Tag: "Mom"

Are You For or Against Apple and the iPad?

By Cristi | May 22, 2010 | 10 comments

I spend countless hours online every day reading and writing about Apple’s iPad, and everything related to it. No matter which side of the fence you’re on, you can find someone somewhere that shares your opinion. I’ve read numerous articles validating the iPad, and frankly based on the numbers, things seem to be going well. To be fair, I must admit, I’ve also read plenty of comments bashing the iPad and everything Apple.

The thing I really can’t get over is the number of people that, in my opinion, waste their energy (and sometimes money) destroying the iPad. Don’t you have anything better to do with your time? One great example is the guy who stood in front of us in line waiting to get his new iPad on launch day. He bitched and moaned the entire time about Apple, its products, the things the iPad couldn’t do, blah, blah, blah. I’m thinking to myself, “Really? Why are you here then?”

While searching the net for iPad related information this morning, I ran across “Your Mom Wants an iPad” written by Andy Boothe at theAppleBlog. As I sat and read, I found myself saying, “You’re right, that’s exactly what I think.” In so many words, Boothe says the iPad isn’t for everyone.

By Cristi | May 11, 2010 | 1 comment

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You never know where an iPad might pop up or who you will see using one! I was at Nordstrom in the Dallas Galleria this morning for an exclusive make-up event with Trish McEvoy (pictured on the left), beauty maven and founder of Trish McEvoy. It was an intimate event with about 40 women, several make-up artists and Trish. She featured her current summer line, demonstrated different make-up techniques and discussed a variety of products. After the presentation, I saw her relaxing in one of the Nordstrom sitting areas and had the opportunity to talk with her for a few minutes. I walked into the room and to my surprise, she had an iPad 3G sitting on her lap and was busy working away.

Trish lives in New York but travels all over the country and around the world. With this type of lifestyle, you need an easy way to stay connected and apparently the iPad is her gadget of choice. According to Trish, she uses her iPad for “Everything!” A device that allows users to surf the net, send and receive emails, read books and more is perfect for even the most elegant fashion icon!

iPads at Work – Mom

By Cristi | May 9, 2010 | 2 comments

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We’ll wrap up our iPads at Work series fittingly with an entry from a mom on Mother’s Day. A special salute to all you moms out there using every tool and gadget at your disposal to “get the job done!”

Thanks for participating in our series Monica and we hope you had a Happy Mother’s Day!

Name: Monica
Location: Dallas, TX
Employer: Her Family
Profession: Stay-at-Home Mom

As a Mom, I use my iPad to check the school’s websites and browse the calendars and events I need to plan for the week. Having my kids at 2 different schools with lots of weekly events, and volunteering for many of them, I have to be on top of what’s going on. Also, as a Room Mom, I use it to check and reply to parents’ & teachers’ emails. It’s faster to use the iPad, in my bedroom or any other room at home, than hauling my laptop around the house.

By Cristi | May 4, 2010 | No comment yet

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Looking for a fun little app to entertain your toddler? The brightly colored graphics and cute animals in Animal Hide & Seek Adventure HD are sure to entertain.

This fun little app lets your kids enjoy the all time favorite game of hide-and-seek right on your iPad. Animal Hide & Seek Adventure has three different adventures to choose from: kids can play in the jungle, at the circus or in the ocean.

Start the game and select your adventure. A playful scene appears with hidden animals and music. A list at the bottom of the screen shows your child which animals are hiding in the picture. Find an animal on the list, tap it and it performs for you along with sounds and music. Having trouble finding a particular animal? Look for it in the list at the bottom of the screen, tap it and watch it move in the picture above.

By Cristi | April 30, 2010 | No comment yet

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As parents, we’re all concerned about the education of our children. On-Track Time, Money & Fractions from School Zone Publishing is a fun way for kids to learn these basic math skills. Developed for kids 6-7 years old, this app uses repetitive practice, intermixed with fun games, to help children perfect their skills with counting money, telling time and figuring fractions.

Move from screen to screen automatically as the game progresses, or jump from skill to skill by touching the horseshoes at the bottom of the screen. Each exercise prompts your child with instructions, marks their correct answers and then rewards them with a game or fun musical skit. If all the answers on a page are correct, you move along to the next page and your corresponding horseshoe turns green. If not, the horseshoe turns red. Move ahead or go back and try again by tapping on the red horseshoe. The more pages you answer correctly, the more green horseshoes you collect.

By Cristi | April 27, 2010 | 5 comments

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Everyone loves the fun rhymes, silly text and timeless illustrations in the classic children’s books by Dr. Seuss! A collection of those books are now available for you and your kids to enjoy in the App Store.

I reviewed The Cat in the Hat and The Lorax and really enjoyed them. These well known stories combine education and entertainment into one complete app package and promise to keep your little ones busy for hours. Each book has three options for reading:

Read to Me – The story is read to you and you turn the pages when you’re ready to move on.
Read it Myself – Read the book yourself, tap the text if you want to hear it read to you and turn the page when you are ready to move to the next page.
Auto Play - More like a movie. The story is read to you and advances automatically.

By Cristi | April 19, 2010 | No comment yet

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Looking for a fun educational app for your preschooler or early elementary school aged child? Look no further than the #1 iPad Educational App, 123 Color HD. This paint-by-numbers (or letters) style app is an interactive fun way for kids to learn and be creative.

Overview: 123 Color HD teaches numbers and letters (upper and lower case) through artwork, sound effects and music. It also incorporates the use of English, Spanish, French and German languages.

Features: Start the app and the “Menu” screen appears. Choose “Demo,” “Settings,” “Info” or begin play by selecting a picture. The “Demo” provides a quick demonstration of how the app works but I found it really wasn’t necessary. This app is well put together, making it intuitive and easy to use.

By Cristi | April 13, 2010 | No comment yet

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Miss Spider’s Tea Party is an all time favorite book at our house! We love the brightly colored illustrations, the characters and the lesson it teaches. Both the small cardboard condensed version and the regular size, full-story hardcover have been well used. I actually read our books so many times when my girls were toddlers, that I had them memorized.

Always on the lookout for “mom” and “kid” related apps to review, I went to the App Store recently and was thrilled to find Miss Spider’s Tea Party in the list of top apps. Here’s my review of this wonderful children’s book app:

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My High Tech Affair – Those Little Annoyances

By Cristi | April 12, 2010 | No comment yet

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I told you yesterday about my secret affair and three of the things I really enjoy about my new relationship. As with any relationship, you always deal with the ups and the downs, and my relationship with the iPad is no exception. Although I like lots of things about it, there are still some that I don’t. Here are three things that make me nuts:
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My High Tech Affair

By Cristi | April 11, 2010 | 2 comments

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Shhhh! Can you keep a secret? I just got caught cheating. No, not on my husband, but on my iPhone! I love my iPhone and I’ve used it every day since I bought it, to check email, run apps and make calls. Now that I have my iPad, my love affair with my iPhone has begun to cool. I find myself using my iPad more and more every day, while my iPhone sits off to the side for almost everything but making calls. Here are three things that I think make the iPad a great partner:

By Cristi | April 11, 2010 | 2 comments

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Technology is almost second nature to children growing up in the 21st century, and as a parent, I’m often amazed my kids are so tech savvy. PadGadget has already featured a YouTube video of a two year old using her father’s iPad for the first time and feeling right at home. If you are a parent and you have an iPad, or plan to buy one, chances are you will use it to entertain your children at some point. Whether you let them watch movies, play games or read books, there are plenty of ways for them to stay busy. That’s what makes the iPad such a great device for parents!

By Cristi | April 7, 2010 | 2 comments

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According to stylelist’s report yesterday, the hottest new fashion accessory this week is the iPad. They predict it is only a matter of time before the fashion industry fully embraces the iPad technology and they “expect to see magazines, style apps, and new ways to shop on our iPads in no time.” A few iPad apps have already been released for magazines like Time and GQ, and it’s probably only a matter of time before many other titles become available. Here are a couple of iPad specific apps you might be interested in for your fashion needs!

By Cristi | April 6, 2010 | No comment yet

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One of the things I enjoy about mobile devices is the entertainment value. My family uses iPhones and iPods regularly to play games and watch movies while driving in the car, during volleyball practice and waiting in doctor’s offices. Now we have the iPad to add to our list.

Shortly before the iPad launch, I was contacted by Darren Murtha about an app called “Drawing Pad.” He sent me some info and a link to a YouTube demo video. I knew immediately that my kids would love playing with an app like “Drawing Pad,” but I was curious to see how well it actually worked. We downloaded the app on Sunday and spent quite a bit of time playing with it. Following is my review:

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Protect Their Little Ears

By Cristi | April 1, 2010 | No comment yet

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Remember the 80′s when you got your first walkman? And then when you got one that would auto-reverse the tape? Wow, what a technological breakthrough! I clearly remember my parents telling my brother and me to turn our walkmen down as we rocked to U2 in the backseat of our car.

Now, fast forward 25 years and we’re saying the same thing our parents did. Although the devices have changed, the concern parents have about volume has not.

By Cristi | March 31, 2010 | No comment yet

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Is black neoprene not good enough for your iPad? Want to stick out in the crowd? Then check out the line of fashionable iPad sleeves from Wrappers, a UK based company. These fashion forward sleeves are available in everything from corduroy to wool/cashmere and are a must have for all you fashionistas.

Wrappers sleeves are made of high quality, fashionable fabrics in a variety of colors and textures. They’re padded to protect your device from bumps and have four elastic bands (one on each corner) to hold your iPad securely in place. Got a dirty sleeve? Don’t worry! Wrappers sleeves are either machine/hand washable or dry cleanable.