42 Weeks Later

My newest little baby boy Charlie, only 12 days old today!

I can't say enough about ibuprofen. My 600 mg comes promptly every six hours and it works wonders! Even though I had an unmedicated natural childbirth (albeit 2 weeks overdue) the after pains have sent my body reaching into the medicine cabinet at regular intervals. Amidst all of the sleep deprivation and itty-bitty baby cuddling it's been hard to remember when to take my medicine and when I last nursed, thankfully my genius husband designed the Shared Baby Timer app for the iPhone. It's like an Itzbeen but it's truly one-of-a-kind because it allows me to share my timer with my husband or any another iOS device.

Screenshot of Shared Baby Timer app, I use the sleep timer as a wildcard to time my meds because my son never sleeps longer than 1.5 hours.  

For example if I am in the glider upstairs or at the couch downstairs and perhaps forgot my iPhone to see what side I last nursed on I can reach for the nearest iPod or ask my husband to check his iPhone, which he always carries on him, and since the app can be shared on multiple devices I can see the display. Once I update the timer information it will automatically sync with my iPhone as well. It's awesome! This app is free so any new mamas out there give it a try you only have to buy the in-app purchase if you want the ability to share the timer with another device.
Being 12 days postpartum I need any extra help that I can get and that's really why we've developed this app.
As for our new addition to the family my husband and I are so happy but scrambling every second with a preschooler and an infant in tow. It's one wild ride. It feels pretty crazy during midnight car rides to comfort the baby, or making dinner while wearing baby in the sling and the preschooler around the hip. Either way we are loving every minute of it!

These are the people in my neighborhood

A true art lover will never criticize any work of art.  They will try to see the sweetness or genius within the piece even if it's just a flipping blue circle against a white backdrop.  I am trying to keep this in mind as I watch my neighbor hang outside her window this morning and hand paint flowers and grass on the outside of her house.

I ask her if I can take a picture of her masterpiece and she smiles and enthusiastically says I can and asks if I have any requests for what she is to paint next.  "Ummm how about just plain white paint across your entire house?" is how I want to respond, but I am trying not to laugh too loudly.

Further down the street I see another neighbor has hung a chalkboard from her shed, because chalkboards belong outside apparently, and has written a sweet message to everyone who passes.

"Hey there beautiful" it says.

I think I have decided that property values are over-rated and that quirky neighbors are cool.  I guess I am feeling extra patient today.

Little Kids and Right Brain Learning Techniques

As a parent of a young child I am continuously astounded by the new things my son learns every day. This last year I have been spending time reading about how children learn while my husband has been working on a series of right-brain learning apps with a business partner. I thought it was about time to blog about these learning techniques after recently having a discussion about Western vs Asian approaches to learning. Right-brain learning is a fascinating topic, especially when discussing it during a 3 course fondue dinner with an expert. ;) 


The right side of your brain, often called the image brain, absorbs information instantly and automatically. Most of us have well-developed left brain functions but an underdeveloped right brain function in key areas. Memory linking and photographic high-speed imaging (rapid flashing) are right brain functions that children can do very easily. In fact, everything we see is instantly stored in our subconscious right brain mind. The problem is, most of us don't have the ability to bring those image memories out to our conscious left brain at will; we haven't developed the right brain left brain connections that enable it. Dr. Makato Schichida is a pioneer in the development and success of right brain accelerated learning methods. He founded over 400 Child Academies in Japan and has written more than 100 books on the subject of right brain education. Basically it all comes down to practicing how to make these connections between the two hemispheres of your brain. The learning apps we just released use these right-brained learning techniques, such as rapid flashing, to make the connection between right brain left brain learning in children ages 6 months to 12 years. 


We have 5 new iPad apps with hundreds of images and flash cards included and did I mention they are free in the App Store, currently available for the iPad. There has been a lot of hard work and research that has gone into these apps and for all the parents I know I hope they try these out, my son Sebastian is 2.5 and he loves them. You can't go wrong when something is free, educational, and entertaining for your child. Would love any feedback on these apps either in the form of a review on iTunes or via email/comment. 
Thanks for reading!

Our Return: 29 days in Cabo

A tired cranky toddler at Cabo's airport

Wow what a trip.  Spending a month in Mexico may have been one of the highlights of my life.  I am so blessed to be given this opportunity and I thank my lucky stars that we only had a few hiccups along the way.  I have been reiterating some of my favs and cons to my friends and family now that I am back, and just being able to speak to everyone through a reliable internet service and hearing their voice once again on the phone has been such a treat.  Having a new smart phone (iPhone 4S) and not being able to actually utilize the features while in Cabo was a bit of a pain....I know I know first world problems and all.

We came back to a bunch of slushy heavy snow and one FAT cat.  Seriously our cat got really fat even though we used an electronic cat feeder that measures out the food.  Maybe he got some extra treats from our friend who was house-sitting, or maybe not being chased by a toddler all day long for a month left him lazy.  I missed our kitty so it is nice to see him again.

We were delighted to have met so many people down in San Jose del Cabo from the Minneapolis area.  We even had a few friends sitting up in 1st class with us on the flight home.  Now that I am back I miss eating our meals outside and having the doors and windows open all day long, the fresh air and sunshine was definitely a mood boost.

We return to plenty of work for our business Wood App Developers which is always something to be grateful for.  We were asked to speak at the Mobile March conference next week here in the Twin Cities and my husband is preparing a topic on our app Awesome Ninja for the 3d Gaming Session.  Not only do our own apps continue to sell but more people are hiring app developers globally to see their ideas come to life in the app store.  Currently, it is an exciting industry to be in; maybe this is how employees of AOL felt during 1996, that they were in the right place at the right time.  In that light I will leave you with this internet meme recently submitted to Rate This Pic.

So True