MumsTheWurdUnique finds for hip parents and cool kids

Lennon’s been riding in STYLE lately.  A couple of months ago, he received a Britax Boulevard CS, which is not only the most comfortable looking carseat I’ve laid eyes on, but one of the safest on the market.

Features include:

• Click & Safe Harness Adjuster “clicks” when the harness straps are snug as an audible aide to help determine when the harness is snugly secure
• True Side Impact Protection distributes crash forces, shields from vehicle intrusion, contains the head and body, and minimizes side-to-side head movement
• Quick-Adjust Headrest and Harness re-positions head support and harness height effortlessly without having to rethread the straps
• Higher Forward-Facing Seat Capacity allows children to remain harnessed up to 65 pounds
• Tangle-Free, Five-Point Harness for a snug and secure fit
• Premium Push-Button LATCH Connectors for a quick, simple and tight installation
• Patented Versa-Tether anchors top of seat to minimize movement in a crash
• Rear- and Forward-Facing Recline for child comfort and positioning
• Made in the U.S.A. with US and global components

I’ve never fancied myself a photographer. The pictures I’ve taken on this blog have been from my trusty point & shoot digital that we got in 2004. Well, clearly the times have changed, and the camera that cost $300 in 2004 is as dead as the dinos. Yesterday, I got a new point & shoot…but it’s so much more. Since I’m so phone savvy now, I will call this camera the “smart point and shoot”. The Sony Cyber-Shot is so much more sophisticated than the ol’ T-Rex we have. This will find a smile, for goodness sake!

I still have a lot to learn about this camera…but my camera needs are simple. I want something that will take great pictures of my kids. Pictures that are not blurry, and pictures that are not grainy. This camera can fulfill that wish! Compare, and prepare to be amazed!

Left: Sony Cyber-Shot; Right: Insert Losing sound from a Game Show here.

We mums sometimes like to focus on those that made it possible to be “Mums”…the Dads! I’ll admit, E$ and I are not all that into technology as far as gadgets go. We heart our iPods and our 3 Tivos, but when it comes to phones and doing anything aside from talking on one occasionally, be it “land line” (we actually have a rotary dial phone!) or cell, we’re sort of in the stone ages. However, when I got the Motorola Q, I must say, I was pretty stricken by the technology bug. I did REALLY important things with the Q, like checking gmail, making videos of my kids, and Twittering. There are probably lots of dads out there that really love these devices (in other words, someone that might actually use the phone for an actual purpose. ) You can check your email, listen to some tunes, watch YouTube videos, get business calls, and take pictures of your little ones. What more do you need in a phone?! If you’re in the market for a last minute Father’s Day gift, consider the Q for that gadget loving Dad!

I generally do no print out my digital photos. Reason being, I take A LOT…of digital photos. It’s very hard for me to choose which ones to print when I have five of the same shot. Besides, I took a break from real scrapbooking when I realized all of the cool things you can do with digital photos online or just with programs on your computer.

I broke down and took a disc of pictures to my local Meijer yesterday to take a stab at an photo creation. I’ve been eying up the HP Photo Center kiosks (photo on left) there for some time and never really thought about taking the time to make something.

I can say now that I’m glad I did and I will definitely continue making more. The process was painless and fortunately, there was a store employee there to guide me through, in case I needed help. If you decide to try out this neat way of making photo gifts, here are my recommendations:

• Before you go to the store, organize your pictures. My project consisted of about 100 photos and I could have saved time doing this before-hand. For instance, if you’re going to create a photo book, arrange your photos on your computer at home. Give the pictures filenames that will ensure they stay in a specific order. Choose only the photos you want to include in your photo book.
• Save your photos to a disc or memory card. The HP kiosks accept CDs, multiple size memory cards and USB drives.

Your pictures will be loaded onto the kiosk at the store (they will be deleted after you finish your project). Chose your photo creation. Pick from calendars, photo books, mouse pads, mugs, etc. Some creations are ready within an hour and some take more time. I felt that the prices were really reasonable too. I create a personal calendar for my mom every year with photos that I take. Next year’s calendar will be created at Meijer using the HP Photo Center kiosk.

If you’re interested in learning more, you can check out this HP Photo Services Demo.

Find a location by clicking HERE. Hopefully there is one near you!

For a limited time, if you buy a 16×20 poster, you get one free! Click HERE for the coupon. I think this promotion ends on May 31st…so there isn’t much time left.

Leave us a comment and let us know if you’ve tried out the HP Photo Center kiosk and what project you created. We’d love to hear about it!

*In case you’re wondering…I’m really digging HP products right now! I’ve had my HP Pavilion dv6707 laptop for about three months and I LOVE it!

I’ve been using a 2nd generation Zune (launched November of 2007). Little miss pink (pictured above) traveled with me to Disney last month. When it comes to mp3 players, I like both Zune and iPod. They are only slightly different and I have my pros and cons about each player/software but if you’re contemplating purchasing an mp3 player and it comes down to either of the aforementioned, you’re going to get great quality either way you decide to go.

Zune comes in different colors and is available with a 4 gig, 8 gig or 80 gig storage option. I say the more storage, the better! Because if you’re anything like me, you don’t carry a “brag book” with you. Just sync your digital photos to the Zune and there ya have it, a portable photo album of the fam. The player also has an FM tuner, which is cool for local stuff. I really like the video display and quality, much better than the iPod (I’m not talking iPhone or iTouch here). Just recently, Zune updated its Marketplace and added an extensive video section where you can get download-to-own content from favorite tv shows like The Office and 30 Rock, to content partners like NBC, MTV, Comedy Central and so on.

The more I browse around the Zune Marketplace and and software, the more it’s growing on me. As an iPod owner, I’m so used to iTunes, so of course, this takes some getting used to. One nice option that Zune offers is their “Zune Pass“, where you get unlimited music for $14.99/mo. Can’t really beat that. There are also 5,000 podcasts available for download as well. I’ve even gotten “Social” on their website.

Overall, I think the Zune is a great product for the money and I would recommend checking one out.

I know, I know…this review is a bit “different” from the norm here on MumsTheWurd.com. But I have to be honest…I’m a digital photo buff and anyone who takes digital photos needs a means of printing them out. I also have a HUGE stack of pre-digital-age photos that need scanned and saved, otherwise, they are going to get yellow with age and I’m all about preserving my memories.

So, that being said. I’m really digging the new Epson Stylus CX8400 All in One printer/scanner/copier. No, no one is paying me to write this review. I have this printer and I LIKE it.

This all-in-one retails for around $99.99 but with a couple of instant rebates offered, you can get this baby for as low as $59.99, which makes for an affordable Christmas gift!

I’ve had a couple of different scanners/printers over the years and so far, this one runs smoothly and I haven’t had any trouble with it. The colors are vibrant and the individual ink cartridges retail between $12 and $17 at your local office supply store.

Of course, here are some notable features of the printer:

• Epson DURABrite Ultra Ink: It dries instantly.

• Auto Photo Correction with advanced face detection: If you aren’t a Photoshop pro, never fear! The printer is smart and can help you out with photo corrections needed prior to printing.

• Epson Easy Photo Fix: Great for scanning those old family photos that could use a “touch-up” or two.

• BorderFree Photo Printing: No perforations or edges to trim (hello, time saver?!)

The printer has met all of my needs thus far, whether it has been printing directions to a holiday party or scanning a receipt to print and send in for a rebate, it has worked as good as gold. I’ve been pleased with the quality of the photos I have printed as well.

The Epson Stylus CX8400 is definitely worth checking out!

*Epson was a part of our holiday scavenger blog hunt!