eats an ENTIRE BOWL).

6:19 p.m. — My partner is home now, but logged in and working. He has two contracts on the go, so he is pressed at night sometimes.

6:23 p.m. — He heads out to run errands (pick up milk) while I schedule some bill payments and clean up emails.

8:02 p.m. — I get Little Bun ready for bed.

Spent: $138.01

DAY TWO

5:30 a.m. — I can hear my little animal stirring. I stay extremely still as not to give ANY SIGN OF LIFE at all so I can sleep in a bit longer and not be bothered. I manage to get another 5 minutes of sleep-ish, laying super still until I hear the little call out: “Mommeeeee? Please get up!“.. Ugh.

5:31 a.m. — I get up and take him to the bathroom.

5:32 a.m. — He runs back to the bedroom after checking the calendar & day, and rolls around squealing: NO SCHOOL. I DON’T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL. I ignore him.

5:33 a.m. — I start washing my face, exfoliating and layering on a TON of serums. I can’t say my foray into IPL (laser directed light therapy) has done anything for my sun spots that I really wanted to get rid of (I think I need to bleach them with nasty hydroquinone), and it was kind of a waste of $1000 but a good experiment nonetheless to know that even spending $1000 and doing all these sessions, it does jack SQUAT. Lesson learned, and you’re all very welcome for the expensive experiment I paid for to tell you the true results.

5:34 a.m. — I am in the middle of exfoliating when Little Bun in a confused voice says: Milk? Want milk?? OH RIGHT. I FORGOT. I apologize to him, and grab his milk.

5:35 a.m. —JUST before drinks his milk, he squeals: NO SCHOOL. I shove the bottle in his mouth, muttering: be quiet. I am NOT feeling this squealy behaviour today.

5:36 a.m. — I go back to finishing my routine for my face, and now I have a whole hour to spare. Hm. No dishes to wash, so I start a load of laundry for his underwear and socks which he goes through like a madman.

5:40 a.m. — I start putting on makeup, and then we do LookBook leisurely, and I try to convince my baby to get dressed. He is REFUSING. He is on the floor, lying down on his belly, splayed out like some floppy lizard. He refuses to get up, has jelly limbs and keeps squealing: NO SCHOOL. Want to stay at home with Daddy!.. My partner desperately tells him that TOMORROW he can stay at home but not today. He perks up, but is still disappointed. He wants every day to be “stay at home day”.

6:03 a.m. — I get dressed after this tomfoolery, take a few selfies with him, and he squeals again: NO SCHOOL.

6:40 a.m. — We finally get out the door on a promise of Mommy buying him a treat before school. This is not recommended parenting in ANY parenting book you shall read but it DOES THE DAMN JOB. I also don’t make it a habit…

6:55 a.m. — I try to get to the bakery but it is closed (of course it is .. no sane human is up at this hour making PASTRIES…)

7:24 a.m. — I take him to preschool, give him Cheerios.

7:34 a.m. — I check the time. I feel bad though. I promised him a treat. I don’t want to be a mother who reneges on her promises.

7:48 a.m. — I leave work and speed walk to pick a croissant and a green tea matcha financier (see pastry deliciousness below), and then walk to Starbucks. $4.59

7:59 a.m. — At Starbucks, a venti Chai gets ordered and I cover it in cinnamon.

8:13 a.m. — I drop the croissant off at preschool, and afterwards, I hear that he ate EVERY. SINGLE. CRUMB which is not easy to do with a croissant, truth be told.

8:27 a.m. — I head back to work after checking my emails and have a short meeting with my lead. Then I warm up my now cold chai latte.

9:08 a.m. — Work work work.

9:57 a.m. — I make plans to see a friend with her son tomorrow night for dinner with Little Bun. That way his father can take advantage of the warm summer weeknights to bike.

11:28 a.m. — Lunch.

12:07 a.m. — Work.

4:16 p.m. — I get ready to leave — there is some issue at the office but I am not staying. I am tired.

4:22 p.m. — I grab Little Bun and we leave.

4:40 p.m. — Park time! He gets into the sand and I end up having to toss out the sand from his shoes to not invite that MESS into my house.

5:35 p.m. — Little Bun asks to go home. At home, he gets milk, we wash everything immediately. I wash my face, and slather on benzoyl peroxide to keep my skin clear.

6:02 p.m. — My partner gets home and starts making dinner. I’m trying to concentrate and Little Bun is growling like some jungle animal in the corner, because he can’t get two “cans” (tissue rolls) to stand on top of each other because there is NO FLAT EDGE. OMFG.

6:42 p.m. — My little jungle animal stops growling (who knew I could have given birth to one), we eat, and then I do the dishes.

6:58 p.m. — I lie down in bed while we read books together (he loves sharing books with me).

7:35 p.m. — I get him ready for bed after I ask his father to TELL Little Bun to get ready for bed (I have NO IDEA why his father can tell him and it works and with me it is an uphill battle).

8:02 p.m. — I am passed out in bed. He is doing math with his father.

8:33 p.m. — I read a storybook to him (I promised earlier, and then it got too late), and then we all fall asleep.

Spent: $0

DAY THREE

??:?? — I wake up before Little Bun and I whisper ask my partner what time it is. He tells me 5:30 and is planning on staying home so I just lie there knowing I only have myself to dress and care for.

5:31 a.m. — As if on cue, Little Bun wiggles and rolls around in the middle of waking up and I of course play dead.

5:35 a.m. — He calls out to me, not noticing me hiding in the lump of blankets and says: Mommy????, to which I reveal myself and pull him close for a big hug, cuddle and kiss while I pet his head.

5:38 a.m. — He finally gets up and I take him to the bathroom, then grab his milk as he tells me he is staying at home with Daddy today (all excited). I tell him to ask his father to be sure and then I start washing my face.

5:45 a.m. — I’ve found that proper, slow exfoliation, proper cleansing and all these serums seem to be helping my skin a lot, along with slathering on acne creams at night to keep bumps at bay. It is a lot of work but hormonal acne is not easy to control without drugs.

5:56 a.m. — I get dressed and pull on a shirt but Little Bun (milk has long since been finished), tells me he wants me to wear a dress today. Luckily I have one pre-picked (my $20-ish dollar hack jobbed twist front dress) and I cover the knot with a double tied obi belt.

6:11 a.m. — Little Bun then helps me open, pat, tap and do all the things I need to my face for makeup and even wants to help me put my hair up in a bun.

6:13 a.m. — I am finally ready, he insists that I wear flats not boots today (presumably to change it up) and I humour him.

6:24 a.m. — One Bio-K down, a birthday wish sent via email and I’m off to work.

6:46 a.m. — Little Bun at the door wants to burst into tears but also wants to stay at home with Daddy so I can see him struggling internally. He wants Mommy but not to go to school. He visibly gulps, says softly: “Mommyyyyy…” and then we do a big hug and kiss and wave bye. As I shut the door he gives a half wail/cry and runs to his father to be comforted.

7:17 a.m. — At work, I start right away. No rest for the wicked, I’m on a lot of stuff these days and I have two meetings.

9:28 a.m. — I brief my team lead then head off to a meeting. After that, more work, I’m puzzled with another colleague about where our work went and why it is not working the way we expected it to.

11:49 a.m. — I leave that, and head to lunch WAYYYYY far from work. I’m sure to be late coming back.

12:30 p.m. — I decide on a pasta dish and give my included beer to my friend and she hands me her appetizer in return. $17.80

1:02 p.m. — We walk back together and then I get back to work on my issue.

2:30 p.m. — Another meeting.

3:59 p.m. — After the meeting I get back to work and JUST as I’m leaving I realize what we have been missing all along. I tell my colleague — tomorrow. I think I know why.

4:10 p.m. — My friend on the way out tells me my brain works in a very quirky weird way but that is very beneficial. I take it as a compliment (as was its intention).

4:56 p.m. — At home, I check the mail and greet my Little Bun at the door.

5:24 p.m. — I mention how nice it is outside, and encourage my partner to go out biking (his favourite activity and he only gets to do it during summer). He nods, and goes to get ready.

5:30 p.m. — I take a shower and Little Bun plays “nest” by himself (he throws himself onto my fluffy duvet and then rolls around as if he is in a nest and cheeps like a bird).

5:37 p.m. — Out of the shower, I put all of my clothes away, and then I get ready for dinner.

6:01 p.m. — I bribe Little Bun with nursery rhymes to get him to eat his soup without complaining. He nods happily.

6:02 p.m. — I am letting him watch it while I watch Workin Moms on CBC by this amazing producer Catherine Reitman. It is pretty dang good and very close to home for many of the scenes, at least in my opinion. I COMPLETELY connect with Dani Kind the character (redhead therapist), especially in one episode where she is eating at a café outside and this little girl passing her is whining at her mother. She scolds the girl saying: STOP THAT YOU MONSTER, YOUR MOTHER IS AN ANGEL!!!!. ….. LOL!!! I’d see myself doing that.

6:20 p.m. — After I feed him, I eat the foccacia my partner and Little Bun made for me today. NOMZ.

6:48 p.m. — LOVE this show. Highly recommended for all mothers.

7:09 p.m. — I cancel the Poshmark order for this cute necklace. She didn’t ship it and I get money back. Fantastic. -$33.13

7:52 p.m. — I warn Little Bun this is his last video. He growls at me like a baby tiger.

8:25 p.m. — Dressed for bed, reading a book and then going to sleep.

Refund: $33.13

Spent: $17.80

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake up before Little Bun again, and then immediately hear him wiggle and roll around. He asks me to please get up, and I tell him I need a hug and kiss before. He rolls towards me, hugs and kisses me, and then asks for the bathroom and milk.

5:00 a.m. — WHOA. 5 a.m.!? Oh well. I get ready leisurely, and then he whines a little (he is missing half an hour of sleep or so), and I share a banana with him. This is getting out of control. I need to Google: How to get kids to sleep longer.

6:34 a.m. —  My friend texted me last night asking if I want to come to NYC and she didn’t think I could make it, but this is a good chance for some Daddy-Baby Bonding time, so I agree to go after making sure my weekend is free and checking that my partner doesn’t have anything to do that weekend either.

6:57 a.m. — YAY!!!! My partner has nothing planned that weekend! I AM SO EXCITED. I start making a list of places to shop and to eat at. I AM THRILLED about this. So many places to eat. And shop at. ZOMG.

6:59 a.m. — I am out the door with Little Bun.

7:10 a.m. — Preschool dropoff.

7:37 a.m. — I get to work.

8:45 a.m. — I break for a cup of tea after finally solving what happened yesterday. YAY AGAIN.

9:03 a.m. — I get back to work.

9:15 a.m. — I get invited to an outing tonight and I accept happily. YAY! TRIPLE YAY! Best day ever. I email my partner to pick up Little Bun and he writes back “OK”. It will rain today anyway so he won’t be able to really go out biking, but he could tomorrow if I come back early (which I will). This is perfect.

10:59 a.m. — I head off to a meeting.

12:03 p.m. — Lunch. I waste time chatting before I run off and book my flight to New York. In the middle of booking, the flight goes up $31. WTF. GRRRR…. $449.38

12:48 p.m. — I go through all the AirBnB rentals and we find one that is reasonably priced that would cost us about $200 each for the 2 days we are there, or about $100 a day. That is VERY reasonable pricing, right there, and it looks like a nice place. $197

12:59 p.m. — I have to now set a budget.. okay who am I lying to, I have no budget. I would however, like to have my contract confirmed to be extended before I set a “no budgeted amount kind of budget”, but for now, I am out at least $650 for the trip for 2 days for hotel & flight, another generous $100 a day for food, and we are almost at $1000. *shrug* If I go, this is a once in a lifetime thing (literally my first time away from Little Bun and my first time away with people other than my family or my partner), and I want to make the MOST OF IT. LOL. And sleep a lot.

1:30 p.m. — I make a mental note to make a short weekend packing list – laptop, small versions of toiletries, makeup, and so on. I also plan on wearing a warm-ish outfit, and then packing one other (a light loose shift dress) and then filling my suitcase with stuff like goodies for Little Bun and my partner, as well as .. SHOPPING OF COURSE.

2:40 p.m. — I get back to work. One more meeting, then I am home free to head out to pre-drinks with the girls before the actual dinner.

3:03 p.m. — I drop my stuff into my car so I don’t have to go back into the office.

3:58 p.m. — Out the door, quick pit stop in the bathroom to blot my oil freakin’ face (apparently this is what keeps me looking young so I will not complain) but if I don’t constantly blot my face during the day, it turns into an oil slick. I think this is ALSO helping keep acne at bay because I’m helping clear out anything that could clog my pores..

4:06 p.m. — I leave early with a colleague to go to the dinner I was invited to. She and I find a bar on the way and she grabs a beer while I take a Shirley Temple and we order octopus appetizers to split.

4:47 p.m. — During the snack, I talk about money, and I reveal my entire $$ situation. I desperately want to help her because she makes a good salary but doesn’t know how to save or budget. It drives me MAD when women don’t care or take charge of their money – it is YOUR money. I try to scare her with tales of retiring on only $100,000 and having to eat beans and rice. She looks blankly at me, because she says that doesn’t really scare her… ARRRG!!

5:21 p.m. — I tell her the first thing I want her to do is list out her net monthly income, her expenses (estimated) and her tracked expenses each month. She agrees.

5:29 p.m. — The bill comes out to $37.45 plus whatever tip, but she grabs the whole thing and won’t let me pay because I’m about to change her financial life, she says. – $0

5:33 p.m. — After the snack, we walk to the restaurant. It has been drizzling and misting on and off all day but we have been super lucky and missing a ton of this rain as we go in and out.

5:35 p.m. — At the restaurant, we are there too early. She blames me for making her leave early. She grabs another beer, I take a water and eye the menu. I definitely want fried prawns.

6:27 p.m. — Everyone else finally arrives (no one has a sense of time it seems…), and we all start ordering. I take the prawns but when they arrive, I only get ONE because EVERYONE wanted one too. Grr. Next time we take two plates.

6:40 p.m. — The entire meal is super filling and delicious. We split the bill and it comes out to $23 each! SCORE. $23

7:13 p.m. — My colleague and I leave early – she needs to grab her train and I want to head back to the garage and drive home. It is past my bedtime almost, and I may not be able to last any longer. We leave early and they rib us, making us feel bad for leaving early and being RUDE. OMG. I feel terrible… but they’re just joking. I think. I’m tired. I still need to go to work tomorrow.

7:44 p.m. — I head back. On the way, I am musing about how this wristlet is basically changing my life. I bought it to travel with only, but now I have discovered a love for wristlets that hold everything and just hang off your wrist. Small, minimalist, convenient when you don’t have much pocket space… WIN WIN. I love it.

7:51 p.m. — I am SO excited for my trip to NYC. I’m making notes, asking suggestions…

8:19 p.m. — When I get home, my partner and I chat with each other and Little Bun turns into a monster because he is waiting for me to get to bed and is getting grumpier and grumpier by the second and now refuses to even sleep. Whatever. I tell him to lie down and be quiet.

8:43 p.m. — He falls asleep pretty quickly – it is a bit humid in the room but I can’t sleep without a cover, so I suffer through the hot cover and then am happy when I have it as I wake up freezing in the middle of the night.

Spent: $472.38

DAY FIVE

5:03 a.m. — I wake up and my back is KILLING ME. I did not sleep in the right angles last night and I am in pain. I can barely twist to get up.

5:04 a.m. — Little Bun is a bit grumpy (5 a.m. wakeup, who wouldn’t be), and he wants to lie down on me WHILE drinking his milk. Nuh uh, baby.

5:05 a.m. — I lie down and cuddle him as he drinks his milk which seems to help.

5:14 a.m. — I then get up and go to get ready but he tells me it is still nighttime and it is too early for Mommy to get going. I agree.

5:15 a.m. — I check the fridge and there isn’t enough milk for tomorrow’s big teas that I like to drink, so I forego my milk, and share a banana with Little Bun.

5:19 a.m. — After our shared banana, he seems to feel better. He asks for soup and pasta while watching videos (LOL this kid has me pegged), and I tell him firmly no. He pouts but then is fine.

5:24 a.m. — We are up so early that I do the dishes. I scrub everything from the omelette my partner made for his and Little Bun’s dinner last night, and then I dry it all and put it all away except the Glasslock glass containers which I leave out to dry.

5:56 a.m. — Little Bun helps me drink my “medicine” – Bio-K. Every time I drink it, he comments that “Mommy is hot” because he is associating medicine with fevers and when HE is too hot, I make him take medicine. He pats my arm and tells me I am too hot. I have to correct him and tell him I am not feverish, I just need this to help my belly. It really does seem to have lessened the intensity and duration of my colds, so I am now A FAN.

5:57 a.m. — My partner gets up after Little Bun jumps on him and hassles him, and I start getting ready for work.

6:09 a.m. — Little Bun helps me with my skincare routine, opening makeup jars, and chooses a ring, a watch and says: Maybe Mommy would like to also wear a necklace! .. this is much cuter than it sounds in this diary. He likes to narrate everything now, saying things like: Maybe we will pick THIS ring! Maybe we will go here and then pick out a necklace for Mommy!

6:49 a.m. — I finally get dressed, my back is still in major pain and I get ready to go. He gives me a huge hug and kiss, and waves goodbye eagerly to me while I slowly back out and close the door. As I leave, I hear him call out to his father to go make freshly squeezed orange juice for him. LOL I SEE. This kid is quiet and well-behaved when there is JUICE involved. My partner agrees and goes to make a glass.

6:53 a.m. — I get into the car, and drive to work. At work, I go and clean out Little Bun’s cubby to remove all winter gear, and then I get to work. I reply to a few emails.

7:20 a.m. — I grab my first cup of tea for the day and pop my pills – BioSil (really does help hair), fermented cod liver (may stop this one soon as I am already doing Bio-K), and a vitamin C & E pill which says it helps with urinary tract infections (UTI) which I do not have, but I am really taking it to boost the generation of collagen in your skin. Hey, I want to look as young as possible for as long as possible while naturally aging gracefully..

8:00 a.m. — Meeting with my team lead.

8:39 a.m. — Work on an issue. Trying to figure out why it won’t work. Everyone is eager to help me. They’re REALLY nice.

9:15 a.m. — Meeting.

10:08 a.m. — Back to work. I make myself a jam sandwich.

11:28 a.m. — Lunch. But I am not hungry. I ate A LOT last night and had a sandwich this morning. I finish off the chocolate mini eggs (my teammates are beasts.. they devoured everything in a WEEK.. omg)

12:36 p.m. — I log in and plan out the NYC trip, with slots of times to do things here and there. I do not like going without a plan at all. I like knowing my route ahead of time, a structure and then being flexible within that structure. OMG. All these places are a must go for me: Cuyana, Sézane, MM Lafleur, and Everlane!

1:00 p.m. — I head back in to work.

4:06 p.m. — I leave to go home and hit a knot of traffic. I have a playdate planned and I am late.

4:47 p.m. — At home, my partner chats a little then heads off for an errand.

5:03 p.m. — We finally get to the playdate but it doesn’t last long. The other one has a meltdown and a temper tantrum and Little Bun squeals that he wants to go home. Oh well. Next time.

5:58 p.m. — At home, I pack and put away the laundry from this morning (the kitchen towels) and start a new load of laundry. I play with Little Bun on the floor but he is GRUMPY with a capital G and is very whiny.

7:58 p.m. — Okay enough playing. I coax him to get dressed and he won’t (why would he..), so I quickly come up with the idea of his stuffed toy dressing him for bed. HE LOVES the idea. He giggles like crazy when I get the little bear to struggle to pull on his pants, his socks, and giggles like mad. He wants his toy bear to do all the dressing now. This was the easiest dressing for bed, ever. Score One for Mommy.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

??:?? — SCREAMING. STRAIGHT OUT SCREAMING. Not me. Little Bun.

??:?? — More nightmares.

6:00 a.m. — Exhausted. It just takes one night of screaming to throw off your semi-rested schedule from the week. I’m beat. My partner is also very tired — I left him to deal with the screaming last night and pretended to be dead.

6:23 a.m. — After milk and dozing off, I bring him to the washroom and then I make tea for myself.

6:25 a.m. — I eye the dishes but instead recruit Little Bun to help my scan all of my receipts from the past 6 months so I can reimburse myself and make entries for bookkeeping.

9:38 a.m. — DONE. Expenses for the book, scanning, all that stuff DONE. OMG. That took so long. I was procrastinating for-ever.

9:42 a.m. — I feed Little Bun soup and oatmeal with pasta.

9:57 a.m. — I make noodles for myself —  I got hungry around 8 p.m. but could not muster up any energy to cook anything. Nomz. I will eat lunch at home, then I immediately have a brunch after. I will obviously be NOT hungry for the rest of the afternoon which is fine… I am meeting my friend <3 to pick up my purchases to support her online store.

10:53 a.m. — I watch a few more episodes of Workin’ Moms.

11:04 a.m. — My partner comes home and we have some cheese and bread for lunch. Little Bun knows I’m about to leave and he starts clinging to me.

12:20 p.m. — I leave to go meet my friend. We are having brunch. My outfit is casual today. The Row cotton & silk top, tucked into Joe Fresh distressed jeans, and some navy blue pointed loafers which are pricey from M. Gemi but you can score similar navy loafers here from Nine West for $50..

12:28 p.m. — I am OBSESSED with this song by Thunderheist – Jerk It .. this is the kind of music I love. Bouncy, dance-y, great beat.. this is it for me for driving music.

1:15 p.m. — I finally meet up with her and get a seat at the cafe. I don’t want to eat anything, I have two hot chocolates and a nutella Cronut which was really badly made (over-fried honestly.. I don’t see the whole point of these things.) $14.58

2:30 p.m. — We say goodbye, she leaves with her cute little boy (he was so shy today!) and I go to move my car (free parking for 2 hours only) and to get into my appointment (my last one) for my skin.

2:47 p.m. — Before I go to the appointment, I go to buy some sunscreen (Coola) that I have been DYING to try since last summer. It is ridiculously pricey, but it is matte, soft and is very nice on the skin. $55.19

3:40 p.m. — The appointment is rather long, but it is done and over with. I finish the appointment, and then browse a boutique nearby. I obviously want everything, like this STUNNING Aje stop in this gorgeous pink dot, but I couldn’t even get it zipped up. I had to size all the way up to size 10 for it to fit, and then I’d DEFINITELY have to tailor it in.

It looks GREAT on, but for $600-ish dollars, PLUS I’d have to tailor it? I sadly and wistfully put it back on the rack. For $300 I’d buy it. $600? No …

(Also be forewarned, I have the same #OOTD pose throughout..)

Other stuff I tried on — this fab but $$$$ Nili Lotan striped tunic:

….and this wrap Jonathan Simkhai striped dress looked interesting on the mannequin but fell flat on me. Too strange, racer-back front which exaggerates my shoulders.. no thanks.

4:28 p.m. — I start heading home before I do any damage and JUST miss a huge knot of traffic (thanks GPS!)

4:34 p.m. — I mail a cheque to an accountant for some advice I requested for & he gave me. $262

5:07 p.m. — I head home. I am sure pizza is waiting for us..

6:39 p.m. — Dinner done, I do the dishes and Little Bun plays with the BBQ.

7:01 p.m. — He hassles me for some math apps, so I buy this Montessori Intro to Math Bundle. $16.74

7:18 p.m. — I log off and plan to spend tomorrow buying some David’s Tea and hanging out with Little Bun.

7:23 p.m. — I look into beauty treatments. Man it is expensive to be a woman. $90 for ONE session of laser hair removal? And $56 for a pedicure? WTF.

7:34 p.m. — I get him ready for bed (using his stuffed animal to do it at my behest).

8:45 p.m. — Bedtime!

Spent: $348.51

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — SO. EARLY.

5:12 a.m. — When I go to get the milk he squeals because he wanted to pee first. Fine.

5:13 a.m. — After the bathroom he squeals again because the milk bottle is orange not BLUE. I firmly tell him it is in the orange bottle or he gets no milk at all. He says: Milk?!??… and I tell him it is an orange bottle then.

5:16 a.m. — He drinks it and I doze off beside him.

5:18 a.m. — After his milk, he turns to me, remembers something and runs out to the calendar to check. He comes back and tells me it is Mommy’s Day! I tell him yes it is and coach him to say: Happy Mommy’s Day. I love you and you’re the best Mommy ever., which he repeats dutifully.

5:19 a.m. — I kiss hug and cuddle him before he squeals and rolls away. I get up with him.

5:20 a.m. — I make myself some tea and grab a Bio-K.

6:22 a.m. — We spend about an hour just playing. Him asking me to quiz him on the animal kingdom (jellyfish is a cnidarian!) and then my partner gets up exhausted as I am, and makes fresh orange juice for us along with homemade chaussons aux pommes!!! <3

6:24 a.m. — Little Bun eagerly gobbles it all down then asks to share a banana with Mommy.

7:47 a.m. — We play around.

8:12 a.m. —  I check emails and then we get dressed and head off for errands when stores open at 10.

8:30 a.m. — He falls asleep on the way to the mall so I pull off quietly to a Starbucks and grab a Grande Chai Latte.. it ends up using my entire balance (need to set auto reload!) and I pay the remainder of about $2. $5.11

9:03 a.m. — I pull off to the side into a parking lot, check that he is okay and well positioned and then hang in the car reading RSS feeds. I don’t have wifi or the internet but I use Newsify which syncs with Feedly and I pre-download articles.

9:06 a.m. — My colleagues have been ribbing me to buy a cellphone with a proper plan and so on but an iPhone 10 is $1500!!!!!! Plus I’d have to pay a plan too?? I’m not sure I want to for how little I use it.

9:20 a.m. — Little Bun wakes up as I adjust my chair (it is loud) and he wants to hang in the car with me.

9:51 a.m. — We head off and buy some tea sachets and an infuser my team asked for (they’ll reimburse me later. $38.22

10:39 a.m. — We walk around a bit and he asks to go home so we drive back and stop at the park.

10:57 a.m. — He plays at the park (it is getting WARM!!).. and then we head inside for lunch.

11:04 a.m. — My partner surprises me with a gift he and Little Bun had been working on – a basil planter with red and green basil. He hid it from me until Mother’s Day and had Little Bun write the note to put on top. I LOVE IT. I’m so touched. I LOVE today.

11:25 a.m. — He also made the entire lunch but did ALL the dishes too so I wouldn’t have to. This, is love. Not grand gestures and paying for a brunch but actual work and thought in a gift…

12:08 p.m. — He also prepares a special lunch of grilled quail.

12:15 p.m. — Little Bun gobbles down his share and then my partner does all the dishes again.

1:08 p.m. — We head down for a nap but Little Bun wiggles and squeals until I get annoyed and threaten him.

1:49 p.m. — He FINALLY sleeps.

2:46 p.m. — We wake up refreshed and my partner called his mother to chat. Little Bun shyly says hello on the phone then runs away.

2:54 p.m. — I start reading and get engrossed in The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto. SO GOOD. I usually hate popular books because they never turn out to meet my expectations but this one is mesmerizing. It mentions this song Lágrima by Tárrega at the start, and it is a haunting melody which I obviously Google and listen to before continuing to read:

3:18 p.m. — My partner gets off the phone and he gets Little Bun ready to go to the park and play soccer. ALONE. Without ME. I’m so excited I can’t stand it.

4:27 p.m. — I help get him dressed. I have no idea what I’m going to do alone but I’m definitely showering and eating a KitKat. OMG. An apartment all to myself, I’m beside myself with glee.

4:28 p.m. — I don’t even know what to do with myself. A WHOLE APARTMENT? FREE? ALONE? WITH NO CHILD? THIS IS THE BEST MOTHER’S DAY EVER. Ironically of course, as .. without Little Bun I would not be a Mother but my partner has given me THE BEST gift ever today. From the basil planter to the meal to taking Little Bun out for the evening.

4:50 p.m. — KitKat done. I am pleased AF with my time off. I hope they stay out until 6 p.m. or later. I make a note to buy some SPF lip balm to wear all the time. It is silly how I take care of the rest of my skin but forget my lips and my body. This ends NOW.

5:03 p.m. — Time to shower. I’m eying some Coola lip sunscreens online. I resist the urge to buy any, but I really want this one in Coola LipLux Bonfire:

5:44 p.m. — Okay I lied. I picked up that Coola LipLux Bonfire and because I have heard so much about it, The Ordinary Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12%… which is Vitamin C for super cheap, around $15… Paula’s Choice is like $40, and if this brand can replace some of her products, DONE. I am willing to give it a try. $44

 

7:14 p.m. — My partner arrives home later than expected because he dropped off to buy some bread and avocado for tonight’s meal with Little Bun. He gives me as much time as possible alone and I am so.. incredibly.. relaxed. I managed to read a good chunk of my book, and I had such a relaxing day. Today was GREAT. I am loving this new soccer obsession.

7:44 p.m. — Dinner over, we all start to get ready and head to bed. I hope he sleeps well but I doubt it because because he was VERY excited about soccer so he will probably dream and kick tonight. :-/

8:05 p.m. — We finally get ready for bed after Little Bun tries SEVERAL times to grab the iPad back from me to do more fractions with (he is obsessed with this app that is teaching him fractions). I firmly for the third time, take it and hide it away on a shelf. IT IS TIME FOR BED.

8:49 p.m. — We all fall asleep, Little Bun conks out within 5 minutes. He was very well fed and well rested today, so I have a fear that tonight he will wake up due to his impromptu morning snoozefest and then the fact that he took ANOTHER afternoon nap. Grrr.. Parenting.

Spent: $87.33

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