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!

Income generating ideas for stay at home moms!

Just because you are a stay-at-home mom or out of job, does not mean you cannot earn your own income from home! There are several home business ideas for women or stay at home mothers which they can use to generate income. They can start their own day care center, organic food delivery business, home parties management and or small scale wholesale business. Undoubtedly, these all of ideas are wonderful but stay at home moms have to take several things into consideration before starting their own business. At the initial stages, business needs special attention. We all know that being a mom is a full time job. While running all mother still needs time to take care of her child which becomes exceptionally hard if it is a newborn.

However, with the challenge of child care and other household responsibilities, there are still several business ideas for moms that are discussed in the following post.

Day care services

Due to the impending recession, there is a sudden increase in the number of two working parents that leads to the increase in demand for reliable and safe day care center for their children. Starting a day care center is not only a wonderful business idea but it also allows you to take care of your children. Before starting this business, you must find out the requirements to open this business. The basic requirements are proper meals for children, licensed day care workers according to the number of children and spacious room in your home for children to play.

Selling handicrafts

Almost all young girls have hobbies. Some like hosting tea parties while others enjoy making handicrafts. If you are also someone who has knitting or any other such talent, you can sell your masterpieces ahead to earn money and start a small scale business of selling arts and crafts by collecting orders from people. It is not going to be a big money maker in most cases unless you find a way to mass produce and get good exposure for your products by going online.

Freelancing

If you have some innate love for writing, freelancing is for you. You can also become a virtual assistant or can start a freelance writing job from home. Initially, you might find it difficult to make a handsome sum but once you polish your skills, there are different better paying types of writing you can try such as corporate technical writing, magazine article writing, wholesale business article writing, sales and marketing content and e-book writing.

Product sales

There is another business idea for stay at home moms that they can start selling product lines of different cosmetics, cookware, herbs, kitchen cleaners and cardboard packaging boxes. You can buy some things in wholesale to get good discounts and create a catalogue of all the products you have. You can distribute your product catalogue to local businesses, friends, relatives and sales parties. You can also take this business to the next level by going your business online and operate on a small wholesale business scale where you can sell to different retailers.

Top 5 Celebrity Moms

Celebrity moms are cool because, they do everything we do while being celebrities. Here’s our top 5!

While not all of us can be celebrities, we can certainly get inspired by celebrities for things as varied as hairstyles, fashion, diet and even baby clothes. Yes, celebrities have babies too, and they need clothes! So to celebrate mommies all over the world, we've put up a list of our five favorite celebrity moms.

 

5. Angelina Jolie

Busy actor Angelina Jolie has six children—yes, six. Three of them are her own (Knox, Shiloh and Vivienne) and three of them are adopted (Pax, Zahara and Maddox). Angelina Jolie gives millions of dollars to charities every year, including children's charities. She is a compassionate, generous mother who gives not only to her family but to the world as well. (And she has crazy style, too!)

 

 4. Heidi Klum

Top model and mom Heidi Klum is raising four children (Leni, Henri, Lohan and Lou) while looking awesome. She did a fashion show a mere six weeks after giving birth. Who else can boast of that? She’s been with her husband Seal for years and their marriage is still going strong. And she even poses with her children without makeup. Seriously. Most of us wouldn't even dare walk out without mascara… Kudos to you Heidi!

 

3. Victoria Beckham

The very British Victoria Beckham is on our list because despite having to raise four children, she still has time to dress oh so well and attend the royal wedding with her husband, football player superstar David Beckham. Posh Spice never disappoints, and she wouldn't leave her children to be raised by nannies and bodyguards either. And hopefully they grow up to be as hot, talented and stylish as their parents! Wouldn't we want to have her life…

 

2. Tina Fey

Comic and TV star Tina Fey gets a lot of inspiration from her 6-year-old daughter Alice… and we hope she gets more as she recently gave birth to a second daughter, Penelope Athena. Beautiful and smart, we hope that her daughters grow up to be like their mom, because we’d love our own children to go through their 20s and 30s watching something as funny as 30 Rock. Teach them to laugh at themselves and they will always be happy, Tina!

1.     Michelle Obama

The US First Lady is the perfect picture of a celebrity mom who keeps her feet on the ground. Despite being the wife of the most powerful man on the planet, she does not let that affect the way she raises her kids. No free passes for Malia and Sasha! They do their chores and their homework like all other kids. The couple is very strong and hopefully the girls will learn something useful from their 4-year stay in the White house.

Celebrity moms may not have to buy Bonds online, but their sense of style and their personality still shine through their children. Celebrity doesn't mean trashy for our Top 5 celebrity moms!

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My Story of How My Son was Born

Hi All,

I wanted to write about how Natural Progesterone Cream has helped me since I started using it in the year 2000 after I miscarried my first pregnancy. My Husband and I were heart broken after waiting so long to have our own children.

So here is my story. (For Reference look-up John Lee MD  Two of the books he has written along with Virginia Hopkins are "What your doctor may not tell you about premenopause" and "What your doctor may not tell you about menopause") I encourage you to do your own research and come to your own conclusion. I did after I miscarried I did so much research on Natural Progesterone Cream and why women miscarry. I did not want to loose another pregnancy.

John Lee MD  and read one of his books. It is an eye opener. I would be happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability.

I think my hormone imbalance started when I was in college then started up again shortly after my husband and I met at age 21. I had regular periods until a month after my husband and I met, then in one month I had two periods then after that there were not more periods. I thought this was weird. So I went to the local clinic and they gave me birth control drugs. Just want I didn't need. I wasn't ovulating so why the birth control? Then a couple of years later a doctor put me on a drug to keep my periods going. They told me if you don't have regular periods you can be at risk for cancer. Later I heard that drug which I cannot remember the name can cause cancer. I asked my doctor and he denied it of course.

When I was ready to have children. A year and half after we had been married. They doctors put me on fertility drugs, nothing happened. Finally in 1999 a doctor put me on the right dosage for me to get pregnant. We were so thrilled. Then I miscarried.

A Pastor's Wife told me about Natural Progesterone Cream and told me to read Dr. Lee's Book. "What your Doctor may not tell you about Menopause" And all the answers were right there. Why I wasn't ovulating and getting pregnant and and why I wasn't having my periods regularly. I had Estrogen Dominance. There is an Estrogen Dominance Quiz on Dr. John Lee MD's Website, if you would like to take the quiz. I was so mad why didn't anyone tell me about this along time ago.

According to Dr. Lee Natural Progesterone Cream has been around since the 1930's. Dr. Lee has had his patience's using it for over 30 years.

I went to a hormone balance seminar and further learned why allot of women have estrogen dominance.I told my doctor about this and he denied that it would work to help me get pregnant and said that he was my doctor and he knew what was best for me. And told me let's try the fertility drugs again and next time I get pregnant he would put me on Progesterone Suppositories to keep the pregnancy. Hello, what does that tell me that we need progesterone to keep pregnancies or we will miscarry. Anyways I was so mad at that doctor for not giving me the progesterone to keep my pregnancy in the first place and he would not listen to me that a natural product could help, that I stopped seeing him for several years.

When I started using the cream I felt so much better, I was sleeping better at night. I have had a regular period for 8 years now. Praise the Lord. And I have not had to take that drug with the side effects to keep my period going.

I tried using the cream like Doctor Lee suggested to get pregnant, which has helped allot of women. It is suggested in order to get pregnant instead of using the cream the regular 2 weeks. Use the cream for on days 7-28 for 6 months then go back to using it for days 14-28 and then you should ovulate. Then when you get pregnant you use 1/2 tsp. twice or even three times a day. And then to stop using the cream a week or two before the baby is to be born. I believe because of my weight issues that I have for years stopped me from getting pregnant, which is also mentioned in the book. (You rub the cream onto your skin alternating areas.)

So I went back to that doctor and told him that the cream was working for me, It just hasn't helped me to get pregnant. So he put me back on the fertility drugs and in four months I was pregnant again. Yippee. The doctor talked about putting me on some Progesterone drugs which I didn't want to do. So what I did instead is what Dr. Lee MD told me in his book to to double up on the Natural Progesterone Cream. You see Progesterone is suppose to keep rising when you are pregnant. If is drops you miscarry like I did. Anyways I found a Natural Progesterone Cream that I liked and I doubled the amount of cream I was using and I kept the pregnancy. Now we have a beautiful 4 year old boy. Who is the most pleasant smart baby.

A few of the things that Dr. Lee says that when using the cream when pregnant it produces bigger, smarter, calmer, healthier babies and that is definitely what our son is. They also claimed it helped for Post Partum Depression. But I still went threw that after our son was born. I couldn't wait to get back on the cream. After a month after my son was born I started back on my regular dosage of 1/4 tsp. on days 14-28 of my cycle and it made me feel so much better. It still took a few months for the depression to go away but it did eventually. I have read lots of books on natural products and they all say that natural products take longer to work, so you just have to be patient, but it is so worth the wait and not virtually no side effects and is healthier. (Any side effects would be the initial getting use to the cream and making sure you use it the way it is suggested.) You use the cream according if you are in the premenopause stage or the menopause stage of your life. Women in menopause it is suggested using it days 7-28 in your monthly cycle. Premenopause it is days 14-28. 1/4 tsp. twice a day. There are much more issues that Natural Progesterone Cream can help with, such as going into menopause and dealing with hot flashes. Trying to get pregnant or PMS, Irregular Periods, and Ovarian cysts. etc. Dr. Lee even goes as far as to say that using the cream will protect against Breast Cancer. Dr. Lee has written another book called "What your doctor may not tell you about Breast Cancer" In Dr. Lee's book there is a list of Estrogen Dominance symptoms. See if there are any that you have.

I believe in using Natural Progesterone Cream and I will use it the rest of my life. If anyone has any questions you can go to Dr. John Lee's Website.
John Lee MD

Please research this for yourself and try the Natural Progesterone Cream and see for yourself. Everything that I have mentioned in this blog is what is in Dr. John Lee Md's books and on his website. There is a list of suggested Natural Progesterone Cream's listed on his website and in his books.

If I had know about this years ago I would have been able to have those four kids that I always wanted. I am just grateful with God's help and with using this cream and especially with all the prayers of everyone threw out the years we do have a baby. And we are so very grateful for our son. He is such a good boy. I love him so much and I am determined that he have a safe and happy childhood.

We ended up having a home birth. It was such a beautiful birth.
The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth
The child birthing class we took was called "The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth".

While in the class our instructor gave us paper on "Cytotec" also known as "Misoprostol" It is a ulcer drug that doctors have been using to induce labor. My doctor wanted to use it on me and I said no way. After what I read on the internet about it and what I saw on the news about it. The news report said that a young lady and her unborn child had died from using it because her doctor used it to induce labor.

Here is FDA's website about it. It is not approved by the FDA.In fact the FDA has a warning about it. FDA Drug Warning
Many doctors us this to begin labor.

Thank-you for reading my story on Mom's Misc. Adventures.