9 Practical Apps for Busy Moms

“Busy moms”… these days, is there any other kind? Whether you work away from home, fight traffic and come home at the end of the day to confront dinner, laundry, helping with homework, baking 30 cupcakes for your child’s 3rd grade classroom and packing tomorrow’s brown bag lunches – or you are a stay at home parent constantly on the move caring for little ones, laundry, cleaning, cooking, car pool, play dates, team practice and shuttling to and from tutors and piano lessons – whew! You are a BUSY person!

Fortunately, we have the miracle of the iPhone and Android, with apps that can not only help us organize and schedule the details of our lives – but help us locate that much needed afternoon latte before we collapse. In fact, today there are apps for almost every conceivable need, from locating a restroom for your toddler to creating grocery lists.

Hey – you didn't think apps were just for games, did you? Well they have those too!

Real Simple Recipes ($4.95, iPad compatible) This app not only asks you what you want to make: poultry, fish, meat, ice cream, vegetarian – it asks how much time you have, and then gives you easy to make recipes to match your criteria.

Cook This – Not That! ($7.99, iPad compatible) An extension of the bestselling book, this app offers easy to follow recipes along with a shopping list to make your after work or post-soccer practice market run a whole lot easier.

Fooducate – by Fooducate, Ltd. (Free, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android OS 2.2 and up) This app was created by dieticians and healthy food conscious parents and is like having your own personal dietitian go shopping with you.

Using your iPhone camera, you can scan UPC bar codes and ingredients panels to find out which items contain excessive sugar and fructose corn syrup content, trans fats, confusing serving sizes and questionable food colorings – and it offers suggestions for alternatives.

Evernote– (Free, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Palm WebOS, Windows Phone; Desktop: Mac, Windows and Web; Desktop: Mac, Windows and Web) Named one of the top 10 Must have Apps by the New York Times, Evernote helps you organize your whole life across every device you use. You can create to-do lists, record voice reminders, take notes and photos and share your Twitter and Facebook posts with family, friends and colleagues; make grocery lists, organize and save recipes, plan a trip itinerary and keep track of tickets and passports and save bills, contracts and receipts.

SitorSquat– Bathroom Finder – by Densebrain (Free, Blackberry, iPhone, iPod Touch (iPad as an iPhone app). Need a restroom RIGHT NOW? This app shows you where to find one almost anywhere in the world, either by map or a list of shortest distance. It includes reviews and ratings so you can choose the cleanest and best maintained restroom near you, as well as locations that have changing tables, are handicap accessible and have tampon and condom vending machines. SitorSquat is invaluable for those with kidney problems, bladder dysfunction, diabetes etc. - or toddlers.

Snapfish (Free online photo storage and sharing, iPhone) Forget to buy invitations to your child’s birthday party? No worries. Snapfish mobile lets you upload a photo to make a postcard invitation and they will even stamp and mail them for you, for a small fee - all from your iPhone. That’s one thing to check off your to-do list!

smart-ICE Lite (In Case of Emergency) (Free basic, by EMS Options, LLC. The free app version provides storage of personal information, such as allergies, medications, emergency contact list and current medical issues. The advanced version offers additional features, including one that allows you to record a voice message to alert EMS providers with important information on your medical history, such as diabetes, heart condition, etc. It also can sound an alarm to help them find you, and sounds an alarm to notify EMS personnel that you have an iPhone with this app.

iPeriod – by Winkpass Creations, Inc. (Free, menstrual calendar) Provides visual calendar to track and view your menstrual cycle at a glance; predicts ovulation and fertility; remembers your last period dates and gives reminders for self breast exams – and much more. Recommended by Forbes, Popular Science, Glamour, GLO.MSN.com, the Harvard Crimson and Mommy Too! Magazine.

Mom Maps– New Media Parents, Inc. (Free, iPhone, Android) Looking for a new place for your child’s play date? Kid-friendly restaurants? Museums? Mom Maps will show you what’s available in over 28,000 locations across the country and in the UK and Paris, France - and show you how to get there. You can bookmark your favorites, read reviews by other parents, submit your own reviews and ratings – and share it all with family and friends via email or Facebook.

From planning a meal to finding a place for a child’s birthday party - or the nearest restroom – these apps help make life a little easier and less stressful for busy on-the-go moms!

These tips were contributed by SImpleItalianCooking.com, a website featuring free Italian recipes. The site also provides reviews of kitchen appliances used in Italian cooking and reviews the best meat grinders for the best value or where to buy a gelato or ice cream maker without having to take a trip to Italy! Busy moms need time saving tips for everything they do, from iPhone apps to easy and simple recipes where quality of life isn't sacrificed, but enhanced!