December is a busy month

Like most of the rest of the world, December is a busy month for our family. It started off with Raymond and me being sick. Let's start with me since I was easy. I finally went to my PCP and got some good medication to knock out whatever was ailing me before. Raymond was on antibiotics, which cleared his ear infection. Well a week later he gets another one (with fevers as high as 103.6). Then we were put on the same antibiotic he finished the week prior (Omnicef). Why? I don't know. I fought for a different antibiotic, but was shut down. Then we end up at an urgent care place in Atlanta because he still has fevers and his ear hurts. We get a new antibiotic (Bactrim) and he actually starts to feel better. Then this morning Jen notices what she thinks is a rash, but isn't sure. I pick him up from day care and sure enough he has a rash all over his trunk. He's not itchy or having trouble with it. I call the pediatrician and get the nurse on call. Why I don't get a doctor I don't know. I have no problem with nurses answering questions, but she wasn't much help. All she says is that we need to bring Raymond into the office to see if it's really a rash (seriously? I am a health care professional). Would I be able to get a new medicine for his ear infection called in since he still has that? No, not until he's seen by the pediatrician. I bring him into the office the next day and yep, he is allergic to sulfa drugs and still has an ear infection. Finally we get put on Zithromax and this seems to be working. Our doctor actually commented that she didn't know why the fill in doctor we saw last week put him on the same antibiotic he just finished. I obviously agreed with her. At least now he is feeling better.

We actually also got an ENT referral by our pediatrician (finally!). I had already made an appointment with one recommended by a coworker who just had her son's tubes put in, but the gesture was nice. The appointment went well and Raymond will be getting tubes next week. Hopefully this will help him not get as many ear infections. It's kind of ridiculous that it's taken this long.

On top of all the sicknesses, we had some holiday parties to go to. The first was my work party which was held at a colleague's house in Fairhope. We got a baby sitter for the kids, even though they were invited to the party because it was going to be too late for them anyway. And I knew I wouldn't have had as much fun if I had to be constantly saying, "Beka, don't touch that. Raymond, put that down." etc. We had a good time chatting and eating with some of my coworkers. It was nice to see people outside of the work environment. We also had a holiday party for Jen's work. They did a dirty Santa gift exchange. I spent almost the entire time hanging out with the host's husband in his bonus room watching football. Seeings as we were the only 2 guys at the party, there wasn't much of a choice, but I genuinely liked him and I hope we can find some time to get together again.

We also went to my in-laws house in Atlanta to have an early Christmas with the family. Jen's brother and sister-in-law came down from Rochester to visit. It was nice to have everyone together, especially because it's such a rare occurrence. However, there was some drama before we left home. Well, I get home from work and let the dogs out like I always do. They make a bee-line for the fence, where they had been apparently digging a hole for a while. Biding their time until they could make their escape. Well, they get out, I run outside after them, calling their names the whole time. Of course they don't come immediately back. I go out in the car to look for them with 2 starving children in tow and I can't find them anywhere. Oh, I think I forgot to mention that they were supposed to go to the doggy hotel for boarding that evening after they went outside because we were leaving early the next morning for ATL. Yeah, seriously messed up. So they don't come back until 5 hours later, which is much too late to take them to the doggy hotel. I seriously didn't think they were going to come back, but when I went to take out the trash, they were in the garage waiting for me. So we ended up having to bring them in the morning and leaving much later than we wanted to for the family Christmas. Which sucked. But all in all, it was a good weekend. I got some really nice gifts, including an awesome new watch. All the kids got together to buy one big gift this year for Jen's parents. We decided on a new flat screen HD TV. We needed to bring them into the 21st century. When I walked in carrying the TV, the look on Debbie and Corny's face was priceless. It was surprise, disbelief, and joy all at once. Seeing that is what Christmas is all about. Of course, Beka and Raymond made out like bandits, and that's even before Christmas morning!

We also went to Bellingrath Gardens which is a local attraction that, during Christmas, transforms the gardens into a light show. So we took the kids, with some of our friends and their 3 year old, to see all the Christmas lights. We went last year, but I thought it would be different. It wasn't, but it was still fun to go and see the kids' reaction to all the lights. Also, there is going to be a surprise visit on Christmas eve from Gramma and Grampa for the kids. The kids don't know that they'll be coming, so it'll be nice to see how they react.

Work for me is going well. I have submitted a paper for publication, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be accepted. I am also working on submitting a couple abstracts for the CPNP annual meeting that discusses some research I am working on. I always look forward to that meeting every year, not only because I get to see friends I only really see at the meeting, but because I actually get a chance to learn something.

Anyway, that'll be it for me. Have a great new year!