I mentioned last year that February is my least favorite month. Ugh. Aaaand, here we are again. Typically, this is the cloudiest time of winter and that gray blah awfulness easily colors moods around here.

I had planned to keep everyone busy all month in an effort to make things go faster. A knee injury sidelined me considerably, but we’re all still moderately cheerful thus far. I’ve discovered again the fun of bugging the boys in the name of discipline.

We’re trying to train the puppy to push a button before she goes outside. The button activates a transmitter that plays the sound of a barking dog (we considered the doggie bell for her to ring, but the door is too far from our school area and we might not hear it). The Mercenary was irritated with me (we’re in full blown pre-teen angst around here) and didn’t have her activate it before taking her outside. An evil thought occurred and I sent Hubby to meet him at the door before coming back in. Hubby had him bark a few times before allowing them back through the door.

It was pretty poor barking, if you ask me. I made sure to have him bark some more when he got back to the couch, and demonstrated a more enthusiastic effort. I was rewarded by the puppy joining in. The rest of the night, any time a boy got grumpy we barked at him. It’s very hard to maintain angst and dignity when your parents bark at you. Just sayin’.

We’re only a week in, but so far the month is passing quickly. Nearly every weekend has something to look forward to, and we have had pockets of sunshine to enjoy. Having the puppy to laugh about has helped as well.

So maybe that’s the key… filling time with activity, and coloring in the gray days with laughter.

Anyone else dislike February?

by AmyL

Photo graciously provided by Maurizio Polese, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved