Let's see. . . hmm. . .

So, it's been a while since I've written on the blog!  I've been filling my time with school and home.  It's been a bit busy around here.  Doesn't it seem like things tend to become critically in need of lots of time and attention ALL AT THE SAME TIME!?!?!? 

This semester I'm taking two really interesting courses.  The first is called, "Intellectual Assessment" in which I am learning to administer cognitive assessments.  Back in the day, these were known as "IQ Tests" but are no longer because they're much different now.  These days, the assessments measure mental processing speed (how quickly you can perform mental tasks), working memory (how many things you can juggle and manipulate in your brain at once), visual spacial ability (think parallel parking, tee hee), and verbal comprehension (vocabulary and general acquired knowledge). 

Often times we think of intelligence as one is "born with it" or not.  This is only part of the story!  The part you're "born with" is just the range that you work with.  The rest is increased through constantly using your brain and learning new information and skills.  In a nutshell, it is what causes you to be at the top of your range or not.  You are in control!  Isn't that neat?!

My other course is "Behavior Intervention" which covers research proven methods that, with their implementation, can significantly increase desired behaviors.  Being that I'm studying Educational Psychology, we focus on how to help children achieve a mental and emotional state that will maximize their ability to learn.  Using these tools help to cultivate a "learning rich" soil in their minds so that they can reach their full potential with their own learning.  Love that!

In addition to school, my son is currently testing for his black belt in karate which is a 6 month long ordeal.  Basically, six days a week for 6 months, we are at the karate school in the evenings.  This is requiring us as a family to be extremely efficient with our time management as homework still needs to be done for my classes as well as his.  My husband, who the textbook reluctant hero, is a saint as he comes home early from work a few days a week to take over toddler duty while dear Grandma drives across town to pick up the ninja boy and then drives across town on another direction to take him to his karate class then drives across town in yet another direction back to her home.  Makes me tired just thinking about it.  Usually, I pick him up after my class lets out at Uni and then we both head home to snarf some dinner and breathe a little bit before we wake up to do it all over again.  They do say that "Idle hands are the Devil's playground" so we must be little angels these days! 

As for Little Sister, she is happily trucking along in toddler world.  Naps are her arch enemy as there is so much socializing to be done she doesn't seem to have time for them.  She absolutely ADORES being outside and will play in the back yard and listen for birds all day if I let her.  To her, the songs of the birds are quite magical and she wants to go outside and hear them when she first wakes up as part of her little routine.  Often I will let her eat her lunch outside in our gliding chair and she will sit very still and quietly so that she can hear each little chirp and tweet of her bird neighbors.  My personal favorite is when she sings back to them. 

My knitting, unfortunately, has been mostly on the back burner as I don't really have much time left over this semester.  Maybe I should change the blog title from "Psycho-Knitter" to "Psycho-class taking-karate going-hiney wiping-co bird listening-Mom".  What do you think?  You can fit that in an address bar, right?