So, it’s cold here in Oklahoma. Just a few mornings ago, it was 21 degrees. With the sun out. During this season, I always wish humans were more like bears and could spend the entire winter snuggled up in bed, conserving energy. (And I would totally be into the calorie-loading that bears do before they go into hibernation. Point me in the direction of the nearest Krispy Kreme, and I would do just fine.) Alas, I am still a human and still had to get out of bed this morning and go about my day. And since I won’t be missing three months’ worth of meals like my bear friends, I won’t be needing a Krispy Kreme donut to enjoy with my hot chocolate. Bah.

We had a great weekend despite the frigid temperatures. I heard rumors that it was snowing all over Texas, but the only snow we saw here in Oklahoma was at the mall, where our girls ran up to Santa in his winter wonderland as the poor man was trying to go on break. (Excuse me, while he was leaving to feed the reindeer.) We had gone early that morning to get flu shots at the health clinic here in town and then drove into Lawton to enjoy a gift card day. What is a gift card day? A day where you only do the things that you can pay for with a gift card that you’ve been given. Lunch at Chick-Fil-A, some shopping, and a movie. Fun, fun, fun! Ana actually slept through most of “Planet 51,” but Em stayed awake for the whole thing, eating a lollipop as she kept her eyes glued to the screen. Afterwards, we all enjoyed some cookies together. Mmmm….

Not so appetizing, though, was when Ana threw up during lunch on Saturday. I loved Wes’s reaction to Ana giving the table back the meal she had so sweetly thanked God for — “I’ll get the dog.” Yeah, you do that, Papi. (Actually, this was a really good thing, as BC is definitely a scent hound and has gotten sick off of eating an array of disgusting substances, barf included. If that doesn’t make you want to rush out and get a hound dog, I don’t know what will.) Ana looked at me and said, “Mommy, I spilled on the table!,” then proceeded to scream, “CLEAN ME UP! CLEAN ME UP!” hysterically until I could finally get her out of her clothes. (Which she didn’t want me to do because she just wanted it “clean, not off!,” but it was impossible to do that without taking it off. Almost as impossible as rationally explaining this to an OCD three year old who freaks out when her hands are merely wet with clean water, much less vomit.)

Anyway, it was an isolated incident. Whew! My mommy senses go on high alert when someone spews, and I don’t rest well until we’ve gone twenty-four hours without further explosions. Emmy took to imitating her sister’s retching noises (just for fun, of course), which made me even more high-strung. So much so that I dreamt one night that I was under lockdown in a house in central Asia with President Obama and that we spent the countless hours we had together playing card games and discussing the merits of private schools, homeschooling, and public schools. Not sure what that was all about, but that’s what happens when you stay half-awake at night, listening for someone to get sick in their sleep.

We’re in full holiday season mode around here. Yesterday was the Happy Birthday Jesus party at church, and I think our girls now believe that Christmas is, like, tomorrow. Ana keeps asking about the gifts under the tree, jumping up and down and yelling, “And then it will be Christmas and I will be so happy and I will open my presents and I will share everything with Emmy! YAY!” Emmy is excited in her own way, pointing to the tree and each and every present underneath, asking, “Emmy present?” We have a holiday party tonight for the association, one on Friday night for the senior adults in our church, a family gathering in Texas on Saturday, and a couple more next week. Are our girls going to be confused about what day is actually Christmas or what?

And with that, I should probably go and get some work done around here. Sundays tend to make our home look like a ravaged war zone, so there’s PLENTY to do…