Week of Money: Where the weather finally warms up in time for taxes
DAY ONE
??:?? — Little Bun is SCREAMING. Like full out, lungs blaring, SCREAMING.
6:21 a.m. — I wake up tired and cosy. I just want to sleep another two or three more hours. Or have daily naps.
6:22 a.m. — I get up to get ready and Little Bun squeals about not going to school. Crying, sitting on the floor, refusing to put clothes on.
6:45 a.m. — I coax him into doing Lookbook entries, then we take selfies but he gets mad and doesn’t want “Mommy Alone Selfies“…
6:58 a.m. — I finally get him, his winter crap and my junk out the door. We’re waiting about 2 minutes for the elevator and he says: PEE PEE??
6:59 a.m. — OMFG. It was so stupid but I just lost it. We had ALL THIS TIME, and I asked him at least 5 times before we left, I am lugging 4 heavy bags, the elevator has arrived AND NOW HE WANTS TO PEE!??! He of course, bursts into tears, I’m frustrated to the end of my rope and I am screaming at him trying NOT to scream but I cannot help myself. I am so… effing tired.
7:11 a.m. — I plan on using my Starbucks reward today at lunch and getting a nice expensive tisane — one of those rose blooming rooibos teas in a super big Venti, and to read my book in peace in a cafe. I need the walk, and I need the break. It is going to be a long week.
7:30 a.m. —I get to the preschool, drop off is fine as they have raisins with some cereal, and I lumber off to work like some braindead zombie.
7:32 a.m. — At work, I make a tea, steal an English muffin from a colleague and make my breakfast sandwich. I need to buy more muffins today, I’m out.
7:39 a.m. — I start working but have zero energy. I may take a break today… and after a good night’s (EARLY) sleep, get to work tomorrow.
8:00 a.m. — I get absorbed in a problem I am working on and before it Know it, it is 11 a.m.
11:00 a.m. — I take a break, head out to buy some whole wheat muffins, and drop by for my promised “treat” .. as I am not feeling very hungry I’ll have my lunch later as my last meeting of the day is not until 3 p.m.-ish.
11:13 a.m. — On the way to the grocery store, I drop by the pharmacy to check the price of some hydrogen peroxide (it is perfect for INSTANTLY stopping nosebleeds and does not hurt kids), and see $2.29 for a small bottle. I am sure I can do better. On my way out I check the candy aisle and there’s a sale of $2 for 4 Cadbury milk bars. I snap it up. $2 is a good deal and I am always on the hunt for emergency chocolate. $2.35
11:18 a.m. —I drop by another pharmacy on the way and pick up some KitKats and Hershey Cookies & Creams on sale. 2 for $1.75, and so I pick up 4 of each along with a larger, cheaper bottle of hydrogen peroxide for $1.29 on sale. $10.88
11:34 a.m. — At the grocery store, I pick up organic arugula to add to my breakfast sandwiches, baby tomatoes, a huge thing of soy milk for my chai mixes, whole wheat English muffins and two boxes of strawberries as a snack along with a Provence-made (actually shipped from France) glass bottle of Shrimp Soup (loosely translated into English but it sounds way better in French.) That soup is my treat because it’s about two bowlfuls and $13. Ouch. Still! If it’s yummy, I AM SO buying more. I almost buy some fancy $6 pannacotta to eat with my strawberries but hold back. $28.75
11:59 a.m. — I can barely stuff everything into my bag, so I do what I can, and carry the arugula in my hand.
12:02 p.m. — Dang, it is like SUMMER now. I am sweating really badly…
12:07 p.m. — I forego my “treat” at Starbucks. Maybe tomorrow. Today was not a good day to plan that, if I had groceries to run.
12:12 p.m. — At the office, I unload everything, and make my lunch, adding chicken strips to my quinoa, yellow lentils and confit onions. I also eat a slice of my partner’s cake (he packed two for me as a treat).
12:52 p.m. — I eat my lunch, get caught in a conversation with two colleagues, and then rush out to read a bit more of my book – 15 minutes worth.
1:17 p.m. — Back at work, I try to puzzle out that problem and run into MORE problems. I shoot off two emails and wait. My life is all about waiting for responses.
1:40 p.m. — I take another break, drink the rest of my Coconut Dream milk (it’s gross, stick with almond or soy), and get someone to help me on another project.
1:42 p.m. — While that is happening, I email my partner — I saw his favourite brand of notebooks on sale (Rhodia) and he tells me to “clear out the stock” on certain notebook sizes and numbers.
2:34 p.m. — I head out to the pharmacy and pick up all of the ones he wanted. It fills my ENTIRE backpack. Like, whoa. Really heavy. $0 for me but it was $101.28 for what he will reimburse me for
2:46 p.m. —I pick up my dry cleaning on the way back (I got an email that it was ready).
2:51 p.m. — At the office, I unload everything into my car, try to re-pack a few things, moving all the chocolate into one bag, and books into another.
3:10 p.m. — It is so beautiful, I am certain I will take Little Bun to the park today. YAY! He will be so happy.
3:15 p.m. — I eat three little mini Cadbury creme eggs. Nomz. Something about that sugary fondant that just melts in my mouth really gets to me…
3:20 p.m. — I drink a lot of water to compensate for all that sugar I just ate…. (Shut up. I know it doesn’t work like that.)
3:31 p.m. — Back at my desk, I power through a few things, reply to a few more emails, and then it’s time for my meeting. The day did pass rather fast….
4:08 p.m. — I grab Little Bun after my meeting and take his snack “to-go” as I plan on sitting in the park enjoying the weather while he slowly eats it.
4:28 p.m. — At the park, true to form he takes forever to eat his snack and I call my friend to get the latest. We talk for about a half hour before Little Bun insists on monopolizing his Mommy.
5:07 p.m. — I finish the rest of my emergency Toblerone – I only had two triangles left. I will replenish it with a KitKat. I saw some green tea KitKats the other day, I should buy one as a treat one day.
5:14 p.m. — As I’m watching Little Bun slide, my partner drives up and I wave eagerly to him — he waves back and then parks around the corner and joins us. He is making an effort to be more present and I appreciate it.
5:20 p.m. —We debrief each other on our days, share gossip and Little Bun plays before my partner says it is time to go and we get in our cars to go back.
5:32 p.m. — My partner has to finish our taxes so he works on that while I browse Poshmark a bit more (guiltily) and finalize some offers. Nothing concrete yet.
5:49 p.m. — I wash ALL the dishes and then make some noodles. Gosh I love this simple meal.
6:14 p.m. — I make a note to start laundry tomorrow before going to work, transfer my money for taxes and then I drink a warm glass of milk and get Little Bun ready for bed.
7:30 p.m. — We need to be more consistent with bedtime and I’m slacking so I’m working on that so at 7:30 sharp, I get him ready for bed. He squeals that it is NOT bedtime and he is NOT ready to go down for a nap and it is absolutely NOT NIGHT.
7:45 p.m. — I tell the story of shoes changing colours for two animals (Harry the Hedgehog and Munchie the Crocodile), and then Little Bun runs in and out of the room, unable to believe that we are trying to stick to a sleep schedule now.
8:02 p.m. — My partner is not helping. He is in the kitchen eating at 8:10 p.m. so obviously Little Bun sees the both of us “doing stuff” when we should both be in bed.
8:13 p.m. — I am already half conked out in the bed, half dozing.
8:20 p.m. — My partner finally comes in, and lies down, and Little Bun squeals and wiggles around the bed, refusing to sleep. He won’t let me pat his bum (instant sleep), and just wants to lie there.
Spent: $41.98
DAY TWO
??:?? — He wakes up screaming.
??:?? — More squealing. Now he is double wrapped in this blanket… like a piglet.
6:32 a.m. — In the morning, he wakes up and says: We have to find the other glove! (He lost one of his ‘glove socks’ last night in the kerfuffle of blankets). I sleepily tell him Mommy will find it later, okay? Would he like some milk? He nods yes happily, and I grab his milk.
6:33 a.m. — On the way to the kitchen he tells me: NO SCHOOL TODAY. Bye bye school! I tell him it is a School Day and he is not staying home. He whines but then takes his milk and is quiet for the next 10 minutes.
6:37 a.m. — My partner gets up to get ready, we’re already half an hour behind because we all woke up half an hour before we have to leave.
6:40 a.m. — I am in the bathroom getting ready, and Little Bun screams: MILK IS DONE! ALL DONE!… and is waving his bottle. I am in the midst of putting on foundation so I tell him to wait and he pipes down.
6:42 a.m. — I wash my hands, grab the bottle, put it back in the fridge, and continue with my makeup. My necklace that Little Bun broke and my partner fixed looks great! I can’t even tell it was ever broken.
6:52 a.m. — I decide to wear it today, with the same sweater (oddly enough) I wore with it the last time, and then Little Bun gets up, and chooses my watch (Fossil Vintage Jacqueline “shapes” watch.. that I love because of the mosaic face).
6:53 a.m. — He insists on a ring (gold drusy made by Dollybird Designs from Etsy), and then refuses to get dressed. My throat is so sore right now from the start of this 8th cold that I can’t even speak. I of course, by the way.. LOVE this necklace of hers retailing for $1200 😛 .. I may be spend-y but not even I can justify a $1000 NECKLACE when I have so dang many..
Ain’t she a beaut though? It is SO up my alley.
6:55 a.m. — I go to reach for Little Bun to steer him to the bedroom to get dressed and he evades my grasp like a toddler ninja, runs to the bedroom, and buries himself into the bedcovers, head into the pillow, scrunched up into a tight ball as if he is trying to be invisible. If I was not so exasperated to get him dressed and ready to leave, I’d be laughing. It is really quite adorable… seeing his bum up in the air, completely wrapped in this blanket..
6:57 a.m. — I leave him as I get my lunch and my other things packed and then go back in, asking him if he wants to go to school.
6:59 a.m. — He refuses. I coax him out saying it is a special day with special snacks at school like maybe RAISINS!?.. and he walks to go get dressed but insists he has to wear this massive blanket like a cape. I tell him firmly no cape, he will trip, and he holds my hand all the way to the bedroom to get dressed where I let him choose between two shirts I have picked out, and that’s it.
7:03 a.m. — No lookbook or selfies today (I did the selfie already for Instagram @saverspender), and I hustle him to the car. We are going to hit traffic for sure.
7:05 a.m. —I load all of the bags in the car, and then we head off to preschool and work.
7:10 a.m. — Yep. Traffic. Just 5 0r 10 minutes before and smooth sailing but once we leave at 7 sharp.. forget it.
7:40 a.m. — I drop him off at preschool and snag a lot of raisins for him in the cereal.
7:43 a.m. — On the way out, I smash my forehead onto one of these art racks they have RIGHT AT EYE-LEVEL, and I hope it doesn’t leave a bruise. I am effing tired and my hand-eye coordination is off.
8:04 a.m. — At work, I log in, reply to a quick email, then start working on some items.
8:08 a.m. — I take a break, make a breakfast sandwich, adding baby arugula this time and I LOVE the bitterness it adds so I plan on making this a staple in my sandwich.
8:23 a.m. — I drink a cup of Earl Grey Cream Black Tea (used to be one of my favourites until I switched to Hot Chocolate Pu’erh), and then I get back to work.
9:00 a.m. — Meeting.
10:45 a.m. — I leave a tiring meeting from one of my 6 projects. I don’t think they understand anything and I’m not the lead on this so I shouldn’t be asking questions but I can’t help myself. I can see other people eagerly asking me when we can set up a time to do work “together”.. and I can see it means “sit there and watch you do all the work”, soI don’t commit to anything and just plan on making myself scarce.
11:02 a.m. — I drink some water, pull a report for later, and then head off to read my book. I’m not hungry from my massive sandwich today, but I’ll eat my lunch to stay full with energy for the rest of the day. Followed by chocolate of course.
11:12 a.m. — I log in and transfer money to pay my taxes, book stuff for Little Bun, buy a book for his cousin for our trip this summer. $34.75
12:20 p.m. — I head off to another meeting, my brain is dead though so I don’t offer much.
1:00 p.m. — I take a break and end up buying Michelle Obama’s skirt off Poshmark I had been coveting for a while (the original seller wanted $65 for it, but we got it down to $32). Considering it retailed for $168, this is quite a nice deal. $46.18
Ya sold me on the skirt, girl…
1:40 p.m. — A director asks me on an update on another on-going project. My brain tiredly replies. I have no idea if I made sense.
2:54 p.m. — I take a break before my last meeting of the day. I feel like I need a day to just.. organize. I could be saying this because I have literally not slept well in the past month with Little Bun having sleep issues, so this may be the Tired Sherry talking.
3:08 p.m. — Meeting of the day.
4:15 p.m. — I grab Little Bun, grab his snack, and head to the park to hang.
5:03 p.m. — We go to get back into the car to go home, and he just pulls away from me and RUNS into the street. I don’t freak out because it was an empty street for the most part, not a highway, but I DO yell at him and grab his arm to yank him back. I’m furious and he sees it, then bursts into tears in the car seat. He kicks and refuses to be buckled in… I just let him scream, until he is buckled in and we drive home. I’m silent the whole way except for saying one thing: No more park for the rest of the week.
5:20 p.m. — I am still silent, he is sobbing in the backseat, crying, screaming: LISTEN TO MOMMY! You are listening to your Mommy! WANT THE PARK. WANT MORE PARK…
5:24 p.m. — He screams: Mommy talk! Mommy talk! Mommy wants to talk! More park! More park! …. all the way through the garage, down the hall and into the elevator. Other people get on at different levels and he is screaming, red faced, crying, but then falls silent a few flights up, scared of screaming while strangers are around him in a confined space. The other passengers are sympathetic and I say: You can’t do anything. You just have to wait.
5:25 p.m. — In the house, I am still silent. He is grabbing at the door, screaming, and pulling at the door screaming that he doesn’t want me to lock it, close it, it has to stay open…. and running back and forth, up and down. I’m slowly getting undressed, removing shoes, going to the bathroom, washing my hands… I can’t calm him down. I have to wait out this storm. He needs to go through it (I think) and sometimes they cannot control it and it gets them so worked up they can’t stop even if they wanted. They need to just work out the energy and then once spent, they can be talked to.
5:28 p.m. — He runs away from me again, by pulling the door open, going into the hall and towards the elevator, and I very calmly just close and lock the door. I hear him screaming and running back on the other side: MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY.. open THE DOOR!!!… and banging hard on it. TOUGH LOVE is hard. I’m still watching him and I know he is in a safe area, safe hallway, but he has to learn to stop running away from me and to stay with me when things are important. If he wants to go out, THEN GO. WITHOUT ME. I only punish him for a painful 10 seconds before I open the door and he runs into my legs, hugging them and sobbing.
5:30 p.m. — He finally calms down a little, after screaming: YOU WANT TO GO OUT! NO MORE LOCKING THE DOOR. NO MORE DOOR LOCKED... and I say very softly, and calmly that we can go check the mail if he’d like. He nods, red-faced, all snotty nosed. I hold him in the chair as he calms down, breathing all ragged, sobbing on my chest, and I rub his back. I tell him that the punishment stands. No more park for the rest of the week, if he cannot listen to me and not run into the streets. I explain about cars, and staying close to Mommy in those specific situations and not scaring Mommy. I don’t mind him running around IN the park without me, but not into the streets or in parking garages even if it doesn’t seem like any cars are around.
5:35 p.m. — Parenting is hard AF but there are some points in your life where you absolutely must drill in a painful lesson in their heads to save their lives. I do not want him to die because of a stupid mistake. He also has to stop dictating to me what to do and what the rules are. I’m in charge here, not him. It’s about time he learns it. I need to start setting rules, he’s no longer a baby and it hurts me but it will help.
5:44 p.m. — All calm now (sort of), I put on shoes and lock the door to go check the mail. He screams again that the door can’t be locked and I hold up one finger to warn him — We will turn right around and go back if you keep this up.… and he stops. We go and check the mail and then come back up.
6:10 p.m. — I share a banana with him quietly, I give him some milk, and then I ask him if he wants to play “Baby” and then we will make noodles when he is ready. He agrees. We go to the bedroom, we cuddle, play ‘Baby’ and then he finally gets up and says: Noodles? Mommy?.. and I get up to make some for him and myself.
6:23 p.m. — My partner comes in the door, I tell him that Little Bun is killing me. It started in the morning with no school and now has ended up in this mess.
6:34 p.m. — We have noodles together and then I log in to file my taxes electronically. I make a note of how much I owe to each agency, and then transfer the money from my savings (takes 1 business day) and plan on paying it when the money comes in.
6:50 p.m. — My partner and I chat to each other while I do laundry, and then get things organized.
7:12 p.m. — I do the dishes, clean the counter wipe everything down and then log in to check on Poshmark and the other items I bid on.
8:00 p.m. — I get Little Bun ready for bed, I tell him a new story about the magic colour changing gloves and then he drops off to sleep while we stay silent, and lie there in bed, not talking. I think the talking keeps him awake and frankly I am tired.
Spent: $80.93
DAY THREE
??:?? — I wake up early. I can’t sleep any more.
5:37 a.m. — Oh it’s early. I log in and answer emails, check on the money transfer for my taxes.
6:06 a.m. — I quietly get up and start washing my face to go to work. Little Bun wakes up just as I am putting cleanser on and squeals for me. “IT IS STILL NIGHT TIME! WANT NIGHT MILK!…” Oh NOW you want to sleep.. when you fought me so hard last night and now you’re tired!?
6:07 a.m. — I grab his milk, and finish getting ready.
6:30 a.m. — I get dressed, do makeup, Little Bun is still rolling around in the bed covers, and my partner gets ready as well (we chat the whole time) and he leaves.
6:37 a.m. — We do selfies and LookBook, and he takes forever to choose a song on the playlist to listen to. He chose Waka Waka by Shakira by the way.
7:04 a.m. — I head off with Little Bun and hit traffic. We have to do this earlier. I hate traffic. 10 minutes makes a big difference.
7:30 a.m. — At preschool, he gets Cheerios and I leave. I am really tired today. I slept well-ish last night but woke up out of habit, and I really want to take a break today and let my brain rest. Unfortunately work does not allow that.
7:47 a.m. — I get into a heated discussion with my Team Lead. I don’t agree with him and he refuses to let it go because he thinks he knows better. I finally beat him but my brain is now exhausted (fighting in French is hard).
8:20 a.m. — I go and grab a tea, and make a sandwich.
8:43 a.m. — I get back to work and don’t stop.
11:24 a.m. — I call a former colleague and we catch up. He works downtown so we can do a lunch together some time.
12:02 p.m. — I grab my lunch, warm up that yummy fish bisque (I need to buy more, it was really good), and happily eat my lunch.
12:28 p.m. — Lunch over, I grab my laptop and take a break, working on my notes.
12:58 p.m. — I head back into work and finish a Hershey white chocolate Cookies & Cream bar because… I COULD.
1:06 p.m. — I get working on an issue, I have a call in an hour and a half so I plan on trying to finish this problem so I can feel like I am getting ahead, but I keep getting sidetracked with QUESTIONS. STOP WITH THE QUESTIONS.
2:00 p.m. — I start on another chocolate bar.
2:34 p.m. — Call over – I have no idea what we are going to do with a call where no one has made any progress yet, and I feel like it is a massive waste of time.
2:40 p.m. — Yep. Waste of time. At least the day is almost over.
3:28 p.m. — I am itching to leave. I get ready early and pre-pack everything into my car.
3:50 p.m. — I grab Little Bun and go.
3:50 p.m. —
On the way home (the snack today was apples which in his book is NOT a snack), he says in the backseat that he wants to go to the park. I remind him about how he DID NOT listen to Mommy the last time we were at the park and that he was on a park Time Out for the rest of the week which happens to coincide with rain. He squeals in the backseat and kicks, saying: Park park!! But I refuse to give in and also point out that it is ALSO raining. He refuses to accept it is raining as well, and I just stay silent on the ride home.
At home we drop everything off, check the mail and I got this pretty metallic rose gold belt in the mail (on sale from Banana Republic for $30), and it really does look very expensive, so I plan on keeping it but watching out for future sales.
I unpack everything, get undressed, and then take a shower while Little Bun insists that he wants to stay outside and play with his cans and cars. Fine. I leave the bathroom door open so I can hear him and he can come in.. which he does, twice. To go #2… which means I come out of the shower dripping wet to wipe him. This is the #ParentingLife, unfiltered.
I get out of the shower, then put away all the stuff in my closet – I get lazy sometimes and just throw it all on the table in there, then I rearrange or organize it at a later date, or on the weekend and put it all away. I plan on doing a true #KonMarie clean out of my wardrobe. There are STILL at least 20 pieces I know I am holding on to that make no sense at all to, because for whatever reason – I like the colour but hate the cut, or I can’t bear to sell or donate it because I STILL COULD ONE DAY wear it. You know.
I will note though that I had wanted to get rid of all of my Massimo Dutti skinny pants when I started working because they were OBSCENELY tight on me in a size 4 (I had put on weight with stretchy dresses during the time I had off with Little Bun and crept up to a size 5 / 6)… and now I am glad I kept them because I wear them almost 5 days a week to work as they go with everything, don’t look like jeans (more like skinny chinos), and are comfortable now that I have lost that little bit of pastry weight. This is NOT helping any kind of argument for #KonMarie’ing your clothes because I could fit back into them and love them all over again. Amirite!?
Load of laundry in.
My partner comes home and announces that we found our barbecue on sale and he negotiated the 10% off.I pay for it online for him to pick it up later. $683.54
I start on some noodles, and then after we eat, I do the dishes.
I start drying the load of laundry.
I get Little Bun ready for bed (a fight), and this time it is the trees and leaves that change colours.
Bedtime, but I am sure he doesn’t sleep until 9-ish. I can feel it.
Spent: $
DAY FOUR
??:?? — I wake up very early in the middle of the night. No reason why. Probably a ghost habit from Little Bun wakings. My partner is up too. He tucks Little Bun in, and I roll over and try to sleep.
??:?? — BAM!..O Shower caddy smashes to the floor in the bathroom and jolts us both awake. I go and check, and try to clean up the mess. I was in a deep sleep too. Great. I try to go back to sleep and fall back asleep almost instantly.
6:30 a.m. — My partner gets up. I get up a bit afterwards, and leave Little Bun sleeping. My partner prepares his lunch, we whisper chat a little, and then he leaves early.
6:33 a.m. — As I am washing my face, I hear a squeal: MOMMM-MMMEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! … and I finish washing my face, call back: Yes baby? And then go to grab his milk. He looks up at me all adorably super grumpy and says: WANT IT TO BE NIGHT. Want it to be NIGHT milk.
6:34 a.m. — I tell him it’s the morning and no, it is not night milk, so he if he wants it, he better drink it or there is NO MILK…. so he drinks it and is quiet.
6:36 a.m. — I finish getting ready, put on a dress today, and change my boots (they feel unsteady now and are probably on their last legs) for some flats instead (Little Bun’s choice). I think I need to buy some yellow undereye concealer to prime the area to get rid of the dark circles before putting on foundation and concealer afterwards.
6:45 a.m. — No necklace, my dress is a beautiful knot in the middle, and he picks out a ring for me (the rose gold one I DIY’d), and the Kate Spade Metro words watch.
6:49 a.m. — I throw on a navy blue Parker leather jacket as my “sweater”. I don’t wear this often enough as outerwear, so why not use it as a sweater? It feels warm, comfortable and looks great.
6:45 a.m. — I get Little Bun ready and tell him it is “Twirly Thursday”, and he gets up out of bed and insists on twirling around the apartment (which I indulge him in doing).
6:51 a.m. — He gets dressed and insists on wearing three shirts to school (fine whatever), and we do LookBook and head out to the car.
7:30 a.m. —At preschool, he gets Cheerios, insists on kissing me twice before I leave, and then I get to work, make a sandwich, a cup of tea and get to work.
7:48 a.m. — At work, I just start working.
4:15 p.m. — I pick up Little Bun and head home.
4:38 a.m. — NO PARK. He is being punished for running away from me still, so no park today.
6:08 p.m. — We putter around the house, play “metro” where he lies down on the floor, hangs on to my feet with his arms, and we move him, sliding his body and hobble-walking from each metro station to another.. he loves it.
7:28 p.m. — Bedtime.
8:03 p.m. — He falls asleep pretty readily.
Spent: $0
DAY FIVE
6:03 a.m. — Little Bun slept. Hallelujah!!!! I am still tired AF but at least I’m not blacking out from being dizzy from fatigue like before. Everyone tells me I have to kick Little Bun out of my bed so I can sleep but I’m too soft to do that and he won’t be there forever… plus he would still keep waking up at night and bothering me, so that would be transitional sleep hell.
6:05 a.m. — Of course, Little Bun is angry it is daytime and wants it to be night time and darker so that it is “night time milk”, and I wearily argue this point of rationality with Little Bun that Mommy does not control night or day times.
6:07 a.m. — We ARE working slowly on getting his bedtime to be sooner and not so late (not until 9) but transition is hard and we will not see results for another 5 months I’m sure.
6:08 a.m. — I get ready for work and he doesn’t squeak about me leaving because he now knows that Monday to Thursday it is preschool, Friday and Saturday he is at home with Daddy and Sunday is with Mommy. Sometimes.
7:00 a.m. — He asks for a big hug and kiss before I leave and I switch my jeans twice and my shoes twice before deciding on my trusty booties. I’m in back to back meetings all day so I need to be comfy.
7:23 a.m. — I get to work, start working after a sandwich and some tea and then go to meeting one.
10:15 a.m. — During the meeting they’re all surprised it takes as long as it does for what I do. Did that surprise you? It isn’t $&@“&$ magic. But they adjust their project estimates and I shoot off an email to my partner about it.
11:23 a.m. — Break for lunch, scarf down a Hershey Cookies and Cream bar.
1:14 p.m. — Meeting two. I plan on eating more chocolate and going through some tax slips afterwards.
4:08 p.m. — I leave to go home. I wanted to do yoga but I am just so tired. I decide I have no energy and go home. If I slept well maybe. But this is becoming a pattern.
4:28 p.m. — At home, Little Bun runs to greet me and then runs back to play.
5:03 p.m. — My partner and I talk pretty much the whole evening, downloading our days to each other.
5:14 p.m. — He hands me a sandwich for dinner that Little Bun made — they made the bread from scratch and then he cooked the eggs and avocado. I eat it hungrily. Little Bun is mad I’m eating today, so he says: MOMMY DOESN’T WANT TO EAT. MOMMY NO EAT. Ugh.
6:25 p.m. — I leave the dishes for tomorrow. Full sink. Don’t care.
7:44 p.m. — My partner starts the dough for tomorrow’s bread with Little Bun’s help. I get ready for bed.
8:45 p.m. — In bed. Little Bun sleeps.
Spent: $0
DAY SIX
??:?? — He got tangled in the covers. He wants to be covered but not sleeping on his back, but on his BELLY. OMG.
6:36 a.m. — I wake up somewhat refreshed. It wasn’t so bad.. I got some good deep REM. I grab his milk and crash back into bed.
6:54 a.m. — I finally crawl out of bed on Little Bun’s insistence and make some tea.
7:12 a.m. — We sit down and finish doing “shared reading” together, which he is very keen on lately and I am VERY pleased by. “MOMMY’S TURN NOW. Little Bun Turn! Mommy’s Turn!”
7:59 a.m. — I finish chatting with my partner as he leaves to go run errands and do groceries. He has to pick up about 30 cases of 12 x 1 litre bottles of water, so it’ll be a rough morning today.
8:08 a.m. — I make plans to meet a buyer to get rid of my iPod remote / control. I also plan on returning the Banana Republic gold knotted ring — it is too big and not as delicate as pictured — but I am keeping this pretty rose gold metallic belt for $30. It really is very nice and looks far more expensive than its price.
8:14 a.m. — A colleague messages me to ask if I am coming by this special school program tomorrow. I write back confirming that I am, tomorrow at 9 a.m.
8:25 a.m. — I text back a few friends asking about their day / time to talk / and kids.
9:10 a.m. — I start on the dishes.
9:38 a.m. — Dishes done.
10:02 a.m. — I feed Little Bun his soup.
10:25 a.m. — YAY!! Got that necklace I wanted. Beaded, silver, statement piece from one of my favourite brands – Nakamol…
12:28 p.m. — We have lunch when my partner is home.
12:56 p.m. — I head out for the day.
1:14 p.m. — I get stuck in traffic.
2:30 p.m. — Finally at my destination I return that Banana Republic Love Knot ring because it was a little too big for my liking. -$32.41
2:59 p.m. — I grab a NYX yellow colour correction concealer. $9.19
3:12 p.m. — I grab a Starbucks and hop on a call with a friend until it’s time to go home. $5.11
4:25 p.m. — I head home.
5:07 p.m. — At home, we have dinner, and Little Bun plays with a puzzle on the floor. He is REALLY hungry, so he eats twice.
6:24 p.m. — I do the dishes.
7:10 p.m. — We surf the web a bit, clean up some transactions and I schedule a few bill payments, and then we get ready for bed.
8:25 p.m. — Bedtime.
8:27 p.m. — Nope. All the LOLZ. He is doing math with Daddy.
9:07 p.m. — TRUE Bedtime because he LOST it with his wailing because I forgot to do a Shared Reading of a book I promised. I am so tired I give in and do the shared reading.
Return: $32.41
Spent: $14.30
DAY SEVEN
6:30 a.m. — He didn’t really wake up last night so we slept, but he also did only sleep at 9 PM. OMG. I grab his milk blearily.
6:37 a.m. — I finally get up.
6:40 a.m. — I make tea.
6:41 a.m. — Videos for Little Bun. Am too tired for this #$*#)%…. I can’t really go back to sleep, so I just browse online and check on my budget.
7:15 a.m. — I accept the $60 offer on this gorgeous Life of Bird tank from an independent label.. it is STUNNING!! A watercolour silk tank, and the label is very chic… I love the look of this tank and I know I will wear it often because I really like a good graphic top.
8:02 a.m. — My partner gets up and he and Little Bun make bread together… and I of course, browse Life with Bird and end up wanting this Imagined Order skirt .. and luckily for me, my sizes are completely sold out. Phew. Thank goodness. $$$ saved.
8:37 a.m. — I feed Little Bun his soup. He asked for it and is hungry. Meal #1.
9:08 a.m. — I take Little Bun out because I want to check out this preschool my colleague has been raving about.
9:34 a.m. — At the preschool, I order a breakfast from the cafeteria as I wait for my colleague.
9:50 a.m. — OMG she is taking FOREVER to make it! Oh well. No worries. We scarf it down, Little Bun takes a peanut butter & jelly sandwich in lieu of an omelette (he would have eaten all of mine too), and then we walk around the school. Meal #2. $11.49
10:28 a.m. — Little Bun starts whining. He wants to go home. I quickly bundle him into the car and off we go.
10:51 a.m. — At home, he has a THIRD meal. Yep. Meal #3. This kid eats CONSTANTLY.
11:34 a.m. — My partner heads out to run errands. He has a huge list.
12:44 p.m. — I valiantly try AND FAIL to get Little Bun to nap. OMFG.I give up and go to do the dishes while he watches this numbers video to make sure all the numbers are in order.
1:22 p.m. — I finish the dishes.
3:08 p.m. — Little Bun starts getting cranky. I can see it coming. He skipped his nap. THAT IS WHY.
4:15 p.m. — I make noodles and share a bit with him.
4:18 p.m. — My partner is home and Little Bun is excited… I go to lie down to take a break.
4:38 p.m. — Great. I hear screaming, crying, and sobbing.. apparently he played with the chairs and then fell off them so my partner confiscated them and now he’s having a meltdown.
4:50 p.m. — He passes out on the bed after crying. Great. Now do I wake him up or not?
5:15 p.m. — I decide to shake him awake. A little catnap but then bedtime is BEDTIME.
7:28 p.m. — Nonsense. UTTER NONSENSE. He drove us both mad from the time he was awake until he slept. Frustrating but he didn’t want to nap, and then became a monster, and then I lost it. I #%#ing just lost it, and my partner had to swoop in to take him away from me. At least we had pizza.
Spent: $11.49
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Want more? Read all of my previous Week of Money Diaries.
Domonique of She's The IT Guy
Little Bun and my 4-year-old, Leo, sound so much alike. Leo just started skipping naps and he’s been a monster ever since. It’s rough, but it does get better.
Eventually, they stop passing out because of exhaustion and just tell you they’re going to take a nap now. It starts at about 5.5 – 6. LOL Hang in there you two!
– Domonique