10 iPhone Apps That I Love

A while back I made the bold statement that an iPhone is the new must-have item for mommies. I also made a wishy-washy statement about maybe one day writing a post about my favorite apps. And now, six weeks later, here it is. My sense of urgency is clearly alive and well.

I'll come out of the closet and say that an iPhone is a dream come true for a Star Trek lover. It's like my own personal communicator device. Sometimes, when I'm standing in line at a store or wherever I experience five seconds of boredom, I whip out my iPhone and start poking at the screen with the same urgency as Captain Picard on an away mission. Except it's quite probable that I'm just doing a crossword puzzle and not trying to detect how many life forms there are in a twenty-mile radius.

(And by the way, raise your hand if you loved the latest Star Trek movie. And raise your other hand if you never before picked up on the chemistry between Uhura and Spock. Yeah, that's what I thought.)

But even if you’re not a nerd Star Trek lover, iPhones probably hold some appeal to you. So feel free to chime in if you’ve submitted to its siren song and have your own favorite apps that I haven’t mentioned.

Baby Brain

I’ll start off with a baby-related app since new-mommy stress was the inspiration for this post. Baby Brain (and similar apps) provides the ability to track nursings, bottles, and diapers. I remember my first couple of months as a mom as a sleep-deprived haze of diapers and feedings. I was focused on my baby and usually couldn’t remember the last time I took a shower, much less which side to start on during the next nursing. It was such a relief to me to be able to track feedings without writing it down or trying to remember anything. I tried out several of these types of apps and concluded that the “perfect” app is really a matter of personal taste. If you’re interested in this type of functionality, search for “baby” in the app store and find something that you like.

Awesome Note

I would like to crown the inventor of the sticky note as King (or Queen?) of Great Ideas. How did anyone ever survive without them? But you can’t take them everywhere. That’s where the Awesome Note app comes in. It provides the ability to organize notes into folders, with each folder containing multiple notes or a to-do sort of checklist. It also provides the ability to jot a quick note to yourself. I use it to keep a to-do list, grocery list, blog post ideas, recording Michael’s milestones…the list goes on and on. You can also customize the font and backgrounds for each note. It is truly a note-taker’s delight.

All Recipes

I have a friend that reads cookbooks like they’re novels. I’ve given her at least two cookbooks as gifts, and I’m sure there will be more in the future. I also have several cookbooks, but for some reason I totally forget about them when trying to come up with something to make for dinner. Maybe it’s because getting on my computer and searching allrecipes.com is so much easier. So I was super excited when I came across their app. One morning I wanted to make sausage gravy, which I’d never made before, so I did a quick search using this app. And voila, there at my finger tips was the perfect recipe. I’m hungry just thinking about it.

Crosswords

Remember all those nights during the first couple of months of parenthood when you joyfully rose at all hours with your newborn baby and stared into that precious face while nursing or giving a bottle? Yeah, neither do I. I was just trying to stay awake. I read somewhere about a dad that fell asleep in a rocking chair while holding his baby, and the baby ended up with a broken arm. So I was terrified of falling asleep holding my little one. The Crosswords app was my saving grace during those late night and early morning hours. It’s hard to fall asleep while trying to think of a four-letter word for boot, with ‘s’ as the third letter. Garrett has laughed that he often woke up to see my face in the glow of my iPhone. And I laughed when we started giving Michael a bottle and my dear husband could participate in those nighttime feedings. Muahahahaha!

YouVersion Bible

I love me some Scripture. This app is handy-dandy for those times that you’re trying to think of a verse but have only a couple of words to work with. And it could also be great in church if you forget your Bible. Just be prepared for some dirty looks since people will probably think that you’re checking your email and not reading a Bible in the coolest way possible.

Praying God’s Word Prayer Cards

I just found this app today and already love it. It’s based on Beth Moore's prayer cards, which I have at home but hardly ever look at because the big box of cards intimidates me by their shear number. One of the great things about this app is that you pay for only as much as you want. So, instead of buying the big box of cards, it’s like buying only the subset of cards that you need. The app allows you to mark “cards” as favorites for easy access. Perfect.

Facebook

Everybody’s favorite stalking website has one of the best apps out there. Since becoming a mom, I don’t get to play around on my computer as much as I used to. So I’m thrilled that I can stalk catch up on my family and friends’ lives whenever I have a few spare minutes. This app also has the ability to sync with the contacts on your iPhone and download profile pictures. And that just makes me happy.

Photoshop Mobile

This is the perfect app for impressing your friends with your mad camera-phone photo-taking skillz. I can take a picture of my little one being cute, crop it to perfection, and text it out to anyone that cares, and even some that don’t care much at all. They can all think that I have an extremely steady hand and never know that my hands shake like Jell-O in a bumper car. I’m shady that way.

My Love

I was thinking about saying “I heart this app,” but that’s lame even for me. So I’ll just say that I like it, I like it a lot. Why? Because this little app is speed-dial to my husband. Sure, I can just go to the Favorites menu in my Phone app, but who has time for all those extra taps? I like it that I can put this app on my home screen without having to open the Phone app. They also have apps for My Mom and My Dad and My Sister and My Pet Rock…ok, I made up that last one, but you get the idea. Very handy. Very handy indeed.

MercyMe

This app is just a whole lot of FUN and proves that even a group that comes out with awesome songs like “I Can Only Imagine” and “Word of God Speak” can have a sense of humor. The app provides access to useful stuff like concert dates and their blog, but it’s totally worth downloading just for their “Cover Tune Grab Bag” videos. Do yourself a favor and watch the “Stayin’ Alive” and “Eye of the Tiger” videos. And then wish that you could be their new best friend and participate in all the Silliness and Shenanigans.

Now it’s time to hear from you – what are your favorite apps? What app deliciousness am I missing?

10 iPhone Apps That I Love

http://thelatebloomersblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/10-iphone-apps-that-i-love.html