By Sherry Freeman
It is 7 am and Benji is upstairs in bed with me…..I change his diaper and take him downstairs and get him and sammy a mini muffin and take Benji into their bedroom where he and Sammy have their own sleep cages. Sammy is in her cage and Benji is getting into his, with muffin in hand. I give Sammy her muffin and they will stay in their sleep cages till 9 or 10. I go in the kitchen and check all my email. I turn on the camera so I can see Sammy and Benji in their room….they are already back to sleep.
I am getting Sammy and Benji’s breakfast ready: Usually, they get mini muffins or oatmeal with a small amount of fresh fruit. They are not big breakfast eaters so this usually holds them over till I take them outside. Sammy and Benji drink out of the no drip sippy cups by playtex. So far they have not figured out how to open them so until they do…..this is what they have to drink out of. Now, I go out to their outdoor enclosure and hose it down and fill their wading pool with fresh water. It is almost 10 am and I see in the camera that they are both awake so I go into their bedroom and greet them with a big HI! How are you? And I just talk to them the whole time I am taking their diapers off. I usually get Sammy out first and take her diaper off and hook her up to her cage while I get Benji out and take his diaper off. I used to dress them both but they let me know they are out of that stage so now I only put diapers and shorts on them both (when inside) and they seem to think that is fine. But, we are on our way outside for the day and they get to play naked when they are outside in their enclosure! This is their time to truly be a monkey and I believe they love it! So, no diapers for them right now! I get them outside and in the enclosure and I take their belts and leads off and they are free to play in their enclosure! I go back inside and get their breakfast for them and their drinks. (water) I am usually out by the pool, in full view of them most of the day now. Around 1pm I go inside and fix them their lunch. This is a huge plate of assorted fruits and veggies. (mostly veggies) and a few nuts at times and sometimes bread of some sort. If it is a really hot day I keep a close eye on them and hose down the enclosure and let them play in the hose for a bit before lunch. Anywhere between 3pm-6pm (depending on how they are doing) we will go inside. If we have gone in rather early it is because it is hot out or I had things I needed to do inside. (I don’t leave them outside alone for any length of time) We go into their bedroom, get diapers and shorts and waist belts on and they get to go into their indoor monkey room. This gives them time to play with different things and they are excited about having a new environment to explore. I usually hide snacks in the room so they are looking in every nook and cranny for their snack. Snack is usually a trail mix of some sort with fruit & nut mix. This will keep them busy till we eat dinner. This is when I give them monkey chow! Benji is real good about eating the chow but Sammy will hold out to see if she can have what we are having! If not….she eats the chow! Now it is T.V. time! But, we have to change diapers first! They have one corner of the living room and can get on the end cushion on the couch. They are on *hook up* during this time and they both have learned to accept that. They have a 6 ft lead and can get to the toy box full of toys if they choose to. Usually, they want to snuggle on the couch and they do actually watch t.v. If they are in good moods and doing well, they will stay in the living room with us till bedtime. (8:30pm) If they get spunky and don’t listen…they wind up back in the monkey room till bedtime. Benji usually winds up back in the monkey room and Sammy gets her one on one time with her daddy! I will go back into the kitchen and read email and Benji is happy in the monkey room because he can see me…. At 8:30 I get Benji’s strawberry milk in his sippy cup, change his diaper and he goes to bed in his sleep cage in their bedroom. Sammy usually stays up with her daddy till about 9…sometimes later, depending on how she is doing. When she is ready for bed she lets him know. I will get her strawberry milk, change her diaper and away to bed she goes. Benji will stay in his sleep cage till my husband and I go to bed. That is usually around 11pm. I go into their bedroom and get Benji…Sammy refuses to go to bed with us….we have, and still do try on occasions, to take her up as well but she prefers her own bed. Benji will sleep either in bed with us or sometimes I put him in his sleep cage we have in our bedroom upstairs! Usually around 5am Benji will call out to me, if he is in his sleep cage, and I will put him back in bed with me and my husband…..till I take him back downstairs to his sleep cage in their bedroom! And this is a day in the life of Sammy and Benji!! I hope this is of some help to the new monk parents out there! 😀 Of course, this day is not etched in stone and there are times when we have to make a change in what we do……I just try to make it fun for Sammy and Benji no matter what the changes are! Just as you would do with a human toddler!
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Spider Hugs To You All!