Ultrasound and Illnesses

This Thursday was my "BIG" day.  The day we had our big 'anatomy' ultrasound.  This was about a 45 minute appointment where they checked each organ, measured bones, and checked for chromosomal abnormalities.   And ... the fun part, check for the gender of the baby.

I was so afraid that the baby would not cooperate and show the goods.  I did not find out what I was having for our first two, and since this is the last one (and that I think it would be nice to have a girl in the house), I really want to know ahead of time.

Typically, they can tell rather accurately after 18 weeks, but the baby must cooperate.  The entire time the ultrasound tech was checking me, the baby had it's legs crossed at the ankles, and and knees pushed together.  She pretty much checked in between each measurement she took.  She poked, prodded, pushed, and shook my belly, trying to get the baby to uncross those legs.

But, everything was hidden.  When she left the room to send in the doctor, who was coming in to talk about the results and my risks (higher because of my age), she said that maybe the baby would shift and the doctor would be able to see.  While waiting for the doctor I got up, moved aroud, bounced around, and just tried to get the baby to move.

The doctor came in and checked things again, pointing out baby parts on the monitor.  When she moved down she said that she saw no little boy parts and that she thinks it is a girl.  Chris isn't 100% convinced, and I'm afraid to get my hopes up too much.  We won't be buying any pink until after the next ultrasound in 5 weeks. 

The good news is that everything looked great.  I had done the Quad Screen blood test that checks for chromosomal abnormalities (Down Syndrome, Trimosomy 18 and others).  My blood test results were good, and the chances of a problem were rather low.  The ultrasound results mixed with the Quad Screen results put my risk of a problem at the best it can be for my age, 1:9,999. 

She wants to see me back in 5 weeks to check a few more things that she was not able to see this week.  So, I will get another chance to peak at the baby.  I'll wait until them to go out buying anything girly ... just to make sure. 

Now ... illnesses.  We got a call Thursday afternoon that Philip was sick and had a 102 fever.  Chris picked him up from school.  Friday morning, about 5 am Philip woke me up saying he felt horrible.  His temperature was 103.1.  He stayed with Chris again all day Friday.  Mid-morning, Chris called and said he saw little pockets on his tonsils and that we should get a doctor's appointment. He took him in - and we found he has strep throat. 

While there, Chris went into one of his coughing fits.  He and Zachary have both had a horrible horrible cough since about a month before Thanksgiving.  He asked the pediatrician what was going around that would linger so long, with just coughing symptoms after a while.  She said that Whooping cough is going around, and that is what he likely has.  We looked up whooping cough online and found a lot of information - it used to be considered a kids disease, but 60% of those who get it now are adults.  There was a sound clip on the website of a child coughing and it sounds JUST like Zachary when he is coughing.  It could last around 100 days - so we could have another month of this coughing. 

I'm not quite ready for Christmas.  The house is a mess and we have no decorations up.  I made a deal with the kids that if they helped me today, and we get the house clean, we'll put up the tree.  I hope to get that done.  Chris is going to a wedding. I'm staying here with the kids.  We had lined up a place for them to go - but with Philip with strep throat, that is a BAD idea.  I'm not sending him to be around other kids.  The doctor said he should be ok to be around others in a day or so (this was yesterday).  I'm conservative and will keep him in all weekend.  Just to be safe.  I would feel HORRIBLE if one of their friends came down with strep for Christmas. At this point I'm hoping the rest of us don't get it.

I’m tired of feeling so DITZY!!

So, I've heard the term "preggo brain" or "pregnancy brain" since I was pregnant with my first.  (I really don't like the term "preggo much, but that is beside the point).  And it is so true.  I am forgetting things, losing things, and just making stupid STUPID mistakes.  Simple things like putting the milk in the cabinet and cereal in the fridge.  Or finding my keys in the freezer.  Or driving off from my house with my purse on the HOOD (not the roof where I can't see it - but right there in front of my eyes, on the hood!). 

 

Now, I can understand the evolutionary reason behind many of the pregnancy symptoms.  My boobs hurt because they are preparing for milk.  My joints hurt because hormones are causing them to losen, to prepare for the birth (my body apprently hasn't gotten the memo that I will be having a c-section and lose joints are not necessary!).  My feet are wider for the same reason.  My gums are now bleeding because my body has a lot of extra blood pumping through it - because the baby needs it.  Lots of things that just make sense.  But what good does a ditzy brain do the baby?  I can't figure it out.

But it is causing me a great deal of frustration.  Yesterday I had to make cookies for the cookie swap at work.  The cookie I always make is this WONDERFUL light thin crispy sesame wafer (with ground pecans!), with a drizzle of semi-sweet chocolate across the top.  They are so good.  And so easy.  I've made them for years - and they always come out perfect.

Until last night.  I don't know what I was thinking.  I KNOW that a stick of butter is a 1/2 cup.  But I looked at the stick and it said 1 stick = 8 tbsp = 1/4 lb.  Now - it said 1/4 POUND.  It made no mention of cups.  But, I read it as 1/4 cup and thought I was remembering the "1 stick = 1/2 cup" wrong.  So, I went with what the package said (or what I thought it said).

I mixed up the cookies and put the dough in the fridge to harden (easier to work with that way) while I dealt with dinner and getting the kids in bed.  I then relaxed a bit before starting.  About 10 pm I go downstairs to bake the cookies.  First batch in ... after the 7 to 9 minutes they are supposed to bake they are still very soft and white.  They should be crispy and  brown and ready to come out.  They also spread out a lot.  It looked very wrong.

I left them in another 9 minutes - light brown, but still looked funny with lots of holes in them.  Took them out to let cool.  When I tried to scoop a cookie up with the spatula, it just fell apart into little tiny bits of browned flour and sesame seeds.  Nothing held together.  NOTHING.  All of them were like this.
In digging into it, trying to find my problem - I realized that I had used double the butter.  YUM ... except they won't bake and be cookies.  I spent another hour and a half trying to repair the damage - adding more flour and sesame seeds to the remaining dough (though no telling how much was actually left).  Baking isn't like cooking.  You don't "fix" it.  Measurements are critical.  I tried and tried (baking one cookie at a time) - but there was no repairing the dough.  And I had no more butter.

Since Katrina, you don't just run to the store at 1 am to buy butter.  The stores are no longer 24 hours.  Not even the convenient store around the corner is open past 11.  So, I gave up.  I had a bowl of sesame 'granola' (with the chocolate drizzled on top) and ate spoon fulls of buttery sugary sesame seeds.  But no cookies.  My poor husband had to deal with a sobbing hormonal woman, in bed at 1:00 am crying about cookies. 

Tonight, I've got to make the cookies to make up for not having them at the swap today.  I also have a meeting at the country club.  It is the general membership meeting and I've gotten myself nominated to the board this year -election is tonight.  How I get myself into things that I don't have time for, I don't know.  But I hear that the board meetings are fun (held in the bar where the liquor is!! - not that I can partake right now ... but I'll be an officer at least a year). And I did state that I would take the job with the least amount of responsibility (scheduling club rentals).  I guess this is making up for not being on the board of the PTO this year.  And really, this summer I'll be home on maternity leave and therefore at the pool with the kids pretty much EVERY day.  So I'll be there anyway.

I have a bit of excitement later this week - Thursday is my big "anatomy ultrasound".  This is where they check the baby's detailed measurements, check all of the organs, etc - and where they will tell me the gender.  I did not find out what I was having with Zachary and Philip - so this will  be the first time I'm going to know before delivery.  I'm pretty excited.

Wednesday I'm looking forward to lunch with friends. 

And Friday the kids have their classroom Holiday parties - I'm going to Zachary's and took the rest of the day off.

Maybe we will FINALLY get the tree up this coming weekend.  I still have my big tree for sale, the new slim tree arrived last week.  I can't wait to get it up and decorated.

The update that I didn’t finish...

So, I intended to give a little update in my last post, but it ended up just being the 'tagged' thing that I got from Gwen.

Lots going on ...

I'm entering my 2nd trimester.  If you didn't know, the actual start of the second trimester can vary between 12 weeks and 14 weeks depending on who you listen to.  I've got 3 pregnancy books and they all say something different.   But, at the worse-case scenario, I hit it this Friday when I hit the 14 week mark.
I've had several ultrasounds including the one at the hospital in California when I was bleeding.  All have shown that things are going well.  And I'm starting to feel better.

My morning (all day) sickness is mostly gone.  I still get waves of nausea every now and then - mostly triggered by a strong smell - but it is becoming quite rare.  I'm still tired.  Not NEARLY as exhausted as I was, but still would love a nap every day. 

Since I'm still tired - my house is still a wreck!  It is messy!  The kids pick up NOTHING, and their crap gets spread from one end of the house to the other.  THIS is the weekend when I "fix" that.  Of course I made that same promise to myself the last two weekends and ended up napping instead.  But, I've got to get a handle on this mess or I will need a week's vacation to get the house in order.  I do have a 4 day weekend coming up this weekend, so I should get a lot accomplished.  I would be absolutely MORTIFIED if anyone showed up at my front door right now.  Seriously.  It's bad. BAD!  So no one show up at my front door - I promise you it will be slammed if you do.

The kids are doing pretty well.  Well, somewhat.  Zachary has a sinus infection and the excess mucus stuff in his head was causing him to cough and then gag, and then vomit.  He was sent home twice last week (therefore I had to miss work) because of it.  I took him to the doctor, and sure enough, sinus infection.  Hopefully that will clear soon.

They are slowly adjusting to their new school.  Both are still struggling some in math because they skipped a year of math skills.  They are both on academic probation (means that they HAVE to bring up their math grade this quarter or they are out of the school).  They both got a D in math on their report card.  Neither of them had ever had below a B in an academic subject (last year a C in behavior in PE kept Zachary off of the honor roll, but in general both were always on the A or A/B honor roll).  It was a shock to them both.  We are working to catch them up on the missed material - Zachary went from the 3rd grade math curriculum last year to 5th grade this year, and Philip went from 2nd grade to 4th grade.  Skipping some important foundation skills needed for current work.  Philip is getting tutoring at school (several other kids in 3rd grade have the same problem and they arranged for a tutor 3 days a week).  4th grade had fewer new kids, so we are on our own for tutoring.  I've got something in the works though (Paula - I still need to call you back).  The good thing is that this week and last week they covered material that Zachary just "gets" - very easy stuff for him that does not rely on skills he missed.  That will help bring up his grade.  He's GOT to do better this nine weeks.

I've talked to several parents of kids who moved into the magnet school system 'later' (not in pre-k/K/1st) and have heard the same story over and over again.  That made me feel better.  We talked to a parent one day that had the same thing with her child at their school last year.  A lady at my dentist office was complaining that her daughter is failing 8th grade math (a 7th grader) after having never had below an A in any subject.  She is failing and very depressed about it.  Another lady was in the office last week when I was there, and asking about awards day.  The secretary asked her if her daughter was on the honor roll, and she replied "every quarter, every year, until she came to this school", and then laughed.  I laughed and told her that it made me feel better to hear that from other parents. 

Honestly, I'm a little surprised that the school system doesn't have a program in place to help kids who jump into the system mid-stream.  They know that these kids are jumping ahead, on top of being thrown into a system where they work harder and faster than the schools they are coming from.  I realize that WE made the choice to apply to the magnet school - and were looking for a challenge.  The kids are being challenged and working harder than ever.  But it is a big transition.  The 3rd grade teachers got together and worked out a solution for their students, but I know from talking to so many others that this is common. I guess as involved parents who care about our kids education, it is our job to address the problem - and we are.

We are still planning to go camping for Thanksgiving.  I've GOT to get an air mattress.  I've never used one when camping - making sure the tent site is flat (and free of tree roots) and having a good sleeping bag was enough . But I'll be 18 weeks pregnant and am already having a hard time getting comfortable in bed at night.  I NEED it.  I need to get to work on planning my menu.  I've given it some thought, but not planned it out as well thoroughly.  I also need to go through our camping gear to make sure anything damaged by Katrina is replaced, that everything is in working order, and organized.  But, really, I've GOT to clean my house first.  It would be poor prioritization to organize that stuff in the garage before dealing with the messes in the house. 

I guess my 4 day weekend won't be as relaxing as I thought ....

First things first - I’m FINALLY doing this Gwen!!

Thanks Gwen - I said I would do it, and I am ... finally (when I have some alone time at the computer and am not at work).
So, my friend Gwen honored me with an award  :)

The blog award rules:
1. List 6 things about yourself

and

2. Pass this award on to 6 other bloggers

Six things about Shannon:

1)  This pregnancy is pretty different than my last two.  First, I had a lot of morning sickness this time - I had a little with Zachary but it didn't last too long, and almost none with Philip (I was 10 weeks when I found out with him - I did think I'd had a stomach bug that probably was morning sickness around 7 or 8 weeks, but it didn't last long).  Second, the fatigue and exhaustion has been MUCH greater.  I'm sure being 10 years older than the first time I did this (and more than 8 years older than the second) has a LOT to do with that.  Also, I'm a worrier this time.  I never worried about things last time.  It would just work out and everything would be perfect.  I guess I'm now tainted by the memory of my miscarriage and now KNOW the realization that it may not work out without problems.  I am starting to get better now that I've reached the 12 week mark, but I still worry.

2)  I have this image of being the perfect person - and I fail significantly.  I want to work all day (well, I have to), then come home and keep a perfectly organized house with kids who happily sit and do homework and study without being asked while I cook fun and healthy meals, and then clean the little bit of mess made from dinner.  This all should be in a perfectly organized and spotless house.  I am no where CLOSE to that.  I struggle to keep up with the basic things and just want to sleep.  Maybe I'm feeling worse about this now because I have done VERY VERY little the last 2-1/2 months.

3)  I love traveling to other countries and experiencing different cultures.  I fear that I won't get to do it again.  And I don't want to do it again without Chris.  He's only been to Mexico and Canada.  I want him to experience another country with me.  He'd love Amsterdam - I want to take him there.  And I think he'd really like Italy.  He'd probably really like Athens too.  Then, I feel a bit selfish because I want to go to some of the places I've never been.  The reality is that it isn't likely we'll ever do get to go on an international trip.  Especially since we are starting over again with a new baby at this point.  Too many other priorities. 

4)  I feel bad about Zachary's Disney trip.  I had promised him that I would go with him on his 4th grade class trip to Disney.  But, it is in mid-April.  I'll be delivering a baby in mid-April (will have a c-section around 2 weeks before my due date).  :)  So that isn't exactly a reality anymore.  Parents don't have to go.  But to be honest, I'm a bit worried about sending him without us.  Though at 13 my parents sent me to Africa/Greece/Amsterdam without them.  Early 80's was a different time though.  I don't know.  I guess I'm being protective.  Yet, I don't want him to miss out (it is a week of seminars and educational classes - behind the scenes science/math etc -- and of course the whole regular Disney experience too!).

5)  I don't like the leave the house without make-up.  Ever.  Though in the last 2 months, I've done it A LOT.  I'm tired.  And I was feeling REALLY bad in the mornings.  I'd rather sleep late and lay in bed.

6)  I LOVE to cook and experiment with many different cuisines.  Though I bet most of you knew that.  It has been a while since I cooked something new and took pictures though.   
Now ... how many people did Gwen leave for me to tag?

(Bonnie - I was going to tag you - but you BEAT ME TO IT!! Can I still tag Bonnie and have it count? ;)
1) Rae
2) Kimmie
3) Paula (M)
4) Lawanda
5) Lane
6) Tania

Catching up on my life

Some of you know what's been going on and some don't.  I've really neglected my blog for a while - sorry!  Like I said, some of you know what's up, and will understand.

 

So ... now that it is basically no longer a secret - I'm pregnant again.  I am very excited, yet I've been a bit trepidatious.  This was planned - and was planned after my miscarriage in January.  That unexpected event showed us how much we want another baby.  So, I finally got pregnant again.  But, the fear of another miscarriage is always in the back of my mind.

I saw my doctor at 6 weeks and an ultrasound showed everything was fine.  Another ultrasound 1-1/2 weeks later showed the same.  At that point, I'm starting to feel better - I'm approaching the end of the "danger zone" where the threat of another miscarriage is higher.  So I started to tell a few people.  Still not broadcasting, but sharing the news a bit.

I had a scheduled tradeshow in Anaheim, California.  I discussed it with my doctor and it seemed fine.  I worked tradeshows through both pregnancies without a problem. 

Last Monday, at the tradeshow, I started bleeding.  And freaking out - naturally.  Especially given what happened with the last pregnancy.  After a phone call to my doctor early Tuesday morning, I took a cab to the nearest ER/hospital.  Most of the day was spent in the ER.  I felt so alone.  I was alone.  In a city far away from home.  Far away from familiy.  I tried to hold it together, but I was really scared.  And my poor co-worker (who was still basically in training) was stuck at the convention center, working alone.  I was worried about her.

By the time I left there, I felt better.  I had suffered a "threatened miscarriage" (any bleeding during pregnancy is called that), but the ultrasound showed that all was well.  I was ordered to not return to the convention center, but to rest in bed that day, to fly home the next day, and spend the rest of the week in bed.  I could not WAIT to get home.  I was emotionally exhausted. 

So, I left my hotel at 6:30 Wednesday morning and arrived home around 5:00 pm - and I spent the next 4 days doing almost NOTHING.  Sure, my house shows that I did almost nothing.  It is a wreck.  I did a few loads of laundry (the machine does the work and I can fold while in bed).  We had lots of leftovers and take-out. 

So, this week, I'm playing catch up.  Yet  - I am still feeling absolutely and utterly EXHAUSTED.  I have for most of this pregnancy (and it's only been 9 weeks - I still have 30 more weeks to go!!!)  And sick!  I'm so nauseated.  I hate that.  I constantly have this "I'm about to throw up" feeling, no food sounds good, I'm afraid to eat, but if I don't I feel worse.  I've got massive heart burn.  Chris keeps telling me "embrace it, you wanted a baby, you wanted this, embrace it and don't complain".   He is lucky I didn't hit him in the head with a lamp. 

The kids are excited.  They are telling everyone they "can trust to keep a secret".  But really - it's no longer a secret.  I'm feeling better about it every day.  And more confident.

School just back in swing, and already planning for our next big break…

Today marks the end of the first week of the new school year.  It is also the end of the kids' first week at "Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies".   I see some challenges this year, but I'm convinced that we (or they-the kids) can handle them.  Homework will be plentiful and tough.  Studying is now REQUIRED.  And behavior must be kept under control.  It's a new year…a new school...a new beginning.

One of Zachary's biggest struggles is keeping himself organized.  His backpack is always a mess of crumpled and folded papers.  His desk becomes a total disaster.  More than once last year, Chris brought him into his classroom to search for missing materials required for an assignment, and spent 15 minutes removing old un-needed papers that were crumpled and shoved into his fully packed desk.  We are trying very hard to make changes this year, including finding Zachary's organizational skills.   

For both of them, they have skated through school, making mostly A's with a few B's – without having to study or work very hard for those grades.  That doesn't happen at M.A.A.S.  You have to study.  Philip fought with me for over an hour Wednesday night about studying his spelling words.  He took the list, read it once, and told me his was done.  No son, that isn't enough - STUDY.  He told me to quiz him.  Naturally I picked the hardest two words on the list to quiz – and he got them wrong.  I sent him back to REALLY study.  You guessed it – three minutes later he's back, yet again proclaiming that he has finished!   I made him write each word ten times, which made him furious.  That was not an assigned written homework, why should he have to write the words?  In typical Philip fashion, he tries to negotiate with me … how about writing them FIVE times each, and then reading them another five times each.  No, son.  That is not what I said to do.  How about eight, then?  In the end, he wrote the words ten times each, and studied them for another 20 minutes.  But, it took over an hour to accomplish that.  It should not be such a struggle.

I'm afraid that they will learn (and in some respects already have) that they can get by with very little effort, and do 'ok'.  Last year, we told them both that B's were not acceptable.  That makes me feel like a tyrant parent.  But, they were both capable of making A's with a bit of effort (and in some subjects, with very little effort at the level they were learning at the old school).  Getting an easy B without any effort is not an earned B.  If they can get a B with no effort, I expect the effort to earn an A.  If they studied hard and struggled and ended up with a C, then I would consider a C an acceptable grade.  But they are both capable of so much more.  M.A.A.S. is a tougher school.   They will have to work hard, and B's may become perfectly acceptable for them if they work hard for them (maybe even an occasional C).  But first, they need to learn HOW to work hard.  This will be a struggle this year, I can tell.

So, as we embark on this new adventure, I'm already looking forward to the first big break from it.   And I've figured it out.  We are going camping for Thanksgiving!!   Because of a major dispute in Chris's family (and him basically now cut off from the majority of his family), for probably the first Thanksgiving in the 15 years we've been married, I will not be told where I have to be, what time to be there, and what to bring.  I get to make our plans for Thanksgiving.  And I'm going to plan to not be home.  It is really kind of funny given that for years I've dreamed of having a very quiet and simple Thanksgiving at my own house.

But, instead of the traditional Thanksgiving meal at home, we are going to go CAMPING!  Well, I guess that makes it more "traditional" than anyone in my family has ever seen.   We'll cook our Thanksgiving meal over an open fire.

Chris and I used to go camping a lot before we had kids.  We would wake up on a Friday morning, and before work decide that we would go camping for the weekend.  We'd rush home form work, throw the camping gear in the car, and drive to Grand Isle, or Hattiesburg (to a state park outside of Hattiesburg), etc.   We had our gear set that we could quickly go on a whim without the need for much preparation.   

But, since having kids we have not been ONCE.  My poor boys have been deprived of the joys found in childhood camping.  I've thought about it and talked about it, but haven't actually taken them.  I do not like camping in the summer (or southern summers anyway).  It is way too hot here to sleep inside of a tent without circulation (and air conditioning!).  I would much rather camp in October/November (sometimes even December given that we have VERY mild Decembers), or March/April. 

A lot of the gear we had was damaged in the garage (our garage had deeper water than the house, and the stuff on the bottom shelves of the camping shelving was ruined).  The tent we had was too small for a family of four.   It is time to replace it.  Some of the basic camping supplies are rather cheap, and some things we had can still be used.  Really, you don't need a TON of stuff to camp anyway.  

Thanks to a birthday gift from my dad and step-mother, I've got a new tent that can sleep 10.  It's a three room cabin tent – the two outside rooms sleep 3 (2 comfortably) each, and the center sleeps four.  We'll use the two smaller rooms as 'bedrooms' – or 'sleeping bag rooms' .  The larger center room will be a 'living room', for storing gear, hanging out in case it rains or we want a place to just relax - making it the perfect "four person" tent for us.

We'll go to Paul B. Johnson State Park in Hattiesburg.  I've reserved a premium spot right next to the lake from Wednesday through Sunday.  We'll be able to fish, canoe, roast marshmallows, the works.  I may do a slow-cooked rotisserie chicken over the campfire for our 'Thanksgiving feast'.  Or I may bring along some smoked turkey drumsticks (both kids LOVE those!).  Hell, we may even catch our Thanksgiving meal and cook it over open flames – but I'll have back up food in case the fish are not biting or the kids feed bait to the branches in the water instead of actually reeling in fish.

Paul B. Johnson State Park

Near the campground is Black Creek – which runs through the DeSoto National Forest.  They have several great floats for short canoe trips.  They also have overnight trips but I would much rather have camp set up at the state park, and do a day trip than to deal with setting up camp on the bank of the creek, after paddling all day.  Depending on the water levels, we may hit the creek one day for a canoe trip, or we may just limit our canoeing to the lake inside the campground.

Black Creek Canoeing   (we've used this canoe rental place before - they are great!)

From reviewing the park's website, they have expanded some camping sites and made some improvements.  But in general it was always a very well kept state park, with lots to do (nature stuff – hiking/canoeing/etc – and a game room with a snack bar/pool tables/arcade games/etc). 

So now, even though we are only a week into school – I'm already very much looking forward to the next school break.  Only 14-1/2 weeks to go…

still on a high

Excuse me ... but I'll ramble here.  So much is going on, life seems to be spinning.  I'm trying to catch up, really I am.

 

My baby, my youngest is turning EIGHT this week.  EIGHT!!!   How can this be?  I still remember his birth like it was yesterday (well, sorta - don't ask me to recite the exact time, his exact weight, or exact length without looking at his birth certificate ... there, I said it, I'm a bad mom!).

The kids start school on Monday and I'm not ready.  School supplies are mostly done (thanks to the program at the school where I could write them a check and they provide me with a box of the required school supplies).   But I still don't have the uniform situation worked out.  We went last night and they were out of the size shirts that Philip needs.  They had a LOT of the larger shirts for their school, but were out of the smaller kids shirts.  So today I'll run to another uniform shop to look for them.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute, huh?  But really, it snuck up on me and I've been so busy.....

Busy ... that's my excuse.

Busy with things like The Columns for drinks last night.  Or the reunion the weekend before.  Or the Farmer's Market yesterday.  Important stuff, ya' know?

Seriously, I'm still on a bit of a high from the reunion.  It was such a great time.  Everyone enjoyed themselves and that makes me happy.  Last night was a mini-reunion at The Columns and I had a few mojitos and relaxed.  It was fun. 

I haven't been cooking as much lately.  Just doing things like throwing together some grilled (ummm, by grilled I mean thin slices thrown in a hot cast iron skillet with some olive oil) eggplant, onions, bok choy, shrimp - tossing in oyster sauce/fish sauce/soy sauce/butter/brown sugar/shallots/scallions, and serving over soba noodles. 

I'm hoping to change that.  Yesterday at the Farmer's Market I got more eggplant (I think the house is getting tired of me buying/serving eggplant, but it is in season and I love it!),  tomatoes, some rosemary, and oyster mushrooms.  I don't know what I'll do with the oyster mushrooms yet.  I'm still researching and thinking. 
Speaking of cooking and food shopping .... this economy is cramping my cooking style.  I have never paid much attention to my grocery budget.  I have a long list of standard/staples that I keep in the house at all times.  I like a full pantry/fridge.  I do not plan out meals.  I like to go into the kitchen, dig around, see what I've got, see what inspires me, and throw something together - either something I've cooked before or something I make up on the spot. 

In order to do that, you really need a well stocked kitchen.   I've always got flour tortillas, corn tortillas, rice paper wraps (for spring rolls/etc).  I've always got a HUGE supply of Jasmine rice, soba noodles, bean thread noodles, rice noodles (wide and skinny).  I'm never without at least 10 kinds of cheese (an expensive habit!!), and the basic veggies: onions, more than one color bell pepper, green onions, shallots, cucumbers, celery, carrots, lettuce, radishes, mung bean sprouts, fresh cilantro and parsley, and in season-great tomatoes.   My freezer always has shrimp (size depends on what the Farmers Market has - yesterday I got BEAUTIFUL HUGE JUMBO 9-12 count shrimp), beef (roast, ground, and thin round steaks), chicken (stewing hen and smaller frying chicken, and sometimes packs of thighs)...etc.   You see how this can get expensive????   But, when I want to cook, I want to COOK! 

This week - I haven't really cooked.  We had that stir fry over soba one night, Popeyes one night, very very bad Chinese take out last night (I was going out - no time for cooking).  Hopefully tonight I'll cook a proper meal.....

In the genes

There is no denying that Philip, our youngest, is 100% HIS FATHER'S CHILD.   Those of you who know him, know that Chris is a total smart ass, and always has been. 

And apparently, Philip takes after him.

This afternoon when it was time for me to pick the kids up, they were at the pool.  Philip was not ready to go and used several stall tactics, dragging the process out beyond ten minutes.  Our little mental struggle ended with me holding his upper arm very tightly and practically dragging him to the car.  When we got home, I began my lecture about respect.  He insisted that he respects his elders, and had several excuses for not complying when I told him it was time to leave.

During my lecture, I said something pretty sarcastic.  At this point I don't even remember exactly what it was. (Maybe "Oh, so you DO respect me, I see that, like when you ignore me and run away when I tell you it is time to leave, you are right, that is respect, I was wrong." ... or something like that.)  It was then that he held up his hand, and said "can we do this without the sarcasm"?

I choked, bit my lower lip, and I think I hurt my throat trying to control the chuckles.  Chris opened the fridge and  buried his face into it, in an effort to hide his laughing.  I turned my back to Philip and just couldn't stop shaking I was laughing so hard - though I did remain silent.   

In this situation, it is bad to let him see you laugh.  Very bad.  I know that.  But I finally just had to walk outside.  I couldn't recover.  He knew what was happening.  He knew he pushed the button that he wanted to push.  Mission accomplished.  And once again, proof that Chris is his dad!

Still alive

I'm still alive, but I haven't been on myspace much at all lately (they expect me to work when I'm at the office getting paid).  Though I have been keeping up a bit and am on Facebook a bit more. 

So much is going on...the summer just seems busy.  I guess part of it is the kids getting older and involved in more things.  Really, I try to avoid the overscheduling (soccer, baseball, karate, music, etc) that is so common these days.  But at the same time, the kids have interests and I want them to explore those interests.  And I want them to be involved.  I just get picky about what they do. 

Right now, they have tennis lessons two mornings a week.  Now, I have never played tennis (unless you count hitting a ball against the brick wall with the cheapest racquet possible when I was 10).  But, we pay for this country club membership and don't use much of what you get for the $550 a year.  Why not use the tennis courts, right?  So ... the kids are in lessons and are taking great pride in teaching ME what they learn.  A couple of weeks ago I brought them to Academy to get some practice balls, a basket to hold those balls, new racquets for them - and a racquet for me.  We spent more time chasing balls on the court than actually hitting them with the racquet.  BUT - it was fun, it was EXERCISE, and the kids had fun. 

In the evenings, they have swimming.  The swim team for the country club circuit is great - all levels including VERY beginners are included and rewarded.  They practice 3 to 4 times a week and have meets just about every Tuesday.  They get ribbons for participating (they both got 3rd place ribbons last week!), and they have learned to swim.  Not to mention the fact that kids sleep REALLY well after a couple of hours swimming. ;)  I posted a few pictures from the last meet in an album here on myspace (taken with Chris's camera - I was afraid to bring mine to the pool!).

Chris is working long hours, but he LOVES being back in the classroom.  It is where he belongs.  Unfortunately, he's got early morning classes (8 am two days a week) and late classes (6-9 pm FOUR days a week), so he's exhausted by Friday and sometimes goes a couple of days without seeing the kids.  It is Thursday evening, and he hasn't seen them since he dropped them at tennis Tuesday morning.  They will be asleep when he gets home tonight so he won't see them until tomorrow.  And Friday is his "zombie" day where he walks around in a daze still suffering from complete exhaustion. 

I've got a 5 day weekend coming up and am excited to have some down time.  Tomorrow I think we'll head to Baton Rouge to see Sarah and Jim for the 4th.  The kids are excited about that (and so are we!!).  I may grab my camera and go grab some shots somewhere - it's been too long since I've done that.  Though I have an extensive lens wish list, I can't justify buying even one more until I use the three that I have!!!!   So maybe I'll have some fun new pics to post after this weekend.  Chris still has to work, but maybe I'll bring the kids over to have lunch with him Monday. 

I have still be cooking, just not posting about it.  I think tonight I will make the sweet potatoe and shrimp cakes that I posted in the fall.  I've got all of the ingredients in the fridge.  Or maybe I'll just order a pizza and tackle the mountain of laundry on the sofa that is waiting so patiently to be folded.  Or maybe I'll just order that pizza and watch the Olympic swim trials tonight with the kids. 

Bacchanal Wine and the NBA

First, Bacchanal Wine .... I know I posted a bulletin about this last week, but I’m going to remind you/bug you again.  Chris Rudge, the owner of a GREAT wine shop in the Bywater area of New Orleans was in a horrible accident with his wife and a friend.  They need our help.  FIRST and FOREMOST - visit their wine shop (if you are here in New Orleans of course).  It is GREAT!  I haven’t been to the tapas happy hours since Chef Pete stopped doing it (not because I have anything against the other chefs, I just haven’t made it out there ... kids and all).  It is a great spot, and always fun.

Check out their tastings/events/Chef Sundays/etc ... http://bacchanalwine.com/

Or - you can help them in their recovery by donating directly to the fund that has been set up (the story and updates are also posted here)  http://www.chrisandotter.com/

Sports....

The kids and I had a fabulous time Friday night at the Hornets game Friday night.  Still couldn’t get Chris to go (but Philip did save his program for his dad because "it has a bunch of hot chicks on the cover, and dad likes hot chicks").  I explained to Philip that even scantily clad "hot chicks" won’t get their dad into a sporting event.  I took a couple of camera phone pics (because I followed the "no camera" rules printed on the ticket - then saw tons of families with camera taking pictures - I’m sure that my DSLR with extra lenses would have been a no-no, but after seeing so many cameras I wish I had brought my point & shoot.  Again, the arena was packed, the Hornets delivered, and we had a great time.  They want to go again ... umm, sorry kids.  I can’t afford NBA playoff tickets.  The season is over.  We will go again next year.  But - it is baseball season.  We’ll hit a few Zephyrs games instead.  We’ve never done that before either.

Cooking ...

did a little this weekend.  Not much exciting.  And the kids wouldn’t eat it.  Even Zachary.  I didn’t expect that.  I made a pasta topped with chicken/portabello/marsala/cream sauce.  It wasn’t exactly Chicken marsala.  Someone recently told me of a veal marsala they did, but added cream.  Cream=wonderfully delicious fat=good.  I thought it came out great.  Chris doesn’t like pasta much at all anyway, but it was "good for pasta".  The kids turned their noses up at it.  No pictures.  I was cleaning and chasing kids out of the kitchen (my own plus others) while I cooked.  No time to dig out the camera.
I’m feeling uninspired.  I want to find something new to try.  Not sure what.  But when I do, I’ll post about it and include food porn.

This weekend....

Chris is headed to Montreal for a week, leaving Sunday.  Maybe I’ll play around in the kitchen and with my camera while he’s gone.  I may take the kids to City Park this Sunday and take some pictures.  Or, we may go to French Quarter Fest.  I don’t know.  Anyone want to come?  Chasing after a 7 and 9 year old through the Quarter by myself doesn’t sound like much fun.  Not that anyone ELSE wants to come chase after my 7 and 9 year old boys

Food Porn

So I cooked last night...and to continue the weird obsession...FOOD PORN!

...I took pictures.
I made the roasted quail in plum sauce that I posted about yesterday.  And the soba noodles and enoki mushrooms.  I thought the meal was great.  Chris is not a big noodle fan of any kind (give that Cajun boy some RICE!), but he thought it was good, for noodles.  And he liked the quail.  The kids liked the "little tiny chickens" but not the noodles.

They didn’t like the "other" noodles either - that is the enoki mushrooms.  *sigh* I tried.  But it was really good.  Really.  It was. 

The recipe I started from was from here:  http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/11/28/roast-chicken-with-sweet-plum-sauce/

I used the quail.  Salt & pepper, stuffed the bodies with a garlic cloves and lemon wedge should have warned Chris about that - he bit into the lemon wedge, was a bit bitter.  Not sure how he did that anyway...but he did.   The lemon and garlic really added a great flavor to the quail meat - you could taste it but it wasn’t overwhelming.   I rubbed butter and plum sauce all over them, and roasted in the oven covered with foil until mostly done.



SLUTTY little birds, aren’t they?  All laid out on their backs, legs up and open. 
At this point, I removed the foil, tossed in a bit more plum sauce, and returned to the oven to brown.



Now, I was lazy.  Had I been serving this to people who mattered (ie - not just my family),  I would have covered the little tiny leg bones to prevent them from getting too dark ... but I didn’t.   From here, I did toss with just a bit more plum sauce and returned to the oven for a minute just before serving.

I made enoki mushrooms.  We made up this recipe years ago in an effort to duplicate the enoki mushroom dish we would get at Hana (Uptown).  None of the other sushi places we frequented carried this dish, but it was one of our favorites at Hana.  At home, we saute the enoki mushrooms in butter, add just a bit of chicken stock, fish sauce, and soy sauce.  I don’t know how they do the dish at Hana, but I know ours comes close enough to satisfy that craving.



Then ... the "brown" (and therefore not quite right) noodles.  Buckwheat Japanese noodles - I love how they come prepacked in portions.  I made two of the portion controlled bundles, and it was more than enough for the four of us.  Of course, my prediction on the kids "the noodles are brown, this isn’t right.." held true.  They didn’t really eat them.  More for me.  They were so good!  Buttery, sweet, spicy, garlicy...you can’t go wrong (unless you are my kids - who were offended that the noodles were not white and covered with alfredo sauce).



The sauce recipe started from this (another edition of Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen blog) ... http://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/06/02/garlic-scallion-noodles/

But of course I didn’t measure anything, and I added as I went along.  I didn’t have enough green onions (scallions) for 1/4 cup chopped - but I had a bunch of shallots.  My oyster sauce jar was almost empty (had I realized this, I would have bought more at the Asian market yesterday), so I scraped the jar out and am sure it was less than a tablespoon - who does that?? Why bother leaving it in the fridge??  I added just a squirt or two of Hoisin, which is NOT a substitute for oyster, but it is sweet and brown, and good.  I probably added more than 1 tsp of fish sauce too.  I didn’t measure.  I tasted and splashed, dashed, and tasted again... I thought that it needed some spice so I threw in the dried chili (you know, the seed things in a jar).




And finally, the plated dinner.  It satisfied a craving for me.   The salad was a last minute thrown together VERY  basic salad with a dressing made from sweet chili sauce (another sauce from the Asian Market).



Tonight, I made what everyone requested.  Chris had fried egg over grits.  The kids had taco’s, and I had leftover quail (with another batch of soba noodles), and a salad. 

Obsessed???? well .... maybe

How do you know if you are obsessed with FOOD and COMPUTERS??  Could it be when you blog ABOUT food blogs?  Maybe. 

I am home on a weekday afternoon ... a rare occurance.  My sister has been my sitter all week as the kids are out of school for their obnoxiously long spring break.  She needed me to come home this afternoon.  But on my way to relieve her from her duties as keeper of my wild children, I swung by the Asian Market on Williams for a couple of supplies.  One, really ... but I ended up filling my basket.  Though that is much better than filling it up at the regular grocery store, I only spent $44 - I thought that was good.

What sparked my need for a stop there?  Since I opened the latest blog entry from my favorite food bloggist (is that a word?).  I just love Jaden, of Steamy Kitchen.  Seriously.  You have to go read her stuff.  She’s great!  Funny, and damn good recipes.  Mostly Asian, but easy to make at home Asian. 

http://steamykitchen.com/

Go read it.  Really.  Come back when you are done.  No, wait.  Finish reading MY blog first - because you can get lost for hours reading her back entries.  Or is that just me?  Maybe I’m weird.  Or obsessed.  I guess that answers my question - I’m obsessed.  Yep, I am.

So ... she posted a recipe for a roast chicken in plum sauce.  I needed the sauce.  I got my sauce (and some soba noodles, and some smelt roe for making some sushi this weekend, and some sweet chili sauce just because, and some enoki mushrooms - cause I like ’em....it goes on, but I’ll spare you...)
I thought I had a chicken in the freezer, but couldn’t be certain.  Better check for one there just in case.  I didn’t want to have to stop at Rouse’s too.  My sister was waiting for me.  I did say I was on my way home.  OOPS!! 

They had chicken in the freezer, but the pack of quail caught my eye.  I love quail.  It is a stronger flavor than chicken.  Sure they are tiny and a pain.   But yummy.  Hmmm....I bet the recipe would be good with quail too.  I walked out of the store with quail instead of chicken.  It is defrosting now. 

I have no idea what I’ll make to go with this.  I may do something with the soba noodles.  Though I have a feeling that the kids will turn their nose up at them.  They hated the buckwheat pancakes I INSISTED were just regular ole’ pancakes.  Philip INSISTED that his buttermilk pancakes are NOT brown!!  I’m sure I’ll get the same sort of response on the buckwheat noodles.  Maybe I’ll just make a fried rice.  I don’t know. 

Whatever I do, I’ve got to get started.  I had planned to do some spring cleaning on my afternoon off.  Instead, I watched a movie with Zachary and fell asleep on the sofa before it was finished.  The kids are both now at the playground with friends and it is time for me to start cooking.  I’ll spring clean tomorrow.  No, really.  I will.  (stop laughing!!!!!)

NOW --- GO READ THAT BLOG!!!

Great news!

I am so excited.  I cried last night I was so excited. 

I've posted about issues with our kids' school in the past.  We have lots of them.  My kids struggle in their classes - they make A's, but get very bored, cause disruptions. 

They HATE HATE HATE the boring worksheets that are the same repetitive material all week.  Zachary's science class is doing worksheets - the same ones (new/different material each week) worksheets.  Monday is a vocabulary list of science words.  This week it is parts of a plant.  Monday was fill in the blank defintions.  Tuesday, those same words were in a "find a word" sheet.  Wednesday, it was a crossword puzzle.  Thursday it was a review worksheet, the same "study guide" fill in the blank defintions they got on Monday.  On one hand, I agree that repitition is important.  On the otherhand, sitting doing these worksheets is BORING for my kids - they aren't learning something new, and they zip through them in 3 minutes, and then have lots of time to talk and be disruptive.  They aren't challenged. 

Anyway, a while back I had posted that we had applied to the school system's "magnet" school (they said that they don't use that term), the "Academy for Advanced Studies".   They took the test for it in January.  Acceptance is based on openings available, and then test rankings.  I was worried because I had heard that 4th grade was a hard grade to enter (this year they have three 3rd grade classes and only two 4th grade classes).  They don't have another classroom to add another class, and squeezing the three 3rd grade classes into two 4th grade classes would mean if there were any openings, there were few.  I also had heard that there were very very few applications for next year's 3rd grade class. 

Given those two bits of information, I was worried that even if they both scored really well, that Philip may get in and Zachary not, because of space constraints.  And I can't have them at 2 different schools - logistically it wouldn't work. 

We got our letters yesterday.  I was on the phone with Chris when I opened them.  I cried when I read the first line of each letter to him "Congratulations, Zachary/Philip has been accepted...". 

Of course, this means that I am not buying another single uniform shirt this year, and they are starting to get holes in some of their shirts.  I commented this weekend that I needed to go get a few new uniform shirts.  Won't do that now.  They had better make the ones they have now last.  Even if it means I'm washing every night for the next day but the end of the school year.  I'll have to buy ALL new uniform shirts next year. 

I go next week to do registration.  I need to gather up the latest report cards, and their gifted program IEP's because the school wants copies of those. 

Those damn wrist bands!

We are once again at battle with my kid's school.  Chris is on a rampage, though the school has not responded to his email yet.  He will take it further and further until they do.

Some genius decided that the schools must create a creative "Positive Behavior" program to meet certain requires of "No Child Left Behind".  I'm sure some of you have read my opinion of No Child Left Behind and it's utter failure to do anything to help the problems it was intended to "fix".   So, over the extended Christmas break  (those "Staff Development Days" that required me to take extended vacation days from work), the school came up with a program to teach our kids positive behavior.

It STINKS!!

The first school day of each month, the kids are given a plastic wrist band.  This is the newer kind of hospital bracelet - like something you would see in a water park to indicate you've paid for a day or two of fun.  They are temporary tags.  YET - our kids are expected to wear these wrist bands for an entire month.  They don't come off (or are not SUPPOSED to come off), so they have to wear this thing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Needless to say, the kids are breaking them off - sometimes on purpose (Zachary used his teeth - he wanted to see how they were put together), sometimes they break.  Again, not intended to be worn for 30 days, all day every day.  Philip's was attached too loose.  It slides off of his wrist.  We can't adjust the size once it is fitted on the wrist (a staple was tried - but the staple kept poking him and hurt).

The purpose of this bright orange lovely plastic jewelry that must not be removed from my kids wrist?  Each time they have a behavior infraction, they receive a big X on the bracelet with a Sharpie.  After five X's, the wrist band is cut off.  You don't get a new one until the next month.
Where is the positive?  Each Friday, the kids receive some sort of treat for still having their wrist bands.  The first week it was ice cream.  The second week, it was popsicles.  They get rewarded for not having lost their wrist band due to disciplinary action. 

Zachary's band was "broken" the first day.  He was to carry it in his pocket for a while - some teachers said to do that, some said that doesn't count!  He missed out on the ice cream party the first week because the band wasn't attached to his wrist.

Philip's kept falling off.  One night he couldn't find it.  I couldn't find it.  The next day, he came home with a note "your child did not have the behavior wrist band on today and therefore could not receive the X that was earned.  He is now out of the positive behavior program for the remainder of the month.  He will get a new wrist band next month".  We could not send the wrist band back to school the next day to obtain the X. 

I found it in the laundry, it was SO LOSE that it came off with his sweatshirt and was stuck inside of the sleeve.  It only had 2 X's.  Now, with the 3rd X he was unable to continue and lost all priveledges despite not having reached the 5 X marks.  When he came home from school Friday, he sobbed because he was unable to have a popsicle with his class even though he only had 3 infractions in the month. At that point, Chris was LIVID.  He wrote a long email to the school. 

This was it:

I just wanted to say congratulations. The new positive behavior reward system utilizing the bracelets is a real success. Zachary's bracelet broke the first day, and Philips fit so poorly it constantly fell off. The result for both children has been being denied reinforcement despite having maintained adequate conduct to earn the rewards. The effects upon their perceptions are simple, even for the slow to grasp.

Philip has come home crying twice because he did not get his reward, and was nearly inconsolable when we informed him he has been excluded for the rest of the month because of a design flaw -his ill fitting bracelet fell off, and because it wasn't present to get an X when one was earned he is now excluded. You may also be interested to know that it is quite easy to remove the X's (i.e. with a bit of solvent, with a dry erase marker, and so on). Zachary's bracelet broke the first day. Though we received no note indicating exclusion, questioning Zachary in regards to his receiving rewards has yielded the same answer over and over- I cant get them because my bracelet broke.

Let's examine what lessons were taught. Both boys have received excellent training that they are held accountable for the flaws in the plans of others. Both boys were lied to when they were told that positive behavior will be rewarded. Both boys have had their frustration levels increased. Both boys have been angered and hurt. Both boys experienced punishment they perceive as overly harsh rather then reward -this elicits cheating and many other negative behaviors according to the experts. And both boys are in a learning environment that is extinguishing the link between positive outcomes and self control. The latter typically elicits overt aggression and noncompliance. I invite you to examine either child's conduct grade for this past week if you need conformation of possible negative effects. You can also query Zachary about the program. His answers should indicate he is learning indifference very well now.

If you think my analysis is unfair, and tainted by anger you may be right. And what do I know, right. I am just a career scientist with extensive education and training in behavioral psychology, learning and neuroscience. I am therefore willing to send a very long list of peer reviewed publications to provide strong support for the above analysis. I can also have something written up for you all by an educational psychologist buddy of mine.

I will close by saying that it saddens me that the faculty committee that developed this program apparently did not bother to digest the data and concepts present in classroom management texts (you know, the required texts for anyone getting certified to teach in this state). It also saddens me that there has been no improvement by faculty in using behavior modification despite my having complained in Zachary's kindergarten year at the rampant lack of understanding of positive/negative reinforcers and positive/negative punishment and their proper use in operant/cognitive behavioral modification paradigms.

You know, mindlessly implementing a behavior program because the parish requires it has consequences that can be long lasting. Perhaps you should now consider taking me up on the offer I made years ago to give a seminar on this topic.

Yours,
Christopher S. LeBlanc, PhD

The school has not responded.  Not a word.  He sent it to the main school email, so he forwarded it again last night, directly to the principal's email address.  The next step is the school board (I thought he should send it to them automatically).  This time, he added some additional information.  Our friend Paula provided some inspiration (thanks Paula!!) ... The Scarlet Letter.  I hadn't even thought of it from that perspective.  And that got Chris thinking about school record privacy laws.  It includes discipline.  This practice may even be illegal.


I ran across the following while reading up on FERPA. I was prompted me to do a bit of on-line reading after running across a reference to the book The Scarlet Letter and also recalling a statement by Zachary a few weeks back that one of his classmates misread his writing when grading his paper.

I want to begin by stating that I've decided the "positive behavior" program involving the bracelets is best categorized as a punishment system. The reasons for that conclusion are simple. Both reinforcers and punishers exert their strongest influence on contingent behavior if delivered within in milliseconds of the behavior whose frequency is being manipulated. Since, in the current system, an X is given at the time a teacher/staff member observes an undesired behavior, that X is best viewed as a punisher. The X is best viewed as a punisher because it is serving to reduce the frequency of some behavior. Stimuli that reduce the frequency of a contingent behavior are by definition punishers (reinforcers increase the frequency of a behavior). And while its true there are weekly/monthly rewards possible within the system, it is also true that delayed gratification is not a concept elementary school aged children are capable of grasping according to the literature I've read. It therefore seems most reasonable to conclude that the behavior management system the school has adopted has punishment rather than reward at its core.

The second thing I want to mention is that the X on a bracelet may also be considered as representing a student record. Records are very broadly defined by the DOE and the courts (see below). Viewing bracelets and any X's recorded on them as a student record is supported if behavior outcomes are in anyway used to affect conduct grades, or if bracelet related info is reported to the parish as proof of having implemented a "positive behavior" system in the school. My kindergarten teacher friend, who works at a Jefferson Parish School, is using a similar system. She records the info for use in conduct grades and also has to submit the number of student infractions to the school board. If that is true for our school, then it is more likely then not that the wrist band constitutes the type of student record protected by FERPA.

I will close by saying that while teaching at Delgado, I was forbidden from allowing students to grade one another's papers/quizzes/tests. Such actions, according to my dean, were blatant FERPA violations.

The text below was taken from the Dept of Ed. website, and italics are not mine. The last one made me wonder of bracelets constituted a disciplinary record. What do you think?


Christopher S. LeBlanc, PhD

 Wish us luck!  The school already hates us!