An iPhone only a Mother Could Love

I’ve broken three, er, four, iPhones. It’s a mom thing. I give my phone to kids to shut them up while chatting with a pediatrician; I bribe them with newly downloaded games if they go to run errands with me; I buy time waiting in lines all across Silicon Valley with a tiny little thing called The App Store.

Big deal,  I’ve cracked a few iPhones. I only completely mangled a couple of them. And, I’m sure you’ll agree, it wasn’t my fault.

I organize my iPhone to manage my life as a mom of two 6-year-olds while trying to still keep my hand in the career cookie jar. I manage three pages of apps based on needs. And I purge. I gots me no time to be scrolling through pages of apps in order to write a note to myself. Hellno, Evernote, you’re not my friend. Same goes for you, efficiency apps. If I have to use an app for efficiency, then I’m just not efficient enough.

Here’s how I order my world:

Essentials Page

My calendar for playdates, appointments and to see if @la_gringa is working late.

My Pandora has only two things on it: Mozart Radio and U2 Radio, both are used for physical therapy only.

Twitter is my pass-the-time app, followed by Yelp, where I’ve learned to look up almost anything on the fly. I wish you could post reviews and photos from the Yelp app, that would be helpful.

I use Wikipanion more than I thought I would. My kids ask me something at least once a day that I have to look up on this app. Easy, actually. Addictive, even. LoseIt! is my very favorite app. I track every single thing I eat, every single day.  If you don’t have LoseIt!, , you should, if nothing else but to manage your wine intake..

Mommy’s Page

Google is Google. Even as an ex-Yahoo, you gotta do the Google app. It’s basic and reliable.

Notes for me are all I need. I have tried half a dozen note-taking-jot-it-down apps. At the end of the day, I don’t need much other than Notes. I email them to myself. Done. Easy. Mom-manageable.

Now comes the glutton. I love the newly released Flickr app, even if it doesn’t allow me to work within my Groups yet. I’m sure it will (hint, hint). I’d also like to view pictures in the Flickr app in full size. Polarize is my favorite toy — It makes photos look like this >>>>

I have the sex offender registry here too. Don’t roll your eyes, one of these creeps lives a football field away from us, another two dozen within a mile. I look it up when we’re traveling and especially when we’re on a weekend getaway in an area we don’t know well. A girl’s gotta know…

Kids Page

I keep games to a minimum and try to change them frequently. I also go for games that are non-competitive, non-violent and have relatively instant gratification. I also really try hard to not pay for kids apps. I like the Free ones so I can keep the flexibility of changing things around frequently without guilt that I didn’t get our money’s worth.

Lightsaber. Okay, fine. It’s not for the kids. Moving on.

PacMan Lite. Um, see above. Next.

Waterslide is a great kids app. It’s funny and short enough. It has entertained kids from 2-12 on my phone. Not bad.

Bug Spray. Don’t laugh! It doesn’t work, I know, but it’s a fun conversation starter.

Translator I use for Spanish. My kids are in Spanish Immersion and I think it’s key to be able to translate stuff immediately. I love this translator; it’s quick and short. I caught my son trying to cheat on his homework with it.

What are some other good Momapps? I’ve put Whole Foods on and off my phone. The recipes just aren’t easy enough to get to (and they’re a bit too easy). I’d like knock-knock jokes. I’d love to see Common Sense Media have an app too. Loopt is still in the back of my mind, but still thin in content for a family always on the move like ours is.

Apps I want to build are endless. Tonight: one that acts like LoseIt to track my kids’ Computer/TV/Video Games time/day.