The little angel seems to have caught the bug that half the country has - started vomiting on us last night at 6 and has been vacillating between a fever of 103 and lethargic and darting around the house demanding I stop working and play with her.  Welcome back!  Yeehaw!

That said, here are a few of the sparse observations I recorded when I could stop drinking for two minutes and borrow a pen and cocktail napkin.

1. Ski clothing is the great equalizer and the fashion opposite of army boots.  Just as nobody looks good in army boots, nobody looks bad in ski clothing (provided it's updated).  Slap some North Face on the most out-of-shape, middle-aged paper manager in the world, and he looks remotely cool. 
2. It is far better to see people in casts and crutches AFTER you've finished skiing for the day than before.
3. Never drink at lunch, especially not if you're eating on the mountain.
4. You'd be surprised how many people try to drive their normal, small-wheeled strollers on thick snow. 
5. Don't race when you've never skied in thick powder before.
6. Don't laugh at your husband when he gives himself a black eye unless you want no sympathy when your bruised shins give out on the last day.
7. Nine degrees is cold no matter how many heaters they have outside.
8. Locals in ski towns will never tell you where the good party is.
9. Ski bums over the age of 30 are kind of sad.
10. Drinking at high altitudes is not a problem is you've spent the last several months building up an immunity to iocane powder.

More when I get the photos back.  I have to go take the little angel's temperature again. 

Fast and furious developmental changes are par for the course with preschoolers, but Laurel really blew my doors off the other day when she started coloring within the lines.

I was fulfilling requests to draw ice cream cones on the Aquadoodle; after I drew a cone with sprinkles, Laurel grabbed the water pen and slowly started filling in all the blank spaces around the sprinkles, staying within the borders, until the entire scoop was colored in. I was both amazed and mildly concerned, given the bad rap that coloring within the lines can get. The psychologist in me couldn't help but wonder whether anyone has probed relations between coloring rigidity and personality traits.
The topic doesn’t appear to be keeping academics up at night, and the age at which kids learn to color within the lines seems to vary greatly. I myself don’t particularly believe that the specific ability to color within the lines is all that important given that fine motor control can be achieved by many types of play. But something that may be of interest to parents who are frustrated by the confines of coloring books is Susan Striker’s collection of creativity books (for ages 6 to 60!). In particular, her anti-coloring book series (click here for the first book in the series) has a long and devoted following.

Hidey ho!  Missed you!  Kisses!

We spent most of yesterday stranded in an Office Max parking lot outside of Dillon, Colorado, waiting for the Colorado State Patrol to stop dynamiting the mountains and reopen I-70 so we could try to catch the second airplane trip (we totally missed the first one) and hearing 1,001 stories from the Colorado Mountain Express man's reportoire.

Lots to tell you, but must go inhale the little angel's neck smell again.  Back later with stories and pictures!

Some people are a little spooked by marionettes, but I have to admit that they hold a little place in my heart due to repeated childhood viewings of The Sound of Music.

Through the remainder of February, marionettes will bring Cinderella to life at the Drawbridge Puppet Theater in Lunenburg. Tickets are $5; show times are 10am and 11:30am (this and next Saturday) and 1pm (this and next Sunday). Drawbridge also has added shows to accommodate next week’s school vacation, and at a workshop following next Friday’s show (Feb. 23) kids can create puppets to take home for an additional $5. The theater also offers birthday party services.

Drawbridge Puppet Theater, 1335 Mass. Ave. (Rte 2A), Lunenburg; Tel: 800-401-3694 or 978-582-6565.

The Thymes is likely best known for their fragrant, elegantly packaged bath and body products (they also offer candles and other home products); and they recently launched a luxurious line for little ones, the Sweetleaf Baby Collection. This collection is thoughtfully composed inside and out; the products are mild and safe for newborn skin, Paraben-free, infused with organic lavender, chamomile, aloe vera, and protective vitamin E, and come in packaging so lovely that you'll not want to discard the boxes.

We especially love the creamy richness of the bar soap set (shown; two 3.5 oz bars for $18) and diaper balm (4.25 oz for $18). Right out of the packaging the soap fragrance initially seemed a bit intense, but in the bath the rich, creamy lather rendered just a hint of floral that made us think that spring might just be around the corner. The diaper balm is unscented and provides a smooth, protective salve composed of zinc oxide, shea butter, cocoa butter & beeswax.

Lately I’ve been dreading the days when I’m responsible for putting Laurel down for her midday nap.

I know this sounds terrible, but lately she’s been ramping up not down during our pre-nap routine. And sometimes this translates to particularly inciting behavior, such as dropping her milk cup over the crib rails and hitting me squarely on the head while I’m trying – probably unsuccessfully – to keep my cool and read her a story.

A new issue, no doubt a byproduct of potty training practice, is that she wants to strip off her pants for nap. It’s not so much the temperature I’m concerned about, but this weekend while she was all revved up, she stripped off pants, then later had a poop and (responsibly, I suppose…) removed her diaper. I know I should be happy about her increasing independence but cleaning up soiled linens during my highly anticipated midday rejuvenation time is about as savory as the prospect of returning to work with my former boss.

No doubt I’ll feel guilty about this confession after today’s midday break (it’s been blissfully silent upstairs for the last hour…), but such is parenting life. It’s not all puppy dogs and unicorns, as Auntie Sha-Sha says.

Infants are all about oral, and my pal Paige’s son loves his Sophie Giraffe ($18.95 at Craftsbury Kids). Made of fine rubber and food quality paints, this classic French toy is designed to soothe teething gums and stimulate the senses through its squeaky, easily graspable figure.

Boys typically get the short end of the fashion stick compared to the myriad options for girls. But the tides are turning, and if you’re looking for style and attitude off the beaten path, check out the cool offerings of Pure Boy Clothes (infants to kids), Hey Peanut (infant and toddlers), and Red 21 Boys (infants to kids), all of which cater exclusively to boys.

If you’re looking for something to do during today's snow day, easy kid’s craft activities are possible with minimal or recycled materials. Paper plate crafts or sock puppets are good options; the latter can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. We’ve found that two features (e.g., eyes and ears, or eyes and a tongue as with our fleece snake family) are enough to render an animal likeness that kids love.