Edgar Allen Poe Museum

So we made time during our holiday to visit the Edgar Allen Poe Museum. It is located in Richmond VA b/c basically he spent his childhood here and associated himself with being a Southern Gentleman due to his upbringing...anyway, the museum is located at the oldest stone house in Richmond which was around about the time he lived in here. It contained quite a few items from his actual home and daily life and writings but for the most part if you are not a true Poe fan it wasn't anything spectacular. Despite that, we did have an enjoyable 2 hrs walking around the different buildings and the "enchanted garden" that is the grassy garden area between the buildings, it was like a courtyard between all the buildings.
Here are some pictures of the adventure.

 Here is the roadside sign that marks the Poe Museum location facing the main street of the Richmond Road. There is very little parking but luckily on a Saturday afternoon over a holiday weekend in November we were able to get a spot in the museum parking lot.

 Here is Jay and Matthew getting ready to enter the "Old Stone House" that is the museum shop and entry point. Jay is in Scrubs in the event that he gets a call and has to go to work. We have Matthew in his stroller not realizing that this museum is not very handicap nor stroller friendly, but it is small so at least we can carry him around for a short period of time if needed.

 Here is a sign in the shop that depicts Mr. Poe and is your photo opportunity with him. There is no photography in most of the museum to preserve the artifacts and items.

 In the Enchanted Garden they have the place decorated with Christmas decorations and lights for an upcoming event in the evening that is a fund raiser. It is pretty even in the daylight so I expect that it will be really pretty with all the lights at their fundraising event. It also is a cool idea to have the decorations hanging down from the trees with fish line and off the stone walls from hooks and such.

 Matthew was all about trying to reach and pull on those decorations, he was having a good time in the garden and it was absolutely beautiful weather.

 B/c Matthew is getting so heavy it was Daddy's turn to hold him for a while so he could reach and play with the bulbs hanging from the tree.

 Picture of the enchanted garden. Again, it was pretty with all the decorations. The Thomas Jefferson Garden Society had some plants planted along the edge that I am sure bloom into some lovely plants in Spring.

 At the end of the Enchanted Garden is a Shrine that houses a bust of Mr. Poe that of course since it is outside is one of the items you can take pictures of in the museum.

 Back in the stroller, I had to push Matthew around for a few laps while Jay went into the exhibit building that has some art displayed from artist. The exhibit that was featured there for our visit was all about art work I guess inspired by the Raven because there were lots of pictures of ravens...or at least that is what I got to see before Matthew started to get fussy and tired.

Another picture of the shrine area at the end of the garden.
So it was a successful trip.
In other news, Matthew is doing well, just dealing with some stomach issues due to the antibiotic he has been taking...so the last 24hrs have been tough as we have tried to let him have some air on his bottom to let that tender skin breath but of course we have then had a few accidents on the carpet luckily on the bathroom monkey carpet....but today when I picked him up from Daycare and brought him home, I guess they tried to let his bottom breath some as well and I looked over and oh no....he has poop on his leg and some drips on the carpet....yep, so I get him to the tub, get him cleaned up and he is so distraught and not wanting to be touched at all on his bottom. Poor Matthew...so hopefully now that I am out of the antibiotic he can begin to heal. To help him, he is getting some yogurt and more florastor to help him heal.

That is all I got, not much else to report as we are pretty much back into our boring routine of Daycare from 830-1230 so I can grade papers and then afternoons of singing and playing until he falls asleep for his afternoon nap.
Oh and we tried to scrambled eggs today with some cheese but Matthew does not appear to enjoy the cheese right now so tomorrow we are going to go back to the peas and carrots for him to try and hopefully he will eat up those items. It was suggested by the daycare that we try bread, so tonight with his yogurt I will have to try some bread pieces. Hopefully he likes it.

Cooking my First Thanksgiving Dinner

So b/c I attended the funeral in Pa I cancelled my ticket to Louisiana so that meant I was going to attempt to cook a thanksgiving dinner for Jay...and he happened to invite a co-worker so now the pressure was on, b/c we are having company
My dinner was going to be simple, turkey, mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing, and green beans. I have made most of this stuff before except the turkey, but I have baked chicken numerous times so it couldn't be that difficult right?

So the plan a 8-10 lb turkey, dinner at 5-6 pm.
Jay picked up the turkey on Tuesday evening, almost 2 complete days to defrost and then cook...
So Wednesday, goal is to make the cornbread dressing, my grandmother's recipe...which means I have to make cornbread...I have made cornbread before, but it has been a while and sometimes it just doesn't cooperate...
But here it is, beautiful!

 So now that the cornbread is done it is time to finish the dressing....

So here is all the stuff in a bowl, yep, I made a lot...but I just followed the recipe so yeah we are going to be cornbread stuffing for a few days following Thanksgiving. 

So here is Thanksgiving Day, I have taken care of Matthew so it is now time to get the turkey started. So cut up some veggies and an orange to go in the bag and add some rosemary and sage, plus of course some Slap your Momma Seasoning...so the turkey is ready..then I put it in the oven not realizing that it is too tall and my first mishap, the bag gets stuck on the burner and starts to melt...so now it starts to smell of burning plastic and I am going oh-crap...I lower the rack in the oven but the bag is ruined so time to take off the bag and go old-style, foil wrapped on top of this turkey. So back in goes the turkey...setting the temperature on 325 which is less than the directions called for but I want this thing to cook slowely, it is 9am and I need it to make it to 4 pm....

 So after getting the turkey in the oven, Matt and I head over to the gym and I get a workout...but we come home and need to keep the boy entertained so he gets in his johnny-jump-jump and we have some fun. We turn on the holiday radio channel on TV and start singing Christmas carols...yep, it is going to be a long holiday I am already getting sick of those carols but the kid stations suck for songs so it is the best I got...we sing a bit, I check on the turkey...then when Jay gets home we take the rest of the stale bread that didn't go into the cornbread dressing with us to walk queenie and go feed the ducks by the pond near our house.  It was a great chance to get out and enjoy this absolutely amazing day. The weather was in the 60s it was sunny, just perfect!

 Now back to dinner, it is 3 and time to start potatoes and gravy...

 Yep, it is 4 pm and the turkey is done, it is falling off the bone..and yes, I turned it at some point so it is up-side-down, breast on bottom so they can soak up the juices of the veggies, chick broth and herbs that are providing a great smell throughout our apartment.
Underneath are the greenbeans and the cornbread dressing getting heated up and ready to go.


So it looks like it is all coming together but like a good Fontenot/Dimiterchik, about an hour too soon so Jay has to call his buddy and basically say, you need to come over, it is time. Also, Matt didn't take a good nap, I think he could smell and feel the excitement that today was a special day so at 4 he finally falls asleep and so we have quiet...another reason to get over, we might be able to eat in peace!

So the table is set, and the turkey is done, it is really good if I do say...and of course just as we sit and get ready to chow down....Matthew wakes up 48 minutes. This may be a tough evening...and sure enough it was so we didn't get any more pictures of food, people or anything...one of use was holding/entertaining Matt while the other was entertaining and keeping our guest company.

So it all came together, the Turkey, I give myself an A! The dressing, well, it wasn't as perfect as Grandma use to make but ok, so B, greenbeans, I put too much of the french onions on them so C, mash potatoes get of course an A, I am so good at those! Gravy a B, it wasn't my best....dessert was cookies and the chocolate cake that our guest brought...so not a bad meal...but way too much food. I am use to more people so of course 4 potatoes made too much mashed potatoes and I already mentioned the cornbread dressing is just a whole cassarole dish and it is just way to much...we will be eating this for a week at least...
I was going to make a gumbo and use the turkey for it, but until we get through some of these leftovers, I am going to leave the turkey to go with all the dressing and potatoes....
So success...now it is black Friday...Jay is again at work and Matt and I are listening to Holiday tunes, getting ready to hit the gym so I can work off some of these calories....we will attempt to hit BabysRUs today so we can get that much needed push toy as Matt is getting into standing alot these days and needs something to help him walk...plus if we get the right toy it should turn into a riding toy or something once he is ready...so in a sense we need to get a new toy for that.
Well, hopefully everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving and had some delicious turkey...and if not, I guess next year you need to plan on being where I am b/c if I have to do turkey again, I am so on it!

9 month appt

Today was Matt's 9 month appointment. He is measuring in at 17 in for the head circumference which is about the 25th percentile, 19 lbs 5oz for weight again in the 25th and then 29 inches long which is the 75th percentile....so our kid is completely average and doing great.
He is holding the standing position much better these days and getting more interested in using his exersaucer which serves now as an activity walking toy. We need to get him a push toy that will eventually turn into a ride/push toy so I guess we need to make that trip to BabysRUs to use this 20% off coupon that expires tomorrow.

Matt is also eating lots more pick-up and babyfoods. Today we did peas and carrots which mostly ended up being smashed into his clothes and on the floor for queenie but hey we tried. He seems to really like the yogurt drop things and his banana flavored puffs. The dried strawberries and bananas also seem to get some attention but the yogurt drops are usually what he reaches for first. Mild Chedder Cheese is another thing he seems to like and of course that Queenie is definitely enjoying when it is dropped

The sippy cup is also a new adventure. He likes to put the rubbery part in his mouth but hasn't seems to figure out how to tilt the cup back enough nor how to lean back and assist with gravity's help the milk or water into his mouth. He does seem to enjoy dropping it from his high chair, scaring poor queenie to run for cover while she is trolling on the floor for droppings. He thinks its funny to watch her run. Although I don't think he is totally making the connection that it is him dropping the cup almost on top of her and the thunk it makes that sends her running.

Back to day-care tomorrow where they will work on the sippy cup and we will do more cheese, yogurt drops, puffs, and dried fruit...the new thing we are going to try tomorrow is a grilled cheese in a tortilla...and maybe some scrambled eggs. We tried scrambled eggs already and that went over ok...cereal bars are also going to be on the menu really soon. The 9 month packet mentioned fruit juice can also be added, up to 4 oz a day. So I guess once the sippy cup skills are more progressed we need to start buying some apple juice.

It is crazy how quick things are going, we are now able to start the routine of 3 meals and 1-2 snacks a day...finally getting some type of routine down where he naps usually 10amish for about an hour to 2hrs and then again around 3pm for another hour or so....crazy how it has taken 9 months to get him somewhat on a routine...guess it helps I am finally in a better routine and not moving or preparing to move.

Happy Thanksgiving...I am going to attempt to cook my first feast....I will post pictures, I won't have the fancy table setting but I do plan to make do with what I have and hope to put together a rather simple yet consumable meal. We got the 9.5lb turkey tonight..it is defrosting in the fridge...hopefully it will defrost in time for Thursday morning to put in the oven...and so the first adventure begins! Will the turkey be defrosted in time???

Goodbye to my Grandmother

I got sad news last night, my grandmother, Winnie Dimiterchik, passed away after a year of strokes, cancer and just a downhill quality of life. I am sad and miss her already but I take comfort that she is no longer suffering and in a better place.
The funeral arrangements are not ironed out but I know she will be laid to rest in Minersville PA next to my grandfather John Dimiterchik.

 This picture is at the burial cite. I took Grandma, mom and Aunt Karen on a trip to visit and we took pictures. It is crazy that the next time we go to this place will be for her funeral.

 I grew really close to her especially as I got older, but some of my fondest childhood memories are with her and granddad in New Orleans. She took us grandkids each for a week and would take us to the Zoo, the Riverwalk, etc...so many fond memories.

 Here is a Christmas in Ville Platte.We are opening presents. This is my sister and mom with her watching the Cho kids open up their gifts.

This is of all of us Fontenot kids with our grandparents. They were still living in New Orleans so it was before Hurricane Katrina

 Another picture of Grandma with me. She made an effort to attend all of our functions. She was such a trooper when it meant traveling to crazy places.

This picture is a Christmas Dinner in Ville Platte so after she relocated post Katrina. This is my cousin Michael and Uncle Mike

She came to my graduation in Greenville NC and was very proud of me.

 She traveled to Negril Jamaica to see me get married. It was just so cute, she had to get wheeled around the airports but it got her varsity treatment through customs. She had her cane with her but walked all over that resort despite the sand.

Here she is waiting for the ceremony at my wedding to start. I am so thankful that she was able to attend.

 Here is Matthew with her on a recent visit to Ville Platte. We were planning to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas with her this year but I am so glad for the time we did have and that she got to enjoy Matthew for the few visits we were able to make.

One of my latest photos again at her house in Ville Platte. She loved pink and it was such a great color on her.

Well, just talked to my sister and it looks like funeral in PA on Friday 18th or Saturday...so basically straight away.
Goodbye Grandma.

Richmond Half Marathon and 9 months old pics

Can't believe Matthew is officially 9 months old. He is weighing in at 20 lbs but we will know for sure on Friday at his 9 month well-baby appointment. He is standing here and there for a few seconds on his own but for the most part he is not interested in walking or anything, just a crawling machine.

He is all about Queenie but she is not so interested in him. He is constantly crawling over to her water and food bowls and dumping them out then trying to play with them. He wants to be on her doggie pillow bed and would love to cuddle with her but she is constantly running away from him. I had to force her to interact with him so notice the look of fear on her face. Poor Queenie...if she was like my sister's dogs in that she tried to lick him he would lose interest very quickly but b/c she is this toy that he can't catch and interact with he is constantly trying to get her.

So for the milestones, Matt is practically sleeping through the night...it takes some effort to get him to go down around 8 pm, he doesn't want to fall asleep in the rocking chair so after 10 minutes or so I finally just put him in the crib and let him cry it out. Last night he cried for maybe 15 minutes before he finally passed out. The good news is that we usually don't hear a peep out of him until 4am or so. This morning it was 445 am so I usually find him with a soaked diaper so I change, give him 1-2 oz of formula and then let him cuddle up to me to fall back asleep. He is usually up for good around 630 am. Finally got him adjusted to the time change so it is no 5am-530 anymore.

So Jay ran the Richmond half marathon in about 2 hrs this weekend and Matt and I were troupers and went to support Jay and our great friend Lara on their running adventure. Here is the pictures of Jay and Lara pre-race.

These pictures were taken around 620 am Saturday morning but Matt and I were up around 5 am that day. So we headed to the race start. Somehow we missed Jay and Lara running by us at the start. It was really cold 37 degrees and some winds so I take Matt back to the car...so it is now around 745 and I am thinking he has got to be exhausted, he has been up since 5am and kinda been running around and moving a bit since we are up and about to see this race. Yeah, wishful thinking on my part, this kid played and laughed and just had a great time in the car...I didn't strap him in his car seat for a while so he had some freedom to move on the back seat and just look out the windows so I think he just really enjoyed that.

So around 915 when I knew I needed to get out and go watch for Jay and Lara, b/c I was near the finish line and knew if they were going to be under 2 hrs they should be coming by my spot in 10-15 minutes...he starts to crash...so I put him in his carseat and get him ready to go in the car-seat stroller thing...so here he is all strapped in:

 Sure enough, I get him in the stroller and to the street just shy of the downhill before the finish and he crashes...somehow in all this I miss Lara running by but do see Jay and manage a yell of encouragement. Just want to mention, the blanket we used to help keep Matt warm was from a great friend Mary Scott...and the hat is from prize winning knitter Mrs. Judy Hagelthorn...I think Matt sports his goodies well and they were perfect for this cool morning

Here are Jay and Lara with their really nice Finisher medals. They got separated around the 5 mile point yet finished about 3-5 minutes from each other. It was a really great race and ended up a great day.
Last picture is Queenie on the air-mattress...I blew up the air-mattress so if Matthew started crying in the middle of the night I could take him out of his pack-n-play and sleep on this with him to allow both Jay and Lara to sleep better. Queenie I think was a fan of the air-mattress in the living room.

So that in a nut shell was our adventure for this past Veterans Day weekend. We watched LSU on TV later that night and basically had a lazy weekend recovering from the race and early Saturday morning. Jay is off for a few days so we are enjoying him around the house during a work day...and we got a new stroller today at one of the consignment shops...it is a little nicer than the el-cheapo umbrella stroller from First steps and gave it a trial run today and it seems to work great.
Well, it might be a few days between post with the holidays coming up and travel plans. Matthew and I head to Louisiana on Saturday so see my grandmother and family. Jay is unfortunately on-call and working through the holiday...So not much else to report unless our Doctors appointment on Friday brings up some new and exciting findings.

Matthew is sick, who knew?

So Matthew got this rash Friday that I thought was a result of dry skin following our adventure to Colorado and he has been having this snotty nose thing but it has actually gotten better over the last few days...but the rash bothered me and last night I noticed some of the little marks were looking like little pimples so this morning I called the nurse and left her a message. He has not really been running a fever, he has been more clingy and fussy, but that could be b/c of the time change, the trip, the nose, I mean come one...he is eating normal and for the most part his usual pleasant little self....so the nurse calls me back and says with an all-over body rash to bring him in...oh and I forgot to mention Jay looked up and brought out his derm stuff and peds stuff to check on rashes and we went through all the big ones to ensure he wasn't having a major illness...seemed to us no biggie

So we get an appointment, I bring Matthew in, he is weight in at 19lbs, no fever...but the Nurse lady mentions hand, foot and mouth and strep...so as she goes to do a swab of his throat I notice some sores on his lips/gums like a fever blister/cold sore that I get...oh no, I hope I didn't pass on that horrible virus...but the back of his throat looks ok and b/c he is eating she is thinking maybe not on the hand, foot and mouth, despite the rash all over and the mouth/lip sores...strep comes back negative...but she looks in his ears...yep...he has a horrible ear infection...so I feel like a total failure...why didn't I make Jay look in his ears over the last few days to see that his runny nose wasn't causing an ear infection??? so the rash is probably a non-contagious virus but I call day-care anyway...sure enough, they think another kid has a rash...so probably this is something Matt gave to that kid or picked up from that kid...and the ear infection is either an effect of the virus or left over from his cold and runny nose that was kicking our butts the last week. So I have antibiotics for the eats, a clingy boy who wants to cuddle with me to sleep and we are home for the day together...
It is just amazing that he is so bad in those ears and yet really still a happy baby for the most part...who knew he was so sick...
Luckily, we have our well-baby 9 month appointment scheduled for the 18th of Nov so when we go for that, we should be through a 10day cycle of antibiotics and hopefully will have clear ears, cleared up skin and back to his normal self...keep your fingers crossed!

We got an ipad2-what apps do I absolute gotta have?

So we  broke down and got an ipad2 so we can facetime with family. Since I don't have an iphone and Jay basically uses his for only the phone, sometimes the text and one app, I am asking for the absolutely must-have apps to put on the ipad.
I just downloaded the Nook so we can use the ipad2 as a second digital reader so check on that...but what else do I need?

In other news...GO Air Force! We won so we keep the Commander's in Chief trophy...and yeah for LSU...but my goodness that was a horrible game to watch...they did not play well, thank goodness the kicker for the LSU team is better than the Alabama kid.

Matthew did not adjust to the whole time switch...he was up at 5:42 so 6:42 for him...despite my best efforts he did not go back to sleep but did at least stay in bed with me rolling around, pulling my hair and kicking me...but at least Jay got some sleep right?

He did fall asleep in church and is alittle grouchy so far today...but I guess that is to be expected with the time change. He is eating better. I just introduced those yogurt things and he seems to like them along with his poofs. Once he officially becomes a "toddler" it looks like there are all sorts of foods to start trying. Until then, we are watching his standing up and waiting for him to let go of the furniture or us and actually maintain his position. I am sure it will happen very soon, he is attempting to let go quite a bit but falling pretty quickly right now, any day he will hold that standing position for a few seconds and thus begin his journey towards walking.

Well, back to my new toy...if you want to face-time me...not sure how it works but let me know. Can't wait to figure this thing out.

Made it back from Colorado

Well, it was an event, we got delayed on the Richmond to Cleveland flight so the door was closed and they didn't let us make our connection...bags made it...then had to fly to Phoenix then to Denver, so it was a very long day.
So Friday we basically slept in and then did try to hit USAFA for noon meal formation so I could show my friend travel buddy Lara my old haunts.

 So here are the cadets getting lined up for the noon meal formation.

 Here is a picture from the Overlooks near the North Gate, It was Friday but the snow from Wednesday was still present.

here I am pointing to the track where I spent quite a bit of time over my four years.

So Saturday, we were hopeful that with 60 degree weather and a few days between the snow we would be able to get to the top of Pikes Peak. The cog train took us to about 12,000 feet due to high winds and snow drifts...which was ok, it was still a nice trip and day. Lara and I did get lots of advice and tips on when we try to do the hike in the future...gotta do it during late spring and/or summer when you have better weather.

But here we are on the cog train:

 So we started at the train station, and made it up to 12,000 feet.

 My travel buddy Lara who I know owe another trip to Colorado so we can attempt to climb the Peak

A view from the train, it was a really nice ride and nice day too bad we only made it to 12,000 feet.

Sunday we did Garden of the Gods with my nephew and niece. Another great day and good weather for hiking around the park.

 Garden of the Gods with Ryan and Amy Cho

 Lara and I in front of a Pikes Peak View. Another time we are going to hike up to the summit.

 View of Garden of the Gods with Pikes Peak in the background.

 Amy and Ryan are having fun at Garden of the Gods.

 The Twins at Garden of the Gods. We really had great weather on Sunday and again on Monday when we went back. Monday we took Matthew with us b/c it was another beautiful day with warmer weather.

Just another view of the red rocks and the blue sky. 

So Monday night we took Matthew to a few houses in Leone's neighborhood. Matthew was dressed as a Monkey. Ashley (my other niece) got a few good pictures of Matt in his costume b/c he was not liking it so much. It was a little big and warm but he tolerated it for a little while so we could visit some houses.

 Matthew in his Monkey Suit.

 Amy and Ryan taking Matthew to a few houses!

Matt with his Aunt Leone trick or treating in her neighborhood.

So the return trip was almost as eventful as the going...we were waiting on the pilots in Denver to land their flight from Vegas and then get to our flight...they were later than the 15 minutes we were told...of course, by the time we were taxing and taking off we were 50 minutes behind our original take-off time...of course going East we made up some time, but in Cleveland, the layover times are 30 minutes or so...we had 40 minutes from our suppose to land time to our take-off...bear in mind they close the door 10 minutes before scheduled take-off...so we deplane and it is 320, so 5 minutes before our scheduled take-off and while we touch-down in Cleveland at 307, so 22 minutes late, by the time you taxi and wait for everyone seated in front of you to get their crap and deplane, there is not a lot of time...so yeah, lesson learned, not going to fly through cleveland or anywhere with 30-40 minute lay-overs...ok, back to the story, we deplane, and have Matt in my arms, Lara pushing the stroller, and the lady tells us to run, from C5 to another terminal to catch our flight at gate D11...yeah, RUN, with a baby??? ugh...so we try to "run" which is fast walking through and around folks. down an escalator, through a tunnel, up an escalator, and yeah, Lara is on the escalator with the stroller, Matt still in my arms and we get to the plane...they waited...finally some good news...b/c it would not have been fun to get re-routed to Newark or Atlanta or somewhere to get to Richmond...it is also amazing how when it is their fault, the Pilots are late to a plane, how all of a sudden they will hold connecting flights at the next place whereas the "supposedly bad weather" (the reason for our re-route on the first trip) they did not wait 10 minutes for us...yep, they had that door closed right on-time when we were still there before take-off time but after that magic 10 minute before mark.

So we made it home, Matt is somewhat cranky today from the time-zone changes and flights but it was a great trip and thanks for my sister and her family for putting up with us. Also thank you to Laurel for meeting me for dinner and HAPPY BIRTHDAY as well!

So next travel adventure is Thanksgiving to Louisiana...hopefully it will be uneventful and Matt will travel as well as he did on these flights!