It's definitely not seasonal allergies

I feel like some updates are in order. I have been working and enjoying my new job. I thought I would miss teaching, and I do, but not as much as I thought. I have a lot more time for doing research, writing papers, and focusing on my rotation students. I like to think I have become a better preceptor than before because 1. I have more time in clinic for the students to become more comfortable in psych and 2. I have more time to devote to teaching them. I can't say any of this with absolute certainty of course. I have to wait until next summer to see my evaluations from this year and compare them with last year's. I hope it comes out that the rotation is better.

In the past month we have had some real health issues. Raymond got an ear infection, which we thankfully caught early. Well, after over a week on the antibiotic, it turns out he is allergic to it. How do I know this, you ask? He broke out into hives all over his body. Now, it wasn't as bad as when Beka had the same reaction to the same antibiotic. She couldn't even walk because her joints were so swollen. Raymond's didn't get that bad, but it did get serious enough to treat with steroids and benadryl. When we brought him into the pediatrician they saw his ears were clear, so we didn't get another antibiotic. Of course, a week later, he has to go back (this time to the urgent care place on a Saturday) to the doctor for, you guessed it, another ear infection. And then they give him another antibiotic, which he isn't allergic to yet, but I am. See, cephalosporins make me break out in hives just like Raymond did with penicillins and they gave him an antibiotic in that class. So I have to be super careful when I am administering it to him not to get any on me or breathe it in. Turns out, I don't actually have to ingest any of the medicine for it to cause me to have a rash. After administering just one dose, I got a drop of it on the back of my hand. I washed it off with soap and water. Within 30 minutes, I had a rash there, which didn't go away for a full day. So now I try to have Jen give him the medicine whenever we can. He seems to be getting better now thankfully. I think it might be time to look into tubes from an ENT.

I have been sick recently as well. I got "the crud" a few weeks back. I went to the urgent care place and was given steroids (since "the crud" was making me have fairly severe coughing fits and my asthma got a lot worse) and an antibiotic. After about 5 days, I was breathing much better, but I still had stuffed up ears, nose, and a sore throat. At Jen's insistence, I went back to the urgent care and got prescribed a different antibiotic, but no more steroids since my lungs were clear. Well, here I am 2 weeks later and I still have a cough, stuffiness, and ear pain. And I know what you are thinking, yes, I did take all my antibiotic and finished it out. Jen seems to think I need to go to my primary doctor to have him check me out and that my asthma is getting worse. She's probably right, but I don't really have time to go to the regular doctor during the week. I will probably make an appointment next week if I am still having issues.

We had a good Thanksgiving, especially since this was the first time she didn't have to work since we moved to Alabama. In the morning, I played in our church's "Turkey bowl" held at the local high school stadium. There was a great showing, which kinda sucked since there were so many people it was difficult to play. I really would like to get involved with an adult kickball or dodgeball league so I can be more active. Unfortunately, there are a lot of barriers to this, including who will watch the kids so I can do this on the nights Jen's working. OK, that was completely random and off topic. I guess it's late enough that my ADHD meds are wearing off. Back to Thanksgiving. Jen made a turkey breast and all the trimmings. It turned out amazing! Not that I am surprised; she's a good cook. Jen did have to work the rest of the long weekend, but it was nice to have that time together.

Jen and I went to our last Auburn game using my faculty tickets. It was the Samford game and while we had a good time, the football team didn't play very well, until the second half. This didn't bode well for the following week for the Iron Bowl. Speaking of the Iron Bowl, I got to go with a friend who is an Alabama fan. He's not obnoxious or anything, so it was a lot of fun. Auburn kept it fairly close until the 4th quarter, when Alabama decided to crack open that gallon jug of whoop-ass. As I said though, it was fun. The 3 1/2 hour drive, each way, didn't seem that long and we had some good conversation. I need to give a shout out to my mother-in-law for coming down from Georgia and watching the kids since Jen had to work.

We are getting ready for Christmas around here. The tree isn't up yet and we don't have decorations up, but we have done a large portion of our gift buying. I have to say ordering online with free shipping is probably one of my keys to a less stressful (notice I didn't say stress free) holiday season. We will be doing Christmas early with Jen's family since she has to work Christmas weekend. Her brother and sister-in-law will be coming down from NY and we'll meet them all in Georgia. We'll still have a traditional Christmas at home, but it won't be the same.

Well, I'll try to blog again about all our holiday season festivities. We are planning on going to Bellingrath Gardens, a company holiday party, and other various activities. Have a great Christmas or Chanukah or Saturnalia or Festivus or whatever you celebrate!