The BOOK IT! Program Presents: Give Me 20 Challenge

Chris: "It's reading time."
Tuck and Mags: "Hooray! READING TIME! READING TIME!"

Our kids have always loved to read. Tuck has been reading the beloved classic, Charlotte's Web. The teacher in me LOVED that he picked that book out on his own and started reading it. The mom in me was so excited that he wanted to read THAT story in particular. It has given us a chance to connect on a whole new level. We have formed our own little book club in the morning and it has sparked some interesting conversations between us. 

So, when Tuck brought home a reading form from school for the BOOK IT! Program sponsored by Pizza Hut, he was so excited to be able to fill it out in order to earn his free personal pizza coupon. Have you heard of this program before? It's fantastic and encourages reading across the grade levels. 

Currently, the BOOK IT! Program is offering a new challenge. You can read about it below and register for it until March 4th at the website: http://www.bookitprogram.com/redzone/gm20challenge.asp.  

"The Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program, which is the longest running corporate literacy program in the country,  is launching its “Give Me 20 Challenge.” (No push ups required!)

The Give Me 20 Challenge is designed to get kids to commit to read 20 minutes a day, for eight weeks. Families and classrooms that meet the eight-week challenge can enter for a chance to win one of fifty The Very Hungry Caterpillar prize packages.  

Why take the challenge? Children who read themselves and are read to on a regular basis show more interest in books, have a higher vocabulary, and learn to read more easily...and just 20 minutes a day is all it takes."

We hope to see you there! 

I SAW THE SIGN

Mags: "I love signals. When I do this (puts hand up) it means, STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Last night Chris was scratching the side of his nose at dinner.  I looked up and said to him, 

"Is it time to go?" 

Then we both burst our laughing, leaving our children staring at us like we'd finally lost it. Mags, not one to tolerate a private joke she's not included in, inquired right away. 

"What the heck are you guys laughin' about?"

Chris and I explained how we used to have a signal for one another when we were out at a get together. It let the other one know when we were ready to leave. That way, we both knew when to wrap it up. It was a handy thing to have in our back pocket. If the other person wasn't ready, we'd just be respectful and maybe cut down on the time we were there. It was a secret agreement between us and it worked well. 

After we explained this to the kids, they reported that they never had seen us do that at any parties. Chris chuckled and retorted, 

"That's because we only ever go to kids' birthday parties...and those are over after the cake is eaten and presents are opened."

Basically, when we do get a chance to go to a grown-up party, we don't need the sign. We stay out as late as we can, which we've found among our friends...is about an hour or two past the kids' bedtime. What a bunch of old farts!  

Do you and your significant other have any signals? Feel free to share them (and make me feel normal) in the comments below. 

I'll start...

TRYING NEW THINGS

Mags: "What's that on your computer, Mama?"
Me: "A site called Pinterest. People post...err...pin pictures of things that they like."
Mags: "Oh! I need one of those 'Pinpissed' things. I love taking pictures and looking at pictures."
Me: "When you are older you can have one."
Mags: "Like when I'm six and can get my ears pierced?"
Me: "No. You have to be older than that."
Mags: "Like as old as you?" 
Me: "Yes. As old as me."
Mags: "What? That's 100 million bazillion years from now. It won't even be here anymore."

This got me thinking.  What WILL be around when Maggie is 35? You know, in a million bazillion years. I'll hear my friends that are around my age say, 

"What did we EVER do without a cell phone on us at all times when we were growing up?"

It always makes me laugh because I think it's my generation's way of saying,

"We used to walk uphill to school, BOTH WAYS, in the snow." 

It's true, though. There are so many ways to connect with people in this day and age. As much as I have fought it, I have given in to a few more ways. I'm officially on Pinterest and LinkedIn. I'm still building both my accounts...VERY SLOWLY...but I'm there.  And because that wasn't enough, Chris and I made a SECOND Pinterest account for our podcast of original children's stories, Night Light Stories.  Again, we're working on building our 'boards' over there, but we'd love to connect with all of you. 

As for Mags, we'll just have to wait and see what is to come in the next 30 years. For now, I'll just pin her pictures on my 'According to Mags' board. 

You know, 'pin' worthy pictures, like this one...

Emergency Numbers Make Me Nervous

Tuck: "Hey, Mama, I don't know what this is, but I just bit down really hard and then I heard a crunch and so I reached back and pulled this piece of tooth out of the back of my mouth."
Me: "In the back?  Open up and let me see."
Tuck: "I think it's bleeding." (opens mouth wide, blood pooling in the back of his mouth)
Me: "Oh. Yes. Wow. Yep. That's bleeding. Let's get you some gauze or a roll of toilet paper."
Tuck: "Nooooo, Mama. You're silly."
Me: (mumbling to self) "Nope...I'm serious."

Last week I wrote a post about the puke-a-thon that happened in our house while Chris was away. As if that wasn't exciting enough, there was also an incident with Tuck's tooth that happened the same exact time Mags started to toss her cookies all over the place. This is how it went down. 

Mags puked. Soon after, Tuck presented me with his bloody mouth and piece of what appeared to be his back molar. At some point in the past few months his six-year-old molars had erupted. After explaining to me that he was sitting on the sofa far away from Miss Pukes-A-Lot when he bit down, felt something weird, reached back and pulled out the piece of what he had handed to me. Along with a lot of blood. The mouth bleeds a lot.  

After texting and Facebook messaging a few friends (one being a dental hygienist), I was told to have him rinse with salt water and call the emergency number on the dentist's answering machine. I hate emergency numbers because I never know if "my emergency" is good enough. I know. I'm weird. You should have seen me moan and groan about calling the OB/GYN when I was contracting like a mad woman and obviously in active labor. I always feel like I'm bothering people. Again. I'm weird.

Anyway, I called. The dentist was very kind, especially it being a Friday night, and listened to what I described to him. We determined that it was, in fact, from his PERMANENT six-year-old molar. His next words were simple. 

"I need him at the office at 8:30AM so I can check him."  

We were told to do some more salt water swishing in the meantime. As we're in the bathroom doing this, Mags walks in, leans over the toilet and pukes. I was happy it was at least going in the toilet. Tuck heard the sound and spit out the bloody salt water all over my arm. Mags, thinking she was finished, leaned into me. It turned out she wasn't finished as she began to puke again...all over me.  

Short story long, we made it to the dentist in the morning after a very long and puke-tastic night. Mags was hanging over a bucket in the car, but didn't puke the whole drive to the emergency dental visit. The dentist got us right back and took a look at Tuck's tooth. There was a lot of "Hmmm's" and rechecking the piece of "tooth" I had brought in a bag with us. Finally he explained to me what was happening. 

It turns out that your jaw bone thins and "shed" to prepare for the permanent molars to erupt. Sometimes, a piece of the shed jaw bone will hitch a ride on the erupting tooth as it moves through the gum. That is what popped out first through Tuck's gum. And because it was a larger piece, it cut his gum up, causing all the blood. The tooth itself looked fine. BIG. HUGE. SIGH. OF. RELIEF. I felt better. Tuck felt better. After a few texts to Chris explaining the situation, he felt better. 

And Mags...well...let's just say that bucket came in 

handy the whole ride home. 

CAPTION THIS

This picture is BEGGING for a caption. 

I'd love it if you'd leave one in the comments below.

Ready. Set. Go! 

Haiku Friday

Mags: "Mama, I just wish I could breath right again."

Germs taking over

The house scoured with Clorox

Fresh breezes come soon.

A linkup with LouCeel over at Haiku Friday. 

Thanks to Kir for posting about it! 

It's a Valentine's ScaVINEger Hunt

Tuck: "Mama, will you be my valentine?"
Me: "Of course I will!"
Mags: "Hey! What about me?"
Tuck: "You can have Daddy."
Mags: "No way. Daddy just tooted. Mama can have him!"

My husband is known for his creative gifts. He spends time researching ideas and then making sure he does his best to keep it a surprise. This involves NOT involving Mags, who is the queen of spilling the beans. Valentine's Day in our house is just about showing a little bit more appreciation than usual. My husband knows that it's the little things that make the biggest impression on me. 

This year is no different. I opened my Twitter this morning to find a tweet from him. He is using a fairly new program from Twitter called Vine. It allows you to take a 6 second stop motion video. He used it in order to lead me to my presents.

What did I get you ask? Well, click on each link and it will show you where I had to go and what I found. 

Chris Bugaj ‏@attipscast

Dear @AccordingToMags Happy Valentine's Day! Come find your first present! #Vinetine http://bit.ly/YtHhZQ  @USATODAYlife

Chris Bugaj ‏@attipscast

Dear @AccordingToMags here is your clue to find your second#Vinetine gift! Enjoy! http://bit.ly/YtHcFs  @USATODAYlife

Chris Bugaj ‏@attipscast

Okay @accordingtomags time to find your third present for #VinetineDay! http://vine.co/v/brhBaFW7zIz 

Chris Bugaj ‏@attipscast

Ready for your fourth #Vinetine Day present @accordingtomags ? Come get it! @usatoday http://vine.co/v/brhmVl71L2u 

Chris Bugaj ‏@attipscast

And here is number 5! Come find it for #Vinetine Day@accordingtomags ! @usatoday http://vine.co/v/brhqiEL1aew 

Chris Bugaj ‏@attipscast

Homer Simpson wants you to find your sixth present for #vinetineday @accordingtomags http://vine.co/v/brMBxZqEzXQ 

Chris Bugaj ‏@attipscast

Well @accordingtomags here is where you will find present 7 for#Vinetine Day http://vine.co/v/brMFQqbuPPg 

Last one @accordingtomags ! Wanna see what she got? Go tohttp://accordingtomags.com  to see her gifts! Happy...http://vine.co/v/brOHAnlxWaM 

I know. You're thinking, "Great. He got you eight bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs." But, I do have an addiction to these tasty little candies and I am so sad when they are taken off the shelves and my time with them is over. So, he got me extra bags to tide me over until...well...these won't last until next year. They may not last until next month, if I'm being perfectly honest. 

Thank you, Chris, for thinking of me and making it a fun day with these six second scavenger hunt videos. This was such a cute idea! 

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Little People

Mags: "Awww. Look at that baby dancing!"

Me: "That baby is you, Mags."

Mags: "Man, I was SO cute!"

As I was looking for a picture last night in our files, 

I came across this little gem. Mags was just about a year old in this video. 

Her dance to the "Little People" van song always made me laugh.

Feel free to dance along!

WAAAAAAIT! JUST ONE MORE THING BEFORE YOU GO! 

I'm in the running for this contest. I'd love any 

help you could give. It's simple! 

1. Click the frilly button below.

2. Scroll down to find According to Mags

3. Click "Vote". 

4. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 

And don't forget to vote for my girl, Michele, from Old Dog New Tits,  as well as Hot Mess Mom, and the lovely ladies of the  Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO VOTE!  EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

TODAY'S POST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LETTER 'R'

Mags: "Mama, look over heRe. I'm tuRning on the wateR all by myself!"

Something happened this week. Something big. Well, at least in our little world. Mags began saying her R's correctly. With Chris being a trained speech pathologist, I knew the time was coming when there would be no more "Tuckah" or "my tuwn". Mags was really starting to sound like <sniff> a big kid.  

The way she exaggerated the pronunciation was hilarious. Hearing it over and over was making it even more real. Then, just as I was about to lose it over her new found sound and melt like a puddle on the floor, I heard her sweet, little voice from the back seat call out, 

"Mama, can you tuRn 'Wittle Wed Wagon' on the radio, please?" 

She still hasn't mastered her R sound in the initial (beginning) position of the woRd. Her hand dimples may be fading and her cheeks may be thinning, but to me, she'll always be my baby. 

As we ran our errands, that song blared on the radio. It's one of our favorites from the popular kid's band, the Imagination Movers. You can watch the video below from their Rock-O-Matic DVD. 

And even though the guys sing it as "Little Red Wagon", 

our family will forever sing it as "Wittle Wed Wagon". 

IMAGINATION MOVERS | Little Red Wagon from Committee Films on Vimeo.

WAAAAAAIT! JUST ONE MORE THING BEFORE YOU GO! 

I'm in the running for this contest. I'd love any 

help you could give. It's simple! 

1. Click the frilly button below.

2. Scroll down to find According to Mags

3. Click "Vote". 

4. THANK YOU SO MUCH! 

And don't forget to vote for my girl, Michele, from Old Dog New Tits,  as well as Hot Mess Mom, and the lovely ladies of the  Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms.
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO VOTE!  EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

Professional Hockey Players vs. Toddlers

The Sabres' hockey game was on TV a few weekends ago.  Chris was excited because Tuck was really into it. Mags, however, was not impressed.

Mags: "They move too fast so I can't see where that puck thing is. Then, they fight over it. It's too much work to watch hockey. Who wants to play Barbies?"

After my recent post with the Professional Football Players vs. Moms chart, the above statement got me thinking about hockey. As I worked through the game in my head, I realized I needed to make a chart for this one, too. Enjoy!

PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY PLAYERS	TODDLERS
Have spaces where their teeth used to be.	Have spaces where their teeth are going to be.
Gets two minutes in the penalty box for being naughty.	Gets two minutes in the timeout chair for being naughty.
Starts a fight when someone steals their puck.	Starts a fight when someone steals their truck.
Works a power play to score a goal.	Works a power play to score a cookie.
Has multiple face offs with their opponent each game.	Has multiple face offs with their mom each day.
Pulls a hat trick by scoring three consecutive goals.	Pulls a hat trick by skipping three consecutive naps.
Makes a breakaway in order to score a goal.	Makes a breakaway in order to reach a goal.

http://accordingtomags.com                       @AccordingToMags

WAAAAAAIT! JUST ONE MORE THING BEFORE YOU GO! 

I'm in the running for this contest. I'd love any help you could give. It's simple and it ends Wednesday! 

1. Click the frilly button below.

2. Scroll down to find 'According to Mags.'

3. Click 'Vote.' 

4. THANK YOU SO MUCH!