Running brings family together

Tonight was a really nice night. Michele, Aunt Maggie and I met at The Crossings to do a little jogging. My grandparents also made the trip over to The Crossings to watch Maddy while we ran. It was so nice seeing my sister, Aunt, grandparents and niece all in one night!

I think I am starting to enjoy this whole running thing :-)

Maddy Madigans

Apples and peanut butter - check!
Pineapple chunks - check!
Raisin bread - check!
Bananas - check!
Yogurt - check!
Pink hair ties and a pretty sun dress - check!
Possible trip to the Troy Junior Museum - check!
Bathing suit packed for running through the sprinkler - check!

Yay! Maddy's sleeping over tonight!

Farm Town Anonymous

Hi. My name is Morgan, and I am addicted to Farm Town.

For those of you who do not know what Farm Town is, it is a highly addicting game on Facebook. Basically, you are given this piece of land where you plant and harvest crops - fake crops that is. The more crops you plant, the more coins you get. You use those coins to plant more crops, buy houses, dirt paths, animals, flowers, benches, barns...you get the idea. You can also go to this "marketplace" and hire other farmers (other people who are addicted to the game) to harvest your crops. They get paid and you also get paid which means more coins to buy more stuff for your farm.

I am consumed by this game every night and every morning. It's all Michele and I talk about - "do you have any crops that need to be harvested?" "how many coins do you have?" "what level farmer are you?" - it's sad, really.

If there is any help out there for people like me, please let me know.

Time to go harvest!

*Picture is of Michele's farm as mine is not ready for a photo op quite yet. I'm doing a little rearranging*

"Madelina Sophia"

My dad had Maddy overnight last night and watched her all day today. I stopped by his house during lunch to see little Madders and was greeted with her big smile and a "hiiii!" My dad said, "Is that Aunt Morgan!?" and she yelled "Ga-ga!" I'll accept that as my name for now :-)

Then my dad showed her a picture that we had taken last year and gave to him for Father's Day. It's a picture of Michele, Bob, Maddy (when she was just a baby), Joe and myself. My dad said, "Maddy, who's in the picture?" She promptly stated "DADA!" and then my dad said, "yup...and there's mommy and Aunt Morgan and...." And Maddy yelled, "JOE!!!" I was shocked! This was the first time I ever heard her say Joe's name! I asked my dad, "did she just say Joe?!" and he said, "yeah!". So he did this routine once.

So of course I ran to the phone and called Joe at work because I knew he would love to hear his "Madelina Sophia" (Joe has been calling her this since she was born) say his name. So I held the phone up and my dad asked her who was in the picture - silence. Of course the little squirt out smarted us and decided not to say the names out loud while Joe was on the phone. She just stuffed her face with snacks and laughed - good enough for me :-)

Snack time!

18 Nutritious Snacks from Real Simple magazine:

- Small handful of Sahale's Spicy Soledad Almonds
- All-Natural Multigrain Waffle with fruit preserves or honey or fresh berries
- One-inch cube of hard cheese (like aged Gouda), plus four to six dried apricot halves
- One cup of mixed cereal (like bran flakes, wheat chex)
- Endive leaves filled with part-skim ricotta
- Small bowl of pureed tomato soup with a dollop of low-fat sour cream
- Sliced cucumbers and one or two wedges of Laughing Cow Light Swiss Original Cheese
- Energy bar containing at least four grams of protein (like Larabar Cherry Pie)
- Three cups of air-popped popcorn sprinkled with dark chocolate shavings
- Rye melba toast with low-fat cream cheese and dried cranberries
- Apple slices dipped in a tablespoon of almond butter
- Two slices of low-sodium deli turkey and a handful of grapes
- Half a cup of low-fat cottage cheese with chives and pepper, plus vegetables for dipping
- Handful of almonds mixed with dried tart cherries or blueberries
- A 1.3 ounce bag of Glenny's Soy Crisps
- Small bowl of plain oatmeal topped with fresh berries and a splash of skim milk
- Two to four tablespoons of hummus with crudites
- Three-quarters cup of shelled edamame

Like a kid again

Today was one of the best days of the summer thus far!
Here are some of the highlights from the day:
1. Being greeted by my favoritest little girl Maddy right when I walked in.
2. Swimming with my grandparents, sister, mom and Jim (Maddy was napping)
3. Doing three somersaults in the pool which I haven't done since I was probably 12.
4. Watching Maddy roll down the hill. It's amazing how big she is getting!
5. Doing a cannonball about a foot away from my sister when she wasn't looking (hee hee!)
6. Being hit in the head with noodles and attempting to kneel on them under water.
7. Watching Jim and my mom do hand stands in the pool and rating them with the noodles (bent the noodles into numbers).
8. Eating summertime food - grilled pizza, grilled salmon, corn on the cob, salad and bloomer droppers
9. Watching Maddy smoosh her face into the screen (see picture)
10. Leaving the house and hearing "Toy Soldiers" on the radio - one of my favorite songs from the 80's :-)

This is what it's like to be a kid again!