PHONE APPS FOR BUSY PARENTS

This is for Moebius moms and dads--I bet many of you can find some use for these:

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We have all heard that saying “There’s an app for that!” It turns out that is true for just about everything. From finding a clean restroom to managing the family calendar, these must-have apps make the life of a busy mom a little bit easier:
1.) Sit or Squat - This app from Charmin (yes the toilet paper company) finds public restrooms near you, rates cleanliness, and provides changing table information. Perfect when on the go, traveling, and potty training.
2.) Canvsly – Canvsly allows you to upload and organize your kids’ artwork. You can create different albums for each child, post to a timeline, and turn artwork into gifts like mugs, keychains and more.
3.) Shop Savvy – ShopSavvy allows you to compare the price of one item across different stores and sites just by scanning a barcode. You can also like products and store pages to get price and sale alerts.
4.) Key Ring: This app stores giftcards, coupons, and membership cards all in one PIN-protected place. No more overstuffed wallet or huge, bulky key ring.
5.) Cozi: This all-in-one family management tool includes a shared family calendar (color-coded by family member), meal planning, shopping lists, to-do lists and a family journal for recording memories quickly and simply. What can’t this app do?
6.) Groovebook: Do you take hundreds of pictures of your kids on your phone but never get around to printing them? (Yes, we do too.) This app is for you (and me). Groovebook prints up to 100 photos from your phone, creates a 4.5″ x 6.5″ photobook and mails it to you monthly for only $2.99 a month. The photo book is perforated so you can tear out pictures to frame as well.
7.) Buddhify: Buddhify provides more than 50 guided meditations for daily activities such as being online, traveling, taking a work break, and sleeping. It also provides a tracker so you can track how you are developing concentration and mindfulness over time. It may seem counterproductive to find mindfulness through and app, but I found this to be a great tool to find a bit more peace throughout the day.
8.) Waze: This app notifies you of traffic patterns, speed traps, and alternative routes. Perfect for the parents who spend half their week in the car shuttling the kids from practice to play date.
9.) Paprika: Paprika allows you to sync your recipes, grocery lists, and meal plans across all of your devices. It keeps your screen on when you open a recipe, so you don’t have to worry about the screen turning off while cooking. And timers are automatically detected in your directions — you just have to tap on one to start.
10.) NPR 7am News Summary Podcast: This 5 minute daily podcast is a must-have for parents who feel like the don’t know enough about what is going on in the world. Put this podcast on in the car or when cooking dinner and in 5 minutes you have a daily digest of the news and current events. It is easy, quick, and helps you to talk about something other than your kids at grown up gatherings.

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