I Concur

Last week when my cousin was in town we were taking the children to meet my husband at work for lunch. We were all going out to Chick-fil-a. I overheard a conversation between my cousin and Michael that cracked me up.

Michael: We're going to Chick-fil-a!
My cousin: I love Chick-fil-a! What do you like to eat there?
Michael: The chicken.
My cousin: I concur.
Michael: (long pause) They don't have concur at Chick-fil-a.

After much laughter we explained that concur is just a fancy word for agree. Later, as we told Daddy the story, Michael was able to explain to Daddy just what concur really means with no reminder from us. We all used the word concur instead of agree for the rest of the visit.

The Weekly Review: Week 25

Two Favorite Blog Posts of the Week

I enjoyed a post by Swistle about nutritional advice because I've had similar thoughts. And she expresses her thoughts so very eloquently.

I enjoyed another post at All & Sundry because I have a similar Melissa and Doug puzzle box and I knew exactly how the post was going to end. I sympathize.

Siblingness of the Week:

The children are ramping up both their sweet togetherness sibling moments and their shouting/pushing style sibling moments at the same time. It seems we get more of both. They are talking to each other instead of us more and more. Ava will ask Michael for help when she's having trouble with the computer or if she needs someone to turn on the water in the bathroom so she can wash her hands (he can reach the faucet, she cannot). I love it.

And then there are the moments that perplex me because they are coming too soon. Michael will repeat an action that irritates Ava simply because it bothers her. Why on earth does a three year old need to irritate his two year old sister just because? Alternately Ava will just push Michael out of her way instead of asking him to move. Or grab a toy from his hands, not because she wants it, but because she feels it is hers. Sigh. Lots of mediation going on in our household now and probably for the next 16 years or so.

I am trying to butt out whenever possible. I am inclined to micromanage and I'm making a concerted effort to just let them be and figure things out on their own.

The Weekly Michael

Michael continues to love his new preschool. I continue to love the fact that he's happy there. He comes home talking about art, and songs, and snack, and activities. Before, when it was a school day he'd protest going. Now he's excited. It is a beautiful thing to watch.

Ava this Week:

Singing. I wish I knew how to post audio samples here so you all could hear her too. She's singing the ABC song and Itsy Bitsy Spider and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. By no means are they perfect, but I think that even a stranger would know what she's trying to sing. Understanding her isn't what is important here though. What makes me so happy about it is that she's finally confident enough to try and capable enough to string many, many syllables together in sequence to a tune.

Ebooks, Kindle, and Lendle

I don't remember when exactly, but let's guess around a decade ago, someone gave me a palm pilot as a gift. I honestly didn't know what to do with it. I wasn't super impressed with the address book or calendar functions and so it was a rather expensive but unimpressive toy. Then I discovered ebooks.

I was always an avid reader. I would go on vacations with half my suitcase filled with paperbacks. I carried one to every doctor's appointment. I read in the car until the sunlight faded and then continued on with a flashlight until my batteries died. The ebook was an amazing upgrade for me. Suddenly I could carry dozens of books in less space than one paperback. Also, it was backlit and so I could read in the dark. It was wonderful. I never struggled with eye strain, so other than the occasional low battery issue, I never looked back.

Due to issues I won't go into now, I switched from my old ebook format to the Kindle format a couple of years ago. I don't actually own a Kindle. I use a Kindle app on my iPhone. I'm perfectly happy with that. It is smaller than the Kindle device, has backlight capability, and is always with me. I love ebooks. It is by far my preferred format for reading.

I recently stumbled upon a new website that is really great. It is called Lendle. Some Kindle books are lending enabled. The publisher determines if that function is enabled, not Amazon. If the book is lending enabled, you can loan the book to someone else with a Kindle account one time for two weeks. Or, they could loan a book to you for two weeks. The problem is, I don't know anyone else using a Kindle. That's where Lendle comes in.

You set up an account with Lendle and tell it what Kindle books you own. They automatically figure out which of those are lending enabled. (I own 81 Kindle books. Only 16 are lending enabled.) You get a few free borrowing credits just for signing up and entering your book list. Your available loans are entered into a database along with everyone else's. Then you can browse available books and spend a borrowing credit to request a loan. You earn another borrowing credit for every book you loan out. As an added bonus, Lendle gives you a small credit (5-49 cents so far for the five books I have currently loaned out) for each book you loan out. When your account reaches $10 they send you an Amazon gift certificate.

Their catalog is pretty slim because so few books are lending enabled. However, I found one I wanted and requested the loan. It came through within half an hour and then I was reading the book on my phone. It was great. I requested the sequel. Now, that one is taking longer. The lender has two days to actually send you the book and this person is a bit slower. Still, I'm getting to read free books in exchange for loans that were sitting around unused in my Kindle account.

If you have a Kindle account, I highly recommend checking out Lendle.