Games for Moms: Puzzle Quest

Are you addicted to Bejeweled?  Then this game is for you! Puzzle Quest takes you on an adventure where you defeat monsters and enemies by solving a puzzle game that requires you to switch adjacent tiles to make a row or column of at least 3 same tiles. The damage inflicted depends on the number of tiles you remove through this switch-and-match process. You can also learn and use a variety of spells to help you diminish more tiles.

The game is available on both PSP and DS, though PSP gets higher marks for better graphics and of course, the ability to switch the power off and take up where you left off once the baby finally settles down for her nap ;)

Games for Moms: Cooking Mama!

What better way to de-stress than to slide, slide, slide and tap, tap, tap furiously on your touchscreen to peel and chop potatoes?  Dexterity and speed aren't all that matters, though!  Good timing is also required to create that perfect bowl of stew.

Cooking Mama is a cooking simulation game that helps you make savory (albeit, purely digital) dishes through the directions of "Mama".  Each dish is typically created through a series of minigames encompassing the preparation, cooking, and presentation stages of a meal. 

While utterly simple and somewhat repetative, the mouth-watering, cutesy, anime-like images of  food flittering across the screen manages to keep you engrossed.  Well, at least long enough to go through most of the meals and variations available! 

I do have it on good authority - from friends who know how to cook - that the process (from the ingredients to the timing) can be more than a little unrealistic.  But hey, to someone like me who burns something as mundane as hotdogs, this game is a gem that puts me at the level of an actual chef - of 2D meals, that is! :)