Hey, y’all, thanks for being in my life and for joining MothersRest. Together, we’ve made it another year in this parenting journey, and MothersRest just hit the 2-year blogging anniversary!

Here are the highlights from 2017. Including what went viral and a HUGE shout-out to the amazing MothersRest guest bloggers.

Top 10 most-read posts

Hey pretty girl, beware the boogie man. Human trafficking is real. (THIS POST WENT VIRAL, with over 10,000 page views!! Congrats to guest blogger, Sharon!)

The 10 penis rules for boys (THIS POST WENT VIRAL, with 3,000 page views!!)

Please don’t feed my kids crap at school (where I get a little political…because our kids are worth it.)

Miracle baby turned TWO (my struggle with infertility)

How to survive 6 hours in the car with a baby (hint: wear an adult diaper like that astronaut lady)

Why you need the flu shot – especially if you’re pregnant (thanks for helping to get the word out about this important health issue)

How to rock daylight saving time – the fall edition (look for the spring edition in a couple weeks!)

How to escape swim diaper hell (hint: it’s all about layering and lots of prayer)

That time I married the same guy TWICE (no, I didn’t write this one – congrats to guest blogger, Sarah!)

How to manipulate your kid to do the right thing (check out this post for my review of a great parenting book: Dr. Becky Bailey’s book, Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline)

The growing audience

Facebook: 260 members and climbing!

Pinterest: Um, I went a little crazy this year, growing from two boards for the blog in 2016 to more than 10 boards! I started scheduling pins. And began posting on lots of group boards, where you can check out tips from other mom bloggers. The hard work has paid off, with monthly impressions of MothersRest pins growing from 6,000 to over 85,000!

Other fun facts

Number of guest bloggers: 11 fabulous women, bringing you new perspectives on life, sleep and parenting via these 14 different posts

Number of posts picked up by other blogs and media outlets: 7, and you can read these posts on my Pinterest Press Coverage board

Number of books and resources we’ve explored: TONS, with 12 books highlighted on the MothersRest Resources page and featured in 18 different blog posts

Unique visitors to MothersRest: 24,000+ (monthly average) – up from 5,000 in 2016. With 23% of you returning regularly to read more #love

Plus, most visitors are from the USA, but ladies also live in the Philippines, New Zealand, Brazil, and Armenia BECAUSE MOTHERHOOD IS UNIVERSAL

Check out the stats from 2016 in this blog post. And if you want to start your own blog, here are my tips for how to start one without going crazy (because you have more important things to do – like be a mom.)

Photo credit: Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash.com