Back On My BS | How Much Did I Spend Last Week? April 28-May 4, 2025

Glo Wild at Fort Wayne Zoo

Monday

Today is the first day of the rest of my life! is how I would usually think about this, an ordinary Monday, that just happens to be day one of a new block of training with Empowered Movement, a programme my friend Sophie bought me three months’ worth of as a gift (truly, I don’t deserve friends like this).

But my resistance bands, which I need for the postpartum exercise block, haven’t arrived, which means I feel like I can’t start just yet (as it happens they won’t arrive until next Monday, which is annoying, and like, why do I live in America if not for next-day delivery on every little thing I might ever want to buy?!) – but instead of entering into a “this is my last week of freedom!” mindset and rotting on the couch all week, I decide I may as well get up and out of the house, so once Atlas has been sent off on the bus, I pack Romy up into his car seat and hook him into the buggy and set off on a walk around the estate next to us (also a good excuse for a nose).

It’s also the perfect walking weather; within a few minutes I get to pack my jacket away in the bottom of the buggy, and walk around in just my T-shirt without worrying about (a) getting sunburnt or (b) getting too sweaty. Roman falls asleep pretty much immediately, so all in all it feels like an excellent decision by me.

We’re only home a few minutes when the groceries arrive from Walmart, and I am once again reminded why I keep pledging not to order groceries when it’s just me in the house to unpack them. Most loathed task.

I’ve got them all put away and the kitchen is relatively tidy by the time Atlas gets home on the bus. Ordinarily, on Mondays, we have speech therapy, but as my car is not in service right now, I had to cancel today’s session, and reschedule the doctor’s appointment Roman was supposed to have today, to Friday.

I make Atlas some pasta for lunch — he eats mostly the grated cheese I put on top, but still, he eats, which is a positive — and then put him down for his nap. I’ve taken to lying Roman in his crib when I go to put Atlas down, at first because it’s just the safest place I can think to leave him for 20 minutes, where the dog can’t reach him and he can’t hurt himself somehow, and today he falls asleep while I’m wrestling Atlas into his bed, which is great.

I should take that time to do some work, but instead, I take that time to order Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Life ($16.04) on Kindle. (I finish it in about 48 hours, and while I didn’t like it as much as Happy Place, it was pretty good. If you’re an Emily Henry fan, you’ll like it, is my review.)

(As an aside, I went on a bit of an internet deep dive looking for that very cute jumper with the oranges on it and it’s from Cider but sold out in all but the smallest size, dagnammit. I did find this incredibly adorable jumper on my hunt and am now very tempted to buy it even though it’s $100 why am I like this?!)

A H&M order I made last week arrives, with the envelope wide open, and four of the things — the cutest things, ain’t that always the way! — are missing! I get on to their customer service and, without too much fuss, they refund me for the missing items and give me a 15% discount to use to reorder them.

Yes, of course I end up ordering more than the items that were missing. Of course. You win this round, H&M. (They refund me $54.53 and I then spend $144.55 on the new order.)

Brandin and the two older boys won’t be back til way later today — after 9pm — as our 10-year-old has baseball from 7-9pm way north of Fort Wayne, which is really depressing me. (It’s a long time to be stuck at home without a car, with a baby and a toddler, let me tell you!)

To comfort me, I order Chipotle for dinner for myself and Atlas ($51.55), renewing my Doordash subscription to avail of reduced fees and no delivery fee. I guess both Doordash and H&M got the better of me today. ($9.99)

When Brandin and the boys get back, both Atlas and Roman are asleep — in their own beds! It’s a miracle, but especially helpful because the older two are very tired and grumpy which is manifesting as them being very argumentative and disagreeable. Not what you want to be dealing with at almost 10 o’clock at night.

We finally persuade them to have showers and go to bed, then we fall into our own bed, exhausted.

Daily total: $167.60