What a year. AGAIN. 2021 was another chaotic year that we thought might have ended with the close of 2020. But there were positives along with the discord. As an independent business owner I finally saw my hard work start paying off, with elevated site traffic and positive opportunities. Settle in as I share the year’s updates and what I’m planning in the new year ahead!
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Mom Rewritten – New in 2021
After a year and a half of distance learning with the kids, my children finally headed back to the classrooms in fall 2021. This included my 5 year old daughter, who began school for the first time. You would think that with all the kids away during the day, I’d have more time for work? Well, for several reasons “spare time” just didn’t pan out for me in 2021!
First, we got our first family dog in March 2021. Ranger is a chocolate Labrador retriever. Raising a puppy takes up so much time but he’s getting older and starting to settle in better inside the house (when he’s not stealing shoes, socks and toilet paper rolls!).
Second, the commute getting kids to and from school has definitely taken a hit on my time. My high schoolers are completing their senior year at their old school, a 30 minute drive one-way. With 4 kids at three different schools, the driving has been a time-suck.
Third, I’ve simply taken on more outside volunteering. I’m serving as the art docent in my son’s 4th grade class two times a month. I’m very glad I said yes to the opportunity, as I love teaching the kids new projects.
That all said, I’m hoping with a little more structure I’ll be able to commit more hours towards my work day in 2022. I enjoy feeling accomplished as well as publishing new content for the site.
In 2021, I published 65 new and updated articles. The improvements that I made to the website in 2020 (including a blog renovation that increased site speed) allowed for a decent jump in Google traffic. I was so thankful for the added page views and hope to maximize and exceed this in the new year!
Healthy Living at Home
Hmph. In a year that was still packed with stress and anxiety about the unknown, staying healthy was hit or miss. Did we avoid the virus? Yes, thankfully. Did I exercise or pick back up my healthier eating habits. Nope.
As I hope to get back on a better schedule in the new year, I am determined to get back into my healthy journey with daily exercise and cleaner eating. As a result, I plan to have more healthy living content back on the website.
- Healthy Lunch Ideas for Kids – With kids leaving home each day for school, it was back to packing school lunches! These healthy ideas helped keep things fresh in the lunch box.
- 7 Tips for Walking Outside with Your Baby – Parents are definitely looking for ways to get fit alongside their kids. The updated version of this article is my third most popular article in 2021.
More Time with the Kids
Creating at-home content for families continues to be a focus for me. I enjoy making these fun activities, crafts and parties for parents to easily do with their kids. And I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading and trying these yourself!
- Handmade Bookmark Crafts – For families looking for an easy and practical craft, these handpainted wooden bookmarks held the page!
- Valentine’s Day at Home with Kids – Who needs fancy dinners out when you can use these ideas to make your own family-friendly lovefest at home?
- Teaching Kids About Black History Month – Current events aside, these are the must-read thoughts about include more diversity in the home, outside of just during Black History Month.
- Back to School Breakfast – We celebrated the return to classrooms with this awesome at-home party for kids.
- Halloween Movie Night Ideas – Add a new dimension to watching fall flicks together with this simple at-home party including movie suggestions and treats.
Home Cooking
Did anyone keep up with the home cooking into 2021? We’ve always prepared and eaten meals at home most of the time so coming up with creative ideas was fun. Thank goodness baking supplies (yeast!) made a return to grocery store shelves, after their scarcity the year prior! These are some of my most popular recipe articles:
- Poppy Seed Bread with Lemon Glaze – make it in a loaf or muffins, this light and airy bread is a perfect springtime treat.
- Easy Cold Bean Salad – simply delicious, especially on warm days when it’s too hot to cook.
- No-Churn Ice Cream Recipes – in 2021 we discovered the world of homemade ice cream and took it upon ourselves to try a plethora of new flavors!
- Delicious Pumpkin Muffin Recipe – live the PSL-life all year round with this easy cream-cheese topped pumpkin muffin treat.
- Avocado Tomatillo Salsa – our new family favorite, this super-easy salsa pairs nicely with Mexican food or on salads.
Local Living in San Diego
With locations reopening, the kids and I were able to venture a bit more outside of the house. We enjoyed several local destinations including the beaches and theme parks. Some of these adventures were documented in freelance articles for TravelingMom. Here are a few of those updates:
- LEGOLAND California – my daughter and I were invited to the opening of a new section inside the amusement park. I share about LEGO Movie World, as well as lots of other visiting tips in the updated article.
- San Diego Zoo – one of our favorite SoCal spots, the zoo has recently expanded to include beautiful areas to explore.
- Best Kid-Friendly Restaurants in San Diego – the kids and I enjoyed “taste testing” some of our favorite foods as a means of research for this article!
- 50+ Free Things to do in San Diego with Kids – from the beaches to the mountain and every place in between, there are lots of budget-friendly locations within the Southern California area to discover.
- The New Children’s Museum – one of the nicest indoor locations for younger kids, we were able to take on the new section, which includes a slide entrance to the lower level.
Disneyland With Kids
Along with 3 fellow travel bloggers, I co-own the Disneyland With Kids Facebook group (est. 2017). When Disneyland reopened to California residents, Leslie of Trips With Tykes and I were there together to share our experiences. Becca of This Crazy Adventure Called Life and Jessica from The Happiest Blog on Earth (both from out of state) reported from outside the parks. We were able to tour together once again during the fall season!
We were so thankful to help guests navigate the new Disneyland reopening processes, including ever-changing health and safety protocols and socially distanced character greetings. The complexity of a reservation system and virtual queues added to the confusion for many guests. We were excited to do the travel hacking for them and walk them through each step of the process!
Disneyland With Kids continued recording new podcasts throughout 2021, with a heavy focus on the new planning requirements. I encourage you to listen to our lively 30 minute Disneyland with Kids podcast!
Disneyland Travel
When Disneyland sold tickets for their food festival, A Touch of Disney, I was there! No rides but it was enough just to be back inside the park again.
The highly anticipated Avengers Campus celebrated its grand opening on June 4th. My son and I were thrilled to be invited as special guests of Disney. Read Everything To Know About Avengers Campus to find out tips about the rides and attractions in this new Disney California Adventure area.
My family returned to the park together several times together throughout the year. For the kick off of Halloween Time and Dia de Los Muertos, I attended a press event alongside my Disneyland With Kids co-founders.
In fall we attended the second Oogie Boogie Bash and I updated this popular tip post about the Halloween special event. This fall trick or treating event was just as great as in 2019!
While blogging conferences were largely on hold (or reverted to online only) for 2021, I still had several travel opportunities. My partnership with Get Away Today allowed me to tour many Anaheim area hotels, in a boost to the industry just as Disneyland was reopening. I wrote this article as a result, the 9 Hotels Near Disneyland with a Kitchen.
Disney Travel Planning
With many guests rescheduling their Disneyland trips, I was prompted to write these new and updated articles. Check out these top Disney travel articles that I published new or updated in 2021:
- Disney Scavenger Hunt with Free Printable – Whether at home or in a hotel room, use this fun printable to create your own in-room scavenger hunt for Easter time.
- Disney California Adventure Cricut Shirts – Love having custom made shirts on vacation? These 2 unique ideas celebrate the West coast theme park.
- Disney Packing Lists – I was on a printable kick this year and updated many of my packing lists. This one is for essentials but be sure to search for all the other versions (kids, babies, moms, expectant mothers).
My Number One Viewed Post for 2021
After the abysmal analytics numbers in 2020, I was delighted to increase my site traffic in large leaps and bounds this year. I poured an immense amount of work into Mom Rewritten in 2020. Being home 24/7 allowed me lots of time to update older articles and write new ones.
All the effort paid off and I gained a great many new readers. The reopening of Disneyland in May 2021 gave my site the steady boost it needed! Disney travel holds 6 out of the top ten most-viewed posts on Mom Rewritten.
I wasn’t quite as ambitious in 2021, publishing a smaller number of new and updated posts. However the site traffic continued to climb and I’m extremely grateful that my hard work all these years is showing progress.
My number one most viewed post was no surprise. After the Disneyland reopening, many guests were curious about the recent changes and what to expect when planning a trip. The article Going to Disneyland in 2021 and 2022 offers up tips on exactly what travelers need to know before they go!
Discounted Disneyland Tickets
My travel partners at Get Away Today offer both discounted Disneyland tickets and Anaheim-area hotels to fit any budget! Many hotels include exclusive discounts like free parking, complimentary breakfast or even free nights, just for booking through Get Away Today.
Disneyland tickets purchased now are good through January 12th, 2024. Purchase your multi-day tickets through Get Away Today now.
When you’re ready to book your Disneyland vacation, my friends at Get Away Today are ready to help! Mention code REWRITTEN to receive an extra discount off your SoCal vacation package of two or more days.
Sponsored Work
Sponsorship took a huge dip in 2021 and I worked with just a few partners this year. As I’ve noted before, sponsored posts will only show up on my site when they reflect my personal views and opinions. These are products that I use and love at home so you can trust that I’d never encourage anything against my beliefs or the pillars of my site.
- 5 Easy Ways to Stay Organized for School – partnership with Name Bubbles
- Get Kids to Sleep Better – partnership with Pact
Partnerships and Affiliates
Having affiliate links on my site is a little way I recoup the cost of running my business. Clicking and purchasing through an affiliate link is no cost to you. But it’s a simple way to support me and this site!
MouseDining – everything has become just a bit more tricky to plan at both Disneyland and Disney World. This includes securing Advance Dining Reservations. This free app offers a paid version with a few extra perks that make getting theme park dining reservations just a little bit easier.
Cricut – I’ve been learning about this vinyl-cutting machine all year and used it to craft these Valentine’s Day t-shirts for the kids. Can’t wait to create more projects in 2022!
Primary – this website of gender-neutral cotton clothing for kids is my favorite shopping site. The coordinated pieces are perfect kids outfits for Disney parks.
Take a look back at my blog over the years, here are my other year-end reviews:
2022 – Looking Ahead to a New Year
As always I send the biggest thanks and appreciation to my readers who have supported this site. Word of mouth is easy and an excellent way to show your love. Sharing my posts, repinning on Pinterest, retweeting on Twitter and liking on Instagram continues to be how I grow best! I am grateful for YOU and your support of my small business.
Last year, I shared that my calendar was wide open, without much in the way of plans for the new year. It’s more of the same of that in 2022! That’s not to say I won’t have any travel or family fun ahead but nothing planned as of yet. Still using caution and booking adventures as they are safe to do so.
Thoughts and ideas for this site in 2022
Easy family recipes – With a focus on eating at home more often in 2020 and 2021, my recipe articles became more popular. I hope to share more cooking on the blog.
Mental, physical & spiritual health – This year was a struggle for me…and for most of us, I’d venture. As we continue to push forward despite all-the-things, I’d like to focus on how we can improve upon being a healthy well-rounded hum.
Seasonally focused posts and crafts – I had a plan last year to create more holiday articles and they were well received. In 2022, I’d like to include more seasonal posts and kid-friendly craft ideas.
Travel adventures – I’m itching to get back out there and travel more in 2022. I’m putting this out there as a hope that I’ll be able to bring you more family travel tips including Disney, Southern California and beyond.
Sending blessings to all heading into 2022!