Save. Spend. Splurge.

Week of Money: Where.. ouch.. it is hard to get back into the post-holiday groove

DAY ONE

5:18 a.m. — I wake up somewhat tired at 5:18 a.m. because Little Bun is screaming and screaming… crying out for whatever reason (nightmare). I curl him around him and “Shhhh” him in an attempt to get him to go back to sleep for another hour.

5:23 a.m. — He tries, and then says: “All done? Sleep all done?” … Gah. I get up.

5:34 a.m. — I make tea, then I start laundry, and do all of the dishes. I throw away this pot of liquid on the stove that looks like dirty water to me, not thinking twice about it. I realize later it was the sauce for the food that my partner left in the pot. WHY? WTF. Anyway, we both made a mistake. He shouldn’t have left it in the pot for one thing, and I should have checked with him.. but I was tired and wanted to do all the dishes and let them dry so I don’t have it waiting for me when I’m home. We are both annoyed now in the morning, and this is never good. I get snippy with Little Bun and it sparks a meltdown.

6:15 a.m. — I get ready for work, and Little Bun is calm now (my new zen is to not yell back at him, and just fume silently, and try not to scream)….. and he finally calms down after I hug him tight after stewing for a bit.

6:48 a.m. — I sit with him and we do our LookBook today of what I am wearing today (he selects the item in StyleBook and then pats whatever I’m wearing saying — “It’s THIS!”… too cute).

7:20 a.m. — We get to preschool, no tears, he sits nicely and eats his pita bread and colours in the letter “A” with words below.

7:58 a.m. — I get to work, and just start working, I have early meetings now because I’m booked the whole day, so I prep for it — I have 3 projects on the go, and a 4th about to be assigned in the next month. The Director is piling on the work and the VP is putting pressure on him but I need them to give me the proper documentation and details before I can start.

8:30 a.m. — I buy a bagel matin (morning bagel) with ham and egg to eat away my stress. $4.05

9:56 a.m. — I head off to mail a package to my aunt. $20.22

10:12 a.m. — I also buy some groceries because I need to start making these morning bagels because it is getting EXPENSIVE. $4 x 5 days = $20. I can definitely buy and make better bagels for that price. I also pick up some Bio-K for my health to see if I can get myself back on track to fight off all these colds Little Bun keeps bringing home like trophies. $40.25

10:45 a.m. — More back to back meetings.

11:58 a.m. — Off to yoga. I am finally there for the first time in about 3 weeks and it feels good. I’m tired, a bit dizzy and shaky but okay.

1:12 p.m. — I come back, eat my lunch, and then get back to work. More issues pop up, a VP calls.. the usual.

4:42 p.m. — I pick up Little Bun early and head home. My partner is still a bit miffed about me tossing all that sauce away for the lunches, so he’s not eating his lunch this week. Food waste, but we were BOTH at fault. I’m still eating my meal…. 🙁

5:45 p.m. — We end up having a nice salad together (vegan, just avocado and vegetables) and then I realize I have an appointment tomorrow so I shoot off an email to tell my bosses (I have 4) that I’ll be remote. I waffle between dropping Little Bun off at preschool before going to the appointment but decide the timing would be pretty tight and I would be late.

5:48 p.m. — Instead, I decide to keep him at home. The only issue is I didn’t plan on this so I didn’t take his winter coat, gear or boots home. *sigh* I decide I’ll bundle him up really well and just carry him the whole time and park as close as possible.

7:14 p.m. — I am already snoozing and dozing off in bed and Little Bun happily reads to me. HE IS READING TO ME. This is great. If only I could expand his vocabulary, then he will read books to me as I doze off to the sound of his sweet little baby voice….

7:40 p.m. — My partner wakes me up by asking what “snooze” means (from the book Snoozers he is obsessed with as of late), and I explain it means to kind of be half awake, lying in bed, not sleeping but not awake and not getting up. Like on an alarm clock. My partner says: I keep seeing this “Snooze” business on my calendar “snooze this, snooze that” and I thought it was related to the action of delaying it rather than to a person sleeping and snoozing…. ! Well. You learn something new every day.

7:51 p.m. — I end up sleeping early, and Little Bun takes a while to conk out but I just leave him, and only warn him with a stern ” GO TO SLEEP ” about half an hour into our dozing.

Spent: $44.30

DAY TWO

??:?? — Little Bun is up. It must be midnight or 2 a.m. He goes to the potty then says: ALL DONE SLEEP? No way.. Mommy is tired. I’m still recovering from my cold. I negotiate with him that he can have milk early and then it’s back to bed because it’s still night time. He agrees with the plan.
??:?? — He drinks his milk, and then falls asleep.

5:03 a.m. — I’m woken up at 5 a.m. again from him squealing but then he falls back asleep until 6:20 ish.

6:21 a.m. — He slept well, and seems to be in a good mood.

7:01 a.m. —  I get ready, don’t bother with makeup and head to the appointment.

7:45 a.m. — Little Bun behaves the entire time, and I manage to even log in and work while we are waiting for the appointment to be over.

10:15 a.m. — I decide to drop by the grocery store for a treat before coming home, for all of us. What shall we get? Sushi? I am pondering.
11:02 a.m. — We get to the grocery store, and I stock up on some non-dairy creamer for work, pick up some sushi from yesterday (on sale, $2 off a box, which Little Bun is VERY excited about), and check out. $22.39
11:34 a.m. — At home, I starve a little as I first feed Little Bun his actual lunch (while working), and after he’s done eating, I start on my sushi and give him 3 pieces out of the 16. This child could actually eat all 16 pieces, but I limit him because this is Mommy’s lunch. Next time, I make a note to buy 3 boxes, so he can have one to himself.

12:15 p.m. — He goes back and watches more videos, and very adorably translates and explains to me what is happening on the screen because he thinks I don’t speak French, and I do the dishes while keeping an eye on emails.

12:48 p.m. — I finish up the dishes to dry, work a bit more, and then ask him to go down for his nap, which he does readily and without (much complaint). He goes, lies down, I tuck him in with his toy, give him a kiss, pat his bum a little and then leave.

1:00 p.m. —  He wiggles, makes a few pre-nap mumbly rumbly noises (ehh ehh.. maaa..eehhh) and I leave him. He falls asleep pretty much immediately, and I get to work to try and finish up emails and hop on a call.

2:31 p.m. —  He wakes up an hour and a half later, refreshed, and I give him his bottle of milk, and tell him that after I do the dishes, we’ll go have a playdate with our neighbour.

2:49 p.m. — He VERY HAPPILY drinks his milk, and then watches nursery rhymes quietly again while I do the dishes (while I myself watch The Good Fight, sequel to The Good Wife which is an amazing, addictive, fantastic show that is just as great as The Good Wife was)..

3:00 p.m. — Little Bun near the end as I am slowly drying dishes, prolonging the show gets antsy, hopping about, wanting to GO RIGHT NOW to go play. He gets his shirt, pants on, socks, I try to rush around cleaning up the place, shutting down the computers, grabbing my work laptop to go upstairs and log in while we chat and the kids play, and then we head up.

3:06 p.m. — The wifi doesn’t work. Oh well. She doesn’t know the password. Typical 😛 … Most people (*cough* wives *cough*) have nothing to do with internet or tech stuff and have no idea what or where to go. *sigh*… MEN PLEASE MAKE SURE EVERYONE KNOWS THE WIFI PASSWORDS.

3:20 p.m. — Anyway, it’s close to the end of the work day, so I make a note to log back in after I get back home.

4:00 p.m. — I end up chatting and playing with the kids, who follow me around like little shadows. Little Bun trails Mommy (of course), and the other boy wants to be near Little Bun, so he comes along too. When I leave the room, they both leave. When I am back in the room, they’re both there. *sigh* … I have two shadows now.

4:24 p.m. — My neighbour mentions that her son LOVES me. He plays with me, he wants to do pillow fights, he wants me to see everything he is doing.. and he never does that with anyone else outside of the family, which is nice to hear. My son on the other hand, is more reticent and doesn’t want to play or interact with anyone but Mommy. I try desperately to get him to share, to stop screaming, to play nicely.. and he just wants to be alone.

5:39 p.m. — I worry about Little Bun being a loner in school. He is already doing his “own thing” at preschool, sitting alone in the corner, reading books (like his Mommy and Daddy), and being ALONE. Is he going to be fine? Bullied? I’m already worrying and he hasn’t even started school. Will kids ostracize him like they did to me and his father? Will they think he is weird? Pick on him? Arrrrrggggggghhhh…. I want him to integrate with other kids but maybe he just isn’t that type like us. Some kids are just loners.. it’s normal, but I worry about how it will affect him. It made his father and I stronger because we have pretty strong alpha spirits, but more sensitive children sometimes buckle under such loneliness and feel as though no one understands them. I shouldn’t worry at this age, but I do. I don’t want him to turn out on the wrong side because of this. Maybe something is wrong with him too? Does he have a psychological disorder that prevents him from connecting with others?
5:35 p.m. — We finally go to leave (the other kid missed his nap so he is kind of being a monster, as they all are if they don’t sleep, and is acting out terribly), and the kid runs out and pushes the button before Little Bun.
5:37 p.m. —  OMG. MELTDOWN IN THE HALLWAY. Major, major meltdown.

5:38 p.m. — Little Bun starts screaming, crying, doesn’t want to share the button, OMFG. This is something beyond what any non-parent could comprehend because FOR REAL if I did not have a kid, I would not have believed how an elevator button could cause such a meltdown.

5:43 p.m. — He gets so upset, I am trying to carry him and calm him down, and he stops, glares at the other kid, and runs over, and SHOVES HIM in the belly! OMG He has NEVER ever done this before from what I have seen, and I am just shocked. I try to get him to apologize (no dice), and finally just get him sobbing, red faced, crying in the elevator. My neighbour (friend) is cool with it because Little Bun didn’t really shove him all that hard, but also because her kid has done much worse as well so she knows how terrible I feel (bites others).

5:40 p.m. — We get into the home and Little Bun’s face is all pink and soft from crying, and he looks at me seriously, knowing I’m upset. I tell him that we don’t push our friends and we may not get invited back then. He starts crying again: No no no! Want to play! … and I tell him that the way he acted, he may hurt his friend and his friend won’t want to play. He nods and says: “Don’t push our friends“… and I tell him it is okay to be angry, hurt and upset (apparently this is what parenting books say to do, to acknowledge and validate their feelings but give them an outlet and method to deal with it instead of saying it is a bad feeling and punishing them).

5:41 p.m. — I tell him that he felt angry, hurt and upset that his friend pushed the button before, but we have to share sometimes and his friend just wanted to help. He repeats that he didn’t want to share, and he didn’t want the button to be pushed by his friend (in his baby words, not quite so articulate). I repeat what I say. He calms down.

5:47 p.m. —We cuddle, and then wash our hands and I hold him tight. *sigh*…. He is so cute. He really is. And sweet, but .. he is young and cannot understand or control his wild emotions.

5:52 p.m. — I log in to continue working and finish up.

6:20 p.m. — His father comes home with food, and we have a salad for dinner. I’m beat. I mention that he pushed the other kid and my partner looks at me and says: Well. He had to stand up for himself because he knew the other kid should not have pushed the button, it was his to do as he was getting in the elevator….. *sigh* Different parenting perspectives. I guess I’m very sensitive and men (not all, I suspect) are more into showing power..? I have no idea.

7:11 p.m. — We get ready for bed early, and I am lying down, half sleeping. Little Bun half reads to me, and I try to finish Busiest People Ever (his OTHER obsession) but sleepily mumble we will do it tomorrow and he nods, then we go to sleep without explaining the outside (he forgot about it and I was very glad about it as I was sleepy).

Spent: $22.39

DAY THREE

??:?? — Little Bun wakes up during the night a few times, and I am jolted out of my deep sleep. This is why parents of younger children are so out of it — we can’t get a solid deep REM cycle in to feel rested. I could go right back to sleep right now.

5:02 a.m. — I wake up completely exhausted but “rested” (meaning not conked out) and then go to grab his milk.

5:14 a.m. — He drinks it as I get ready for work. Oh. It’s 5 a.m. that doesn’t help either. Great.

6:00 a.m. — My partner gets up too (tired) and preps Little Bun’s lunch while I sit and cuddle with him on the floor. I kiss and hold him, tell him he’s my baby boy and I will always love him forever. I tell him today is also Preschool day and he nods, whispering “Yes“…

6:13 a.m. — I get up, get dressed, and then I hear him say: “Mommy … didn’t read Busiest People Ever, no time“. Oh my goodness I FORGOT! I promised him!..

6:27 a.m. — I immediately apologize and say: “Mommy forgot, you’re absolutely right Little Bun, grab the book and let’s read it now“. I put extra passion into my reading of the book and he is happy at the end. This kid can remember things like an elephant… it has been a day and a half since I promised we’d finish the book. O_o

6:39 a.m. — I get him dressed reluctantly, and only after I promise him there will be a TON OF STICKERS at preschool and he perks up “Stickers?”..

6:47 a.m. — We do the looks from yesterday and today into the StyleBook app and then head off to preschool.

7:44 a.m. — At preschool, he gets a ton of stickers, and comes to grab me before I leave, but then I sit him back down, help him peel his banana (he wanted to share it with me), and leave. No tears. But all the other poor toddlers are sobbing their hearts out: “Paaa paaaaaa, Maaa maaaaa“, they’re wailing. I feel bad for the girl and I tell her: Good luck, and make my escape.

8:15 a.m. — At work I start and don’t stop until yoga. I only stop really, for two teas and to chat with my Director who came back bronzed from his vacation. Lucky.

11:49 a.m. — I head off to yoga with this clouding my brain. I eat a piece of chocolate on the way (talk about counter-intuitive, destructive eating behaviours.. chocolate before yoga.. LOL)

1:03 p.m. — I am too tired to really do my proper workout. I am hurting from Monday’s workout as I haven’t done it in a few weeks so I need to take it easy. I won’t go again this week to let my body heal, and next week I’ll ramp up to 3 sessions.

1:23 p.m. — I think about getting a cannoli on the way back but steel my reserve. Have to stop “treating” myself or else it becomes an addictive habit.

1:25 p.m. — I come back, and fatigued I grab my lunch. I finish eating, and treat myself to an organic juice box of pomegranate juice. It is just as much sugar as a chocolate bar I am sure, but I feel like it is a little healthier as it doesn’t have the other additives of chocolate. True or false? I don’t know.

1:36 p.m. — I still sort of want a piece of carrot cake so I try to squish it out of my mind.

1:48 p.m. — I drink another juice box. Ugh. Okay, last one.

2:19 p.m. — My team lead created a new rotation schedule for issues and I am hesitant it will work, but game. I don’t see how this’ll work but.. let’s do it. I feel like HE should be the one assigned to assigning and working on this stuff full-time, rather than trying to pass off the work on others. *eye roll*

3:50 p.m. — I work on a few more issues, and end up leaving later than I expected because I hop on a call with a friend (am shipping stuff to her to re-ship to me), and we end up chatting about kids and life.

4:35 p.m. — She tells me the story of a friend who had a husband get snipped to stop any more kids from happening, and then suddenly she gets pregnant. The husband is FURIOUS and kicks her out of the house screaming it is not his child, how could this have happened…. 9 months later, she gives birth and has a paternity test, and it is his. OMFG. It was very rare but his vasectomy actually repaired itself and it was fully functioning again. Now, he is groveling at her feet because she is totally lording it over him that he kicked her out at 9 months with HIS child.

5:03 p.m. — I head off after the call, gather up all of Little Bun’s things because he is staying at home tomorrow with his father.

5:12 p.m. — We head home, traffic is brutal and I take twice as long.

6:30 p.m. — At home, we have dinner (salad again), and Little Bun plays his own little games. I take a shower (alone), while he sits in the bathroom and waits for me while playing on the iPod watching videos of himself.

7:22 p.m. — I do the dishes, the laundry, dry everything, and then collapse into bed.

7:53 p.m. — I read 4 books to him and then we get to bed.

Spent: $0

DAY FOUR

??:?? — Little Bun wakes up at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. He wants milk. I grab his milk. He wants to go back to sleep, and then wiggles for 5 minutes before saying he needs to go potty. Then he doesn’t want to sleep “All done sleep“.. And gets up.
4:12 a.m. — I get up with him… then I start on the dishes because I want everything neat and clean so I don’t have to do so much when I come home at night.

4:17 a.m. — Halfway through my washing, he squeals: Mommy come back, you’re grumpy! Go back down for a nap. Mommy all done. No more Mommy wash dishes. …. what he is asking for the first time ever is to go back down for a nap because it is too early and he feels grumpy (“you’re grumpy” means “I’m grumpy” because he doesn’t quite get the you / I yet). I take off my gloves, apron, glasses and head back to bed with him.

4:23 a.m. — He gets tucked in, and I pat his bum then half doze off. He squeals, wiggles his bum and says: PAT!.. Mommy Pat bum!… so I keep patting his bum

4:27 a.m. — Then my Little Overlord demands that the bum patting motion be faster, because he squeals: FASTER MOMMY. …. I pat his bum faster, and end up dozing off, but by that time, he is already close enough to sleep that he goes to sleep.

5:39 a.m. — My partner is already up and showering to try and relieve the pain in his chest (muscular pain), and I get up too, and finish the dishes. Because I threw out his “lovely sauce” on Monday down the drain, he tosses all of his lunches into the bin and starts buying bread / avocado / ham for sandwiches each day. *sigh* …

6:15 a.m. — He’s really annoyed at me and particular, so I don’t want to start a fight but I would have and HAVE sucked it up and eaten the lunch, dry, with just a little hot sauce.

6:22 a.m. — He gets Little Bun’s lunch ready and then I get ready, and chat with him about work and life in general. I sort of like these morning times with him, to talk about whatever.. I get dressed, and know I am not going to yoga, so I wear a complicated outfit with belts and buckles because I won’t be changing. I’m skipping Friday’s yoga too because my body needs to heal, I’m tired from not sleeping, and still sick from a new cough / cold.

6:38 a.m. — I make a cup of tea, we do a Look together in StyleBook with him choosing pieces and then patting my outfit to say: “It’s this!“, or “It matches!“… and I manage to lure him out of the house, lugging 3 bags (his winter gear in a bag, our 2 lunches, and my purse with my laptop today as I am not going out), and promise him stickers at preschool.

7:11 a.m. — The minute he arrives at preschool, he sits down with his peeled banana and says: “Mommy? Stickers? Want stickers?“.. this kid did NOT forget. The daycare worker hands him some and whispers that it’s a nice cheap way to get them out of the house, to which I agree and tell her “Good Luck“.. There are 2 of them sobbing today (small little toddlers, around 1.5 – 2 years old), and I get to work.

7:29 a.m. — It’s quiet at work, and I manage to make a better breakfast sandwich today than yesterday. 2 eggs in a glass bowl, microwave for 1 minute, layer it in between some turkey slices, on two slices of toast, and it is not as yummy as a breakfast sandwich for $4, but it is cheaper, organic to boot, and if I bought a little cheese for it, it would be perfect.

9:15 a.m. — They’re firing a few people, and my Team Lead is trying desperately to keep everyone because he kind of doesn’t know his job and wants the consultants to do it for him to keep covering for him, but I suspect budget constraints will dictate otherwise and the money will have to be spread out evenly across all the departments, not just concentrated on what one individual wants. I keep working and keep an eye on the clock.

9:59 a.m. — A Director calls me to say he won’t be at the meeting and he wants me to lead it / give the client the updated timeline. I agree. I have been almost triple-booked all day for meetings and I am not sure how we are going to do this.

10:11 a.m. — I grab another cup of tea, feel sufficiently full from my breakfast sandwich (cost about $3 but was double the size of one I’d buy. I am doing this again for sure.)

10:21 a.m. — I head off to meeting 1 of 3.

12:34 p.m. — After my meetings, I prep my lunch and go to eat quietly.

1:40 p.m. — I need my own office. I know it is impossible to swing, but I can’t work surrounded by so many people yapping. My team is particularly boisterous.

3:00 p.m. — I finish my meetings, a huge something or another blows up, and I stay until 5 p.m. trying to help before I HAVE TO LEAVE and pick up Little Bun.

5:15 p.m. — The lady tells me that Little Bun ate nothing all day. He seemed fine, liked to play but his appetite was wayyyyy down. Oh dear. I think he is getting sick. I feel terrible…

5:55 p.m. — I bring him home, cuddle him, try to feed him a dinner but he refuses half way through and then wants to play “Baby” and be cuddled.. he ends up falling asleep right away, coughing and his head a little feverish. He is definitely getting sick, my poor little bun.

7:11 p.m. — I go to sleep too. I’m not feeling great either.

Spent: $0

DAY FIVE

??:?? —  I wake up having slept but not feeling so great. I had my sleep broken a few times from Little Bun squealing.

6:30 a.m. — Oh. It’s “late“…

7:49 a.m. — I get to the office, blow up the microwave with my cooked eggs (oops)… and end up cleaning it. I should use a larger container so that it cooks faster in 30 seconds over a larger surface rather than a smaller one. Note to self.

8:08 a.m. — Microwave clean, sandwich in hand, I head down and start working. I try to get stuff done but PEOPLE ARE SO LOUD. STOP TALKING. Why does everyone need to know everything? …. I’m annoyed because I have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time.

9:18 a.m. — Meetings all day. I grab my notebook and head off.

11:02 a.m. — Time for lunch.

4:45 p.m. — I get Little Bun and head home.

5:35 p.m. — I don’t even remember what happened. I probably fell asleep early.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

??:?? — Little Bun wakes me up at 4 because he needed to go pee but also heard the snow tractor and wanted to see it. Sigh.
7:10 a.m. — I wake up “late” a second time because of Little Bun. It is late at 7 but he was waking up all night which didn’t help. He squeals when he gets tangled in the blankets, or when he isn’t perfectly 100% body heat regulated and comfortable. I’m really tired. I feel like I haven’t slept in years. Properly slept.

7:25 a.m. — I get up, grab his milk, start my tea, and then we cuddle on the floor together. I love these early mornings with him anyway, when he is all sleepy-ish, cuddly, quiet (for the most part) and loves to sit on my lap and be held like a baby or cuddled and kissed. I do it as long as he’ll let me before he gets bored and gets up and wants to play with his “trains” and “schoolbuses” (he pretends pouches are vehicles).

7:42 a.m. — He tries to climb me like a tree (I am standing and he starts pulling on my sweatshirt, and trying to wrap one leg up around my body, and then hoist himself up with both legs wrapped around my legs like a monkey climbing a coconut tree or something).

7:47 a.m. — I wearily tell him that Mommy can’t carry him (he killed my back two weeks ago and I’m now instituting a NO CARRYING rule unless under distress). He protests until I agree to “share a banana” with him and he forcibly makes me take alternating bites of the banana with him.

7:51 a.m. — I instead cuddle him and explain to him how the snow tractor works outside which he loves watching. He sees it push snow up and over and says: A BIG MOUNTAIN!

7:59 a.m. — I put away the dishes, and leave the sink for tonight — for a massive cleanup.

8:22 a.m. — Then I cuddle Little Bun again and I tell him how much I love him because I do.

9:24 a.m. — My partner wakes up, and says that today with the snow, he is too worried about driving and getting caught on the bridges so we shop at a grocery store nearby. I take Little Bun out for this snowy adventure (bad idea on my part in hindsight), and we head out. Little Bun is so excited to go out. He puts his shirt on inside out and then exclaims: It’s cold! (the decal on the shirt was cold so it touched his chest). I help him reverse it and put it on properly and he says: It’s warm now. He excitedly pulls on half a pant-leg and squeals: Help help… and then his socks, but knows he didn’t get the heel right, so I help him redo it.

9:41 a.m. — We head out, and we do our grocery shopping. To keep him entertained, I bring him around the store and show him all the different fruits, vegetables, name them in both languages, and let him pet a few of them that I know he won’t ruin or bruise. He sees grapes and calls them cherries, then asks for “the grapes to be in the belly!” and he rubs his stomach happily. Maybe I’ll buy grapes next time but they look a bit modified (way too large and round, not like “normal” grapes which means they won’t be yummy)..  We head around the store, then make a bathroom stop (the woman talking to me in French is mumbling and I have to make her repeat 4-5 times before I even know where the bathroom is located), and then we head out.

10:17 a.m. — The snow is so bad, it takes us 10 minutes to warm up the car and get going, everything has frozen solid on the windshield and around the doors in the short time we were inside.

10:29 a.m. — At home, I feed him his soup, and then we eat another lunch together.

12:29 p.m. — I am suddenly exhausted. We go and lie down for a “family nap” and we all sleep together for a short hour before he bounces awake and wants to play.

1:36 p.m. — I start a load of laundry and try to lie down to rest (my cold is kicking in). He scooches his bum up to my face as I am lying down and a puff of air comes out and he squeals happily as he says: “FARTING ON MOMMY’S FACE!“.. ugh.. adorable and disgusting at the same time.

1:46 p.m. — I end up answering emails and making notes, then starting laundry until dinner time.

6:24 p.m. — We eat together, and afterwards I do all the dishes. A huge freakin’ sinkful.

I decide to not towel dry them (I feel really tired, with low energy and am sick) and let them air dry so I stack them all on top of each other so there is airflow and it all dries for tomorrow morning.

7:39 p.m. — Then my partner goes to open a bag of chickpeas. I think we all know what is going to happen right…..?????

7:53 p.m. — As he is pulling the bag open, the entire bag splits (he wasn’t careful and didn’t open it in a bowl AND he was trying to open it with a knife in an awkward area) and the entire bag in slow motion spills on the floor. Everywhere. A huge mess, which makes Little Bun’s eyes light up as he squeals: UH OH!!! A MESSSSS!!! DADDY MADE A MESS!!!!

8:07 p.m. — I make him go around on his hands and knees with me and we slowly pick up all the little chickpeas here and there as my partner gets the broom silently and starts sweeping.

8:18 p.m. — They have rolled everywhere, under the fridge, under the microwave, under the tables, all over the kitchen carpet.

8:28 p.m. — To my partner’s credit he silently spends the next hour slowly cleaning up (with some of our help to find the rogue beans), and even removes the fridge, and the microwave, sweeps out behind the fridge and vacuums the entire floor and cleans underneath the microwave. The kitchen floor is now SPOTLESS. Sweet.

8:36 p.m. — I wrangle Little Bun away from the mess (he is seriously excited because nothing like this usually happens at home), and he is bouncing on one foot to another, thrilled to witness this. He wants to stay in the kitchen to watch it all happen, and I stay with him to supervise him and keep him away from his silently fuming father (who is mad at himself more than anything).

8:56 p.m. — We finally have the mess cleaned and we all go to sleep after I change Little Bun and read a book and explain the outside. What a night.

Spent: $0

DAY SEVEN

5:03 a.m. — I wake up at 5. Again. Little Bun. He doesn’t want to sleep.

5:18 a.m. — I get up, make tea and try to keep him quiet.

6:25 a.m. — I slowly and carefully put away the dishes. My partner is lying in bed probably still annoyed from last night.

7:39 a.m. — He wakes up and starts cooking as I have Little Bun in my lap playing with Christmas cards.

8:04 a.m. — Little Bun is in a NO DADDY phase right now and won’t hug, kiss, say hello or talk to his father if I am around. He says: No twice! Only once! Only Mommy kids and hug. … sigh.

8:22 a.m. — His father is a little hurt for sure because he tells him: No hug and kiss means no cake for  you because I’m the one making cakes in the house here! … which causes a meltdown from Little Bun who now wants cake and sees it being taken away.

8:36 a.m. — I have no idea what to do. I suspect he needs to PLAY with him, not just be beside him and silent but he doesn’t have a playful nature and is awkward around children so this is very hard for him. He only follows my suggestions of things to do with him but he doesn’t really have a creative initiative or imagination to make up nonsense stories and games with Little Bun which I find I am good at because I don’t really feel self-conscious even in public. I’ll sing and dance with Little Bun in public and not care but some people are just not that mentally free… like my partner.

8:46 a.m. — Anyway, I hustle Little Bun into the bedroom and we read books and make up a clapping numbers game which he now is in love with.

11:46 a.m. — We have lunch and then we all go down for a family nap. I’ll do dishes later.

11:53 a.m. — I’m exhausted and I conk out. Little Bun wakes up quite early (I needed another half hour, my body was craving it), and I’m all groggy.

1:58 p.m. — I manage to muster up some energy and I have him dress himself and take him out to the pharmacy to refill my birth control pills, buy a tissue box for the car, and some cold medication. $72.86

2:29 p.m. — I then take him to the grocery store and I pick up some English Muffins for the office for my breakfast sandwich and decide on sushi as a little treat for us. $19.21

2:49 p.m. — After sushi (he LOVES raw fish and avocado), we head home and have a light dinner of just fruit — oranges and we share a banana. I’m not that hungry and neither is Little Bun.

4:50 p.m. — I do the dishes, and dry them all this time while finishing Season 1 of The Good Fight.

7:49 p.m. — Then we read books and go to sleep.

Spent: $92.07

———-

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

12 Comments

  • Jamie

    My LO (almost 3) plays by himself too, he’s also an only child (and likely will always be) but I had a younger brother and still prefered to play by myself. I was a bit of a loner too and got bullied a few times during my youth but found a group of outcasts during high school that I’m still friends with (we’re going on 20 years of being friends!) My husband was also a loner and bullied. So, it may happen but I think that I’d rather have a few really close friends (even just 1!) than a lot of so-called friends who aren’t really there for you. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

    I also think you handled the shoving incident perfectly! We are supposed to validate those feelings but let them know its not right to hurt someone else. If the other boy had been the aggressor then yes, littlebun would have a had a right to defend himself but getting physical over an elevator button probably isn’t the best lesson 😉 But, men do see these things differently sometimes. Hope you and littlebun get better soon!

  • Clara

    Not sure if this is a good suggestion but if your partner is not the playful kind, maybe he could just explain things to Little Bun? LB seems to really enjoy getting things explained to him. Your partner also seems to be very handy around the house. LB is still really young but this is the age when my partner‘s dad and grandfather started taking him with them when they repaired things. He helped with sorting nails and screws and giving his dad some appliances at first. But he was actually taught to do small tasks really early and as a result is extremely handy as an adult, actually in a would be able to build a house on his own kind of way. He loved this time with his dad and grandfather and says it’s one of his favourite things about his childhood. Maybe your partner likes this idea?

    • Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.

      I think that is a fabulous suggestion. He doesn’t explain things the way I do, but he does want to interact with Little Bun but isn’t sure how to.. he just sees me and models after me, but doesn’t have that kind of.. wild.. childlike playful side that I have. He has always held himself back (unless he is topped up on wine LOL)…

      I think he will be more the silent, reserved, teach-him-how-to-fix things type. I will be encouraging that for sure, but for now, Little Bun clings to me like a koala cub and he and I are very very close.

  • R

    The bit about Little Bun wanting to play alone most of the time really resonated with me. I wonder if society puts too much pressure of want to make everyone social butterflies. I have a 3 year old (GG) who goes to an expensive private school (the kind where one year tuition costs more than medical school…). GG’s teacher called me in recently and said they were bringing in a specialist to watch GG for a couple of days as they noticed GG sometimes parallel plays instead of interactive playing. Apparently, according to the specialist and GG’s school director, this may be a sign of an emotional delay. GG is super social and has more friends than I had to that age. Our weekends usually consists of 4-5 playdates plus 2-3 birthday parties. My response: maybe GG just wants to play alone sometimes! Or maybe GG doesn’t like everyone in the class (which is totally normal in my mind. I don’t like everyone I work with). In short, don’t think there is anything to worry about with Little Bun…they are just humans who happen to be smaller than us.

    • Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.

      That’s what I think. I played alone a lot.. I always felt awkward as a child even until university, and the only people I feel free around to be crazy and silly and sing are little children whom I feel won’t judge me.. odd right?

      Anyway, he is fine. He JUST made a new friend. 🙂 It’ll just take time. I would rather he have a few deep relationships than many shallow ones.

  • Alexis

    Not sure if little Bun is an introvert, but re: his lone wolf status you might enjoy this book:

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23398681-quiet-power

    • Sherry of Save. Spend. Splurge.

      My mom says it is because he’s an only child and needs a sibling *STRONG HINT*.. 😛

      I will read that book. I think my partner and I are also introverts but have managed to learn to project extrovert qualities.. though I am probably more extroverted than he is.

  • Financial Orchid

    I’m doing no spend days. And last month I had whole weeks of no spending. I somehow managed to keep most of my grocery spending to weekends only. Cold month help for staying in. My Jan exp report is out. Let me know where I can optimize!
    Can’t wait for yours!

  • Kandice

    You’ve mentioned that you only speak English in front of Little Bun and your partner only speaks French, and Little Bun doesn’t know you speak French. So, what language do you and your partner speak to each other in front of LB?

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