Bountiful

In these lean times, when we're all trying to figure out how to make the mortgage payments and pay the dental bills, I thought I'd spend today writing about what's bountiful in our lives.

First up, here is the final harvest from our much neglected garden. We winterized our little patch last weekend in the rare November sun, and underneath the weeds and blackberries we found chard, beets, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, and butternut squash.

Here are Elliot and Papa next to the artichokes, which we left in all by their lonesome just in case they decide to bloom for Christmas.


Music is also bountiful in our lives these days. You'll all remember Elliot's infatuation with the song "Under Pressure" by David Bowie and Queen. He's still enamored of the song, and he spends large amounts of each day singing it a cappella at the top of his lungs. He has recently added Freddie Mercury's dance moves from his favorite version of the song on YouTube.

In December, there is going to be a holiday concert at Elliot's school in which the kids sing a handful of songs. I don't think Elliot is going to have any trouble performing. Stay tuned for video!

And we just had a most bountiful Thanksgiving weekend with the Whites (it's much too quiet around here since they left this morning). Plenty of kids and mayhem and food to go around. First up, here is Imogen modeling her Thanksgiving duds.


And here are Willow and Erin holding the kittens.


And finally, here is a little taste of the goings on between turkey and pie on Thanksgiving afternoon.



We hope everyone out there had a lovely Thanksgiving. We're thankful for all of you family and friends in our lives who make us count our blessings instead of worrying about counting our pennies! Happy holidays!

As Seen on TV

All you Grey's Anatomy fans out there will know exactly who I'm talking about when I say "Dr. McDreamy." Well, I'm here to tell you, he's out there in real life, and even more gorgeous than on TV. But let me start at the beginning.

This has been one heck of a week. On Wednesday, one of the teeth in which Elliot had a cavity filled this past summer got infected and developed an abscess. The dentist drilled a small hole to drain the abscess and we started him on antibiotics Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, Elliot's left cheek had about doubled in size from the day before, and the swelling had spread around his left eye. We headed out the door to an emergency appointment with an oral surgeon.

Elliot did fantastically through the whole ordeal, sitting very still for x-rays and while the surgeon looked in his mouth. And I got to be distracted from the stress of the situation by sneaking extra peeks at said surgeon, who makes Dr. McDreamy look like your average Joe. I'm not one to swoon, but damn. This guy was handsome, ripped, had lovely salt-and-pepper hair, and gorgeous green eyes. Plus the white jacket, of course. And now I'll stop going on and on lest my husband think I don't love him anymore (you're still the most handsome guy out there, my dear!).

But I digress. After a short examination, Elliot was whisked off to surgery to extract the tooth and drain the abscess. He was under general anesthesia (they were able to use gas only and no narcotics or IV), and the procedure only took about 1o minutes. Within half an hour he was awake and ready to ride the building's elevators. I was escorted to the back to find him chatting about elevators with the very friendly male nurse. (Who then informed me that all the nurses get all a-twitter every time this particular surgeon enters the building, and when I said, "Yes, he's very Grey's Anatomy, he told me that they all call him McDreamy. So I'm not the only one. But again, I digress.)

Elliot was back to his peppy self within a couple of hours, but I kept him home from school on Friday to make sure he was ok. He is currently doing great, though his face is still a bit swollen and bruised, as you can see here.

But he's a little champ. He's off riding elevators with Papa right now, and the surgeon said he should be fit as a fiddle by Monday (though I'm already looking forward to our final check-up with the surgeon on Wednesday).

In other news, the latest and greatest activity in the McElroy household is dress-up. I've been slowly stocking the dress-up trunk for the past few months, and the kids have been having a blast. Our good friends from Eugene, Rachael, Ben, Jane, and Hugh, came to visit us last weekend. Hugh came equipped with his own purple fairy dress, and while I'm not sure what Elliot's ensembles were supposed to be, Jane's outfits included a devil bride and the "wife of death". Here's a sample of the fun that was had.

And here is Elliot's outfit from yesterday afternoon, though I couldn't get him to put the monster hands back on for the picture.


Even Imogen is enjoying the possibilities of make-believe.


And I must include this photo for you of Imogen zonked out with Mr. Vic Victor during a babysitting fiesta last weekend.


Couldn't you just melt?

Now we're gearing up for a fantastic Thanksgiving visit from the Whites - stay tuned!

Hello, What's This?

Oh, that's right. It's the sun. We've been downright drenched all week long, and today it is glorious, warm, and sunny. You'd think we'd been raising these kids in Forks, Washington (yes, that's a nod to all you Twilight fans out there) these past few weeks, what with their reaction to the appearance of the big orange ball in the sky this morning.

We were playing upstairs in Thomas and my south-facing bedroom this morning with the kittens, enjoying the sun coming in through the windows. Imogen spent at least five minutes straight walking around in circles in the middle of the room trying to catch the sunbeams. Elliot then stood up and declared, "I'm soaking HOT." Only a true Oregonian would say something like that.

Today is Imogen's 14-month birthday. She is now a pro at walking, says "kitty" and all sorts of proto-words, dances, has developed a love of Veggie Booty, and copies everything her big brother does. Here are this month's sibling comparison photos of Elliot and Imogen at 14 months of age.

And I couldn't resist posting a second set of photos for you, even though the quality of the pictures is not very good, because when I stumbled across this picture of Elliot, I found it hard to believe that it's not Imogen.

And finally, as an addendum to yesterday's post regarding gay marriage, I urge all of you to watch this video of Keith Olbermann speaking out against the passage of Prop 8 in California and those who voted for it. It's an impassioned and important piece of footage.

Now I'm going to go enjoy some more of that rare November sunshine here in the Pacific Northwest. Happy weekend!

If I Were In Charge of the World

I'm glad I'm not in charge of the world, because I'm a high-stress individual, and being in charge of the world would really stress me out. And I'll settle for Obama being in charge of our little part of the world, because I think he's going to do a really amazing job. But if I were in charge of the world, and assuming that Obama will take care of a few of the items on my to-do list (prioritizing alternative energy, preserving a woman's right to choose, making sure special needs children have support and opportunities, and making health care affordable - or free), there's one thing I'd take care of pronto.

Gay and lesbian couples should have the right to legally marry. They should have the right to do everything straight people have the right to do, for that matter. I really feel like our country needs to come out of the dark ages in this respect. I don't understand how anyone can not see how passing laws that prevent gay and lesbian couples from getting legally married is discrimination and a violation of basic civil rights.

Dan Savage, a witty and intelligent gay columnist, had a wonderful segment on the Colbert Report this week. I usually fidget through Colbert's interviews with people, as I'm uncomfortable with his entire persona (even though I know it's just an act). But Dan Savage really held his own, and he got in some real doozies. If you're interested, I encourage you to watch this video (Savage's bit is at the end of the segment).

But I'm not in charge of the world, because I'm too busy taking care of these little trouble makers.

Elliot and Imogen are getting along famously these days. Once she started walking, Elliot pretty much stopped trying to pick her up or smoosh her all the time. And he's discovered that she can now play with him and will copy just about anything he does, which he thinks is hilarious. Today at the community center indoor play park, Elliot proceeded to introduce Imogen to every parent who came through the door, saying, "And this is our sister, Imogen." What a sweetie pie.

Elliot was re-evaluated this week by an autism specialist, since we hadn't had him assessed since he was 18 months old. We came away with a diagnosis of Asperger's as opposed to PDD/NOS, which was unsurprising. Aside from his initial language delay, Elliot definitely fits the bill of an Aspie (to which anyone who has ever ridden elevators with him for hours can surely attest). The new diagnosis doesn't really change any of our current treatment plans or therapies, but it's nice to know where he falls on the autism spectrum now that he's five.

And what blog post would be complete without a fashion show from little miss Idgie? Here she is modeling yet another adorable hand-me-down dress. Doesn't she look just dashing in denim?

Our little girl turns 14 months old tomorrow, so stay tuned for those monthly sibling comparison photos!

Callooh! Callay!

I'll admit it. I'm chortling in my joy. Just how happy am I that Barack Obama was elected president? So happy that only made up words from a fabulous nonsense poem can express my elation. Woo hoo!!!!

And now for something completely different.

Today Imogen is dressed all in bubblegum pink with kitty cats. She's wearing her very first jumper today, which was a gift from one of the moms at Elliot's school when she was born (thanks, Cicely!). She's grown into it and can finally wear little girly dresses now that she's walking. Here she is modeling said super cute jumper.

But even cuter is when her big brother loves on her. Elliot greeted Miss Idgie this morning with an outpouring of love and affection. When she wandered into the kitchen after waking up, Elliot rushed up to her and said (approximately), "Oh Imogen, I'm so glad to see you I just love you so much Imogen do you want a hug Imogen? Oh little girl oh little sister that's nice Imogen do you want to hug brother Imogen? Kiss brother, Imogen, awwwwwwww." Couldn't you just melt? Here are the two lovey dovey siblings in action.


Don't be fooled, though. Our sweet little girl is also a trouble maker. She gets into everything. Here she is after stealing Elliot's Veggie Booty out of the cupboard and dumping it all over the office floor while Mama was paying more attention to Facebook than to the baby.

And I'll leave you with this video of the little missy doing one of her favorite things - pretending to talk on the phone.

She'd make a good telemarketer, no? Ok, make that a volunteer for the public television pledge drive or phone banking for Obama! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VOTE!

Today I just have one word for you: VOTE! I don't care who you vote for (well, actually, I really do - go Obama!), but VOTE!

And of course, a very Happy Birthday to my nephew, Grayson, who turns 10 (wow!) today. Whoop, whoop!

As an added bonus, here are the kiddos posing during Imogen's first car cart ride last week at New Season's.


Now GO VOTE!!

Halloween, McElroy Style

Boo! I hope everyone out there had a fabulous, spooky Halloween. Ours was pretty darn great. First off, I have to introduce you to George. George is a macrame skeleton that my mom made sometime in the 1970s. I have been fond of George since I was a kid, and I looked forward to his emergence from the closet (snicker) each Halloween. A few years ago, I asked my mom if she could make me my own George. She looked all over the internet for the pattern, to no avail. Well, this year, George showed up at my house wrapped up in birthday paper. I can't believe that my mom was willing to part with him, but I was SO excited to see him again! Here he is hanging in a place of honor in the living room, keeping Elliot company. Thanks, mom!

The kids and I carved our pumpkins on Halloween afternoon. Here is Elliot's little "scary" pumpkin hanging out in the graveyard.

And here is the big "silly" pumpkin preparing to welcome trick-or-treaters.


Elliot decided that we should all be characters from Blue's Clues this Halloween. Here we are as Blue (Elliot), Steve (Thomas), Periwinkle the cat (Imogen), and Tickety Tock (me).


And here is Papa preparing to head out trick-or-treating with the kiddos (Elliot wouldn't wear the Blue headpiece after the first 30 seconds!).


Imogen enjoyed trick-or-treating much more than last year.


But once we got her back inside, she was completely immobilized by her costume. Silly kitty forgot how to walk!


We had many more trick-or-treaters visit our spooky abode than last year, and we had a lovely evening with family and friends. I was all set to watch The Changeling, my favorite horror flick which I had finally found after calling 4 video rental places, but my companions for the evening were a bunch of horror movie wimps. Not to worry, I have it for a few more days, and I'm going to force at least Thomas to cowboy up and watch it with me.

It was also an eventful Halloween in that two sets of our good friends tied the knot! A big congratulations to Matt and Sarah (finally, you guys!), and to Keiko and Lisa. For Keiko and Lisa, the timing is particularly significant, since they live in California. That state has a measure on the ballot next week, Prop 8, which would eliminate same-sex marriage. The state will hopefully be honoring all same-sex marriages that took place before November 4th if Prop 8 passes, but even that possibility is in question. I'd like to urge all of you Californians to please vote NO on Prop 8 next Tuesday.

And finally, happy Day of the Dead! Today I'd like to particularly remember my brother-in-law, Michael, who died this July.

And now the countdown to the election! I hope everyone out there is planning to vote!