I'm a full-time mummy

I knew I had to review this app when I saw the video trailer of it showing a bear being bitten by a flea, rolling on the ground, scratching its body trying to get rid of the flea. My first thought was my 3 years old boy is going to have fun watching this. Anyway, my review as below...

* Title: The Very Itchy Bear
* Price: $5.49
* Category: Books
* Updated: Sept 11, 2012
* Version: 1.1
* Size: 70.9 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: We Are Wheelbarrow PTY LTD
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Description from the product page:

"Bear is back again and - uh oh! He's STILL cranky!
In the third book of the beloved Bear series, Flea tries to say "Hello" by biting Bear high and low...

 'Itchy Bear' is another fun & humorous book for young readers by authour/illustrator Nick Bland. This is the third app Bear stars in - Nick's books 'The Very Cranky Bear' & 'The Very Hungry Bear' have already been adapted to popular apps for the ipad,iphone and ipod touch! Even so, Bear hasn't let stardom go to his head - he is just as lovably gruff as ever. A character that is truly bought alive by voice acting from the equally loveable Australian actor, Angus Sampson."

What's good?

* It is very engaging and I love that we can also touch the objects in each page on the screen and be amazed at the cute animation that appears!

* I could tell that my 3 years old boy is enjoying the animation effects where we can zoom in and out to look at the flea. I also used the opportunity here to teach my boy on sizes comparison (big and small) and what a flea does.

* I like the storyline where it tells how the Bear trying to get rid of the flea that bit its body and then realises he's all alone and what the bear did to be with the flea together in the end.

* There are some pages which got Ben's attention and reactions such as the page where the Bear swam and swam and swam to rescue the flea. I think this is partly because we have been going to our health club and Ben loves swimming in the club's swimming pool so I think he finds it cute and he can relate himself to the Bear when it swam.

Room for Improvement?

* I would prefer if the flower looks nicer. The one shown below actually creeps me out the first time (when I accidentally touched it without realising it's a flower!). The red flower looks like an alien's head!

* I noticed that the paging is a bit slow, as in when we turned to the next page, it takes a few seconds before we can go to the next page.

* I also think the price of the app at $5.49 is a bit too pricey.

You can purchase the "The Very Itchy Bear" app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"

The first time I saw the pitch for this product, I went 'Wh-at?! You mean there are products out there that let my toes do yoga?!'

Now did you know that 25% of bones in our body are located in the feet which are made up from 52 bones? And did you also know that women suffer from 4 times as many foot problems as men? It is important that women wear correctly fitting footwear as on average they walk 3 miles further every day than men. So with all these foot facts, all the more I got to review it! So here goes my review for the "YogaToes®":

About the product:
"The patented ergonomic design of YogaToes® works between, above and beneath toes to stretch them apart from each other, away from the ball of the foot and down from the top of the foot. Stretching and working the muscles increases circulation. You know how good you feel after a workout or a massage. Now your feet can enjoy the same results! All you have to do is slip into a pair of YogaToes®. YogaToes® help improve & prevent common foot problems like: hammertoes, bunions, Plantar Fasciitis, crossed toes and poor circulation."

I requested for XS size and purple color as it is one of my favorite color. My first impression when I saw the product is it looks like flubber, you know one of those jelly rubber toy. I took it out from the packaging and found out that it is quite heavy and yes, it is flubbery hahaha... The two ends of the YogaToes® allows you to easily split it open to slide in your big toe and small toe. The YogaToes® does not feel sticky at all.

I gently slide in my toes into each YogaToes® and just relax and continue doing my work while my kids took their afternoon nap. What a bliss! The first time, I did this for about 5 minutes and it felt weird. My toes were stretched out for 5 minutes and the sensation after taking off YogaToes® is weird of course. The next day, I repeated this again and this time, it does not feel weird at all.

According to the website, it says "As with any conditioning program, YogaToes® might be uncomfortable at first. This most often means your feet really need them! As soon as you put them on, you will feel your feet responding. Pay attention to your feet - we are so used to foot pain, we tend to ignore them." So I guess, this product is working for me!

I am very happy I get to review this and will continue to use it as regularly as I possibly can.

You can get this at http://www.yogapro.com/products/YogaToes.html or find out more info at http://blog.yogapro.com

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com.

Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

My 3 years old boy is quite a cool kid in the sense that he doesn't smile unless he's doing something mischievous or unless you asked him to, or unless he's super happy with something. I guess he's pretty much like me, reserved and cool initially. So I know I just had to review this app when I saw the review pitch of this app as I wanted to know how I can make him smile next time! Anyway, my review as below...

* Title: A Smile for Elliot
* Price: $3.99
* Category: Books
* Released: Sept 14, 2012
* Version: 1.0
* Size: 157 MB
* Language: English
* Seller: Touchoo Ltd.
* Rated: 4+
* Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later

Description from the product page:

"This is a story of a little boy who tries to help his special friend find his smile again. Together they travel through colorful and fascinating experiences that can only be created in a child's imagination."

What's good?

* It is engaging and interactive and I love that some of the objects we touch on the pages animates pretty funny too! The illustrations are simple and yet captivating.

* I also appreciate the progress bar at the bottom which indicates how far along are we into the story.

* I like that the app featured a boy as one of the main character (other than Elliot the koala bear) as I feel my 3 years old boy can relate himself better with the storyline.

* I also find this app timely as my boy is in the pretend play stage currently and his imagination at the moment is just so astounding... so when I saw the pages with the characters imagining that they shrunk to the size of a mouse and eating the yummylicious cupcakes, I can't help but smile as my boy sometimes pretends he shrinks and enlarges (after watching the "Honey I shrunk the kids" movie)

* There are some pages which I also used the opportunity to teach my boy about seasons, fall, winter, spring and summer. It is cute and fun to see the environment and the characters changing as we pressed the 4 seasons icon at the bottom right on the screen.

* I have to admit I went 'Awwwwwww...' at the last page in this app. Just too cute to see the koala bear finally smiling with the little boy!

Room for Improvement?

* Nothing much I can think of other than I think the price of the app at $3.99 is a bit too pricey.

You can purchase the "A Smile for Elliot " app from the iTunes App Store.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the promo code to redeem the application for free from iTunes Store in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous iPad Apps reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My iPad App Reviews"