February: Not all bad, just mostly bad

Just when I was finally getting my blogging mojo back, February reared it's ugly head.  Sure, it dressed itself up with valentines and chocolate hearts, but really it was just a heapin' helpin' of heartbreak.

I started the month off with a sore throat that turned into a 2 1/2 week bout with laryngitis.  Which would have been OK except that I was scheduled to sing at a ladies retreat right in the middle of my misery.  It had been on my calendar for months, and for months I was healthy.  And then the closer the date grew, the farther my voice ran, until it was completely gone.  The retreat was wonderful.  I was horrible.  It was disappointing and frustrating and caused me to cry and whine until I exhausted myself in self-pity.  But eventually the laryngitis replaced itself with a deep, incessant cough.  So, that was nice.

On one particular sleepless night of non-stop coughing The Ocho decided to wake up around midnight and throw up.  It's nice to have a child old enough to make it to the bathroom before she projectile vomits.  And it would have been great if she had actually done that.  But alas, she didn't.  And so I spent one glorious evening cleaning up after her while coughing my ever lovin' head off.

It wasn't her fault and, of course, I wasn't mad at her, but it was truly the worst I've seen in her lifetime.  I mean, it was like a crime scene.  The carpet, the walls, the baseboards, the furniture......everything was hit.  And as luck would have it, she had left her school backpack (full of books and assignments) on the floor and unzipped.  So yeah, that was awesome.

The next day I honored her work with this little joke.  She was not amused.

And so far I've failed to mention that in the midst of all the sickness I was working to complete an online elementary methods course which is required for the renewal of my teaching certificate, which is required for the continuation of my employment.  So any free time I had was devoted to researching and writing papers rather than resting and getting well.

Of course, in the middle of all the coughing and vomiting and paper writing and whining came Valentine's Day.  It has become our tradition that we have Fancy Family Dinner Night.  I pull out the china and we have a nice steak dinner.  We all dress up, eat and exchange presents.  This year The Ocho received a pretty necklace from me and a One Direction key chain from Handiman.  Guess which one she liked better?  Handiman gave me my favorite valentine's treat, chocolate covered cherries from Godiva.  And The Ocho got me ......nothing.  Because she can't drive and Handiman forgot to take her shopping.  Nice.   But all in all, Valentine's night was a bright spot in a rather dark month. 

The other bright spot (with a few dark moments thrown in for good measure) was helping to plan my friend Nicole's surprise 40th birthday party.  I decided to go with a High School Musical theme which will only make sense to those who know her well.  Trust me, she loved it.  One dark moment was trying (and failing) to find a Zac Efron cardboard cutout for the party.  Oh, how I wanted him to be there for her.  But, he was discontinued.

All in all the party was a success and I was happy to have a part in celebrating my sweet friend.  And thankfully my voice had almost fully returned by then so I could do a little karaoke with Big Nanny.  We rocked "Call Me Maybe".  Obviously.

Now that March has arrived I am happy to report that my voice is healed, my course work is completed, my daughter's room is disinfected and the stress of party planning is behind me.  So long February.  Don't let the door hit you on the way out.