From my dear friend, Brett:
Went over a practice test with my 7 year old. He did so well I had to tell him that his brain is growing… He just stuck a finger in his ear and said, “I don’t feel it.” Two steps forward, one step back?
Good morning! September is contest month here at the headquarters for all-things-random. Each Thursday this month, we will be announcing a new contest. We have GREAT prizes lined up from some of my favorite brands and close friends. We also have an additional prize of a $50 gift card from Amazon to one random person on our Facebook fan page. Our goal is to get to at least 100 fans. Once we do, we’ll give away a gift card. When we get to 150 fans, we’ll give away another card. So help spread the word. All you need to do is become a fan!
OK, to recap. Come back here every Thursday this month for a new contest. In the meantime, join us on Facebook and you’re automatically entered to win Amazon loot. Tell your friends to join us on Facebook; the more we have, the more Amazon loot we’ll give out.
Here’s what’s open in the browser:
SafeMama found and reviewed reusable produce bags. She cheerfully carts her reusable grocery totes to the store, but hates stuffing produce in the little plastic bags. Someone told her about these reusable produce bags, she tried ‘em, loves them, and tells you why. I’m sold and am going to get some myself.
Baby Ewok Halloween Costume. I like to plan ahead and I think this is PERFECT! Check out their Yoda and other Star Wars baby costumes, too. This will be my puddin’ pop’s FIRST Halloween!
Building a Green Home. My hubby and I are thinking of building a green house so I’m researching like mad. Here’s one site I’ve been checking out. More to come as this becomes my new obsession. (I have room for one more obsession, right?)
Just got an email about this contest from Benefit and Serena and Lily and I am all over it. I love, love, love Serena and Lily’s Wren nursery collection, but can’t, can’t, can’t afford it. Besides, I learned that you don’t need a bumper so all you really need are sheets. But I digress. There are plenty of GORGEOUS and usable items at Serena and Lily. And I happen to love Benefit cosmetics. I use their Benetint and High Beam on my cheeks all the time. Trying to go for the J-Lo glow.
Anyhow, the contest ends Sept. 8th. No purchase necessary. Just fill out this form and good luck!
My friend, Ruthie, sent me a link to this video from Pamper’s. It’s an AWESOME look at what it feels like to be a kid being told he or she is about to get a sibling. Unfortunately, I can’t find it on YouTube so I can’t embed the video here. Gasp! You have to click this link to view it. Well worth the effort though.
They are hosting a series of Back-to-School giveaways at 5MinutesForMom. You have to enter each contest separately, but it’s as simple as leaving a comment. Contest ends August 28th (tomorrow) so get to steppin’!
Some of the prizes include:
Speaking of contests, don’t forget to check back here Monday. We’ll be announcing a series of contests for the entire month of September. We have some GREAT prizes lined up, including some of my favorite baby clothing lines.
Just saw this great contest at Health Begins with Mama. You can win a great eco-friendly toy from AllChildren’s Furniture. Just check out the great toys, leave a comment on her blog, and you’re entered to win. Hurry, though! Contest ends at midnight tomorrow.
Speaking of contests, make sure and check back here Monday. We are going to be announcing a month of contests for September. We have some great prizes lined up!
Doesn’t my bare bottom make my eyes look even bluer? 
Looking for more great photos? Grab a cup of tea or coffee and check out these sites that host more Wordless Wednesday entries: SevenClownCircus, 5MinutesforMom, and WordlessWednesday.
My husband’s cholesterol is a teeny bit high so his doctor prescribed a glass of red wine every night. He calls it his “medicine.” And it makes him tipsy. After half a glass. I teased him about this one night and he protested, while sloshing his glass about and you know how this ends, right? He spilled it all over the carpet. So I won the argument but our carpet was the unfortunate casualty of that war.
I did what any good Googler would do and searched for how to remove red wine stains from carpet. I came across this bizarre recipe. Mix a little Dawn with hydrogen peroxide, pour it on the stain, and presto! Stain disappears. The magic formula is to use more peroxide than Dawn apparently. Not an exact science, in other words.
We tried it and it worked. I was skeptical so I didn’t take before and after pictures. You’ll just have to take my word for it. It also worked on old spit-up stains. (Seems I’m always discovering new corners of the house my son has blessed with his stomach contents.) We did not have Dawn and used 7th Generation dish washing liquid instead.
This is part of the Works for Me Wednesday series. More great tips at WeAreThatFamily. Hope this works for you!
Oh, Tommy, Tommy . . . you know how people are always warning you that Facebook is going to sell your photos and use them without your permission for ads? (Not true, by the way.) Here’s Tommy’s parody on his update:
WARNING: Facebook is giving away your first born to Norwegian Scientologists!!!!! Go to “Privacy Settings” and right under where it says “Sperm and Egg Donation” change from “Just Friends” to “HELL NO!”
Let’s say you’re craving Indian food at 2:30 and can’t remember if that restaurant you like closes at 2:00 for lunch. You’re in your car, you’re pre-menstrual, and don’t have the number. What do you do? It’s simple, Nancy Drew. Simply send a text message to Google (466453) with the restaurant name and city and they will text you back the phone number. (Which, if you’re on a smart phone, you can probably just click on to dial.) Or let’s say you’re out and about and in the mood to see a movie but don’t know what’s playing or even what theaters are nearby. Simply text Google with the word “movies” and your zip code or city and they’ll kindly text you back the theaters, movies, and times. Oh, and Google SMS (Short Messaging Service a/k/a “text”) is FREE.
OK, but let’s say you’re pre-menstraul, craving Indian, AND your thumbs hurt too much to text. That’s o.k., Princess. Just CALL Google: 1 (800) GOOG-411 and tell them what you need. It’s like the old directory service 411 call, only it’s free. They’ll tell you the number, or connect you directly, and they’ll even text you the number for future reference.
You literally have the world at your fingertips.
I think Adrienne should write a book. She comes up with the BEST updates!
This is something I wish someone had told me. I had no idea how many bibs I would need before the baby started eating solid foods! When my sister gave me a bunch of hand-me-downs, I went through and boxed up half of the stuff for Goodwill, including a lot of bibs. Thank goodness I saved some! I remember thinking, why did she send me so many bibs? If you have a spitter or a drooler (I had both), you’ll find it’s a lot easier to change a bib than an outfit. In the heaviest drool months, my son would literally soak 4-5 bibs a day.
So let’s talk about bibs. You’ve spent all this time and money buying cute clothes, only to cover them up with an enormous, ugly bib. Cuz most of them are ugly. Or have dumb sayings on them. So buy matching bibs whenever you can. Or mix-and-match them. (Zutano is great for this, too.) Buy more than you think you’ll need. Repeated washings will wear out the Velcro closure tabs.
Some manufacturers make teeny tiny newborn bibs. Those are great for about 3 months, but then you’ll need regular sized bibs. And when they start solid foods, you’ll want plastic-y bibs for easy wipe downs after meals. Most of those plastic bibs are HUGE and I think are made for toddlers. I found an Etsy seller who makes laminate-covered bibs that are just the right size for an infant. She doesn’t have a lot listed in her shop; just email her and she’ll tell you what fabrics she can make them in. She’s made two for me.
So Kate, next time you’re at the store, BUY BIBS. Trust me on this one. All right, let’s roll the bib photo show, shall we? Happy Monday!
See the drool on the chin? About to soak his bib!
It would appear that my friend Tommy is trying to kick his Coke habit. (Coca-Cola, you turds!) Here was his first FB update about it:
Yesterday I gave up Coke. As a native Atlantan, this was hard to do…but, with your help….and Coke Zero…I can do it!
Followed the next day by this one:
Ew. Anyone who “just likes” the taste of Diet Coke probably also ate rocks and dirt as a kid. Jus’ sayin’…
I’m guessing they didn’t carry Coke Zero at whatever restaurant he was at.
I’m in a loving mood this morning. Here’s what caught my eye this week:
I love Tim Gunn. I wish he were a relative, that cool uncle who always brings something fabulous to Thanksgiving dinner and entertains all the kids with stories of his world travels. Thank goodness Project Runway is back! When you’re not watching the show, check out their site. You can send a personalized greeting from Tim to your friends’ cell phones. I sent several to friends yesterday. It’s a hoot. Try it yourself! (Oh and don’t tell me what happened; we recorded it to watch over the weekend.)
I also love Jonathan Adler. If it’s orange and on this page, I want it.
I love Becoming-Mom. Her blog is full of great resources and right now, she’s sharing everything she learned about making the perfect cake for her son’s 1st birthday. I just watched the video from the party and cried. I can’t believe my baby’s going to be one in a few months! I told my husband how amazing her party was and that ours would be nowhere near that good. I’m good, but not that good. Just sayin’. Creative, heartwarming, adorable; watch the video.
I heart Zutano. In case you haven’t heard. I’m still obsessing over the 50% off sale on Zutano clothes at BabySuperMall. I’m just so ticked off that they only carry up to 12 months. Cuz I would sooooo be loading up on new clothes for the munchkin! Because I featured so many of their boy designs, here’s my favorite new girl print for those of you with baby girls (or girls on the way – Kate!).
Things I’m NOT lovin’? Jon Gosselin. Or Kate, for that matter. I wish their 15 minutes were up.
Random Neural Firings is a brain dump of sorts, with tidbits and pieces (some useful, some funny and some just because) of the content that make up my life.
When I worked in t.v., I used to joke that someday I’d own a production company called “Random Neural Firings,” or “RNF” for short. It seemed appropriate given how random the creative process can be sometimes, plus it suited my restless nature. My best friend has dubbed me a fountain of useless knowledge. My husband calls me Research Girl. And my son . . . well my son can’t talk yet but I’m eager to learn what he’ll call me.
So here I am, putting my RNFs out for the world to enjoy (or mock, if you prefer). This is stuff I’m interested in. The stuff people call me up and ask for help on. The random stuff I cram in my head just because it interests me at the time.
When I’m not wiping spit-up off my clothes, I run a marketing company, and spend time with my wonderful husband. We married late in life (I was 41), had a baby at 43 (my first!), and like all new parents, wonder if we’ll ever get a full night’s sleep again. I kissed a lot of frogs before I found my prince, but better late than never as the saying goes.
–Sherean
I work in marketing so I know the value of creating a niche. I set out to write a mommy blog but there are thousands and frankly, most of them are better than mine! I mean, who are we kidding? I’ve only been a mom for a few months. I thought about writing a gift blog because people are often contacting me for gift advice. But again, there are people who do that way better than I could. Who has time to shop with a newborn?
So what I decided to do instead was write a blog about whatever happens to catch my eye at the time. Most of the women I know are famous multi-taskers so I figure most of you know what it’s like to flip from fashion to decorating to figuring out what to do for the kids’ birthday parties. And juggle work, and a marriage and a household, all while never missing an episode of American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance (thanks to the magic of DVR technology).
Welcome to my mommy, er, gift, er decorating, er pop culture blog. It’s random. I hope you’ll comment and enjoy!
One other note: we are currently not accepting advertising and do not do sponsored posts. EVERYTHING I review is something I’ve tried personally, know someone who has tried, or have thought about trying. (Meaning, it’s on my list of things to buy!) If I ever do a sponsored review, you will know it, and I’ll tell you exactly what I think of it.
