My heart is absolutely broken for the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School. The unspeakable horror that has taken place is something no parent ever wants to spend a second preparing for. May God be with them and give them incredible grace during this heartbreaking time.

As we look to Christmas, it’s hard to imagine preparing for the new year already. Getting a head start on those obligatory “New Year’s Resolutions” will not only help you be more prepared to actually follow through, but will make them more meaningful as you take your time setting goals you can achieve.

Cozi Family Organizer by Cozi FREE helps you keep track of you family calendar and sync it with other family member’s Cozi apps. This organizer app also lets you create and sync shopping lists, todo lists and more. Add and edit calendar events and jot down journal entries on the go when “firsts” happen to the kids unexpectedly. This app can be a parent’s best friend.

Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock by Marciek Drejak Labs $0.99 is my top pick as an alarm clock app (I gave up using the traditional alarm clock years ago). What’s so great about it? The app tracks your sleep patterns (you place your phone on your mattress so it tracks your movements during sleep), shows you how long you spent in deep sleep and how long in light sleep through the night. Not only that, but Sleep Cycle Alarm wakes you up at your lightest stage of sleep during the set period of time you request to be awoken in the morning (ie, wake me up during my lightest sleep period that occurs between 6:15 – 6:45).

Fooducate Plus from Cigna $3.99 saves health-conscious busy moms and dads lots of time in the grocery store. If you’re looking to improve the amount of good-for-you food that goes into your cart, simply use Fooducate Plus to quickly scan the bar code of the item in question, then see a quick rundown of the good and the bad regarding the nutrition information. A great grocery companion for the busy parent!

Complete Relaxation by Relaxiapps $1.99 is perfect for those of us who get wound up with stress every week. Take 30 minutes and listen to beautiful musc and a relaxing guide help you through the relaxation process. If your new year’s resolution involves kicking stress to the curb, this is a great little tool to help make that goal a reality.

P90X by Beachbody, LLC $4.99 is the mobile companion to the hit workout system. If you find yourself needing to do your workouts on-the-go, this is a great way to get a killer workout using your smartphone as your coach and stopwatch. There are multiple body packs to choose from as in-app purchases (abs, legs, etc). Get those trouble areas in shape for the new year with this well-polished system.

What about you? What apps are you planning to use to help get a jump start on the new year?

Hannah Camacho is an educator, mom to three wonderful children ages 4 and younger and proud wife of an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran. She has been a BlogHer featured tech blogger and is very involved in the world of mobile app marketing and PR when she’s not chasing her three busy little ones.