February, or The Month Where Everyone Got Sick (except Brian)

Hi gang.

February was another month of The Usual around these parts - school and work and snow - with little much to show for it aside from one notable aspect:  The Plague.

This year's flu season, according to most credible sources, is one of the worst in recent memory.  People are dying from influenza strains like it's 1918 or something, and for the last month or so, I've had about four or five students absent with it per class period.  It's insane.

Anyway, the first Monday of the month, shortly after Kris returned from a girls' weekend with some friends up in Traverse City, she fell victim to it.  Body aches, fever, smoker's cough, you name it - she was couch-ridden for days, and was forced to take three days off in a single week.  By that Friday, she forced herself to return to work, but was still sick as a dog.  And, just as she was beginning to feel better (comparatively), Alayna came down with a cough and fever, forcing Yours Truly to take the day off instead.

Kris was still pretty crappy throughout that whole second weekend, but Alayna was worse.  And, after slowly recovering over the next few days - and just as you could probably guess - she ended up passing that sickness off to her sister by the end of the weekend.  Fortunately, that following Monday ending up being a snow day, so I didn't have to take another day off of work. . . but I did on Tuesday, as Abby still hadn't been able to shake it yet.  I didn't end up going back to work until Wednesday, so - over the course of the first two weeks of February, I worked a grand total of five days.

As it turns out, Kris had influenza and both girls had strep throat.  I, on the other hand, once again, remained unscathed.  I work in a frickin' germ factory.  I'm indestructible.

So yeah. . . that was the first half of February around these parts.  Here's a look at what else happened this month. . .

The first night Kris was away in Traverse City with her posse of moms, Alayna had a sleepover at her BFF Maddie's house.  Since Abby didn't have any plans lined up, I let her pick a restaurant for dinner, and she settled on Buffalo Wild Wings. 

Bad Moms

After our 'dinner' (I had Two Hearted for dinner), Abby and I swung by Kroger to pick up some evening supplies for our Movie Night.  When you give the seven-year-old free reign over a grocery store, this is what happens.  Cake, ice cream, chips - nothing healthy to be seen for miles.

Movies and dessert.

The condo Kris and her squad stayed in for the weekend.

Once the Cannonball got back from Maddie's Saturday morning, we had to hit up a few errands around town.  First on the list:  car wash.

. . . followed by a haircut at the best place in town, The Man's Cave ($10 haircut?  Don't mind if I do.)

Probably safe to say these gals didn't eat junk food for dinner.  We might have.

Helping me 'clean' the basement.

Pizza and a movie.  This is how dads roll around here.

Another selfie from Kris' girls weekend in Traverse City.  This has to be a chick thing, because I never take selfies when me and my friends hang out and drink.

Healthy Sunday morning breakfast.  We braved a blizzard that had rolled in over night and raged into the following day to get to Tim Horton's, a mere mile or so away:  we drove 10mph down the middle of empty streets, where you couldn't see the edge of the road and the beginning of the sidewalks.  No one was out and about, for good reason - had I not promised the girls donuts the previous day, we wouldn't have been either.  But somethings, folks, are worth fighting for.

After our not-at-all healthy breakfast, we followed up our Sunday morning by not going to Church, and instead playing in the backyard snow.

Post- Watson Attack

This game is a big hit with the kids.  Alayna is eerily good at it.

I recently picked up this 180gm, remastered 4-LP collection of Led Zeppelin songs for about half-off, brand new.  It's an awesome collection that doesn't include any filler - I was pretty pleased with myself for adding this to the collection.

The Plague, still rampaging through the Hough Household.  This was during the post-Kris, pre-Abby stage of the sickness, while outside was covered in 3 feet of snow and nobody was at school or work.

About a week later, at one of Alayna's Battle of the Books 'battles' (or whatever the hell they're called.)

No idea.

One weekend, halfway through the month, we were dumped out continuously for three days.  I shoveled my driveway about four times, and pretty soon you could barely see our mailbox.

I've held off on a snowblower because the shoveling is a decent cardio/weight exercise, and I'm at the point where I should take a workout whenever /wherever I can get it.

More mountains of snow (and this was that heavy-as-rocks, ice-crusted bullshit that weighs a ton - my back killed the rest of the day after fighting through this.)

I'm ready for Spring.

After another successful Valentine's Day party at the girls' school.

Abby, a half-hour into a tantrum.  I told her she couldn't eat anything else until she finished her sandwich from earlier that she had asked for.  I don't negotiate with terrorists, and you best believe that chick finished her sandwich.

Oh, Stranger Things. . .

Homework on a Saturday, while Watson keeps watch over the front yard.

Kris and I have been shopping around for a sectional recently, and finally found one we're interested at purchasing at Godwin's in Midland (though we'd add a few more console inserts into what you see here.)

These are the consoles we'd be adding to the previous picture - those cupholders are removable for washing, and that drawer has 'game guides and controllers' written all over it.  The back flap lifts up, too.

Draining mom's battery.

After seven years, we finally decided to part ways with our Little Tikes kitchen, that has been with us since Kris bought it and a bucket-load of fake food from a neighbor's garage sale back in 2010 (for $10.)

Still keeping an eye out for bad guys.  And squirrels. (Note: the filthy, green squeak toy that never leaves his side - one of the treasures I scrounged up from Granny's house in the post-mortem plundering.)

Abby finishes her Ghana board for World Thinking Day.

How to trash a Dining Room. . .

Found this note on a student's desk between class periods - at least she was looking out for the next person to occupy her seat.  And FYI - that scratched out part, when observed closely, said 'motherf***ing.'  I love teenagers.

Another day, another Zeppelin score.  This was a 3-LP, remastered, 180gm collection of Led Zeppelin I, featuring the original album, live takes of the songs from the album, as well as outtakes and rarities.  Again, got it for about half-off - this was a good month for vinyl, America.

- Brian