The Professional Mom Project

An authentic look at parenting through the eyes of a busy mom with an even busier family

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    • back to school checklist
  • Health
    • What is Tethered Spinal Cord Syndrome?
    • Thyroid Cancer Awareness: Check your Neck
    • Being Diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer
    • We’re not done yet. Living with thyroid cancer
    • What is the Low Iodine Diet?
    • 8 Tips for Dealing with Hypothyroidism
    • How to Help a Friend with Cancer
    • Is Buying a Fitness Tracker Worth It?
    • To access the Free Low Iodine Diet Checklist Please Sign Up for Updates
    • How to Create an Inexpensive Home Yoga Space
    • Using SMART Goals to run the Sporting Life 10K
    • Time for a Change: Making Healthy Habits in 2017
  • Work
    • Law School
      • Should you go to Law School?
      • The Informational Interview: Tips for Students Considering Law School
    • 7 Tips for Staying Healthy at Work
    • My Career Path
  • Food
    • Favourite quick and easy dinner recipes
    • 5 awesome and easy low iodine diet dinner ideas
    • Healthy Leftover Turkey and Cauliflower Fried Rice
    • How to Make Super Simple Salmon and Tuna Sushi Bowls
    • Super Simple Overnight Baked French Toast
    • The Greatest Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmesan Ever
    • How to Make Slow Cooker Turkey Breast for a Crowd
    • One Dish Chicken Quinoa Bake with Vegetables
    • Easy Vegan Gluten Free Peach Crumble
    • Baked Mac and Cheese
    • Creamy Healthy Vegan Pasta
    • Easy 8 Ingredient BBQ Chicken Burrito Bowls
    • Easy Honey Baked Chicken with Veggies and Quinoa
    • My Favorite Easy Sweet and Sour Tofu
    • How to Make The Best Roasted Root Vegetables Ever!
    • Healthy pesto pasta with roast tomatoes
    • Gluten Free Vegan Shepherds Pie
    • How to Make the Ultimate Vegan Superfood Smoothie
    • Low Iodine Diet Friendly Tomato Sauce
    • Homemade Healthy Granola
    • Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Nana’s Special Chicken Recipe
    • Low iodine diet friendly vegan gluten free muffins
    • Quick Low Iodine Diet Friendly Avocado Pasta
    • Passover Meal Ideas (that don’t taste like they are for Passover)
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    • Want to be Less Stressed? Try Becoming a More Empathetic Parent
    • 5 Strategies for Parenting a Strong Willed Child
    • Holiday Gift Guide for the Home Cook
    • 11 Easy Tips for Making Mommy Friends
    • Tips for Dining Out with Kids
    • Taming the Beast: Paper Clutter Organization Tips
    • Surviving Hockey Season
    • The Best Classic Accessories for a Modern Mom
    • Why is it so Difficult to Put Myself First?
    • 5 Zen Strategies for Dealing with Negative People in Your Life
    • One Simple Way to Save Money Shopping Online
    • How to Help Your Preschooler Transition to Kindergarten
    • 9 of The Best Rainy Day Activities for Kids
    • How to Make Fall Fabulous
    • 3 Simple Steps to Master Your Family Calendar
    • 5 Tips for a Successful Parent Teacher Conference
    • Gifts for the Hockey Obsessed Child
    • How to Choose the Perfect Summer Camp
    • Rocking Motherhood: 10 Reasons I Rock Being a Mom
    • The Best Children’s Books for Preschoolers
    • You know you’re a mom of a four year old boy when….
    • Summer Must Haves for Moms
  • Travel
    • What to Pack for a Family Beach Vacation: Don’t Forget These 15 Items!
    • Secrets to Travelling with Kids
    • 3 Rules for Stress-Free Travel with Extended Family
    • How to beat the post holiday blues
    • Our Top Tips for Visiting Disneyland with a Four Year Old
    • Top 7 Fun and Kid Friendly Activities in Maui
    • Tips for Stress Free Travel without Kids
  • Blogging
    • Secrets to Blogging Success: A Review of Traffic Transformation
    • Helpful Blogging Tools and Resources from The Professional Mom Project
    • My Favourite Link Ups and Link Parties
    • 5 Things I Hate About Blogging
    • 5 of the Best Ways to Use Twitter for Work
    • How to Start a Blog
    • What is the Anchor App and How to Use it
    • Top 5 Inspirational Podcasts
    • 5 Blogging Mistakes I’ve Made (and you don’t have to)
    • What You Need to Know About Facebook Blogging Groups
    • 9 Twitter Tips for Beginners Part I
    • 9 Twitter tips for Beginners Part II
    • Fantastic Podcasts for New Bloggers – Part I
    • My 5 must have apps for bloggers
    • My First Year of Blogging – What I’ve Learned so Far
    • My Top 5 Helpful Lessons from Building a Framework: The Ultimate Blogging Handbook
    • The Best Blog Posts 2016: The Professional Mom Project
    • Top 5 Inspirational Podcasts
  • Work with Me

in Blogging

The Best Blog Posts 2016: The Professional Mom Project

Now that I’ve been blogging for a year, I’m so excited that I can write a “best blog posts” roundup of my own favourite posts from 2016! I can’t believe I’ve written over 50 posts this year. Thanks so much to all of you who read, comment and share these posts. It truly means so much to me!

I’ve chosen a few of the best blog posts on The Professional Mom Project based on:

  • the posts I really enjoyed writing;
  • the articles that received lots of engagement; and
  • the blog posts that have been the most popular on social media

Here’s my list of the best blog posts of 2016:

What is Tethered Spinal Cord Syndrome?

My post on TSCS and how it impacts our family, is one of the initial posts I put together when I first started the blog. It’s very important to me to reach out to other parents and individuals who have (or know someone who has) TSCS.

So much of the information out there is scary, clinical and difficult to understand. I want other families to understand that yes, TSCS is a very scary diagnosis, but there are positive stories out there. Thank goodness our wonderful son is doing well and continues to thrive as an active 5 year old.

Every time I get a comment on the post from a mother of a child with TSCS, or from someone with TSCS, I feel blessed that I’ve helped these families cope with TSCS in at least a small way.

The best blog posts of 2016 from The Professional Mom Project - posts on parenting, health, food and travel

 

Check your Neck: Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month

If you’ve been reading the blog for a little while, you’ll know that I am living with thyroid cancer. I had a complete thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine treatment, but some stubborn cancer cells are still hanging around in my blood.

When people meet me and find out I have cancer, they often ask how it was diagnosed. My Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month post tells that story. My hope is also to encourage you to speak up to your doctor if you don’t feel well and be persistent if you need to. Thyroid cancer is becoming increasingly common. While it is relatively straightforward to treat (for most people), it can be challenging to find. According to my doctor, I likely had my nodules for two years before they were found.

I’m lucky that my cancer was caught early. Even though I’m not in remission yet, the outlook is positive.

 

Secrets to Travelling with Kids

It’s no secret that E and I love to travel! While our vacation spots have become a bit less exotic since R was born, we still try to travel, explore new things and have some adventure in our lives.

Traveling with kids can be challenging, but I’m happy to provide some tips and resources on how to make it easier and more relaxing for the entire family.

I hope to write some additional travel posts in 2017 to provide additional strategies and tips on travelling with kids.

Salmon and Tuna Sushi Bowls

I make this dish all the time. It’s easy, requires only a few ingredients and tastes amazing. I decided to add this recipe to my list of the best blog posts in case you may have missed this super simple dinner dish.

What’s better than throwing a few ingredients in a bowl and getting a restaurant style meal!

5 Blogging Mistakes I’ve Made (and you don’t have to)

This post is super popular with other bloggers and on social media. Since we’re all still learning, I think many of us bloggers look to each other for tips and help.

By sharing a few of the big mistakes early on, I hope I’ve helped some other bloggers avoid those traps.

38 Things I’m Grateful for on my 38th Birthday

I’m trying to live with more gratitude every day. Reminding myself of all of the wonderful things I have in my life, makes getting through some of the tougher moments a bit easier. It’s also inspiring to look back and see a big list of all of these amazing things to be thankful for. In my opinion, birthdays are the perfect time to take a look back.

Now I just have to figure out what to do for my 39th!

How to Plant a Beautiful Container Garden

I grew up gardening with my dad and I really love making the outside of our home bright and colourful in the summer – especially after the bleak Canadian winter.

I’m not sure what attracted readers to this post, but it was really popular on StumbleUpon and on the link parties where I like to share my posts. Because of the post’s popularity, I decided to add it to my list of best blog posts of the year.

I look forward to making another container garden in 2017 and hopefully improving my veggie garden in the back yard.

Parenting a Strong Willed Child

Our son is an exuberant and energetic kid with a crazy sense of humour and a super quick mind. Sometimes parenting him can be a challenge. We want him to stay his hilarious,  awesome self but it would be nice if he listened a bit more every once in a while…

The 5 strategies that I outline in this post help us try to be good parents while balancing our son’s strong personality.

Why is it so Difficult to Put Myself First?

I wrote this post as I was recovering from pneumonia. Getting sick made me think about how hard a time I have putting myself first sometimes. As I write in the post, I know I’m supposed to put my oxygen mask on first so that I can help everyone else, but this is a difficult concept for the maternal side of me.

A few of the reader comments really hit me and I’m now trying to think about how to take better care of myself. One step I’m taking is making a larger effort to fit regular exercise into my life. I always feel better when I exercise and it’s about time I make more of an effort to workout more regularly.

On the theme of taking better care of myself, I’m also thinking about doing a small blog series in January on the little things we can do to take better care of ourselves as moms, wives and women. Stay tuned!

Taming the Beast: Paper Clutter Organization

I don’t know one person who doesn’t struggle with paper clutter organization. We are constantly bombarded with fliers, ads, bills, mail, artwork, homework, assignments and everything else and it’s so overwhelming.

I do my best to keep on top of the mess (I’m sure E will laugh when he reads this) and it’s a daily challenge.

Clearly,  I’m not the only one with this struggle. You guys really liked the post and gave me some helpful advice on how to add more organization to my life.

 

Thanks for reading through my list of the best blog posts of the year! I truly appreciate all of your support and I look forward to sharing more with you in 2017.

Is there anything in particular you’re looking to learn more about in the upcoming year? I’d love to hear more in the comments.

The Professional Mom Project

Check out the link parties where I’ll be sharing this post!

Related Posts

My 5 must have apps for bloggers
The Best Children’s Books for Preschoolers
11 Easy Tips for Making Mommy Friends
Surviving Hockey Season

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: blogging, parenting, social media, tips

« How to beat the post holiday blues
Time for a Change: Making Healthy Habits in 2017 »

Comments

  1. Sara says

    January 21, 2017 at 4:07 am

    Loved your post about blogging! I haven’t got round to Amazon affiliates yet, but what you say is really helpful to me! As for the publishing schedule, I’ve decided on 2 weekdays when I’m going to publish, and I have an Excel sheet with the dates, the link of the blogs published or a vague idea / notes of what it’ll be! Good luck and thanks for sharing #KCACOLS

    Reply
  2. Sharon Parry says

    January 13, 2017 at 10:54 am

    Well done to you for a whole year of blogging! A great round up of posts! Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday

    Reply
  3. Heledd @ yummyblogger says

    January 11, 2017 at 5:31 pm

    Interesting range of posts! I love reading about travelling with children…. and the recipe sounds interesting, have bookmarked it!
    #kcacols
    Heledd @ yummyblogger recently posted…Review of the year 2016: toddlers, babies, life and my top 5 blog postsMy Profile

    Reply
  4. Ky says

    January 7, 2017 at 6:37 pm

    Well done on making it past the one year mark! I have an underactive thyroid so I will defiinitely check out your posts. You are very brave sharing them with us but it’s also good to bring awareness about it. The salmon and tuna sushi bowls look delicious, I will definitely be making those. x #kcacols
    Ky recently posted…My love of musicMy Profile

    Reply
  5. Audrey says

    January 6, 2017 at 11:39 am

    Congratulations on wrapping up a year of blogging. I am glad you have decided to make #FridayFrivolity one of your weekly stops.
    Audrey recently posted…10 Geeky Ways to Announce You are Expecting (plus Friday Frivolity)My Profile

    Reply

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About Me

Hi! I'm Nicole, a married working mom to one wonderful, active, sensitive, argumentative, talkative and hilarious five-year old boy (“R”) who brings joy (and stress) to every aspect of our lives. Over the past five years our small family has faced some significant life challenges from health concerns and cancer to career overhauls. Every day we continue to learn and grow. I hope you will join in and share your experiences with me.

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The opinions expressed on this blog are based on my own experiences, thoughts and knowledge. The opinions and information contained herein is not legal advice. The opinions and information contained herein is not medical advice. I am not a health professional, therapist, child psychologist etc. Please seek the appropriate professional assistance. Any opinions represented on The Professional Mom Project are accredited to the respective commentator and do not reflect my own personal views. I reserve the right to edit and/or remove any inappropriate comments. I participate in affiliate marketing programs where I receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on my site including Indigo.ca, Share a Sale and Commission Junction. I only suggest books or products I have used myself. Thank you for supporting my blog by purchasing these products. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the blog to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Thank you again for your support All material is copyright of Nicole Salama and The Professional Mom Project unless otherwise stated.
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