I’m a realist. I know I should unplug from technology more than I do. I understand how screen time can negatively affect us — adults and children alike. I wear a lot of hats, like all mothers, and the one constant I have is the phone in my hand or bag. Technology is a part of our everyday life and I’m using it to my benefit when it comes to saving time and my efforts, especially those related to me being a mother.
Below are some of my favorite apps for moms:
Trello and Evernote
If you looked inside my mind it would probably mimic a game of Tetris; lots of little pieces of information trying to fall into place. I jot down reminders, dates, and to-dos in the notes section of my phone, on sticky notes through my office, multiples notebooks, and even my hands. I like to use Trello and Evernote to organize these random pieces of information so I have them in one central location depending on the nature of the information. Trello is a great project management tool that I use for my side hustles or big life events that I need to prepare for like weddings or birthdays. Trello allows you to create boards for large picture ideas and then create “cards” where you can make to-do lists, upload attachments, add comments, and more. Evernote is a catch all for everything. I use it to store all kinds of lists, articles I come across on social media and want to save for later, and even funny or memorable things the kids say or do.
Venmo
Venmo is a financial app that allows you to send or receive money with a click of a button. I rarely carry cash, which is the preferred payment for babysitters, house sitters, and dog sitters that we regularly use. With Venmo, I can send them payments from my account that is linked to my bank account to their Venmo account instantly without stopping by the ATM to withdraw cash. Venmo also comes in handy when a coworker picks me up lunch or I owe friends money during a girls’ weekend.
Groovebook
Let’s all admit it; we take way too many photos of our children on our phones then do nothing with them. Groovebook is an app that allows you to upload photos directly from your phone to a 4×6 photo album that prints and ships to your home at the end of every month. Voilà! Digital photos are transformed into physical photos that can be placed in frames or those baby books you have been procrastinating to start. The printed albums also have cute binding so you can put them on your bookshelf to decorate and grab when you want to take a trip down memory lane.
The Wonder Weeks
The Wonder Weeks app saved my sanity with my first child. I had no clue babies go through so many developmental leaps during their first year. This app gives you insight on why your baby is going through fussy stages and even tells you when to expect those phases. It also teaches you the developmental milestones your baby will be reaching and tips on how to encourage them. This app gave me piece of mind when Gray was going through sleep regressions or a particularly tough week.
Ebates
Money is something we are pretty short on these days in my family. That’s ok. We make it work. However, I’m never one to turn down an opportunity to side hustle or make a little cash on the side. Ebates is a free and super simple way to receive cash back on purchases you are already making. Each store listed on Ebates has a certain % of cash back it will give you once you make a purchase. That amount will then be direct deposited via PayPal or check every quarter. See, easy! I always check my Ebates app before making an online purchase and have even ingrained into my husband to check, too. We normally get at least $15-$20 each quarter. That might not seem like a lot, but any bit helps when you have two small children.
Clue
I’m honest when it comes to the fact that both of my children were surprises. I never planned on having children, but here we are. While I do want more children in the future, money and time, or lack thereof, are preventing us from expanding our family at the moment. I use the Clue app to track my periods and fertile windows as a birth control method. This works for my husband and me. It takes info I input and predicts when my next period, when I’ll experience PMS, and when my fertile window should be.
