ask me to take your blood pressure :)

Wow, it's been a while since this here bliggity blog has gone a week without attention, yes?

And I wish I had lots of news I could entertain the masses with, but alas, (I feel so genteel using the word alas) I have nothing.

Life has been full of school, studying, tests, reading, study groups, and overall busyness on the educational front. I haven't had a psychotic break yet, and we're half-way to spring-break, so I guess this is a good thing?

One thing's for sure, the weeks, they are a'flying. Monday and Tuesday are my long days when I don't get home until about 5...so by the time Tuesday is done, the hard part of the week is over. Wednesday and Thursday end up being catch-up-around-the-house days, okay-I'll-let-myself-now-watch-that-one-television-show days, and if-I-read-one-more-word-about-electrolyte-and-fluid-imbalances-I-may-just-go-ballistic days. I keep saying I'm "going to go to bed early tonight" to catch up on my loss of sleep, but each night, 'tis midnight before I hit the hay.

On the homefront, things are going seriously swimmingly. (I feel so genteel using the word swimmingly) Not only have the kids been great, their behavior has been awesome, and something clicked with Ethan last Saturday--I can literally pinpoint it to the second--and he's been a perfectly obedient "Ok, Mom!" child ever since. I keep waiting for that bubble to burst, but like I said, going on one week he has been so helpful, obedient, quick to follow direction, and just a pleasure to have at home. Not that he was such a horrible kid before, but this ok-I'll-do-what-you-tell-me-the-first-time-you-tell-me-happily-and-without-complaint thing is such a blessing, it makes me pleased as pop.

On the blessings topic, my dear sweet hubby has been RAD. There's no other word to describe his awesomeness. Totally picking up the slack around the house (I can't even tell you when the last time I personally cleaned the bathtub was), doing anything and everything to lighten my load, leaving sweet notes on my car, offering massages, and taking care of kids' homework on the days he's home--well, it is such a gift to me, really. I appreciate him so much and am so grateful to have his full support in all this.

As for what I'm doing, learning, it's all the basics at this point, a lot of CNA review, but of course lots of new stuff too. I've developed a great friendship and study group with several gals seated close to me, which always makes things easier and more fun. We commiserate together. We eat together. We study together. We bounce ideas off one another. And the funny thing is, out of the 6 ladies in question, all but 2 of us have all boys. 14 kids in the group and only 2 of them are girls. So we have kid issues to share too.

I really like my teachers! This program has been through a lot of changes over the years, and I have to admit I was pretty nervous about going into it at first. But out of the 5 teachers we've worked with thus far, I really like and respect all of them. They're starting us out right. I think. :)

So, all is good! Life is moving by so fast, and I know it won't all feel as perfect as it does right now, but I'm very pleased with the semester thus far. Oh, and I made seriously the best made-from-scratch brownies to share with the class today: so stinkin' good. How can one feel anything but elation after a day of good brownie eatin'? Recipe here.

We're planning a "Les Miserables" viewing in June at Gammage. If anyone wants to try to go in with us and get in on the group rate, let me know. I don't think we have enough interested at this point in time, but it's worth a shot. We'll probably attend the June 9th or 11th show. Tickets are anywhere from $20-$75 depending on group rates, seating, student discounts, etc. Let me know if you want to go with us and experience a bit of theatre and culture. (I always feel so genteel experiencing theatre and culture. And spelling it theatre.)

That's it, Aims OUT!