I love technology gadgets! The Picture Keeper is just that, a really cool little gadget that every family should have. 

Just last year my desktop computer died. I did not care so much for the computer because I had upgraded to a laptop BUT it crashed before I could move all my important pictures over. I lost every thing. All my children’s precious moments completely gone.

Now that I have the Picture Keeper I am easily back up all my pictures with a simple few clicks. It is almost plug and play.

I really wished I had a Picture Keeper before it was too late.  Picture Keeper automatically finds and saves your digital photos! No software to install, compatible with Mac OSX and Windows. 

Just insert the Picture Keeper drive into any USB port on your PC, click “Start Backup” and Picture Keeper automatically finds and saves all your pictures. That’s it!  When you need to add more photos to your Picture Keeper, plug you Picture Keeper in and it will only copy the newest images or changed pictures.

After using Picture Keeper for my self I will definitely recommend it to all my friends and family! It is worth it for the peace of mind.

Here is a video showing you how Picture Keeper works.

You can find Picture Keeper at the Picture Keeper Website as well as Walgreen’s across the nation, check here to see where Picture Keeper is sold.

Picture Keeper Website
Picture Keeper on Facebook
Picture Keeper on Twitter 

Disclosure / Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was obtained for this post. I received a complimentary product to facilitate this review. The opinions expressed here are mine and may differ from yours.

Calling all ghosts, goblins and ghouls! Your favorite monsters are haunting the cereal aisles of Target stores for a limited-time* only, including Count Chocula^®, Boo Berry^® and Franken Berry^®. For more than 40 years General Mills Big G Monster Cereals, have been a playful and delicious tradition enjoyed by kids and adults all over the country during Halloween.

Do you remember these cereals as a kid? I remember begging my mom to buy them. I always wanted Count Chocula^® Its funny kid’s attraction to them. I think it is because they are unique to the season! Who doesn’t love Halloween? It also makes me wonder why there are not special cereals for other holidays?

We just tried all three Count Chocula^®, Boo Berry^® and Franken Berry^® as a family, we loved all of them but our favorite is Count Chocula^®!

Each vintage monster-themed cereal  including Count Chocula ^®, Boo Berry ^®, and Franken Berry^® will be available at Target beginning in September; for a limited-time only! These cereals combine chocolate, blueberry and strawberry flavored cereal with colorful marshmallow shapes that both kids and adults enjoy. Each serving of the monster-themed cereal has no cholesterol or saturated fat and provide a good source of whole grain, calcium, and nine essential vitamins and minerals. Make this Halloween spooktacular with these monster-themed cereals.  They are sure to help conjure memories of the gh’oul times, so head into your local Target store to stock up on these breakfast options before they’re all gobbled up!

• General Mills:  http://bit.ly/GMMonsters
• General Mills Twitter: http://bit.ly/GMTWMon
• Grocery Savvy (Big G Monster’s active 10/1/12):http://bit.ly/MonstersGS
• Target Website: http://bit.ly/TMonsters
• Target Facebook: http://bit.ly/TMonstersFB
• Target Twitter: http://bit.ly/TMonstersTW

Giveaway Closed!

Disclosure / Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was obtained for this post. General Mills and Target provided me with the free product, information and gift pack.. The opinions expressed here are mine and may differ from yours.

I would like to introduce you to Central Texas Mom’s newest addition. We have a young and up and coming pre-teen reviewer, Claudia. This is her first go at it so please be kind 🙂

This review is of R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series – Volume 1 and Volume 2. I also was able to enjoy these 2 dvd’s as well. You can watch Claudia’s review below. 

Mom’s point of view, I actually enjoyed these. It is basically Tells From The Crypt for pre-teens and teens. However, each child is different and you know your children best. If you are concerned I always encourage parents to pre-screen!!

R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: The Series — Volume 1 & Volume 2 Review

Disclosure / Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was obtained for this post. I received a complimentary product to facilitate this review. The opinions expressed here are mine and may differ from yours.

This looks like a great film from Disney that I am looking forward to getting for my daughters!

The school year is officially back in full swing and schedules are beginning to fill with fall activities. McAlister’s Deli is here to help lend a hand on days cooking isn’t an option. Offering an affordable and nutritional alternative for families on the go, McAlister’s Deli kid’s meals are available for only 99 cents. This delicious deal features a menu of kid’s favorite meals such as mac & cheese, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, nacho basket, or cheese pita pizza. This offer is available at participating McAlister’s Deli locations year-round.

See if you have a McAlister’s Deli location near you!

I love this movie. It is silly, beautiful and reminds me of when I was young.

Scale the cliffs of insanity, battle rodents of unusual size, face torture in the pit of despair, and join Princess Buttercup and Westley on their spell-binding journey to find true love when The Princess Bride 25^th Anniversary Blu-ray debuts October 2 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.  A classic fairy tale complete with heroes, villains, trickery, mockery and death-defying miracles,  The Princess Bride captured audiences young and old with its brilliant, memorable dialogue, enchanting story line and bewitching characters. 

From celebrated director Rob Reiner (The Bucket List) and Oscar®-winning screenwriter William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) comes “an enchanting fantasy” (Time) filled with adventure, romance and plenty of “good-hearted fun” (Roger Ebert).  Featuring a spectacular cast that includes Robin Wright (Forrest Gump), Cary Elwes (No Strings Attached), Mandy Patinkin (“Homeland”) and Billy Crystal (Tooth Fairy), this wonderful fairy tale about a Princess named Buttercup and her beloved is “a real dream of a movie” (People). 

The Princess Bride 25^th Anniversary Blu-ray is loaded with special features including the all-new featurette “True Love: The Princess Bride Phenomenon” which includes brand new interviews with Reiner, Elwes, Wright, Goldman, Christopher Guest (For Your Consideration), Chris Sarandon (Fright Night) and executive producer Norman Lear.

Discaimer: Information in this post was provided to me by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

There have been a lot of conversations about privacy. That is not what this post is about. This is about a really cool app for parents to use on their children’s phone for a peace of mind.

Just this week I saw a news article talking about the rise of predators on Facebook, looking for children to use for prostitution! I know that I feel that it is my right as my parent to know where my children are and who they are in contact with. And that is why I chose to talk about this app.

SMS Tracker is simple to download from Google Play. Once you download the app and activate it you will receive a 7 day upgrade to try all of our features for free. SMS  Tracker currently is only for Android devices 2.1 and newer.

What can SMS Tracker do?

• Monitor Text Messages – Remotely monitor all inbound and outbound SMS text messages on your child’s Android phone.
• Integrates with Contacts – Integrates with your child’s contact list to show where text messages are coming from.
• Track multiple phones – Track every child in your household.
• Remotely monitor activity – Check your child’s text messages from any computer connected to the Internet.
• View Photos – View any photo that your child sends or receives.
• Monitor Call Logs – Tracks your child’s calls and their duration.
• Locate Phone – SMS Tracker logs the location of your child’s phone each time a message is sent or received.
• Search Text Messages – Search through your child’s text messages for keywords or important data.
• Track Browser Activity – Monitor your child’s browser activity and web searches.

 I think this is really cool that you can see the text they send, who the are to, what is said and where they were when they sent the text. When you login to the website you are able to see a history of all activity. You can set up your account with more than one phone, so you can keep track of all your children’s activities in one place.

I love this app! I am going to put it on all my children’s phones. SMS Tracker has been downloaded more than half a million times.

SMS Tracker Website
SMS Tracker Google Play 

Disclosure / Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was obtained for this post. I received a complimentary product to facilitate this review. The opinions expressed here are mine and may differ from yours.

I love Tim Burton. In fact, there is not a Tim Burton movie that I have watched that I have not loved!

Warner Bros. has announced the release of “Dark Shadows” on DVD and Blu-Ray October 2nd 2012. I am really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I was unable to see “Dark Shadows” at the theater. So now, I can watch it at home 🙂

From the incredible mind of Tim Burton comes the hit film Dark Shadows, based on the classic television series!  Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) has been trapped for two centuries by an evil witch (Eva Green) who just happens to be an ex lover.  Barnabas now has to struggle with the ever changing 1970s and save his family business!  With an all star cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jonny Lee Miller and more, Dark Shadows will be sure to whet your appetite for fun.

Giveaway Closed!

How would you like to win your very own copy of the “Dark Shadows” Blu-Ray combo pack!

The winner is Beth M.

Disclosure / Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was obtained for this post. Warner Bros. supplied these materials to facilitate this post and giveaway. The opinions expressed here are mine and may differ from yours.

So, we decided to work on cleaning up the house and doing laundry as a family this weekend. Unfortunately not much was done. Not for the lack of trying but because my hand me down washing machine decided to purge gallons upon gallons of water in to my wash room floor. Which happens to be located in the middle of my house. If you have a wash room in the middle of your house and your washing machine from hell decides to not turn off when it should, where do you think all that water goes? 

In my hall, living room, office etc. Most all are carpet floors! 

I, like many, can’t afford to buy a new washing machin. Our old one has a timing issue so time after time we had to force it to finish a load. It would often make the wshing and drying time take hours just for one load.

May parents were moving and had bought new washer and dryer set. So they offered us their old set. Now mind you, they are not that old. Boy, when some one offers you a hand me down any thing…. ask questions.

Now, until I have enough money to buy a new one I will have to watch the washer each time I use it to make sure it does what it should. And not flood my whole house!

This week I attended a ribbon cutting and media event for Barton Hill Farms located in Bastrop Texas. Unfortunately it was during school so I was not able to bring the kids 🙁

From the Barton Hill Farms website

Come get lost with Barton Hill Farms at the first annual Fall Festival & Corn Maze! Set amongst hundred-year-old cottonwoods on the banks of the Colorado River between Austin and Bastrop, Barton Hill Farms integrates Texas heritage, traditional fall fun, and live Texas Country music to create an experience the whole family can enjoy. The festivities kick off on Saturday, September 22^nd and continue every weekend through Sunday, November 18^th.

The annual festival features a 5-acre corn maze (created in conjunction with The Maize Inc.), stage acts, and live music from up-and-coming Texas Country artists, offering a little something for everyone. Moms and dads can kick back with a brew, while the little ones explore The Lively, a 50 foot pirate ship wrecked on the banks of the river, play frontier games in a replica of the ol’ Wilbarger fort, and pick pumpkins from the pumpkin patch.

The location was really easy to find. My GPS told me to turn left, but I needed to turn right. When you get close, look for the signs!

There is a really cool entrance to the location, parking is really easy. NOTE: Make sure you wear close toe shoes. Do not take your kids in flip flops or sandals. There were an abundance of stickers! Many of which are still in my car. I would hate for any ones babies to get in a sticker patch.

This is the covered concession stand. They will be offering:

• Bottled sodas & water
• Trail mix
• Kettle corn
• Frozen treats
• Local beers by Bastrop Brewhouse & Texas wine

This is the semi covered pick-nick area with tables.  There is also a music stage off in the distance and they recommend bring folding lawn chairs and picnic-type blankets for setting up near the stage.

At the entrance to the maze you can pick up special maze sheets that have specific themes such as Halloween, History, Tots etc. As you go along the maze you will find post with numbers on them. These numbers will go along with the sheet you have and there will be a question that you answer for that number. The answer you pick will determine what direction you go. I think that is a great idea to make the maze more interactive and fun for the whole family.

Which way will you go?

Can you find her? lol

At some point you are going to go, there is a row of port-a-potty’s close to the exit. In all honestly I have never in my life been in one. However, I wanted to point out the mobile washing stations! These are so cool. I think every mother will appreciate these. Great idea Barton Hill Farms.

Barton Hill Farms Fall Festival Corn Maze Bastrop Texas

Location                                        Admission                       Hours
1115 Farm to Market 969                  Ages 0-2:   Free               Sep 22 to Nov 18
Bastrop, TX 78602                             Ages 3-12:    $7              Saturdays & Sundays
25 minutes from Austin                     Ages 13+:    $10              9AM to dusk
10 minutes to Bastrop

Barton Hill Farms Website
Barton Hill Farms Facebook

Disclosure / Disclaimer: No monetary compensation was obtained for this post. I received an invitation to the ribbon cutting event. The opinions expressed here are mine and may differ from yours.

In How I Met Your Mother’s seventh season, first time parents, Lily and Marshall have to adjust to the rigors of parenthood and find out, like many before, just how hard it is. So fresh from family naptime, here are the topfive Eriksen family tips for first-time moms and dads.
 

• GET HELP. You’ll probably hear family and friends say things like “if you need help…” and “anytime you need a sitter…” Take them up on it! Also, it’s healthy to socialize. Do not feel guilty for it. 

• THEY DO SLEEP. But they usually mix up nights and days during the first several weeks. What’s more, most babies do not sleep through the night until they are about four months old. Remember that too much sleep during the day will keep nighttime visitor Mr. Sandman away. And sleep when the baby sleeps! 

• PLAN AHEAD. Meal time, bath time, bedtime, play time, naptime… You’ll be doing yourself a huge service by trying to plan ahead and making sure you have everything you need from the start of whatever the activity is. 

• BEWARE OF OVERSTIMULATION. Mommy, daddy, grandparents and friends may have gone a little overboard, buying baby presents so be cautious about giving too much to the baby too soon. Over stimulated babies don’t sleep and overtired babies cry. A lot.

• DON’T FREAK OUT. You’re going to make mistakes but that’s never going to change so the best thing you can do for yourselves and your baby is accept this and keep going.

How I Met Your Mother: The Complete Season 7 out on Blu-ray and DVD on October 2nd

Grab the kids and text your friends: Falls Fest 2012 is Oct. 13 from 10-4 at McKinney Falls State Park. Activities were announced this week for the annual festival which is free after park admission and open to the public. 

This year’s archeology theme will feature flint knapping, archery, rock climbing, atlatl throwing, fishing, leather-working crafts, musket ball and shot making demonstrations, the Buffalo Soldiers, Dutch oven cooking, wilderness survival hikes, bird walks, a star gazing party, a raffle, contest prizes and more.

“Fall is a great time to be outdoors, and Falls Fest will offer something for everyone, from outdoor learning to hands on activities,” said park superintendent David Shirley. “Bring the whole family.”

Activity booths and areas will be open from 10-4 with food, drinks and live music throughout the day. Survival hikes will leave the Smith Visitor’s Center at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on a .8 mile loop lasting around half an hour each. Bird walks start at 7 a.m. and will continue throughout the day. The star party will begin after dusk on the Smith Visitor’s Center scenic overlook with telescopes and star charts provided.

Children 12 years of age and younger are admitted without charge. McKinney Falls is located in Austin’s backyard just off 183. The park is completely within the city limits of Austin and features two natural water falls, miles of hiking and biking trails, campgrounds and the newly-named City of Austin’s 2012 Tree of the Year “Old Baldy”.

Proceeds from the event go to the Friends of McKinney Falls State Park, a non-profit organization which works with the park on improvements and educational programs.

For more information on this event, or to register a group of 10 or more and for special raffle entry please contact amber.conrad@tpwd.state.tx.us or visit the event’s facebook page at www.facebook.com/FallsFestMcKinneyFallsSP.  To learn more about McKinney Falls visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/mckinney-falls.