A Nice Problem to Have

This morning I caught myself in the midst of some frustration and realized how fortunate I am to be having this particular problem.

My kids now all own ipods (for the younger two, these are ipod nanos used exclusively for listening to audio books and select music).  The kids were all pleading with me this morning to put more books onto their ipods because they had finished the books they already had, and so I was in a moment of chaos at the computer while all three were telling me (at the same time) the books that they wanted downloaded.  I was getting a little frustrated by their speaking all at once, and then stopped when I realized how lovely it is to be having this problem.  Even Seth, my most reluctant reader/listener, now likes audio books and listens to them for about an hour (sometimes more) almost every day.  Matthew listens for 1-2 hours/day pretty much every day, and Lizzie is similar.  So, amidst all of the chaos, I downloaded a bunch of audio books to the kids' ipods today, and know that two or three weeks from now we'll be having this same conversation about the next books we'll be downloading.

In case anyone is interested in what they are listening to, here's what went on to their ipods this morning:

Matthew (age 11 - total of 28.5 hours' listening time):
* The Hobbit - this was already on his ipod, as he is listening to it again, but he likes to break it up by listening to other books intermittently.
* Brian's Hunt, by Gary Paulson - this is book #5 in Paulson's Brian series, and will finish off the series for Matthew.
* My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George.
* Frightful's Mountain, by Jean Craighead George (the 2nd in George's series)
* The Trumpet of the Swan, by E.B. White


Seth (age 10 - total of 26 hours' listening time):
* The Hobbit - I read this to the kids last year, but Seth wants to listen to it again.
* Blue Bay Mystery, by Gertrude Chandler Warner - this is the 6th in the Boxcar Children series.
* The Woodshed Mystery, by Gertrude Chandler Warner - this is the 7th in the Boxcar Children series.
* The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain
* Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLaughlan
* Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen - this is book #1 in the Brian series


Lizzie (age 8 - total of 25 hours' listening time):
* The Hobbit - like Matthew, this was already on her ipod and she is listening to it again.
* Blue Bay Mystery, by Gertrude Chandler Warner - this is the 6th in the Boxcar Children series.
* The Woodshed Mystery, by Gertrude Chandler Warner - this is the 7th in the Boxcar Children series.

* My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George.
* Frightful's Mountain, by Jean Craighead George (the 2nd in George's series)