Week of Money: Where we enter lockdown

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up completely refreshed. Little Bun “slept in” again, maybe he has a sixth sense it was daylight savings…

6:30 a.m. — I FEEL SO GOOD! Time to hustle him off to daycare because I have to work the whole morning but then I get the afternoon to myself.

8:28 a.m. — I had gone to turn around and leave and he grabbed my arm — Mommy, wait!.. I leaned in, and asked what he wanted, and he gave me a kiss on my cheek. OMG.. <3 … my heart filled with love. I love him so SO much. These kids really know how to grab onto your heart and cement themselves in there.

8:30 a.m. — I hop on a call while parked outside.

9:11 a.m. — After my call, I drop off, and mail off a package and head home to work. I love having a flexible schedule.

10:03 a.m. — While on a call, I do all the dishes.

11:35 a.m. — Dishes drying, I finish up a task and email the results.

12:51 p.m. — Time for a shower.

1:29 p.m. — I finish showering (have to wait 5 minutes for the Nizoral shampoo to soak in and stop my itchy scalp from coming back), and then leisurely dry and curl my hair.

1:37 p.m. — I decide to head out for the afternoon. I am thinking about going to work after yoga tomorrow but also considering not doing it because it will mean rushing home, grabbing Little Bun, then rushing out to drop him. I won’t be in the office until at least 10 … is it even worth it?

3:56 p.m. — I go and grab Little Bun from daycare.

4:25 p.m. — At home, we check the mail. He wanted to drop everything off upstairs like before, but my brain is hurting so badly, and I am so tired, I don’t want to make two trips. I tiredly tell him this, and catch myself snapping at him. I stop my tone of voice and change it in my head because I need to breathe through this fatigue and not take it out on him.

4:28 p.m. — and he wants to carry this massive package — it is my YSL purse, FINALLY!…. but I take the purse and give him my vintage necklace to carry instead (I know what it is, I saw the tracking). He ends up getting distracted and leaves it on the counter in the lobby and runs for the elevator. In the elevatory, I wryly tell him he is a terrible postman and would never survive this economic downturn because he forgot the one package he was in charge of!!! (LOL .. I am a vicious mother.) — It was this necklace:

4:30 p.m. — At home, we get undressed, I open the packages and SQUEAL! A vintage gold coral necklace from Napier going for $350, scored for $0 (I used credits) or around $40 on Poshmark. <3′

4:31 p.m. — AND MY BAG!!!! I’ll review it, but it is massive. Like a work tote for a 15″ laptop. I had no idea it was this big to be honest, I knew the dimensions but it is one thing to “know” and another to see it… It is impeccably made, gorgeous leather, beautiful suede inside, doubly lined… it is a stunning piece. AND FREE FOR ME! $_$

4:45 p.m. — We play Tic Tac Toe. This is his new beloved obsession along with Math Snakes and Ladders (I call out the dice numbers at random so he can plunk my ring as a ‘counter’ across the tiles)… He created this Tic Tac Toe 3D (?) board so we could play together instead of always drawing a board on paper. I don’t even know how in his brain he came up with this because I would have done a flat Tic Tac Toe structure, but he built something sculptural:

And then we use one-blocks and two-blocks (he is the red 2-block and I am the green 1-block) to block each other or win. I let him win quite often and gently coax him / prompt him when he is missing where to block me, but sometimes he catches me off guard:

5:20 p.m. — I finally tap out of Tic Tac Toe. I was going to go for as long as he wanted, but I couldn’t make it. I’m a weakling. I seriously played it for almost half an hour or longer, and it is mind numbing…. He happily says: OKAY MOMMY! Time for Math Snakes and Ladders then!!! ... *internal tiny groan, but external — YAYYYY!!!* … I will have to take a break for myself near the end to try and read my book before we cue for bedtime.

5:34 p.m. — I shovel vegetable stew into his mouth while he plays Snakes and Ladders solo, and I call out random dice numbers. I am officially a Vegas dealer.

8:06 p.m. — I cue him for bedtime. I feel like these bedtimes are getting LONGER AND LONGER. I have to start doing this sooner at 7:30

9:11 p.m. — Now he wants stories. He wants them every night but this keeps delaying the bedtime until 9:30. We have to do this earlier.. I have to remember to do this at 7:30 not 8.

Spent: $0

DAY TWO

5:46 a.m. — So.. tired. I could have used another half hour but it is good he woke me up early because I have yoga today. I get dressed, wash my face, pack lightly and go to leave — ugh it is raining and I am feeling like DEATH but I will POWER THROUGH THIS CLASS.

7:03 a.m. — Yoga time. She goes easy on us because she sees we’re all not feeling it with the rain.

7:59 a.m. — I sneak out of yoga and dial in immediately in the change room – yes, my calls cut into my yoga time and I do not get to rest at the end. Ever.

9:11 a.m. — I drop Little Bun. He gets distracted by a group of toddlers coming out (he has a real soft spot for children smaller than him, and always talks about the babies and toddlers in other classes), and I have to raise my voice loudly to say: MOMMY IS LEAVING. I HAVE TO GO NOW. He finally snaps back to attention (I was repeating myself for a good 20 seconds), and he says: Okay bye bye. I give him a hug and a kiss, and I go to leave, and he says: WAIT! ..I want to give you a hug and a kiss now! .. and he hugs and kisses me. Then we high five halfway down the hall. I am barely making it out the door at this rate.

9:23 a.m. — I eat my ‘Lunch’ early, because I am hungry and yoga does this to me. Plus it is raining so my brain is hurting.

12:08 p.m. — I quickly rush off to get my car fender fixed – just to replace the back. I’ve decided not to fix or repaint it for $2500 even though insurance is paying it because the payout would be at $0, I already have the claim open but at least it will say $0 for payout, and not affect my premiums as much. I call the insurance company and make the payout at $0. $109.52

1:42 p.m. — Everything done, I am at home, and I get a call from a colleague (???)… Turns out he is driving home and just wanted to chit-chat because he thought I was coming in today so he didn’t see me and wanted to rib me for not making it in. I told him I took in my car, that’s why.

2:51 p.m. — I am really torn between just letting this top go or buying it. It is from a brand called The Fold London the top is Belleville, and their pieces are just so beautiful. This blush pink would go so well with navy pants or a skirt, and is one of the only pastel colours I will wear, to be honest:

4:15 p.m. — I go and grab Little Bun. Daddy won’t be home until later so….

4:34 p.m. — Nuns in habit? SO CUTE! I have never seen a nun in habit. Or maybe I have, but it has been a long enough time that I am mesmerized.

4:50 p.m. — Home, we get situated, I unpack his lunch bag, organize things…

5:15 p.m. — I buy the top. It is too pretty and well-made by all accounts. SQUEE!! SO EXCITED $209.13

8:03 p.m. — I cue him for bedtime. A book is read, teeth brushed, video watched while I cuddle him. I have a real urge to brush his hair and scalp while we watch videos to clear out his dry scalp.

Spent: $318.65

DAY THREE

6:00 a.m. — I spend the whole morning and afternoon formatting my laptop. It is serious work. I had to back up files, then format to Yosemite, then upgrade to Sierra…. O_o

7:59 a.m. — Still working on the laptop.

8:38 a.m. — I only take a break to drop Little Bun at daycare and dial into a call.

10:26 a.m. — I eat my lunch, hop on another call.

12:28 p.m. — I go and get myself a pear tart as a treat. $17.20

Also, posted these notes on Instagram:

4:12 p.m. — I go and grab Little Bun from daycare.

4:45 p.m. — I arrange my YSL rings for a shot and Little Bun loves that there is a Mommy Ring, Daddy Ring, and two Baby Rings!

5:35 p.m. — I shower Little Bun and am horrified by his scalp looking like he has cradle cap. At SIX?? .. I put some shampoo on his hair to try and scrub out the scalp to be healthy and my partner smells him afterwards and gets mad that I used shampoo on him. I explain this is not a normal looking scalp, and something is wrong. He disagrees. Ugh. I will have to monitor it and maybe take more showers with him to brush out the bacteria (?)… and dry scalp flakes to keep it fresh and get the blood flowing.

6:30 p.m. — I make a small dinner of my beloved vegan ramen noodles…

7:12 p.m. — We play Tic-Tac-Toe while I feed him soup, and then we have rice pudding together.

7:47 p.m. — I FINALLY finish setting up my laptop. I hope this fixes this overheating, crazy problem of the fans working like crazy. I need to start moving documents and files off of here into my hard drives – I have to rejig my strategy because the Little Bun folder is FIVE HUNDRED GIGABYTES of videos and photos. O_o

8:20 p.m. — Time for bed. I cue him, and he reads a book, I watch videos with him…

Spent: $17.20

DAY FOUR

6:21 a.m. — I get ready to leave for yoga, and I am putting away the dishes and my partner comes out cross at me: WHY are you making noise? Right when I am trying to sleep you’re making noise. I am confused – I tell him: But I am about to leave anyway (meaning: you’d be up anyway, what’s the difference  – at least I am cleaning up the kitchen), and he gets grumpier at me: Do you need to make so much noise when you do!? …. Jeez. I guess I won’t put away dishes any more until EVERYONE in the house is awake.

8:20 a.m. — After yoga, I am RUSHING to the car to get on my call. The instructor likes to go right to the last minute, and it ends exactly when I need to be on a call. So. I leave early.

9:10 a.m. — In the car, I finish the call.

9:10 a.m. — I go to a cafe and hang out, while working on trying to clean up all my digital files, renaming and organizing them, and deleting stuff I will never use / need again but have been hoarding for some reason. I take a very lovely chai latte (they make it SO WELL here) $6

Also, this bag is massive, look how big the YSL Sac de Jour Large is:

12:08 p.m. —

2:04 p.m. — I eat a slice of pear and almond tart.

2:31 p.m. — I get a call from a branch of Laurentian bank I don’t recognize (B2B bank) and being highly suspicious as a person, I refuse to give them account numbers or any information. I tell them I’ll call via the LBC Digital number instead, and I do. They tell me that my cheque for $22,000 didn’t clear into my savings because the writing didn’t match the deposit (I did the deposit at 6 a.m. in a rush). I AM SO RELIEVED.

I was worrying all weekend how I could have made such a STUPID mistake to write a cheque for $22,000 when I needed to leave $1000 in there, therefore, should have written $21,000 and by the grace of being distracted by Little Bun begging to play Tic-Tac-Toe while writing the cheque, and depositing it with the wrong amounts entered, I WAS SAVED AN INSUFFICIENT FUNDS CHARGE. *so relieved*

I actually find it really stupid that another bank (B2B Bank) would call for another one (LBC Digital). Even if they are under the same bank, you can understand how someone as suspicious and PARANOID as I am, would not trust this second bank.

2:57 p.m. — I eat a second slice of pear tart. I may eat it all today.

4:31 p.m. — Home, I play with Little Bun. The daycare announces a cancellation for tomorrow due to an emergency meeting for the virus.

5:25 p.m. — I email and cancel the daycare contract, he won’t be going back. We will have to “eat” the $360 loss of not sending him, but then I see the Quebec government has shut down all schools, daycares, etc. They will send everyone home for two weeks and compensate for the two weeks of daycare, not sure how I am going to get that money back, but we will see how we apply for it. Maybe we won’t get the money back, at least not for a while.

6:03 p.m. — I cancel my yoga pass to get back money. -$150.47

6:17 p.m. — I cancel my pedicure. At least this is going to save me a LOT of money. I am not even going to the dentist, I cancelled that appointment too. All these businesses are going to suffer, I wonder how things are going to go if they all start to go under.

7:02 p.m. — I explain to Little Bun what a virus is, and realize he doesn’t understand what ‘dead’ means. I explain it, and he starts to rub his eyes, feeling very sad. I snuggle him close and repeat that things are okay NOW, but they may get worse which is why we have to keep Mommy at home to keep her safe because of her asthma and other health issues with the lungs (I have suffered since I was a child, so I am at-risk for this virus). He rubs his eyes more and snuggles closer to me. He starts asking questions and trying to place the virus, saying things like: The virus could be at yoga class so Mommy doesn’t go just in case.

8:07 p.m. — I cue him for bedtime. Time for bed.

Spent: $6

DAY FIVE

??:?? — His legs/feet are in my face.

??:?? — Now they’re under my blankets and on top of me. He’s about to wake up.

6:40 a.m. — He wakes up and tells me he is awake. I grab his milk and tuck him into bed with TWO blankets as per his request.

7:59 a.m. — I go to leave for my call and my partner is alarmed: Where do you think you’re going? We are all staying in for the next indefinite period of time. No one leaves this house unless it is necessary to go out somewhere. O_o … I can already feel impending cabin fever starting. I am someone who likes to BE OUT. Even walking outside, whatever, I need to be OUTSIDE. At least our apartment has massive windows from floor to ceiling so I don’t feel as trapped, but with Little Bun 24/7 I may lose it.

9:05 a.m. — I am off my call. He left me alone at least in peace, to take the call in the closet. He is just happy Mommy is not leaving the home and him.

9:08 a.m. — I log in and work. My partner goes out to get groceries, mostly fresh fruit and foods, we already have a stock for 1-2 years of dried pasta, rice, oatmeal, etc. Even toilet paper, but we already transitioned about 3 years ago to using cloth wipes for number one, and toilet paper only for number two, which has cut down significantly on the toilet paper we use, and is way more eco-friendly.  These are the cotton flannel wipes we use that we had previously used to wipe Baby Bun’s bum when he was cloth diapered. We even kept his cloth diaper pail, and there is ZERO SMELL if you are only using cotton wipes for number one anyway. We do laundry once a week, it’s all good and has saved significantly on waste.

9:08 a.m. — Haha.. I note this on Instagram and people are amazed. I guess I am a bit of a HUPPIE. I am a hippie + yuppie. You wouldn’t know half the things we do to be eco-friendly if I didn’t mention them, especially if you just judge me on my appearance – I don’t dress in typical ‘hippie’-wear, or natural fabrics that are dyed only with natural dyes etc, but almost everything I wear and buy now is secondhand.

12:15 p.m. — Time for lunch. I take a break, eat my fried rice from the week, and Little Bun wants some too, so I feed him the rest.

12:28 p.m. — I finish my pear tart slice. It is partly the tart, but also stress about all of this, and my entire face has broken out. I am really not excited about this lockdown, but I have to make the most of it.

4:13 p.m. — I finish working and Little Bun is still napping.

4:45 p.m. — I play with him, snuggling, singing, doing stories, playing Stuffie Nursery Game (we take care of them by feeding them, burping them, changing their diapers…)

5:18 p.m. — I feed Little Bun his soup.

6:55 p.m. — I clean all the dishes organize the area, and clean up things.

8:11 p.m. — I cue him for bedtime. We brush our teeth, read a story, and go down.

Spent: $0

DAY SIX

The whole day passes by in a blur. I basically work on updating The Budgeting Tool.com which I have wanted to update for 3 years, taking care of Little Bun, eating, organizing.

Spent: $0

DAY SEVEN

??:?? — His feet are in my face, he is upside down. I shove him off. I am grumpy because he woke me.

7:12 a.m. — We are up and he takes some stickers from my notebook (the labels) and starts playing with them.

8:33 a.m. — My partner is up, making smoothies (he is boiling all the fruits and then making smoothies), and Little Bun doesn’t like the new boiled taste.

8:56 a.m. — Little Bun plays Science Games, a website from New Zealand.

11:25 a.m. — We eat lunch – bread and chicken wings – and I feel heavy and gross. I need vegetables. My partner couldn’t get to any the last time because there was no cart to even hold them in, so he bought fruit instead. I am DYING FOR SOMETHING GREEN.

1:07 p.m. — Little Bun goes down for his nap.

3:00 p.m. — Up from his “nap” ( he didn’t nap but we at least get QUIET TIME …. without him)… and it went by so fast. I am lying on the floor in the living room, curled up.

3:57 p.m. — I order some more body lotion online because I can’t leave the home. My favourite one is Savasana from this local brand – Audre Leigh that has a lavender-y but not fully lavendery with a hint of citrus and florals. I love the brand, the mission, the packaging is also plastic-free, or compostable, and if you can find a place that sells it, you can give back the glass bottles for zero-waste, at least I hope that’s the case because I have been returning them. At any rate, I like supporting local brands. They can be found here in Hong Kong, Quebec, Abu Dhabi and Ontario. $57.49

5:20 p.m. — I feel extremely tired, and a cough is starting. I am fairly sure what I have is the common cold.

6:37 p.m. — I feed Little Bun his vegetable dinner, and then he happily eats his rice pudding. It was really sweet, when his father gave him his rice pudding, he pushed it over to me to serve me first, to make sure I had one, and he would take the second one. ADORABLE. I know he wanted to make sure we would both have one to eat together.

6:37 p.m. — I take a long warm shower. It is the only time I really get to be alone, aside from being on conference calls which I suddenly love because I have to be in a quiet room while Little Bun stays quiet (and knows he has to), with his father.

8:03 p.m. — I cue him for bedtime. We read 6 books, and I come up with a new game he loves where his stuffed animals pretend to eat the food on the page “OM NOMM NOMM NOMMM!!!!”… and he loves it so much, he giggles like crazy.

Spent: $57.49

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