Five on Friday: Phone Apps

 1. Paprika Recipe Manager  2. PocketMoney 3. mSecure Password Manager

 4. Grocery iQ  5. My Medical

1. Paprika Recipe Manager - This is one of my absolute favorite apps. It's a recipe management system with tons of features. First of all, there are no pre-loaded recipes, which I love.  I only want my stuff in there, not a bunch of recipes I'm never going to use.  Then there are features like saving recipes straight from a website with a push of the button, meal planning calendars, shopping lists built from recipes you're planning to cook with, a place to create reusable menus and more. 

I love that everything can be categorized and organized however you deem best. It also seamlessly syncs across all devices. So regardless of whether I'm on my phone or iPad, I know I'm looking at the same thing. And when J needs to check out a recipe, his phone syncs with the app as well!  And when you have a recipe pulled up, the app keeps your device awake, so no trying to wake up and unlock your screen with dirty hands. 

I talked my mother and mother-in-love into getting the app and now we share recipes back and forth so easily! And when I'm out grocery shopping and decide I want to make a certain meal, I just open Paprika and check what ingredients I need!  It's such a lifesaver. 

2. PocketMoney - When I was 15, Quicken was my money management software. Yes, I was that awesome that I was reconciling my checking account at that age. But, when smartphones came around, Quicken didn't have an app so I found PocketMoney.  I'm able to keep track of all our accounts and keep them reconciled. I do wish there was a way to sync easily among devices, as Jason never has an up to date version of our data.  Overall, it's a good financial management app.

3. mSecure Password Manager  - I couldn't live without this app. It literally maintains all our passwords. I try to have unique passwords for every site I visit, so this allows me to keep track of all that.  It's nice that it has different standrad fields based on what kind of login information or sensitive data you're storing.

4. Grocery iQ -I bought this app, used it for a while, then thought it wasn't useful, so I went back to my method of just keeping shopping lists on the Notes iPhone app. Then I tried this app out again and now I really like it. I'm able to make different lists based on different stores. So, if we're at Target, I can pull up that list and all my aisles are organized based on Target's layout. 

If I'm out running errands and J's still at work, since the app syncs across devices, I'll just text him and tell him to add anything else he wants to the list. Or if he cooks and thinks of things he needs to restock the kitchen, he doesn't have to tell me, he just adds it to the list and I'll know next time I go out.  Additionally, you can create favorite items, along with prices, so we can budget our groceries better and it's easy to quickly add items. 

5. My Medical - This has quickly become an app I rely on. While J and I are pretty healthy, it's nice to have a place to refer to when trying to remember family history, past procedures or past visits to the doctors. It also let's us track any medications we have taken or are taking and also tracks immunizations as we get them.  I can also store documents. so test results and lab reports that we've had taken are all in one place.

Five on Friday: Baby Essentials

I love lists and I like to think my blog is an outlet for me to share my thoughts and opinions without anyone feeling obligated to actually listen.  So, here's my first Friday five list!

1. Fisher-Price Newborn Rock n' Play Sleeper 2.  Blooming Bath 3. Summer Infant SwaddleMe 

4. Angelcare Movement Monitor 5. Boppy Bare Naked Pillow

 
There are a million lists out there for what you should buy for your baby.  Me, being the minimalist that I am, researched and scoured the internet until I had whittled down my list to just the essentials.  Aside from the obvious purchases you need for a newborn, these items are the ones that J and I love the most.  J loves some of these so much, he's practically a walking commercial for them, and that's saying a lot because you don't generally hear of guys just randomly raving about baby products.

1. Fisher-Price Newborn Rock n' Play Sleeper - Best thing ever!  It cradles the baby so well!  Austin has been getting a lot of use out of this.  If he's not in someone's arms, he's probably hanging out or sleeping in this.  I love that it's super light and portable. It comes with us all over the house and to our families' houses too.  He sleeps like a champ in it and it's nice for him to be right by us when we're in bed.  We're working on getting him to transition to the bassinet, and eventually the crib, but in the meantime, this has been perfect.

2.  Blooming Bath - J loves this thing!  I wanted a baby bath tub that wasn't going to take up a lot of space.  This fit the bill!  It's flexible and comfy!  Austin gets baths in this cozy flower in our kitchen sink.  When we're done using it, we squeeze as much water out and then throw it in the dryer and then I can hide it in the cabinet, unlike the big bath tubs that just sit there taking up space!

3. Summer Infant SwaddleMe - I never thought I'd be a big swaddle advocate.  But, swaddles, especially in the first couple weeks and at night, have been a huge help for us.  If he's fidgety, swaddles generally calm him down quickly because, let's be honest, it's a straitjacket for babies; at least that's what J and I call it.  We had a number of different swaddles we tried.  We really, really liked the Miracle Blanket and the Woombie; and even tried the standard receiving blankets and the Halo Sack, but these ended up being our favorite.  They are easy and straightforward and we haven't had any issues with Austin trying to escape from them or them coming undone.

4.  Angelcare Movement Monitor - If you want peace of mind when baby isn't sleeping in your arms or in your line of sight, you need this! This helps us relax when Austin is sleeping in the bassinet, because it alarms you if your baby every stops moving or breathing.  Yes, it's that sensitive.  Just slip it under the mattress and you're set! We use it in conjunction with the Motorola MBP43-2 Video Monitor, so we're covered on all bases.  Note: There was recently a recall for the movement monitor due to the cord, but I think they have now started releasing the updated product.

5. Boppy Bare Naked Pillow - This one is already a popular product in the baby industry, but it's worth having on the list.  Sure, you can get by with pillows, but this is just so convenient!  Whether you're breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, snuggling or doing tummy time, the Boppy comes in handy.  I also recommend the PB Kids Boppy Slipcovers with the soft chamois fabric, they are really soft!

Honorable Mentions:
Zipper Onesies (with mittens and footies) - Aside from the one or two cute outfits, Austin has lived in onesies.  And zipper onesies are the best.  No dealing with the snaps, snapping up the whole outfit just to find out you misaligned everything, or the onesies where the snaps are positioned all weird because the onesie can turn into a sleep sack.  Zippers are the way to go...but with mittens and footies.  No dealing with lost socks and loose mittens that they can pull off. Carter's has lots of Zip-Up Sleep and Play onesies, and they're carried at Target, Kohl's and a lot of other stores.

Baby Carriers (Baby K'Tan & Baby Bjorn) - We're not super big baby wearers, but they can come in pretty handy when you're out and about or just at home and want to cuddle but want to also have your hands free.  I really like the K'Tan because it's not structured and seems a lot easier to put on than the Moby Wrap.  J really likes the structure of the Baby Bjorn and he thinks it's not quite as girly to wear.  Whatever.  Baby gets held and we're all happy.