3 a.m. — My daughter wakes up and I bring water in for her and myself and silently panic about what her mood and nap time will be like today. If I had a ship, I'd batten down the hatches. But I’m not a captain, I'm a mom. I settle for just trying not to cry.
7 to 9 a.m. — The baby sleeps late! I start my daughter’s day off with a banana, fresh pineapple, almond milk, and a bowl of yogurt. I choke down a vegan protein shake that I blend with coffee. We run out of dish soap while I'm cleaning, so I just make my own with bulk Castile soap we keep at home and water. The lather sucks, but I love the almond scent.
9:45 a.m. — Baby and I arrive a few minutes before the library opens and it is pouring rain. It's cold and miserable outside, so the library is packed with parents and nannies. The toddlers inside sense our vulnerability and run us ragged. By the time we leave, I'm nauseous from hunger, but I only packed organic grapes for my daughter’s snack, so I skip sharing hers, because it’s one of the more expensive types of organic produce we buy and we try to save that for her.
11:30 a.m. — We walk home from the library and I change my daughter, feed her homemade crackers, and put her down for a nap. I eat some of the pineapple I cut up earlier and make some peppermint tea. I need to get some work done for a small site I'm trying to get up and running, so I put off lunch 'til later.
12 p.m. — My husband and I have a brief talk and agree that we’ve put off a new computer for too long. His academic career depends on having a good laptop and we’ve had a shared Mac laptop for over three years. It works, it’s just not dependable enough, since he takes some of his exams on the laptop he brings to class. The school does one loan adjustment (increase) for the years he’s in graduate school, so this will technically not affect our yearly budget. Practically, it feels more like we’re expensing it (in all actuality, we’ll pay for it later, with interest). I’m not happy to take on additional loans, but at least we have extra financial support to deal with an expense that only comes around every three-to-five years.
12:30 to 2 p.m. — I snack on a handful of carrots and hummus. I do my daily 15 minutes of yoga (free from a YouTube channel) and spend 20 minutes reading a library book. Lunch is a pre-made veggie ravioli from last week’s grocery run. I make cinnamon rolls and clean the kitchen while baby eats.
2 p.m. — I play with my daughter on our rug, fold laundry, and vacuum in-between dancing, chants, and racing small trucks around the room. She gets a cup of almond milk and I end up setting her up for some Netflix so I can sort the mail and clean the fridge to see what we need from the store. I eat two cinnamon rolls and brew a cup of coffee. Baby eats one cinnamon roll and my husband eats two.
4 p.m. — My husband takes our daughter to the Apple store, where he buys a laptop for $1,232.46.
Meanwhile, I grocery shop — I go to Trader Joe's, because the prices are good, but it's always PACKED with tired, hungry New Yorkers. None of us are our best selves in there. Our family loosely aims for a total food budget of $125 a week, so this gives us wiggle room for a produce purchase mid-week and some eating out. I get bananas, frozen pizza, cereal, almond milk, pineapples, organic hummus, organic baby carrots, organic berries and grapes, veggie ravioli meals, lean ground beef, organic yogurt, organic peanut butter, organic tomatoes, broccoli florets, "riced" cauliflower, an onion, pumpkin toaster pastries, apples (all organic apples sold out), lemons, organic spinach, and organic bread. $87.81
6:30 p.m. — We meet up after I grocery shop. We have a great ride home with lots of hugs and kisses over all our grocery bags. This is basically the student family version of a date. Subway (both ways) costs us $8.25.
7 to 10 p.m. — Late dinner for the baby. She gets grapes and the three of us share scrambled eggs. Baby gets put to bed. I work on my site, watch TV, and drink a glass of wine. A few weeks ago I found a bulk, box wine for around $34 that stays fresh for six weeks and is much better on the environment than bottles. I also eat one more cinnamon roll while laying out naked in my armchair, contemplating my stretch marks. The cinnamon roll tastes really good.
Daily Total: $1,328.52
