Well hello, you!

We are so happy to see your smiling faces (digitally imagined, of course), and want to wish you a WONDERFUL day (it's National Be Nice Day and we are laying it on thick...pass this word on to your kiddos and encourage them to partake)!

Now, let's get on with the show:

1. 👓 The quick and dirty on brown noise (no, not THAT 💩 brown noise)

2. 🤕 First there was dad bod...now we have to worry about dad brain, too?!

3. 🎃 Pumpkin delights

4. 🏷 Set your Amazon Prime weekend reminder!

(plus dashes of our own uniqueness - mom always did say I was special!)

(All ages)

Brown Noise = Brain Hugs?!

Yes indeed, this is EXACTLY how a YouTube commenter described this brown noise video (heads up, this joker is 8 hours long ). 

You may have seen the latest TikTok craze about brown noise and all of its claimed benefits. But, before we jump into all of the hype, let's give a quick backdrop.

What the heck is brown noise anyway? Well, thank you for asking. 

You have probably heard of white noise. Maybe even pink noise. The latest color sound to hit the scene though is brown noise (also called red noise..."You're killing me, smalls!")

We won't bore you to sleep (get it?!) here with all of the specifics of what each "noise" entails, but if you want to see a quick snip of what the differences are, check out the Sounds of Sleep article.

To put it short, brown noise distinguishes itself in the differences in bass, frequency, and deeper tones. Think of it as the deep surf sound of the beach or a not-so-near waterfall. Some even describe it as the low tones of thunder or like being in a wind tunnel. The bottom line is that the pizazz is in the rumble. 

Back to TikTok: many are touting that brown noise is the hidden secret for the busy mind. It's being social media "prescribed" for treating ADHD, anxiety, better focus and concentration, and even sleep. Maybe even tennitus. 

What do the real psychology and sleep experts have to say? Unfortunately, there just isn't enough information out yet to give it a green light for the healthcare crew to start writing the brown noise scripts. 

All that to say, brown noise isn't being tossed to the side either. 

LOTS of different frequencies can be relaxing, help with focus, promote sleep, and the like. This DEFINITELY includes brown noise. 

Final thoughts? Try it for yourself and your kiddos! Think of it as one more tool in your parenting toolkit for helping to calm a "wild child", maybe get a little bit more focus when trying to finish up that evening homework and everything is suddenly the next shiny object, or perhaps even promote a good night sleep for the restless bunch. 

You can check out an example of brown noise (8 hours worth) in the first link of the first line of this section, or, if that just isn't enough, I've added another video below for a cool 10 hours of chill. 🤓

Happy listening to your favorite color! 🎧

(All ages)

Science Shows "Dad Brain" is for Real

Safest opening line ever - moms have the hardest job and take the biggest toll on both their body and brain (particularly sanity, but that's another discussion altogether).

There, I said it. 

But now, science is showing that dads aren't exactly getting off easy with being a parent. 

Similar to the opposite sex, dads undergo some interesting hormonal changes, particularly in the first months of being a newly minted parent.

They tend to have less circulating testosterone (thought to help diminish any potential underlying wired male aggression), and also experience changes in glucocorticoids (the inflammation and immune hormones), estrogen, and oxytocin (particularly those men who are more affectionate toward their children).  

Research has also shown that fathers' brains shrink some after becoming a parent (cue the jokes from the spouses - "he can't afford to lose any more brain cells from what little he already has" 😜).

Now, to claw back some of the pride, we see that these changes are actually beneficial:

• Changes in the "social brain" helping to better understand feelings

• Alterations in the cortex for "higher-order" processing needed for fatherhood

• Visual network shifts to pick up on non-verbal cues and comprehending needs

Maybe it's safe to say that we can embrace the "dad-brain" (hopefully that mental fog of parenting will eventually clear). 

Embracing the dad-bod? Eh, let's save that for another day and just keep hammering out reps and runs in the meantime. 

Just for Giggles 😆

Man, we love a good meme!

Now I know that I am not the only parent that has children who's only speed becomes backwards when we are in a hurry and trying to get out of the house...

Oh, it's about to go down. *takes a deep breath and picks up with karaoke mic*

Bring on the yum! 😋

Yep, it's officially October. And who would we be to not tout a few of our favorite pumpkin treats?! (What's cookin' gourd lookin'?! Please don't unsubscribe 😜)

Need an easy pumpkin dessert for the friends and fam this weekend? Not only are these two recipes crazy simple to make, but everyone will be asking how you managed to find the time to labor in the kitchen so long over them. (Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone 🤐)

Let us know which one is your fav! We definitely can’t pick just one. 

Deals, steals, and money-saving thrills 🤑

Look, we are your friends. We have your back. Ride or die, ya know what I'm saying?!

✅All that to say, we aren't about to let you forget that Amazon Prime Day is fast approaching, like in a few days. That would be October 11-12 if you missed the last issue (go ahead and mark those calendars, hunnie). AND, it's still early access for Prime members so hit it up. 

Don't say we weren't looking out for you when your neighbor's front door looks like a brown smiley box convention.

Alright, what's next you ask?

For my credit card homies (if you aren't using credit cards, responsibly of course, and taking advantage of points...jeez, I may have to create a course to teach you 🤔):

✅ Are you a Chase card user? If so, here are some of my fav current offers: 👇🏽

• $6 back on ABCMouse subscriptions (spend $12.99 or more)

• $5 back on Amazon Prime purchase (spend $14.99 or more; see above for Prime baby!)

• 20% back at Disney + (on subscription; remember Hocus Pocus 2 just dropped!)

Last, but not least:

✅ Target's "Deal Days" starts October 6 and runs through October 8! Plus, how about this: Target will enact their Holiday Price Match Guarantee starting October 6 -- meaning that you can request a price adjustment on your purchase during Deal Days if it happens to drop lower anytime between then and December 24th. (cha-ching)

Say what?! 📣

Random finds from across the web to satisfy your non-parenting knowledge thirst!

• Well, well, what have we here, Ludwig? Get those little genius ears ready as Apple looks to be launching a dedicated classical music app in the near future. 🎻

• Way to clean it up, Lego Company! Interestingly, the Danish-toy maker has been in clean tech for ~10 years and is soon rolling out a new solar-powered plant in the U.S.

• McDonald's is now offering the Adult Happy Meal, with toys. It's a collab with fashion brand Cactus Plant Flea Market which accounts for the bizarre new Grimace, HamBurglar, and Birdie. (call me old, but the new version makes my eyes hurt 🙃)

• “You lit the black flamed candle?” We know you guys love Hocus Pocus, but are you enough of a super fan to try this out?

Fun upcoming "National Day of" celebrations:

• 🍜 October 6: National Noodle Day AND National Mad Hatter Day (nice!!!)

• 👊🏽 October 10: National Kick Butt Day (get out there and carpe that diem!)

• 🚜 October 11: Farmer's Day (sacrifice and hard work--be sure to thank one!)

Questions for the Crew! 😎

Thoughts on Hocus Pocus 2?:

• SO well done and we all know sequels can be sketch. My only real misgivings were that I noticed Mary's jaw was crooked the other way from the first movie (Najimy explains here and I love that she talks about it) and Sarah's makeup was super distracting...shame it was a miss as I loved her in the first one! - Z

• Hocus Pocus 2 is that perfect mixture of 90s nostalgic Disney and today's witty humor that I love. I would say 5/5 stars because it was simply able to live up to all of the hype and anticipation that was being built around it. - I

• Amazing! I was slightly skeptical because the first one is a classic, but I LOVED it! Am I the only one who noticed that Dani’s costume in the original movie resembles Mother Witch’s dress in the sequel? And how about that little golden egg they dropped in after the credits? 👀 - J

What is the most interesting thing you have seen/read/heard this week:

• I'm a huge nerd (surprise, I know 🤓), but I have been fascinated digging into AI this week (note that I used DALL-E to create two images for this week's newsletter!) and seeing that there were 2.5M NEW millionaires created in the US in 2021. Put that in your economy pipe and smoke it! 💪🏽 -Z

• I have been eyeballing new carseats and am really feeling the 360-degree models that make getting kids in and out of the vehicles so much easier. Why didn't we have these sooner?! - I

• Okay so fun fact about me, I love a good random fact (maybe that’s the nerd in me, Z!). Did you know Dr.Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham on a bet? I read this week that his publisher bet him fifty bucks that he couldn’t write a book using 50 words or less! Money goes to Dr.S on this one! 💵-J

How did we do?! 🤔

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EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON.

Thank you again for subscribing and we can't wait to hear from you!

TTFN! (that's "ta-ta for now" for any of you non-Winnie the Pooh fans)