'Hugga Bugga' Someone You Love

Mags: "Mama, please. I think I should stay home with you today."
Me: "No, Mags. Remember you get to see all your friends at school? And there's the sand table!"
Mags: "But, you'll be so lonely!"

Lately, Mags is experiencing some separation anxiety. As we are driving in the car to school and even as we are walking up the stairs to her classroom, she tries to come up with reasons to stay home with me. Her newest thing is coming out in the morning and announcing that she is feeling "very sick". Usually, it's her stomach that hurts. Once I tell her that it's just her belly reminding her she needs to have some delicious breakfast food, she gets lost in finding her Ariel bowl and picking out her cereal.

This turn around of my independent little woman really threw me. That's why I was happy when her beloved pediatrician, Dr. Tammy, told me at her five-year-old appointment that this is a completely normal stage in her development. She gave me some strategies to use in order to comfort Mags, such as warn her before I'm leaving,  let her know where I'm going and tell her when I'll be back. But the strategy I knew would be most useful was to give her a little something that she could visually see to remind her that I love her and will be back soon.

It just so happens that my friend, Michele is a mind reader and sent me an email about a great little bracelet. It is called the 'Embracelet' and it is simply a symbol of a hug that you wear around your wrist. I wasted no time in writing the creators and inquiring on how I could get my hands on one of these little trinkets.

The Hugga Bugga 'Embracelet' was created by two busy moms, Tina and Lisa. It is worn on the wrist and can be a reminder to give a hug, share a kind word or tell someone how proud you are of them. You can move the little ladybug charm on the bracelet over one bead each time one of these things is given to help keep track. There are twenty-five beads total on the bracelet, so the goal is to get through the whole bracelet of beads by the end of the day. 

What I have done for my situation with Mags, is move the bug on the bracelet two beads when I drop her off at Pre-K. That way she knows that when she needs a hug from me during the time I am not there, she can look down and see the one I gave her (and there's one to spare, too).

So far, this visual has made a big difference in how our mornings and drop offs have been going. After a week and a half, I'm not hearing "My belly hurts." or "I really want to stay home with you." She wears her bracelet all day and keeps it by her bed at night. It's such a simple thing that has made such a big impact.

And because of this, we want to share a hug with you. The Hugga Bugga Moms, Tina and Lisa, are giving Michele and me each a bracelet to give to our readers.

Simply enter by telling me the following in the comments:

Would you use the embracelet for yourself or 
give it to someone you love?

You can enter both here and on Michele's blog for TWO chances to win.

The deadline for entering is noon on February 1st.
We'll each be drawing a name randomly from our comments.