M's Favorite iPad Apps

Monster At The End Of This Book
Surprisingly I never read this book when I was little, but it was my husband's favorite book as a child. And now it is M's favorite book/iPad application in the world. She listens and watches it at least 5 times a day. This fabulous interactive story is narrated by everyone's favorite Muppet superhero, Grover, who unsuccessfully tries to stop you from turning the pages so as not to get to the aforementioned Monster at the end of the book. Your kids will love it, you will love it. Get it now.

Elmo's Monster Maker
If your kids love Elmo half as much as M does, get this app. It actually is just hosted by Elmo, not featuring him, but he does pop up to play once you make your own Muppet Monster. It does take up a shiteload of room on your iPad, so you might not want to keep it on there all the time.

Tap Tap Baby
I stumbled upon this last week and M goes straight for it now when she is on the iPad. It is simply 4 different screens that your child can tap on - a house, a monkey face, shapes and animals. With each tap comes a corresponding sound - that will drive you crazy if they are a fast tapper like M is, but it is tons of fun for kid. Be sure to look for the fireworks page hidden in the house play area.

Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, Fish School and Park Math
I cannot say enough good things about applications created by Duck Duck Moose. They are incredibly well designed, very kid (and parent) friendly and a great learning tool. Itsy Bitsy Spider and Wheels on the Bus take your child through the classic kid's songs and allow them to interact with the spider or on the bus. They are fabulous, they are fun and are a must have. Fish School teaches your child her ABCs and 123s, as well as colors. There are also other games to play within this app, that are a little advanced for M, but I know we will use this frequently when she is a little older. Park Math is for kids who understand the basics of counting and math already, which is a little beyond us so we don't use this much at all. If you kid id 3+ I am sure they will get a kick out of it though.

Talking Hippo
This free app is terribly annoying, but M loves it so I keep it on the iPad. The cool part about it is that the Hippo will actually repeat whatever you say to it, which blows M's mind every time. Other than that, you can tickle it and make it do some other things. Not my favorite as the sounds aren't easy on the ears, but it is free, and she likes it.

Baby DJ
I think I like this more than she does...this allows baby to create a song using 9 different beats. She simply taps on the record of choice and the song begins, and when she taps on another, a different beat is added to the track. It is baby school fun for the inner DJ is me, and she likes it for all of 20 seconds and then moves on, but it was free so it stays!

More to come soon!!

My favorite iPad/iPhone Apps of 2010

Over the last few days I have been trying to draft a clever post involving the typical end of the year "Top 10..." but I couldn't come up with anything...so I am finally writing the post I have been wanting to write for months. And now since I am the proud owner of an iPad (that hasn't left my side since I opened it Christmas morning) I figured I would share with you my favorite applications for both the iPad and the iPhone.

Drumroll please....Mama J's Top 11 iPad/iPhone apps of 2010 are...

Fuzzle's Holiday Version

11. Fuzzle/Fling: Ok so I ruined this list already by combining two games, Fuzzle and Fling, in one list, but since they are made by the same people I figured I would combine them into one. These crazy addicting puzzle games are tons of fun and don't use a ton of brain power so they are perfect for playing before bed, or while waiting in the drive through land at Starbucks, or while in the bathroom doing your business. And you can play them with one hand, so there is that too.

10. Weight Watchers: So I haven't gotten much use out of this app as I have been eating everything in site as of late, but upon my return to Boston tomorrow I will be back on points, so I will be using this all day. It is a crazy convenient way to track your points on the go, calculate points, and look up recipes if you are at the grocery store

Scrabble on iPad

9. Scrabble: Not much to say about this one, as you all know what it is. Even better on the iPad.

8. IMDB: This is one of my go-to apps. I am always trying to figure out "who's that guy from that movie..." so this is a popular one on my phone. It has a cool layout on the iPad...and it is free...so get it, you will use it.

7. Friendly (Facebook): I don't know if this is the official iPad Facebook app, but this is the one I downloaded for my iPad. It is very user-friendly and the set-up is really nice. I like it much more than the Facebook app I have on my iPhone. Much easier to navigate all around Facebook - which I do too often for any normal person.

6. Shutterfly for iPhone: Unfortunately they don't have an HD version of this for the iPad (yet) but if you use Shutterfly to share your photos, this is a great app to have. I use this to transfer my favorite photos from my albums already on Shutterfly to my iPad/Phone. You can also upload directly from your phone to the albums. Hopefully soon they will allow you to edit your Shared Sites on your phone, but not just yet.

5. Interactive Alphabet Flash Cards: This was a new application I downloaded on the iPad for Marlo, and it is crazy cool. It took her a little bit to warm up to it, but now she loves it. You go through every letter of the alphabet and it sounds it out, and along side the letter there is an interactive graphic. For example, Z is for Zipper, allows you to pull the zipper up and down and B is for Beach allows you to build a sand castle, and make the sun set...it is really neat.

4. Angry Birds: Voted the best gaming application of the year, this addictive, hysterical, charming, intelligent game deserves all the praise it gets. I am sure you already have it, but if you don't get it, play it, love it, kill those ugly pigs.

3. Baby Music: Marlo has music in her soul. Anytime she hears music she shakes her bum and claps her hands, and if she is the one making it, all the better. This application allows her to either play the piano, bongo drum, xylophone, or strum the harp. She loves sitting on my lap and smacking my iPad screen and watching the little graphics bounce around in time with her drumming...every kid will.

Plane Madness!!

2. Flight Control: This game is the reason my father purchased an iPad when it first came out, and I hate him and love him for introducing me to it. Hate him, because I have wasted more time playing this game (first on his iPad, then in a smaller version on my iPhone and now on my iPad), but love him for showing it to me because it is the best game ever. It is simply a game where you have to guide plains to land safely on their corresponding color coded landing strips...sounds simple, but it is anything but. I thought I was so super cool when I landed 120 planes in one game, only to find out the high score was something like 24,349. That person must have more free time than I do...but most people do!

1. Kindle for iPhone/iPad: When Amazon first introduced the Kindle I thought it would be something along the lines of Laser Discs. I said I would never choose to read a book on an electronic reader over holding a book in my hand. Then I read the first Twilight book, and wanted instant gratification and to start the second immediately, so I succumbed and downloaded the app on my iPhone...and I haven't looked back yet. And on the iPad, with the large screen, it is just like reading a paper book. I have read so much more this last few years because of this application. It makes going on vacation so much easier because gone are the days of packing multiple heavy books. Now I just  download them straight to the palm of my hand. In the past 10 days I read all three Hunger Games (highly recommend!) books on my iPad and didn't need to go anywhere to get them, or worry about finishing them in time to return them to the library. You pay anywhere from $4 to $9 for newer more recent books (most classics are free and older books are around $2-$3), but I think it is worth every penny. You can even get kids books on there, so if you are in a pinch and your kid loves to read you can entertain them with a tap of the finger.

When you have cabin fever...

It's getting to be that time of year. The ability to walk around the block, spend an hour at the playground, or just explore the backyard is compromised by the fact that it's freezing/raining/sleeting and by the fact that once you get everyone properly dressed, your child will have to go the bathroom. Here are a few things to keep you busy and out of your house...most of them you've probably thought of already...so add your own suggestions to the comments section!

• Visit the library. I'm sure you've done this 100 times, but check out their list of classes or story times. Most have a special kids activity several times a week. If the town next door is nicer - check out their library!
  
• Go to a museum. When you're at the library, check out their "free" passes. Most offer free passes or discounted admission to local museums. So you don't feel bad for going for 45 minutes. Also, Bank of America offers free admission to a number of museums the first weekend of every month. And the Children's Museum is free on Friday nights.
• Check out your family network. Most towns (or typically, several towns combine resources) have space in an elementary school or town buildings that is outfitted for young kids and offers playgroups and activities. For instance, the North Suburban Family Network in Melrose has all kinds of free classes and even a drop-in play space.
• Go to a pet store. Gerbils and fish are just as good as the zoo for a 2-year old. And if you tell them it's the zoo, you won't have to explain why you can't bring it home. Yes, it may only hold their attention for 20 minutes, but sometimes that's all you need for sanity's sake! (And, while you're there, pick up some Nature's Miracle. Seriously, it gets smells and stains out of everything. If it weren't for this stuff, I'd have to move out of my house...as the smell of a spilled container of sour milk is not for amateurs!)
  
• Go to Costco. Is it bad that I take my child to Costco so he can run? I usually find that hidden aisle that is virtually empty and let him go crazy. Just remember they need good shoes - I'm always imagining him breaking his teeth on the concrete floors...I'm really sounding like the mother of the year here.
• Explore Jordans (or Ikea too). Yes, I feel bad about taking my energy-filled child to retail establishments, but if they put a candy store and a water fall in a furniture store, they're kind of asking for it. My child will happily open and close every drawer in the store. Seriously, we could be there for two days. Ikea is good too, but can be crowded on the weekends...I like to at least limit the number of people that see my child misbehaving.
• The mall. Yes, you'll probably end up buying some toy you don't need and they'll break on the way home, but it's more space to run around...especially since nearly every mall as a play space these days.
  

Where do you go when you need to get out of the house on a rainy day?

Whoa Gabba Gabba

My daughter has not been napping the usual 2-3 hours like she used to. She has also refused to nap in her bed for the last week. I think she got used to napping in non-crib locations while we were away from home for a good 10 days straight. So now we are lucky to get 20-30 minute stretches 3 times a day, which means that Mom the Entertainer is working a lot more hours that she is used to!

I have exhausted our toy collection...she can only knock over the stacking cups, chew on Taggy the Elephant until he is soaking with saliva, and look at herself in a mirror so many times a day. I have dangled all sorts of objects from rings in front of her until I am blue in the face. She bounced in her bouncy exersaucer until her legs got tired. I put on not one, but two puppet shows today (thank God for my mother and her attempted golf club head cover collection). We went for a long walk. And then went to Costco for another long walk indoors. We tried to ride Ellie, our dog (she puts up with a lot, but wasn't having this). And finally we had dance party. Which consisted of me holding her in my arms while I attempted to conjure up some of my old dance moves. Needless to say, I am mentally exhausted.

And after all of that, she was still ready to party, so I brought her in front of my computer and played an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba that I had downloaded last week for a long plane ride, but had since forgotten about. I had heard the hype, and seen the commercial with that one eyed creature in the car with the sock monkey, but had never been witness to an actual episode. I had no idea what I was in store for.

Whomever created that show was definitely on the dance floor with me and my glow sticks in college. There is no way this show was created by a sober person. I couldn't even get through an entire 30 minute episode. The characters mouths don't move?! There is some dj fellow in a fuzzy hat and kids pajamas?! And who is that child molester-looking fellow with the glasses?! My baby (and I) is not ready for this show.

I know kids love it, but it is way too whacky for me. Maybe it is because I am a muppet-lover, and grew up with Disney animation, that this show didn't sit right for me. I know it isn't made for parents, and is supposed to be whacky, but give me Handy Manny over Yo Gabba Gabba any day.

Of course I still have the "Baby...remember when you were a baby!" song stuck in my head...and my daughter will probably be obsessed with the show later on in life, but right now NO Gabba Gabba for me.