Fish Eye, Macro, and Wide Angle Lens Kit my MPOW #Review #MpowSupremeFishEyeForSmartPhone

     Okay, I'm super excited about this, so I'm just going to get right into it.  They make the PERFECT stuffer for anyone with a cell phone or tablet.  It's a small kit, entertains for hours on end and actually works!  What am I talking about?  It's this awesome Wide Angle, Macro, and Fish Eye Lens set by MPOW.  You've got to check this out.

     Okay, so what you do is you take the little clippy lens and put it over your phone or tablet's camera eye.  It acts as a camera lens would to give certain effects.  I've seen these around for a while, but I had no idea it could be so fun!  So here's how our pictures came out.

     First, the Wide Angle.  Not the funnest, but it helps when you're too close to your subject and have no room to step back.  This lens makes it look like you backed up five feet.  It's pretty awesome.

     Here's a sample of what we got with the fish eye.  It's a little more fun than the wide angle.  It's not an overly powerful effect, but it's fun all the same.  It makes it look like a reflection on a spherical object.

     Easily our favorite and one we spent hours having a blast with is the macro lens.  It's the one that we actually were pretty disappointed with at first because we got nothing but blurry shots.  Turns out you have to put the lens right on or just hovering the object you're taking a picture of.  Once we figured that out, we had so much fun.  Check out the photos we got with it:

     How awesome is that!?  I wish I could show you all of the cool pictures we got.  We tried everything from cucumber stems to dollar bills.  One of my favorites was a smear on my bedroom window.  I have no idea what it is, but it doesn't come off.  I'm thinking it might be glue.  I'd show you that one, but the toddler ran off with my phone so he can watch Gummy Bears.  Sorry about that.

     Anyways, obviously I fully recommend this set, it's so much fun and also useful.  Oooh!  That just gave me an idea!  MOLD!  I bet that looks awesome up close.  The fuzzy kind, you know..?  Okay, anyway, I recommend it, it would make an awesome gift.  If you have Amazon Prime, you can definitely get it before Christmas for about $20.  Not bad.
     Which lens do you think you'd like the most?
     To learn more, check out MPOW on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Amazon, and on their website, XMPOW.com

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

#BornandBeyond 12 Month Baby Photography Sticker Set of 24 #Review

     I had such big hopes for being a mom.  I was going to handmake every costume, every year.  I was going to do belly casts and hand molds every year.  I was going to mark their heights on the same chart all growing up, so they could keep it when they grow up and mark their own children on it... so many things that I wanted to do.  And baby books... Now I know why mine was so empty.  Have I even written anything in Boogs...?  I don't think I have.  Too busy living to write down our memories, I guess :(

     And sometimes I look back at baby photos and I have no idea how old my kids were when it was taken.  Like this one of Baby Bee in the shadows.  I vaguely remember waiting for the bus when I took it, but was that at the end of the year, when she was only a month or so... or was it at the beginning, when she was closer to 3 1/2 months.  She was so tiny for so long, it's hard to know.  If I had to go back and find a photo of one of my kids when they were about, say, 8 months old, I'd be hard pressed to find one.  I just have no idea.

     There are so many things that I never thought to do until I had no time to do them.  One of those things was monthly photos.  I tried to do a one year shoot for each kid, but I slacked on Boogie.  The set up and the prop finding, it wasn't something that I wanted to do again.  I rationalized it by telling myself that he;s a boy and he won't care.  He probably won't.  But nowadays with cool monthly stickers, like this set of 24 first year stickers from Born and Beyond, you don't need set-up.  Just stick it on and find a nice spot, preferably the same spot every time cause that would be an extra nice touch.

      The stickers are a nice size, they'd be able to be seen and read in the photos.  The number is nice and large while the "months" is smaller.  Each design is unique to each other, though they all have the rainbow on top and flowers in various colors on the left side.  They are fairly unisex, though there are some pinks in there.  Each month has a different animal.

     The stickers are made to be anti-reflective for the purpose of taking photos.  And just in case your baby takes the sticker off or rips it, the package comes with two of each.  Plus, you know... if you have twins, two would be super useful anyway.

      I think these stickers make a great addition to any baby shower gift.  They are versatile and can be used for things such as scrap booking and the like.  And obviously the anti-glare feature works because there isn't a bunch of reflective shine off of the stickers, despite being semi-gloss.  So I recommend them for anyone who's about to have a baby or knows someone who is about to.

      Do you know someone who's about to have a baby?

     To learn more, check out Born and Beyond on Amazon.    

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Gadgin Bluetooth Remote Shutter #Review #BlueToothRemoteControl

     You know how selfie sticks are all the rage right now?  I tried my best not to like them, but it's a pretty awesome device.  As an avid photographer, it always pained me a little that I couldn't be a part of the photos.  Here my kids are having a blast at this event and the next, and there was nothing to show how much fun I had WITH them.  And although I don't think I would ever have the bravery to use them in public.  But in an apple orchard, out hiking, anywhere where we are essentially "alone", darn right I will break it out.

     But what about when I'm out and I don't want to use the stick?  I could have my kids take the photos.  They aren't bad if you like fuzzy pictures.  Every time they go to hit the shutter button, they move the phone and it's just enough to get a blurry shot that's off to the side.  And when they do manage to hold it still, sometimes they have trouble hitting the shutter button.  If it's not hit just right, the camera app will pop up a menu instead, then I have to help them get out of the menu before they can try hitting the shutter again.  It;s not always frustrating, but it'd be cool if they could just aim and hold it still, while I shoot so they don't end up like the picture above.

     Now they can, cause I have the Gadgin Bluetooth Remote Shutter.  It allows you, much like a selfie stick, to take a photo without touching the camera.  There are remote shutters for regular cameras, but I've never seen a blue tooth style shutter for phones and tablets before.  This is awesome!

      So we tested it out, of course, and it definitely did not disappoint.  Let me explain this first:  This button is created to turn the volume up, so you'll need a camera app that allows you to change the settings.  You'll need to go into the settings and make sure that the 'volume up' button works as a shutter.  I am using the Selfie Shop app, though it's always crashing on me and I heard that Camera 360 is great if your device is compatible.

     So here's how it works:
     You flip the switch on the side of the remote that turns it on, then you make sure that your device is connected to the shutter via blue tooth connection, then open your camera app and shoot away!  Every time the button was pressed, it took a photo, no hiccups, no problems.  It just works.

     The kids thought it was the funnest thing.  We took turns using the shutter to randomly take photos when other people were holding the phone.  Boogie especially thought it was strange, he asked the phone (politely of course) to shut up when it wouldn't stop making the shutter noise without him touching it.  The photo above is a photo that Streaker took of herself, she loves the remote shutter.

     It comes with an instruction manual, a cool wrist strap, the remote, and a little black drawstring bag, and an extra battery because it is not rechargeable.  The wrist strap is super handy and keeps the remote from being lost.   The remote itself is about two inches long and really light.  It could easily be added to a key chain.

     I definitely recommend this for anyone who uses their phone a lot to take photos.  And if you pair it with a phone tripod or tripod phone attachment (as low as $5-6 on Amazon with Prime shipping), it would make a great gift!  Do you take a lot of photos with your phone?
     To learn more, check out Gadgin on Amazon.

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

#Digistick #SelfieStick Selfie Monopod #Review

     I tried not to like it, I did.  When Selfie Sticks became all the rage, just like any other trend, I try my best not to involve myself and be a sheep.  Then one day, I thought I'd try to get one and see what it;s all about.  As a product tester, I often think that.  And when days and weeks went by and no one wanted to let me test one, I felt a bit rejected, but also determined.  Instead of trying to see if one or two companies might let me try one out, I just asked all of them.  And by golly, I really wanted one, just to see what all the fuss was about.

     So HUGE thank you to TechSavvy for once again showing me how much happier I could be if I just gave in to fads already.  Yup, that's right.  Just like Twilight, just like rainbow colored hair, just like The Walking Dead... this too, I love.  And I did try so hard not  to.  But the Digistick has so many applications beyond enabling someone's vanity.

      The whole idea behind one of these is to get the phone further away so that you can properly take photos that include yourself.  You know how sometimes you will be at an event, say a hay ride... and you REALLY want a photo of you and your kids or of you and your boyfriend, but you don't want to pose while some stranger uses your phone to take an awkward photo of you..?  THAT is the situation that these were created for.

     I like to think it was also created for us moms who just like to be in the photos with our kids.  A little proof that we were actually part of their lives, you know?  That's what I plan to use it for.  Day at the beach?  Group shot!  Apple picking?  Group shot!  Need a new Facebook cover photo?  Yup, group shot!

     Now, don't get me wrong, I love taking photos of my kids.  They are my favorite subject.  But sometimes I go to grab a good photo of me and one of my kids just to realize that the last good one is over a year old.  So to be able to be in the photos that I take is awesome.  What I love most is that in most of them, it doesn't even look like a selfie.  It looks like someone else took it.

      Now, I will warn you... getting the Digistick to work was frustrating as heck.  Turns out that most selfie sticks can't work directly with the original camera on the cell phone.  All it does is turn the volume up or zoom in.  So I had to download a couple different camera apps before I found one that worked.  And this one does crash on me from time to time, but that's the app's fault.  Or maybe it's my phone;s fault.  The app is called SelfiShop.  In that app, you can go into the camera settings and choose to set the volume up button as the shutter.  So as soon as I did that, it worked perfectly.

      I also love that the kids can use it themselves.  Just today, I looked over to see my 2 year old taking selfies, it was the cutest thing.  And Streaker took one of herself while hanging upside down on the swings.  Baby Bee had some trouble holding it up, but even she managed to take a pretty cute one of herself.  God forbid that anything should ever happen to any of my children, those will be the photos that I cherish the most.

     Since I haven't mentioned it yet, here's a quick run down of how you use it.  First you do that irritating thing with the app, unless you are lucky and have a camera that has setting adjustments already in it.  After, you press and hold the camera button on the Digistick for three seconds until it blinks blue and turns on.  Then, you go into your Bluetooth settings and make sure that the phone is connected to the Digistick.  When that is done, place the phone into the holder, pull the telescopic monopod to the desired length, point and press the camera button once quickly to take a photo.   When done, press and hold the camera button for another three seconds until it blinks and shuts off.

     I also haven't mentioned what comes in the box.   You get the Digistick, an extra wrist strap, a carabiner, and instructions.  Personally, I don't think we really need the extra strap or the carabiner, but I'm not complaining, my phone now has a cool strap.

     In all seriousness, the Digistick is my new favorite take-along possession right after my DSLR.  I love it, I double love it.  And I don't even really use it for selfies, not in the traditional sense.  I recommend it for sure.  Do you have a selfie stick?
     To learn more, check out TechSavvy Co. on their website or on Amazon.


Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Chatbooks Instagram Photo Book #Review #ChatbookBlogger

     My main passion in life is my kids.  I may struggle and deal with lots of frustration, anger, and sadness sometimes because of them, but I would never want to go through life without having kids, especially the ones that I have.  I am a mom, through and through.  I'm not Tiffany, I am my children's mother.  And maybe some people think that losing myself and my identity for the sake of my children is sad.  But I just don't think that there is anything about myself that I love more than the children I have raised, despite their flaws.  It's not the only part of me and I am aware that there is more to me than them, it's just the part that I am most proud of and most excited to share with people.  No, I'm not one of THOSE moms.  I don't discuss my baby's bowel movements or drippy nose, but my attention is definitely always on them.  Part of that is my shyness and my need to pull attention away from myself.  But most of it is because I am absolutely in love with my kids.

      I mean, there is more to me if you want to know.  For instance, I am a wife to an absolutely amazing man that I fell in love with way back in high school.  I love drawing and singing, I think I'm fairly good at both.  I have social anxiety sometimes and get panic attacks when confronted about ANYTHING... it's why I never cause trouble or say what's on my mind.  I am very quiet, even sometimes if I know you.  It's also why I am weak and never stand up for myself.  I'm also pretty short and have really nice skin and surprisingly soft hair considering all the damage I've done to it over the years.  And I love photography.  I think I'm also pretty good at that.

     So of course, because I use social networks, Instagram is definitely one of them.  At least, it is when I have a working phone.  I don't post ridiculous amounts of kid photos each day or anything.  I average probably one every three days or so, usually something we are doing at the time.  I post them because eventually, I want my pictures printed.

      I adore photo books.  And the Instagram Series Chatbooks are exactly the kind of book I need.  First, because it's a super important decision making factor when I buy things, let me tell you that these are affordable.  Not "affordable", like when someone says it's affordable just to find out that it's $20 for 10 pages, I mean ACTUALLY affordable.  These books have 60 photos (30 front and back pages) and costs $6, with only $1 shipping.  So $7 in all.

     If I'm calculating this right, then I would need a new book about every 6 months.  So for $7, I would be getting a book with 6 months worth of our lives inside of it.  So I know that even when I am too lazy to have my pictures printed, at least I can have them auto printed in a neat book form for about $14 per year.  It's something that I don't have to think about and can't mess up.  Memories will be right there on the page, in the mail without me having to remember to do it or take time out of my busy schedule to dictate every caption and Title.  In that photo above, that's 80's Day at school and 20's Night at church.  Those photos cost me about $.50 each to have printed and bound.

Photo of Boog courtesy of Kasi Pratt.

     Okay, now that we've discussed the price, let me tell you how it works.  When you first make an account and go to the Instagram Series part of the Chatbooks app, you will be guided through the process of accessing your Instagram account and books will automatically be made for you.  It will create a cover using one of the Instagram photos.  You can easily change the cover if you'd like.  The spine is also automatically marked with the dates of both the oldest photo in the book and the newest.  See what I mean?

Volume 1: 3 April 2013 - 13 Mar 2014

      I think that's so awesome!  I am so unorganized, that this is such a relief to me.  And not only on the spine, but each page has the photo date at the top corner just above the photo!  I can look back and see exactly what date a certain event was.  Thank you for that, Chatbook!

     When you go into the book editing part, you can change the caption or leave it as whatever caption you used when you uploaded the photo to Instagram.  You can also do what I did and remove captions from your book altogether in the book settings menu.  From here you can also choose to  exclude certain photos from the book.  And this s the only part that I wished had been different.  Although you can choose to exclude photos from one of your books, I didn't see where you could add a different photo.  You can in custom books, but I didn't see that option for the Instagram subscriptions.

     The user interface on the app is pretty simple to follow.  Although I removed captions, I was left chewing my nails so to speak until the books came, wondering if I had done it right.  So there were a few times that I was a little unsure of what I was doing, but I managed and the books came out great.  I absolutely recommend this to anyone with a personal or family Instagram account.  I REALLY wish that there was a Facebook program like it.  But then I would probably be getting a couple books a month if there was, so maybe it's best there isn't.
     Do you get your Instagram photos printed?
     To learn more, check out Chatbooks on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on their website.

     Stay tuned for a giveaway in the next couple of days!  But in the meantime, use code RHHYVKUM to get your first Instagram Series book free when you start a subscription.

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.