20 Questions

I doubt anyone I know will do this, mainly because practically no one reads my blog! Which is okay, I understand.. I don't hardly ever write on it! But, my sister Michelle tagged me and I'm sitting here sick on a Friday night, so why not...

Rule #1 The tagged person must write their answers on their blog and replace any questions they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves

Rule #2 The tagee must tag 5 other people to do this quiz and must name who tagged them. Well, as previously stated, my sister Michelle tagged me... and I'll tag Dana, my sister-in-law Rachel, Francesca, Catie, and Amanda.

1. What is one word that can best be used to describe you? Real. I thought it was interesting that my sister chose this same word, I've always thought it was the most appropriate word for me. I have no desire to pretend to be someone I'm not; what you see is what you get, for better or for worse.
2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be? I guess it's always been kind of a fantasy of mine to know if I could have made it as an actress or singer, so I'd like to see what it would be like to be a celebrity for a day.
3. What would you do with a billion dollars? Invest it, give it to charity, travel everywhere, make sure my family was provided for.
4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood? Lucas. He has a way of leveling me. It's also hard to be mad when I look at Maddox's sweet face.
5. What is your bedtime routine? Shower, pump, bottle prep for morning and daycare, brush my teeth, jammies, bed.
6. What activities did you do in High School? If you could go back would you do the same, or something different? Oh geez, I did everything... choir, honor society, bible club, student government, x country ski team, swim team, volleyball team. No regrets... whatever I did made me who I am today.
7. What kind of books do you read? I like science fiction/fantasy but I'll read just about anything if I have the time.
8. How do you see yourself in 10 years? Pretty much like I am now, working half-days and then spending the rest of the day with the kiddos. Possibly in Colorado.
9. What's your favorite piece of clothing you own? I don't think I can answer this! I have a new teal/aqua colored silk dress I love. I'll pick that for now.
10. What kind of skin care do you use? Don't... soap and water with a washcloth.
11.What's the first thing you do when you wake up? Turn off the alarm, turn on the curling iron and the coffee pot as I grab the pump.
12. If you could have any job, regardless of income, what would it be? I don't know. I like being a physical therapist... but I'd rather be in an outpatient setting.
13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be? I like my name... it would be fun to have a more exotic or sophisticated name though, like Jasmine or Vivienne.
14. If you had to choose between 6 months of sun or 6 months of rain, which would you choose? Six months of sun. Hands down.
15. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months what would it be? Bread.
16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most? I like that it's a way of remembering things I don't want to forget... I enjoy reading back over my old ones and remembering things I'd totally forgotten or the excitement I felt during a time in my life.
17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods? Salty, although I love sweets too.
18. What items are in your purse right now? Coupons I'll probably never use, a broken pen, my wallet, and my keys.
19. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn't? We actually just got rid of cable, for which I am really happy. But Dexter (where you end up rooting for the main character who is a serial killer) and True Blood (which I've kind of lost interest in due to it being really weird)
20. What is the best memory you have of the person who tagged you? The best? I don't know. There are lots of good memories, I can't pick the best, but I loved meeting Lane for the first time and asking Michelle if it was fun to know that she was Lane's favorite person in the world... watching her glow with being a new mother was special.

Just another Manic Monday...

Well, I guess it's time for my once-monthly blog post. I've just started my 4th week at my new job in Lexington at the Brian Center. So far I like it pretty well. It's a little under-challenging, but still so worth it to have the extra time with Maddox. Speaking of the little monster, today was his 6 month checkup. He is 17lbs, 8oz (50th percentile for weight) and 27 inches long (85th % for height). He is so stinking cute. He is rocking in quadruped these days, getting so close to crawling. He also commando crawls, or inch-worms forward on his belly. He still squeals with delight and makes all kinds of gurgly noises but not really any da-da, ma-ma, ba-ba kinds of sounds yet. Although he did do "da-da" once yesterday and it was the first time we'd heard it... but it definitely wasn't directed at anyone.

We went wine tasting with Glen and Kathryn yesterday to divine llama vineyards, vineyard 4201, and Flint Hill vineyard... it was a good time! On Saturday our neighbors are renewing their wedding vows and on Thursday we are celebrating graduation with a friend. It's going to be a busy week! Lucas' business Cucumber is making good progress. I'm so excited for them, it sounds like they will have an actual product (a very rough draft) done by the end of the month... apparently the wives are to be the guinea pigs. I am so proud of Lucas (and his friends) for taking this leap of faith and taking action to make their dreams a reality... it takes a lot of courage! And to be quite honest, I'm not sure if I would have the courage to take such a risk. It's easier for me to trust that he will succeed!

Bin Laden was killed today. I guess when I'm reading back over these it will be interesting to have that mentioned as an important day in history. Even though I'm sure the world is a better place without him, I'm still glad that I was not responsible for the order that took his life. I hope that Obama and God had a long conversation about that order; it's one thing to make decisions that indirectly take lives, it's a completely different thing to make an order to directly take someone elses.

That's all I've got for now... I'm sick, and tired so I quit! lol...

April

This month has been good so far. For my birthday we went to Asheville and stopped off at a winery on the way. Then the next day the Morgans came out and we went to a few more and played Catan! We said goodbye to Lucas' parents, which was harder than I think either of us realized it would be... the house is nearly finished now and we are looking forward to closing this chapter of our lives! I have to say though, it looks incredible... I'll have to try to remember to post pictures.

Maddox and I wine tasting on my birthday!

Our lovely house blooming in spring! I've been busy getting the hang of my new job. I transferred facilities, from the Brian center in Winston to the one in Lexington... I have yet to get everything down, but everyone is very friendly. I even have my own desk! Silly that I'm so excited about that... but I am. :) Most of all, I love getting a paycheck and I LOVE getting to spend more time with Maddox. SO happy, like always!

So because the in-laws are gone and I'm at work, Maddox has started daycare! He is doing wonderfully with it and they just love him! I actually think he loves it too since there is so much to look at! The workers are always saying how advanced he is with his movements and also with the foods that he is able to eat. They also asked "does he look like his dad?"... to which I pulled out the picture of them together and they said, "oh yes, just like his daddy!"

Lucas has been busy working with Cucumber; the business he's started with his friends Rex and Jason. They are making good progress towards determining the needs and market for their product. I have to admit that at times when he is working long hours I get jealous that he isn't home more often and spending more time with Maddox and I, but I know that ultimately he works so hard for us so that we can spend more time together in the future.

So... the truth. Maddox is SO unphotogenic. We have to take a million photos that look just like this one before we capture how cute he really is!

Other cute things:

He loves the book "Where, Oh Where is Huggle Buggle Bear?"... whenever I start to read it to him he stops whatever he's doing and looks at me with big eyes and then grins!

He loves it when I go "teeheeheehee" in a very high pictched voice, he can be in the middle of crying and he'll stop and laugh.

He loves it when daddy or uncle Sean tries to "eat" his neck, he squeals with delight! He also loves it when we tickle his sides or blow on his belly-also squealing and cooing worthy!

He loves to eat, he says "mmmmmm" when he's eating and frequently whines inbetween bites as if we're not feeding him fast enough! Speaking of, he currently eats rice cereal, bananas, prunes, oatmeal, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, and pears.

The Blur that has been March...

Wow. Where do I start? And why do I feel like all of my blog posts start this way? Probably because I'm not consistent enough to just write what has happened in the last day or two and am always trying to write about what has happened in the last month... *sigh* Oh well, I guess that's to be expected when writing on a blog doesn't quite rank as high as spending time with my son or husband. Most importantly I PASSED! I am officially a licensed physical therapist. Weird. I can't believe after 8 years of school I am finally done and starting my career. Kind of sad since I'm almost 30.... again, oh well. :) I started my job yesterday at the Brian Center here in Winston. It was both a good and frustrating day, as today has been as well. Basically, everyone seems super friendly and helpful.... but the rehab department seems so unorganized. And while I may not always be the most organized person, I do like things to run smoothly and efficiently and I feel like that's really important in a business.... so I am both impressed and unimpressed thus far. Is that clear as mud? I have hopes that with new and consistent staff that things will start to be more organized.

Family photo op!

In other news the project house is coming along... poor Dave. It is such a big task and he has had so little help. But what he has done has been incredible. We were able to paint this weekend and began putting up light fixtures and trim... flooring has been bought and will be put in this week and this weekend my dad is coming to help install the new kitchen cabinets. It's going to look like a whole new house when we're through with it! Dave is currently in the process of completely re-doing the bathroom... it was pretty sketch before!

Standing like a big boy with daddy!

Maddox is the greatest baby ever. He is now 16 lbs and 26 inches long! He has finally started sleeping 5 and 6 hour stretches after I finally consented (by me hiding and letting Lucas do it) to letting him cry some through the night. It only took 1 night and he's been doing great ever since! He is the happiest baby ever almost all of the time... he has started "squacking" as we like to say, making really loud noises from his throat and the most ridiculous faces... he raises one eyebrow and purses his lips and all kinds of facial expressions... he is so fun to watch and brings us so much joy. He learned to roll from his back to his stomach (but only to the left) this month and he gets so frustrated when he can't go anywhere yet. His hair is finally starting to grow back and I think by the end of the month we will be rid of the mullet. :) He is also eating more solid food now, about 3 tablespoons in the morning and at night. He has mastered rice cereal, oatmeal, and prunes and will be trying carrots tomorrow for the first time. I believe he'll be starting daycare on the 28th which is going to be so hard to do... I am greatful that I only have to work 6 hour days though so I can spend a little more time with him.

Maddox LOVES this giraffe my mom sent him

Retaining wall... check!

Today my husband, my brother, my brother-in-law, father-in-law, and 3 close friends all built a retaining wall underneath our investment house... why you may ask? Because the dirt underneath it was collapsing, and soon the house would have too without this wall! We were really surprised at how quickly it went with all the helping hands! It looks like tomorrow Mark and Dave may help us put up the backsplash in our kitchen too! Hip, hip hooray! It's been almost a year since we remodeled the kitchen and that is the last thing to be finished! I think I may do a little dance when it's done!

Not the finished product, but you get the idea!

It's been so nice out, we've been taking little man out for walks

Daddy is NOT his favorite person at this moment...

In other news... my application still has not been approved to schedule my board exam... so I wait. And study. Ugh. I want it over.

Today I'm thankful for...

*God's amazing grace and guidance; I may not always listen, but He's always there

*My mom who sent me a starbucks card for Valentine's day

*My sister's blog posts; they help me feel connected to her even though she is halfway across the world

*My son; you know that lyric "you don't know what you've got til it's gone" well, having him is kind of like that... only I didn't know what was missing until I had him

*My husband; for being so supportive and loving and telling me I'm beautiful even when I look like "frump wife" :)

*My mother-in-law who is keeping my house running so I can study

*My new job! I hope it's as awesome as I think it will be...

*My brother who dotes on Maddox like he was his own son

*Ice cream, popcorn, and wine; oh how I love thee!

*Good friends; enough said

*Sleep.... I've had very little of you the last 3 1/2 months, but I think we may become reaccquainted in the near future thanks to...

*Rice cereal; my son seems to like you

Study, study, and study some more!

Well, the title says it all! I have been keeping my nose to the grindstone, studying hard for the boards. I have STILL not been approved to schedule my exam, so it may not be the 25th like I was hoping it would be, but I'm still hopeful. I got a job though! I have accepted a job at a skilled nursing facility here in Winston for a company called Sava Senior Care. I am really excited; they seem to really care about their employees and patients which is really important to me. I also get $1000 a year for continuing education (practically unheard of to get that much these days), get full benefits with working 30 hours a week (so I can spend more time with Maddox), and I am getting probably around $10 more an hour than I thought I would as a new graduate! God is so faithful. My temporary start date is March 14th... hopefully I will pass my boards on the first try and be done with it!

In other news, Dave and Rebecca (Lucas' parents) arrived on Thursday to come for an extended visit. Dave is going to help Lucas fix up our investment home and Rebecca is going to help me watch Maddox and take care of the house so that I can study for the boards. Mark (Lucas' brother) comes on Friday to stay for the weekend to help do some of the heavy labor on the house also... we will have a very full house for a couple of days! I think that's about it for now...

Airplane!

You love standing

Your first rice cereal feeding

You're so cute when you pout!

Grandma Joyce came to babysit for a few days!

Life goes on...

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time flies by. We have already been back from Mexico 2 weeks and life is in full swing. Our first week back I had a nasty head cold that I am still trying to get rid of... and Maddox got a mini version as well; you should have heard his baby coughs, it was enough to break your heart! Fortunately he was only sick for a day or two, I guess him getting all my antibodies helped him fight it off. We also introduced rice cereal in his bottle last week. It was glorious to have him sleep for 4+ hour stretches... unfortunately he also didn't poop for the past week so I ended up taking him to the doctor today after prune juice, rectal stimulation, and a supository all failed. Of course then he pooped in the office. Murphy's law right? Anyways, so we are holding off on the rice cereal for a couple more weeks... at least I know sleep is coming in the near future!

Just "hangin" around

I have been blessed to have lots of friends who have been helping watch Maddox for a couple hours each day so that I can study for the boards. I finally feel like I am making some headway in the massive review book. :) Plus Lucas' parents come next week and then I will have unlimited live-in help. So between studying, cooking, cleaning, taking care of Maddox, applying for jobs, and doing interviews, my life has been relatively hectic! I think that it is about to get more hectic too, as we are gearing up to really start to fix up our investment home. I pray that God will bless our investment and that once it's fixed up we'll be able to get renters in there and have a little extra income instead of a money pit. Lots of exciting changes are underway...

You love bathtime now

Maddox is growing so fast... he is 14lbs, 4oz already and so stinking happy. He coos and oohhs and aahhs constantly, plays with his activity gym, and loves the TV (this won't be allowed when hes' a little older) He also thoroughly enjoys looking at the pictures on the wall and his crinkley lion. The past 2 mornings I have woken up to hear Maddox talking up a storm in his crib at 4am; he goes on for about 15 minutes and then drifts back off to sleep... it is so adorable that I have to stop myself from picking him up, unwrapping him and talking to him until the wee hours of the morning. We are so unbelievably blessed that God put him in our lives!

You are actually starting to enjoy tummy time

You love daddy

You are so incredibly happy these days!

Happy 3 months little man!

I can't believe Maddox is already 3 months old! In honor of this special occasion, I wanted to post about all the things I love about my little man... okay, there's no way I can write them all down, but I'm going to pick the highlights!

I love the way you look at me sometimes.... like you know exactly who I am and that I am your favorite person in the whole world. You look at me with adoring, loving eyes and then smile so big... it makes my heart melt every time!

I love that you humor daddy and watch hockey with him...

I love that you let me dress you up in adorable hats...

and I love your crazy hair!

I love the way you scrunch your chin back to create a double chin when you're pooping or trying to fart...

and I love how you smile with the left side of your mouth in your sleep.

I love the noises you make... all of them! But especially the cooing noises you make when your talking to me or to your friends on your activity gym...

I love your beautiful deep blue eyes...
and I love how you snuggle your head into my shoulder.

I love you so very, very much, little Maddox.

Mexico!

So for "Christmas" this year, the Dargis clan all met up at an all-inclusive resort in Cabo San Jose, Mexico for a week of fun in the sun. Lucas, Maddox, and I got there a day early and stayed an extra day. Maddox was so good during the flying and the whole trip in general... of course when you're held 24/7 what's there to cry about? Me and little man playing on the balcony of our room.

Maddox got to meet all his Dargis aunts and uncles, and meet his cousin Gabby who became good friends by the end of the trip (see above image of Gabby petting Maddox) Uncle Lucas and Gabby still have some work to do though!

Uncles Miah, Jake, and Mark nicknamed Maddox Mad-puppy since he's not quite old enough to have earned the title Mad-Dog just yet. Highlights of the trip included:

a day of snorkling, unlimited wine (don't worry, I p-dumped!), evening games of Catan, lots of sunbathing, unlimited real guacamole, and a wonderful massage on the beach. One on one time with Grandpa!

Rachel 365

I am really excited about this site! Basically you upload a picture for each day of the year! I am hoping that I'll be much more consistent with taking 1 photo a day than I am at updating my blog every day/week.../month lol! Check it out! http://365project.org/rachel_dargis/365

Happy New Year!

I think that 2011 will be hard pressed to top 2010.... during the past year I graduated with my doctorate, we bought a home, an investment home, and I gave birth to Maddox Alexander! While I don't think 2011 will hold quite as many milestones, I know that it will hold just as many blessings! Coming up we have our trip to Mexico with Lucas' family, then I'll come back and study for, take, and hopefully pass the boards, and Lucas' parents will come for a visit and to help us fix up the investment home we bought. I am looking forward to watching Maddox grow and explore his world and all the blessings that come with being a new mommy! Here's to 2011! You love hanging with Dad...

and you are much happier now that you get your acid reflux medicine!

Maddox loves his Grandma!