Everyone knows that mom. The one in the tailored business suit on carpool duty, her manicured nails tapping the screen of her iPhone as she calmly checks her freshly synced calendar while opening the door for five rambunctious boys before driving her daughter to ballet class.

She knows the secret to balancing a busy work and family life: she has help. Fortunately for you, that help is only a few downloads away.

“There are so many apps out there created specifically to alleviate some of the tug and pull between work and life,” says Joanna Miller, director of business sales at Verizon Wireless and mother of three young children. “They can offer quick solutions -- for managing, scheduling and organizing -- so you can stay on task and still spend time with your family.”

There really is an app for everything you need to do in a day’s work – at home and at the office. Just look at this list of time- and energy-saving tools for your smartphone or tablet:

Apps for Working Moms

• GoToMyPC. When a sick little one keeps you home for the day, stay productive through remote access to your work computer. “My office is upstairs, my kids are typically downstairs and I’m often running back and forth between the two,” says Jennifer Chidester on her blog live.mom.work. “GotoMyPC.com is a great resource if you’re in another room, another city or state and need to access your office computer.”
• File Manager. Search, share, compress, decompress, organize, view and play files for work and family without hassle. This app comes with a built-in text editor and an image gallery.
• Indeed Jobs. If you’re on the job hunt, take advantage of the most comprehensive search engine to find openings nearby. View new postings since your last visit and e-mail jobs of interest to yourself.

Apps to Entertain (& Educate) Your Children

• Alpha Tots. Voted No. 2 in the Apple Education Top 10 Apps, Alpha Tots encourages toddlers to learn their alphabet through action-based verbs. “What a great app to add to your collections of games for your kiddos on the iPad!” says Lenette Sparacino of Bentonville (Benton County) in her online blog The Techie Mommy.
• iStoryBooks. Occupy the kids with free illustrated fairytales, animal stories, folk stories, educational books and children’s Ramayana books.
• Monkey Preschool Lunchbox. A friendly animated monkey challenges your preschooler with six educational exercises -- encompassing colors, letters, counting and matching -- that turn learning into a game.

Apps for Life in General

• Cozi Family Organizer. Combine calendars, to-do lists, shopping lists and even a family journal to keep everyone in the loop. Everyone shares one account with a family password but can access all calendars and lists through individual e-mail addresses.
• Family GPS Tracker or I’mOK. When your family is everywhere but home, relieve your worries with exact locations and instant communication. “[I’mOK] promises to change the nature of family communication by turning the check-in process into a game,” says Monica Vila on The Online Mom blog. “Family Locator is a secure service that allows parents to keep tabs on the whereabouts of family members by tracking their phones using GPS technology and Verizon’s own cell phone networks.”
• Notes NotePad ToDo List. Jot notes, e-mails, reminders, shopping lists and to-do lists on the go with easy editing. Send lists via text messaging and use the search option to find notes quickly.

Apps to Save Your Family Money

• Key Ring Reward Cards. Lighten your key ring by storing all loyalty and discount information to your smartphone. Save money through instant access to free coupons and other reward programs available from Key Ring.
• HomeBudget. “HomeBudget is an expense tracker designed to help you budget, track and control your monthly expenses at home,” writes Sylvia Browder in the blog, She Takes on the World. The app features a calendar view of bills to be paid and easy-to-read trend charts to visualize cash flow.

These are just a few of the many apps that can aid busy parents as they navigate parenting, working, volunteering -- life.

“Finding balance between a career and family requires daily effort,” Miller said. “But if you take just a few minutes to put these apps to use, you can save yourself time, money and energy that can be better spent with your family.”