Rewind, Fast Forward, How do I Pause?

After several years of child abuse, our VCR broke. My kids are pretty hard on things, which is rather irritating, so I decided not to buy another one for a while and let the kids feel the effects of their mistreatment of the a/v equipment. That lasted about a week. I hadn't realized how often I use movies as a crowd control mechanism. So we bought another. None of the buttons were in the right places. We fast forwarded when we meant to rewind and rewound when we meant to pause. I was muttering about it when it hit me that my life has been just like that ever since we moved to Idaho. No wonder I'm so tired. Even though I've tried to plan things so they happen one at a time, they just spin forward or reel backwards willy nilly and I have absolutely no control over it. I guess I should be used to it by now, because somehow, everything always ends up happening at the same time. I'm still looking for the pause button.

Anyhow, since I last posted, Trevor finished his Eagle Project, the kids started school, I edited a dissertation and passed my CNA exams. I started my Pathophysiology and Genetics classes and started working two days a week in BirthPlace at Pullman hospital (I love working there and now realize that I really want to be a nurse. I was able to help prep a patient and watch a c-section on my second day - it was so cool). My parents came for a visit and they were an amazing help while we did our landscaping. I can't wait for our little orchard to bear fruit. We have three cherry trees, two pears, two plums, an apple and a peach. We'll plant another apple and peach tree next spring along with a windbreak, two more maple trees, a bunch of firs and spruce.

Trevor is loving his new driving freedom and is keeping his grades up so he keeps those privleges. He is also busy trying to raise funds for his band trip to Disney Land over spring break, so if anyone needs to renew any magazines, please let us know in the next few days. The fundraiser ends next Thursday. Lindsey is doing well in school and has suddenly discovered that when she brushes her hair and looks put together, the boys notice her. Jeff and I are not at all sure that this is a good thing because she is very pretty and a pro at manipulating boys (she's had lots of practice with her brothers). Jeff asked me if I wanted to home school her again. I just smiled and assured him that no, I'd rather not, and reminded him that keeping her home would not stop her from growing up. He's missing his sweet little princess who has been replaced by an imperious diva. I think we're in for a few painful years. The younger boys are all doing fine. Jared wants to go to school every day and gets really upset when he is left behind. Nathan loves kindergarten and doesn't like being picked up at lunch time either, unless I take him to the park or McDonald's. The kid has great bargaining skills. Tyler and Evan are enjoying scouts and Tyler still loves to draw. He also had a great time disassembling the broken VCR. He found a toy car, a penny, a dried up string cheese, lots of Legos, and a pencil inside. Hmmm...maybe that's why it broke? Sorry, no pics this time. I don't have time to download them to my laptop. I'll try to do so before my next post.