Take 5

Hello from Snowpocalypse 2008! On days like this when I lived in Colorado, I would hunker down with a good book. That's hard to do with two cabin-fevered children running about, but it inspired me to share my top five book lists with you, in case you need some recommended reading for the next time you're snowed in. So, here are my top five top fives (interspersed with new snow photos for you).

Top 5 Novels

1. In the City of Shy Hunters by Tom Spanbauer, a Portland local. It's the story of a gay man who moves to New York City during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and the people he befriends there. But it's oh so much more, and brilliantly written.

2. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I think this one is her masterpiece. It's the story of an Evangelical Baptist who takes his family on a mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959 and is told from the perspective of his wife and daughters.

3. The Bone People by Keri Hulme. It's the story of an unusual friendship between a Maori woman artist and a little boy that takes place along the New Zealand Sea.

4. Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie (and it's short story companion, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven). The stories of Thomas-Builds-the-Fire and the other members of the Spokane Indian reservation.

5. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. It's the story of what happens when an opera singer and several other guests are taken hostage by terrorists during a dinner party at the vice-president's home in an unnamed South American country.

I'm cheating. I can't do novels in less than 10. I tried, but I just can't.

6. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. The biblical story of Jacob from the women's points of view.

7. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. The story of a twin sister and brother set in India in the 1960s.

8. The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx. The story of a newspaperman living on the Newfoundland coast.

9. A Yellow Raft in Blue Water byMichael Dorris. A story of three generations of women, set in Seattle and a reservation in Montana.

10. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. Set in Alabama in the 1930s, the story of Idgie Threadgoode as told through the eyes of a relative at a nursing home to a younger woman at a turning point in her life.

Top 5 Books of Poetry

1. Words Under the Words by Naomi Shihab Nye.
2. In Mad Love and War by Joy Harjo.
3. Vesper Sparrows by Deborah Digges.
4. The Dead and the Living by Sharon Olds.
5. Transformations by Anne Sexton.

Top 5 Non-Fiction Books

1. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt. His memoir of growing up in Limerick, Ireland.

2. Everyday Acts and Small Subversions by Anndee Hochman. Profiles of women doing extraordinay things with their daily lives.

3. The Autism Trail Guide: Postcards From the Road Less Traveled by Ellen Notbohm. A collection of essays about raising a child on the autism spectrum.

4. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Her account of the year her family spent growing their own food and eating locally and how it permanently and positively impacted their lives.

5. First Comes Love by Marion Winik. Her heartbreaking memoir of her husband who died of AIDS.


Top 5 Young Adult Novels

1. Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye. The story of an Arab-American 14-year old girl who moves from St. Louis back to her father's home in Jerusalem.

2. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. No explanation necessary.

3. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Again, no explanation needed (what is it with young adult novelists and using initials for their first names, anyway?).

4. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Part of a sci-fi series I loved as a child.

5. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. A fantastical adventure tale.


Top 5 Children's Book Illustrators
(Again, I'm cheating. I have a huge collection and couldn't pick just five books.)

1. Shaun Tan.
2. Christopher Myers.
3. Lizbeth Zwerger.
4. Gennady Spirin.
5. Barry Moser.


What's missing? Let me know which of your favorites I left out!

Ice, Ice Baby

Well, perhaps I should not have mocked the weather in my last post. Because now Portland has been blasted with one of those ice storms we get every few years that completely shuts the city down. The last ice storm I remember was 5 years ago, when Elliot was 3 months old. It was the first week of January, 2004, and I was due to go back to work from maternity leave. I went back for one day, and then the ice storm hit. I got to work from home for the rest of the week, which was fantastic.

This time around, though, I'm ready for spring to come to Narnia. It's a bummer to be iced in with two young children. We've already played in the snow, watched Blue's Clues, created fantastic works of art, played on the computer, banged on the drums, and played hide-and-seek more times than I can count. Not to mention endless rounds of the elevator game. I would now like to go somewhere. However, this is what my car currently looks like.

It is snowing again now, and it's supposed to continue snowing for the rest of the week. Looks like those holiday cards I was going to mail tomorrow aren't going to make it to their destinations in time for Christmas (sorry, y'all!). I'm hoping it will at least get warm enough to melt the ice so we can get some groceries for Christmas dinner (and that Nancy, Vic, and Patrick will all make it over here on Christmas Eve - where they may have to spend the night!).

But it is completely gorgeous outside. Here are a few photos for you of our winter wonderland.


And here is Thomas having a little fun with the 1/4 inch thick sheets of snow and ice blanketing our lawn.


Elliot has been having a great time in the snow, though. Here he is bundled up and then making snow angels with Nona.



When we're not out playing in the snow, we're keeping warm and cozy inside. Here is Imogen riding around in Papa's overalls (who needs a baby carrier when you have Carhartt's?).


And last but not least, here is the super fly elevator panel I scored from an elevator repair company to give to Elliot for Christmas.


It is going to completely blow his mind, and I really can't wait to give it to him. The guy at the elevator company (who shall remain nameless) was just fantastic, finagling a way to get a real elevator part for me. Since there are liability issues, the company isn't allowed to give away parts removed from elevators they've worked on, but we of course just found this little puppy by the side of a dumpster (wink, wink). Thomas is going to build some sort of frame around it to make it safe and stable (it's about 2 feet tall and weighs quite a bit). But I'm still on a high from the score. Snow or no snow, ice or no ice, it's going to be the best Christmas ever!

Status Update

You know you're spending too much time on Facebook when you start thinking in status updates. Maybe you have an interesting interaction with a stranger at the grocery store, or something clever occurs to you out of the blue and you think, wow, that would make a great status update! And then you think about updating your status for the entire drive home until you can get to your computer and log on to Facebook for the umpteenth time that day. It's pathetic, really. But I love it.

So here are a few status updates for you.

First up, a picture of Elliot's stitches. He got them out this morning with a few tears but plenty of cooperation. Here's our little Harry Potter.

We also got our first snow of the season this weekend. Portland completely freaks out when it snows. Sometimes it's warranted, like when we get an ice storm and you can't even walk out your front door without slipping on a 3-inch thick slab of ice. But most of the time it's kind of amusing to listen to the meteorologists talk about less than an inch of snow like it's an apocalyptic blizzard. Being from Colorado, it's annoying to have your kid home from school when the only thing on the street is a few snowflakes and the random patch of ice melting in the sun. Granted, some areas of town get hit harder than others. And believe me, even if you're one of those folks who grew up driving in snow, you do not want to be on the road with the rest of Portland's residents who don't know how to handle a car on ice.

So here's what Elliot did with our inch of snow.

In other news this week, Miss Idgie turned 15 months old. Her newest tricks are climbing up onto chairs and going backwards down the stairs at warp speed. She gets into more trouble than her brother ever did at this age! Here are two sets of 15-month sibling comparison photos.


And I just couldn't resist showing you this last picture, despite the overexposure. This is Imogen reaching for the camera.


We also put up our tree this past weekend and decked the halls - pictures to come soon! And y'all will have to wait a bit longer for video of Elliot's school holiday concert. It was scheduled for tomorrow but has been canceled due to "snow" (seriously, we're supposed to be hit with a doozy tomorrow - I'll believe it when I see it!). Look for storm confirmation in my next status update!

What We Did On Our Spring Vacation

We're probably the only folks out there who are glad that spring break is over! Elliot really misses school when it's not in session (which, luckily for us, is only for a couple of weeks of the year!), and it was a long week coming through the gluten withdrawal. Elliot is now back to his usual, spunky self, and we hope to have positive changes to report in the weeks to come. Here is the happy boy himself.


We also started Methyl-B12 injections last night. Mama made a quick jab at Elliot's tushie while he and Papa were wrestling before bedtime, and he barely noticed the little poke (which he'll get once every three days). We'll let everyone know how things go now that we've added the last of our new treatments to Elliot's routine. His regimen now includes the GFCF diet (we've also eliminated all food dyes), digestive enzymes, B12 injections, and supplements of zinc and vitamin D.

Little miss Imogen is also a happy camper. Still no teeth to report, though! Here she is looking cute as a button, hamming for the camera.


Also this week we had some light snow showers and hail, which is very unusual for Portland this late in March. Apparently the last accumulated snowfall on record this late in the season was a storm in early March of 1951. The little snow flurries were very pretty, but darn it, we want to see that sun! We occupied ourselves with indoor pursuits, such as Elliot playing dress up and acting out Blues Clues.



And Papa tickling Imogen...



I'd also like to let folks know about the upcoming auction at Elliot's school, School of Autism. April is national Autism Awareness Month, and the school is hoping to top last year's successful auction to raise money for the school. Money raised is going to the renovation and addition of an extra 1100 square feet to the school (which will add grades 1-2 in the fall), as well as supplies, therapy equipment, and computers. We're thrilled that Bubba Joe and P. will be coming to town and joining us at the auction dinner, and I'd personally like to thank several of our friends who donated items for the auction, including:

Kevia Jeffrey-West, who donated a gorgeous pair of earrings.
John Cosgrove, who donated a beautiful vintage rhinestone bracelet.
Kate Wadnizak, who donated a handmade skirt.
Christopher Yarrow, who Nancy currently works for, who donated a handmade hemp dragon from Thailand.
And my dad, who donated 3 first edition books from the collection of his business, Eagle River Books (time to get a website, Dad!).

Thanks so much for everyone's support! Here's to March going out like a lamb and to an April with not too many showers!

Rapunzel Has Left the Building

It was the weekend of haircuts here at the McElroy household. First, Elliot was a champ and let Papa cut his hair in the bathtub Friday night. He was having so much fun that he ended up with his shortest haircut yet. Here are some before and after photos of Mr. Dapper himself.

I had the big chop on Saturday. It was time for a change, as my hair had reached near-Rapunzel proportions, and Imogen was pulling on it every chance she got. I also had enough hair cut off to donate to Locks of Love, so that was pretty cool. Here are my before and after shots.

And while we're on the subject of cuteness, here are my boys in their matching Carharts.

And I can't possibly post an entry without a picture of the girl. So here is Imogen, who has now found her toes.

In a weather update, Groundhog Day yesterday saw a snowy, slushy day here in Portland. I guess we're going to have to wait awhile still before we can jump on the trampoline again. Sigh!

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

Happy New Year, everyone! We had wonderful holidays here at the McElroy household. Nana and Atman were with us for Christmas, and despite the kiddos having colds, we had a great day. It was filled with stockings, presents, food, and even some snow. Really, snow! Here is proof of the first white Christmas in Portland in over 70 years.



Everyone got dressed up and jolly for the occasion. Here's little Miss Idgie in all her cuteness, and big brother Elliot and Papa in their matching Carharts.

Here are the stockings hung by the chimney with care (notice Imogen's new stocking, made for her by Nana), and Elliot having a big fun time pulling things out of his.


We had more than one Santa drop by on Christmas, as well. Here they are checking their lists twice.

And I'll leave you with a cute baby picture to ring in the new year. We hope you all had great holidays!

Peace!