Woo-hoo! Sometimes you have to wonder if anyone is actually reading your stuff; but when something like this happens, it makes all the time and effort spent blogging worth it! This week I was nominated by Emily Vernon, a fellow blogger over at BlissfullyRaisingKids, for a Blogger Recognition Award. Cool! I blog on the side in addition to working full time and running a private practice, so I do not get to post as frequently as I would like to. To be included in this list of amazing bloggers has me over the moon!

Emily is also a pediatric OT, currently living in Arkansas. She just started blogging, but already has lots of great content. I especially love her post about Toys for kids with Special Needs. I work with Special Needs kids, and it can be hard to come up with new activities that are developmentally appropriate.

 

My 15 Favorite Blogs

As a nominee for this amazing award, I get to nominate my favorite 15 blogs! I love to read blogs and have a lot of favorites, but these bloggers always catch my eye with their interesting and creative content. Check them out— I’m sure you will love them as much as I do!

1) Growing Hands on Kids: Heather Greutman writes one of the first OT blogs I started following and was amazing in helping me connect with other bloggers when I first started. She is a homeschooling mom who blogs about Montessori-style teaching and has lots of great kids’ activities.

2) Sugar Aunts: Colleen Beck is another pediatric OT blogger with a creative and fun website. I love her clear and easy way of explaining things to her readers. She has some great articles that have been wonderful resources to my teacher friends.

3) Your Therapy Source: Margaret Rice is a physical therapist whose blog is chock filled with AWESOME printables. I go to her blog at least once a week to print out information for parents and teachers.

4) Dinosaur Pediatric OT: I recently had the chance to meet Rebecca Talmud Spiegel because she lives in Long Island, NY like me! We collaborated on a series of Best Developmental Toys together. I love her PT articles that are descriptive and filled with useful information.

5)  MamaOT: Christie Kiley is a school-based OT who blogs about OT activities, therapy toys, and home activities to do with your child. She blogs about working with her own children as well as offering helpful insights to empower caregivers and parents.

6) Your Kids OT: Cindy Chaun is an Australian blogger who I consider a “visual perceptual” guru. Her blog is an amazing resource for other OTs as well as parents and teachers. I love her Visual Perceptual Reference sheets!

7) OT Potential: I was lucky to meet Sarah Lyons at the AOTA conference in Nashville last year. She recently included me in her post 20+ OT blogs to follow, which was such an honor. Sarah’s site is geared towards OTs and has tons of great printables, job opportunities, and other OT resources. Her site is very unique!

8) Fix it Chick: Allison Kohmann is a friend of mine who has a wonderful blog about design, DIY projects, and easy ways to repair things in your home. As a woman who owns my own home, I look to Alison’s site for ways I can fix things at my house without hiring a handyman.

9) Everything Erica: Erica Eckman is an amazing cook and fellow foodie. She is also the reason I started a blog of my own! Erica and I went to the same college and when I saw the FABULOUS things she was doing with her blog, I became motivated to start one, too. Need a good recipe for dinner? Erica has a fantastic knack for creating take-out at home recipes (My personal favorite: Spicy Orange Chicken)

10) CanDo Kiddo: Rachel Coley’s OT blog is a useful resource for any parent. I especially love her posts about different equipment suggestions and what highchairs to buy for your child etc. I’ve referred many of my new mommy friends to her blog.

11) The Pioneer Woman: Has a limitless list of Yummy recipes. I love to cook, so I check out her website often if I’m looking for something new to make.

12) Two Peas and a Pod: Another great cooking website with so many delicious recipes. The steak fajita recipe is to die for!

13) The Inspired Treehouse: The Inspired Treehouse is co-written by a pediatric OT and PT, which makes their blog really comprehensive and filled with good developmental information. I really like their post about the W sitting debate!

14) The Frugal Fanatic: I started following this blog after listening to the author, Addi, on a Brilliant Business Moms podcast. She has tons of great ideas for saving money and making money, which is perfect for a budget diva like me!

15) Marc Guberti: Marc is an 18-year-old social media expert who blogs about how to use Twitter, increase your SEO, and all other good stuff. I personally have learned ALOT from him in the year that I’ve been blogging. It’s crazy that he’s only 18, but he knows what he’s talking about, that’s for sure!

Rules for the Blogger Recognition Award

If you don’t want to accept the award, no problem. If you do, please follow the guidelines below:

1.  Make sure to thank the person that nominated you and include a link to their blog!
2. Nominate your own 15 favorite bloggers! (You can do more if you just can’t choose!) They don’t have to belong to just one niche, the more variety the better. Just be sure to consider their writing quality, visual style, uniqueness, and relativity when choosing your nominees!
3. Share links to all of your nominees and let them know that you nominated them!
4. And finally, share 7 facts about yourself in the post!

 

Seven Facts About Me

1) I’ve been a pediatric OT for 16 years.

2) I knew that I wanted to be an OT when I was 16 years old.

3) I love to ski, cook, and do yoga.

4)  I have three jobs!

5) I LOVE to travel and have been to Australia, Ireland, France, and more!

6) I have a Master’s Degree in Special Education.

7) I am currently writing a book called Functional Skills for Kids with nine other bloggers.