Top 10 Posts of 2014

As a freelance writer turned blogger this year, I've really enjoyed sharing on a more personal note topics like my own parenting advice, fun & simple kids activities, and family-favorite recipes. I love coming up with ideas for new posts, and I've had fun looking back over the past year to see what YOUR favorites were. Each of these 10 were voted one of the best of Practical Parenting based on the number of visits received. Thank you for reading and your contributions to our website! Counting down from 10 to 1...

10. Hot Chocolate Bar with Chocolate Spoons - My family loves the flavors chocolate spoons add to hot chocolate! We plan to make it every year to enjoy all December.

9. Kids Protection Planning: How to safeguard your most precious "assets" - Our family created a Kids Protecion Plan with Haslam Law this year and posted about our great experience.

8. Eric Carle Clothing Line: New at Gymboree - We love Gymboree! This year they came out with an adorable Eric Carle clothing line.

7. How to Have Peace When You're Falling to Pieces - One of our favorite books and our most read guest post this year by the author herself, Rebecca Rode.

6. Squeasy Snacker Review & Giveaway - My kids love Squeasy Gear, and I love how mess-free and environmentally friendly they are!

5. Squooshi Reusable Food Pouches Review - Another amazing food pouch with animal  characters my kids think are pretty fun! I like how much money it saves us over buying the pre-filled ones from the store.

4. 50 Unique Stocking Stuffers - Though I never got around to creating a gift guide this year, I did have fun coming up with some creative stocking stuffer ideas!

3. Emergency Preparation Checklist & Giveaway - This was one of a series of posts I did with other local bloggers to share food storage advice, along with some great giveaways.

2. Sugar Bowl Bakery Review - Yum, I just want to make these again every time I see this picture! We enjoyed this review of Sugar Bowl Bakery Petite Brownie Bites (hint: They're available at Costco!).

1. Kids Halloween Lanters - In October we shared over 100 Halloween project ideas with other bloggers, and this ended up being our most viewed post of the year by far. What's great is these lanterns are fun for pretty much any holiday (see our Christmas version). They're quite simple to make and inexpensive, too!

And not on this list (but not far behind on views), two more of my very favorites this year were:

Winter Car Seat Safety Reminders - First, my toddler is just adorable, second I liked writing this informative post on a topic I'm very passionate about-- car seat safety.

S'mores Snack Mix - I think this was the first recipe I ever posted, and had so much fun with it that I made a Halloween variation.

I have a lot of ideas I'm excited about for 2015, including a lot more recipes and posts on a variety of parenting issues. I'm excited for a new year, and hope to help you find practical solutions to parenting and simplify family-life to keep it meaningful! Thanks again for reading and Happy New Year!!