Friday Favorites: Best iPad Apps for toddlers!

Thank you Alana from Life on the Mom List for guest posting for me while we get unpacked! XOXO

In keeping with Johnna’s Friday Favorites, I thought I would write a post about my toddler’s Favorite iPad Apps! Everyone these days has an iPhone or iPad so I thought this might be a beneficial post to some who are looking for some new apps for their kids.

It’s no secret I have a love affair with my iPad. OBSESSION!! It’s an amazing little piece of technology that I take with me everywhere. It’s my calendar, my address book, and my computer all in one. But it’s also my kid’s choice of toy whenever he sees it out! I have to spell out I-P-A-D to my husband when we are out or this kid goes ballistic! He is obsessed but for good reason.

A few months ago when I got my I-P-A-D…. ummm….iPad, we were going on a trip, just my little guy and me. On a plane to Texas for FIVE HOURS! Imagine a 16 month old (at the time) on a plane for that long. It is torturous! I witnessed it first hand when D was younger and we were flying and I thought the mother of the fit throwing toddler was going to jump out of the plane! Seeing as how I value my life and would like to stick around awhile, I decided I needed to curb this tantrum throwing flight that I might encounter and what better way to do it then with the Ipad!

We’re weird in this house about movies and TV, as in D doesn’t watch much at all. That is our parenting philosophy and works for us. I am not judging! I swear! Everyone does things differently. I don’t have an iPhone so I am not in the know about all these amazing apps, so I did a little research, searching, etc and found a ton! Immediately, the paypal was put to use and we downloaded a ton! We were set for the flight!

Instantly I fell in love with Peekaboo Barn. It’s a super cute, interactive game that helps kids learn their animals and sounds. D loves this game so much and gets really upset when the animals go to sleep at the end! We’re talking MAD! You would think he would get it after playing it a million times over!

The next game he loves is Zoo Train. He, like most toddler boys, is obsessed with trains so this game is perfect. It has various games to play within the app but most are a bit too over his head so we stick with the “build your own train” game. It is cute, has fun music, and is full of animals, and makes the train sound, which is always a hit! Plus he can grow with this app. The harder games he will be able to play, as he gets older.

Also an obsession in this house is Fire Trucks and all things fire related. KidsFireman is a fun app that teaches kids to dial 911, become a firefighter, drive a truck, and put out a fire. Super fun and super entertaining! Huge hit in this house!

    

Last on the must have app list for us is Interactive Alphabet. This is by far my favorite app! Lots of fun sounds, colors and pronunciation of the letter, this app makes learning the alphabet fun. The F for fan is fun because you can switch the fan on and off. Therefore you learn the letter, a word that starts with the letter, as well as on and off. See, I told you it was fun!

So there you have it, my favorite iPad apps for toddlers. There are so many out there. Honestly, you can spend a ton of time searching for stuff. And a lot of them are free and compatible with the iPhone, as well!

Neither Apple nor Steve Jobs paid me for this review. This is only for Johnna’s blog! I spent my husband’s hard earned money for these apps and the saving of my sanity on a plane!

It's Wine Wednesday, let's get saucy!

My lovely pal Alana over at Life on the Mom List hosts a fun series called Wine Wednesday every week and this week she asked me if I wanted to participate! Of course I said yes because hello? I haven't drank in about a month and it was time to get SAUCY!

Here's how it works:

• I drink cheap wine
• I tell you about it
• I get drunk and take innappropriate pictures

Sounds fun, right? I chose to review my all time favorite wine, Barefoot Moscato. This is a dessert wine found at Target and most grocery stores. I typically like white wine (the sweeter the better) so Moscato is the perfect choice! You can buy this wine at Target for only $5.99 (and if you're anything like me, you practically live at Target anyway so #winning!) and I would DEFINITELY consider it a steal!

From the bottle:
"...a sweet wine with delicious mouth-watering flavors of juicy peach and apricot. Hints of lemon and orange citrus compliment a crisp, refreshing finish."

This wine is delicious! It has a very light, crisp taste and it goes down really smooth leaving a sweet taste in your mouth. To me it smells like apples and SUNSHINE! It is definitely my favorite Moscato out there and you literally can't beat that price! Moscato is best paired with fruit or dessert or even spicy Chinese food for a cozy night in. Try it with a snack of apples and cheese or a cupcake (both of which I had today... don't judge me) and you won't be disappointed. I would recommend this wine for a girls night or even to have with a nice Sunday brunch!

I give this wine 5 out of 5 corks because it's delicious and cheap (like all the great things in life are)!  Now go try this wine and let me know what you think! And don't forget to check out Heather, Lindsey, and Alana's blog for more Wine Wednesday fun!

Friday Favorites: Let them eat cupcakes! {GUEST POST}

Hello there! I just wanted to pop in quickly to say that I did a Friday Favorites post, but you'll have to visit my sister's blog to see it! Her hot, British fiance is visiting so she asked me to do a guest post in her absense. Make sure to check it out, because the theme is CUPCAKES, people! And I may or may not have created the best recipe ever for OREO CUPCAKES. Yeah, you definitely don't want to miss it. Go here to see the complete post!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Domesticated Delight Halloween Event – Fall Traditions (Guest Post)

Now that I have a family of my own it’s important for me to start family traditions and create memories that will last a lifetime. It was actually one of my 4 Simple Goals for this year. I’ve decided that one fall tradition I want to start is a trip to the Irvine Park pumpkin patch. I’ve actually never even been to their pumpkin patch so this will be a new experience for me too, but I’ve been there during fall and it’s beautiful. Also, friends of mine who have been there have told me it’s the best place to go pumpkin shopping in Orange County so we are definitely bringing Cayden this year! They have hay rides, train rides, bounce houses, face painting, tractor races, hay mazes, a haunted house, pony rides, games, and of course a pumpkin patch filled with photo ops! It's the PERFECT way to spend a fall day with your family! I can’t wait!

Which brings me tooooo.... the first ever guest post on Domesticated Delight! Jenn from Apple of My Eye Designs (she’s the only who designed my blog and did a fab job!) and also Double Duty Mommy graciously volunteered to tell us how her and her family spend the Halloween season.


I try to go all out for my daughter and make her Halloweens into great memories. I’m not a crafty mom so doing home-made projects with my daughter have pretty much always been out of the picture, but I will buy store-bought projects that are 1-2-3 EASY to do projects. One of the main “projects” we’ve made a tradition in our family is buying a Halloween Gingerbread House. I used to think Gingerbread houses were only for Christmas until I saw a Halloween themed one in Michael’s a couple years back. Of course it comes out looking like…lets just say it does not look edible, but it was fun and my daughter always likes decorating it.

Last year was the first year my friend Andria (@mommydoula21) and I did what we dubbed our Halloween Baking Extravaganza! We created Witch cookies, Spider, ghost, and Franken brownies, skull cupcakes, and mummy dogs! It was so fun and of course delicious. We are already planning out next baking day for this year’s Halloween. Now we just need to think of some more creative baking goodness!
















Another one of our new family traditions is to go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Disney keeps it pretty Halloween traditional and Mickey’s party starts from 7pm-midnight. You specifically have to have a special wristband or at 7pm you will be kicked out of the park! We live in Orlando, FL so anything Disney is always in our radar. The Halloween Party is a fun family filled event that only Disney can put on. There is a special parade, villain themed shows, and of course the safest Trick or Treating on the block. This year will be our 3rd year in a row going as a family and Kendall’s (the newest addition to our family!) first year attending.
















And finally, a tradition for my family is Sea World Halloween Spooktacular! A fun event with dressed up sea creatures galore plus non-stop trick or treating. The Spooktacular event is held from park open-close so if your kids are young then you can still enjoy the event during the day. Last year we went twice because it was so much fun!
















Our oldest Makenna is already asking when Halloween is. She was Tinkerbell and Snow White last year and she cannot wait to dress up as Alice In Wonderland this year! My husband and I are just as excited because now we have Kendall to enjoy each and every holiday with and this being her very first holiday we are sure to make it extra special for her.

I hope whatever you and your family does for Halloween is a safe and fun one! Enjoy!

Thanks so much Jenn for sharing your Halloween traditions! And everyone who comments on this post telling what they do for Halloween gets an extra entry into the giveaway of their choice!

Don’t forget to keep checking back to Domesticated Delight! A brand new giveaway will be posted tomorrow and you still have time to enter this giveaway!