The three of us has become four of us this week with a visit from Monkey's Granny. Granny lives overseas so we only see her once or twice a year and she is here for five weeks.
It is always funny introducing new people into our family dynamic, although we are lucky that Granny is pretty laid back. Monkey is very excited to have someone new around to play with, especially someone who has no real demands on their time and so has plenty of time for fun and games.
As parents we so often have other things to do - housework, paying work or just trying to grab a rest - so it can be hard to fit in lots of playing time. I find I tend to play with Monkey in bursts which seems to work for us. Giving him a concentrated burst of attention and energy seems to fill him up enough that I can then leave him to play alone for a little while and I can get on with doing other things.
Granny on the other hand, has nothing she needs to do except relax and play and Monkey seems determined to take advantage of it. So far they have been to the beach, the playground, played Lego and Granny has been taken along to all our weekly activities.
Sometimes I feel a bit left out as I am so used to it being just Monkey and me a lot of the time, but most of the time I just like to make the most of the free time. Hubby and I have been getting a few chores done that require two people so we have been landscaping and the veggie patch is all planted.
I'm making a list of anything else we can get done before the novelty wears off for Monkey or Granny and I am in demand for playing again!