Wow!

I certainly do love her to bits, Hb! I look after her every Thursday. She's as good as gold, and the hours just fly by!

It's amazing how short a time you need to be away from GoY before a return invoves a whole lot of catching up!

Yes, childcare costs are huge. She goes to Nursery 3 days, and d-i-l is at home on Wednesdays, so I have her on the Thursday. Luckily, our son works very close to here, so it is very easy for him to drop her off and collect her. We all have breakfast together, which is rather nice. They actually live about 20 miles away.

What a little treasure,Mel..and such a delight to have them in our lives,isn't it? I know how expensive it was for Thomas to have childcare at Nursery,and he still goes to out of school club in school holidays,when his mum is working,but he loves it,and they learn so much,don't they? It will start all over again next January,as their 2nd little boy is due in approx 4 weeks..can't wait :o)

How exciting, Bloomer!

I had been told by so many friends what a joy grandchildren are and - my goodness - they certainly are!

I was fortunate enough to be able to stay at home with my three, and I loved it. Not so easy these days! It's a great joy to have my granddaughter here every week and so good to build up the relationship. Her cousin, my daughter's son (nearly 3) is coming for a fortnight soon. Even though they live in Scotland, we see him quite regularly. He and his little cousin Facetime every Thursday. Amazing!

You are all so very fortunate. We have none and at this stage are very unlikely to start now - enjoy them folks!

We do enjoy them, Stera!

I feel very privileged. Until our grandson was born in 2012, I was willing to bet we would never have grandchildren. We are proud, but not very young, grandparents! (Son no 1 is getting married next year - just before his 41st birthday, having met his lovely fiancee last year). In fact, our grandchildren (and son- and daughter-in-law) have arrived in reverse order, our daughter (youngest) proudly marrying and producing her offspring before her brothers. And she is 6 years younger than our younger son! You never know what is going to happen...

We also thought we would never have Grandchildren either,as I was a late starter too..in those days we were called geriatric mums,which was a bit cruel,and now a lot are choosing to have children much later in life as the norm..so never say never,Stera.....I went out to work in the evenings till our daughter was old enough to go to High school..but I enjoyed some adult talk other than about babies,and it gave her and her dad some quality time together,plus the money came in handy too :o)
It's amazing how children are so at ease with technology,isn't it? Thomas speaks to his other Grandparents in Spain,on Skype ,and can handle a cartoon on his mum's phone,no bother ..unlike me,,as my phone is an ancient old one,but suits me fine,for what I use it for..
My daughter has just sent me a photo,on Facebook,as her partner has treated her to a well needed little weekend break before the baby arrives,bless him. she was drinking a coffee,with the beaker resting on 'bump',saying 'look mum,no hands ' ! lol

Great!

My grandson is a whizz with technology. Last time I was with him he asked for a particular item on my ipad. "I don't think that's on Granny's ipad" I said (believing it to be true) whereupon he made a couple of swipes and clicks and found exactly the program he was looking for.
Oh well ...

And my 13 month old granddaughter is now very interested in clicking the button - until last week she was happy to watch the children's songs on YouTube, but last Thursday, all she wanted to do was click the button and swipe the screen.
Oh well ...

So yes - "at ease" is definitely the way to describe it!!!

I returned to occasional work when my youngest was 3, and full-time when she was 4. Balance is essential! And money ...

Definitely,Mel..All I remember of my Grandma,was her sitting in a chair in the corner,smiling..always had a pinny on,despite her being too old to be doing household tasks anymore..I think it was just to keep the few clothes they had,from being spoiled..I wonder what they would think of us now,how we interact with our Grandchildren ? mind you,as she started her married life with two step children,then had eight of her own.I'm not surprised she was content to sit all day :o)

Probably ****** glad to be able to sit still!

Life alters for each generation, and the pace of change seems to speed up alarmingly! But at least now, the idea of "childhood" seems to be enshrined in the national consciousness. Whatever the present-day stresses children face, at least none of them are sent up chimneys!

Women of previous generations would probably shake their heads - at our advantages, and our problems!

I suppose it all comes down to swings and roundabouts!

Whatever - I know that I think I have probably enjoyed a charmed life ...

Exactly,Mel..I know which lifestyle I prefer,despite the different types of problems of modern times..

Indeed!

Isn't it just? Amazing!

My grandson loves facetime - left to himself he can call me, or his other Grandpa. My daughter facetimes me while she's getting the evening meal. It seemed an impossible dream when video phoning was shown in the film 2001:a Space Odyssey. And he had to go into a special booth! Now I can sit outside and show my daughter what I've been doing in the garden. Or I can take a photo and message it to her all in less than a minute. And the most amazing thing about it is that I'm beginning to take it for granted!

What is facetiming??

Facetime is the Apple equivalent of Skype, Stera, whch is Microsoft. It works in exactly the same way.

Stera,I didn't know what Facetime was either! I am getting way behind with new technology,before long it will probably be something else...I'll never catch up !

Melchi she is gorgeous, enjoy her she'll be running rings around you soon enough and teaching you all about her gadgets, lol..thats a good thing as I know how complicated some of them are these days, I used to think meccano was complicated but now know it s a doddle...
My nanna always wore a wrap around pinny over her clothing and I only remember seeing her once without her hairnet and that was when I went to spend a week with them so was there at breakfast times, it was a shock to see she had a plait right down her back, think I was about seven at the time, lol, I don't think her or grandad ever played with any of us, however my own parents always played with all the grandchildren even when they had reached their eighties and we certainly did....

It has been so lovely to see your very sweet grand daughter looking so happy and contented. You must love having her with you and seeing her grow up so fast!

Thank you, Lincslass and Wildrose!

I love having her here,and I certainly enjoy playing with her. At the moment, she still has quite a long nap in the middle of the day, but I don't think that'll last much longer. She loves sitting out in the garden on a sunny day, with her toys. Pretty soon she's going to be into everything. We have all the barriers and safety equipment at the ready!

My own grandmother loved playing with my children - they visited her every Saturday (they called her Dee, and Saturdays became known as Dee day). She invented all sorts of games and seemed to be a powerhouse of energy. Those relationships are so special.

Don't we just love our grandchildren Mel ! We have our youngest every other weekend now that she is older ( 10 now) and we just love her to bits ! The only thing is that when they get older , they are doing other things, so make the most of the time with her ! Its so precious ! She's lovely and looks quite content !

Oh yes...I meant to say that I'm always getting notified about my many comments , but this reminder usually comes when I've read them all ! lol

Well I think the GoY computer just likes to make us feel loved and needed, Rose! I received a great list, and knew even before I checked that it was wrong!

Our days with our grandchildren are very precious. Seeing our granddaughter every week is such a delight and gives us the opportunity to forge a close relationship. Now my three are all well grown up, I know how quickly the time goes. She has settled down well to her Thursdays, and after about 5 weeks of regarding us very solemnly - though peacefully, thank goodness - is beginning to come out of her shell and laugh and burble about. She loves her box of toys, and is fascinated by OH sitting and reading. It won't be long before she's climbing up and pulling his book away. My ipad is definitely going to need hiding away. She was enjoying watching nursery rhymes on YouTube, but last week, she just wanted to press the button at the side!

Such lovely days, though, to be treasured!

They sure are Mel ! ! Oops...late again ! Hahaa!

That's because you have a busy life, Rose! ?