http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke recent pleonast.com entries by user matthew_and_brooke en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=601643 I like my doctor. She's actually a FNP or a PAC, I forget, but she's my medical provider. I liked her before today, but today at my check up, she took off a skin tag off of me in no time flat. It only hurt a little bit. (No anesthetic) It was the one on my face, if you've seen me in the last several years. The one that EVERYONE thought was a crumb, though how I would get a crumb that high on my cheek is beyond me. I know medical stuff of any nature can gross people out, but I am just happy that I have my face back to myself. Matthew couldn't even tell where it had been. I can, but part of that will fade, and it's smaller than a freckle. Anyway, I can cover that with make up. I'd have to wear more make up than Dolly Parton to cover up a whole skin tag. On a wholly unrelated note, I woke up this morning convinced that it was 2 days before Christmas, and I hadn't bought ANY presents. I started to panic. As the fog lifted, I realized that I hadn't bought any presents becaus... 2008-11-21 http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=601168 While looking for one thing (crayons), I found another (my wedding rings). I had just given up on my wedding rings, because the last time I remembered seeing them was in a hotel room on our way back from Ohio in April. I figured I'd left them by mistake, and rather than report it the maid had taken them for herself. (I had called to check if they'd found anything) But on a search for a box of crayons, I saw a bit of the ribbon they were hanging on around my neck. I picked it up, and lo and behold... Anyway, so I'm happy. :) Never did find the crayons. Update: I did find the crayons. And I have been wearing my (deceased) grandfather's wedding band in the meantime, so it's not like I've been entirely ringless. It's a bit bigger than mine, but that's why I wasn't wearing mine on my finger at the time, it was too small. 2008-11-19 http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=600483 This happened about 2 weeks ago now, but with lectures and the sick child, I forgot to write about it at all. Wednesday night, it was fairly cold outside. As one of our members came in late, in with him popped this rather large orange and brown striped cat. He was in a hurry to get in out of the cold, and he went straight up the aisle, all the way to the front where my husband was leading singing. As a matter of fact, we had just finished singing "All Things Bright and Beautiful... creatures great and small" when he popped in. Matthew noted that, and then mentioned "preaching the gospel to every creature. As you can imagine, the appearance of the critter caused no small commotion, but before too long he was removed bodily from the building. But he had no intention of giving up that easily. Apparently, someone came in really late, during class, and the cat came in with him. (I was in the safety of my cat-free classroom by this point. I am allergic to cats, the l... 2008-11-18 http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=598454 We had a lovely, if crazy, weekend. Friday night, they arrived, as well as her and her, with Anaja and Katie, to stay with us, shortly before our singing... I would have to count, but we probably had more people from away at the singing than locals. Which is fine. :) The singing was very nice. Abigail actually arrived at the singing straight from an afternoon at Grandma's house. Grandma mentioned that her voice was raspy all afternoon, but I didn't think much of it. She didn't want to sing at the singing, but I figured that was part of her standard shy act. She was acting shy, but fast became friends with Anaja and Katie. She even requested for them to sleep in her room with her. There's a much longer version of this, but basically, she awakens at 3 AM with a rather dramatic episode of difficulty breathing. I was on the point of taking her to the emergency room when Matthew suggests outside air would help. I should mention that with all the people and activity in the house tha... 2008-11-12 http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=596452 The fairy... and "Be one with the bike" "I love you this much!" and spelling her name with blocks. 2008-11-06 http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=596183 I keep meaning to update regarding a few things. Here's the short version: Abigail was a fairy for Halloween. She was cute. (insert picture here later) This Saturday is our lectureship. The theme is "Power and Glory" The subtopics (must double check later) are "Power and Glory" of God, "Power and Glory" in us and "Power and Glory" of something else... memory lapse... maybe creation? or the church/God's plan? This Friday before the lectures, Matthew & I are hosting a singing at our house. 7 PM. E-mail for directions. We will be using the Sumphonia hymn supplement. Any of you who are already coming from far away the night before, if you could come early enough for the singing, you would be more than welcome. We also have 1 futon available, and can get 2 mini-twin size air mattresses upon request, if you need a place to stay. We are looking forward to visiting with him and her this weekend. I told you this was the short version... 2008-11-05 http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=592800 Abigail has lost her two front bottom teeth (and swallowed them both). Apparently Matthew comes from a family of pullers. I come from a family of it will come out when it wants to -ers. Arguments have been presented on both sides. Abigail prefers my method. And it's no big deal if she does swallow one now and then. All the Google pages on losing baby teeth have to do with puppies as far as I can tell. (and puppies, apparently, routinely swallow theirs.) We picked 2 bushels of organic apples. We made 5 pies and a whole bunch of apple sauce. I bought myself a food mill for the making of said apple sauce. Must make more pies and apple sauce before remaining apples go bad. We've been going to 4-H, but Abigail is terrified of gym time. I tried pushing the subject, to no avail... I think I might see about finding something else for her to do for those 20 minutes for the rest of the semester, and see if it goes any better when she knows the people there better. It's more importa... 2008-10-29 http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=590023 Our trip to Ohio went off almost without a hitch (except, of course, the couple getting hitched). The wedding was beautiful (and crowded). It was great to see people we haven't seen in years, and some people we hadn't seen in weeks. Lots of fun, and precious little sleep, was had by all. We got up early in the morning, and drove to Columbus to worship with my cousins, then we rushed back to Dayton for a midafternoon service. We stayed after and visited with someone with New England ties. All our flights were on time (if not early), and practically turbulence free. The trip itself was nearly perfect. When we got up Monday morning (late, after getting home around 11:30) I had an e-mail requesting that I call Mom and Dad when convenient. I call regularly enough, so I knew it wasn't good news. I presumed there was a problem with Grandpa or Grandma. Long story short, my uncle had passed away suddenly. I think I'll just keep the story short. It's very sad. He had a lot of good y... 2008-10-21 http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=588268 Except when I'm sick. Anyway, I'm back to about 80%. Now I just hope to be better in time for our flights on Saturday & Sunday. Abigail's a little congested, but she feels left out (Daddy got the cold first, then Mommy.) She's been telling me that she *wants* to be sick. I've told her she's not allowed to get sick till after the trip. We haven't gotten a lot of school work done this week for some reason... As the timing worked out, 4-H was at the pinnacle of my feeling yucky, but we went. I'm glad we did. We met some nice people. I stopped on the way home to buy OJ and tissues. Yesterday I bought some Emergen-C, which seems to be remarkably similar in vitamin content to Airborne, but comes in raspberry (one of my favorite flavors.) I also found that Wal-Mart sells unscented make up. This makes me happy. I don't use it often, but for formal occasions (like a certain wedding this weekend), it seems appropriate. Just a little bit. Anyway, I'm thankful there are enough ... 2008-10-16 http://www.pleonast.com/user/matthew_and_brooke?l=5&entryID=587323 I knew I was getting too excited over Abigail's first day of 4-H. I was making too big a deal over it. I just kept thinking of how this is her (and my) first chance to meet a bunch of other homeschoolers, people whose support and friendship would be invaluable to us. I wanted to make a good first impression. I have set aside a special outfit for Abigail (to be put on AFTER her PB&J at lunch), and one for me as well--including new shoes and cute socks. And it all started coming apart with one innocent little sneeze. One sneeze turned into several, those turned into a runny nose, and now I've got a full blown cold, and I'm feeling very sorry for myself. So... anyone have any ideas on how to cure a cold in the next 3 hours? So far I've tried Airborn, Dimetapp, and I'm about to try some Cold Care Tea. That has actually provided significant relief in the past. I just need a way to take that to 4-H with me, so I don't turn into the Mom-with-a-million-tissues monster, or Rudol... 2008-10-14