2013 Top 30 Vancouver Mom Bloggers: 1-6

In early May we asked you to nominate your favourite Vancouver mom blog for our fourth annual Top 30 Vancouver Mom Bloggers contest. You came through with over 240 nominations, naming more than 60 fabulous Vancouver-area mom bloggers. We reviewed them, we visited the blogs, and we deliberated over our decisions. It wasn’t easy, but we’ve narrowed it down to just 30. We believe you’ll be just as impressed as we are by the strength of the writing and the diversity of topics coming from these bloggers. This week we’ll be presenting the 2013 Top 30 Vancouver Mom Bloggers to you, in no particular order. Today we’re happy to share our first six.

Top 30 Vancouver Mom Bloggers: 1-6

• Pamela Smith, Divorce Doula
• Lee-Anne Ekland, Mom Paradigm
• Carolyn Bechard, Moments in Mommyland
• Tamara Grand, fitknitchick
• Joyelle Brandt, joyellebrandt.com
• Jackie Mandzak, Savvy Suburban Mama

Pamela Smith of Divorce Doula

Single parent, passionate publicist and pretty fine pun master, Pamela is “Chief Doula” at divorcedoula.me, blogging about her adventures in co-parenting with the world’s best ex-husband. Pamela is also the principal of Vancouver-based boutique public relations firm ElevatedPR working with clients in the arts, non-profit and technology sectors. A transplanted Maritimer, she is now a die-hard Vancouverite and loves raising her family on the Best Coast.

Lee-Anne Ekland of Mom Paradigm

Lee-Anne is a 40+ mama to a nearly three year old boy who challenges her in the best possible ways. His big blue eyes and curly blonde hair fool everyone into thinking he’s an angelic little man but the twinkle in his eyes gives him away. He is much like his mama but don’t tell anyone. On her blog, Mom Paradigm, she writes about parenting foibles and successes while finding grace, living her best life, and hopefully doing it all with more joy and deep belly laughs. Having started the journey into parenthood much later than most, she offers a uniques perspective on what is amazing about being a stay-at-home mom when she’s not napping – which is less often these days but none the less critical to keep her mama brain in tact. She draws upon her life experiences, 14 years of working in the spa industry as a skin care therapist and manager and her new found passion which is to write stories about life and its wisdom, with the purpose of helping at least one other person get it right. You’ll also find her doing a bit of downward dog and drinking wine but not necessarily in that order.

Carolyn Bechard of Moments in Mommyland

Carolyn writes, “I am a 27 year old full time stay at home momma to two boys (one of which is due to appear any day now). I have a passion for travel, education, theatre, baking, my church, my family and my friends. I started blogging during my first pregnancy as a way to share and connect with others about my thoughts on entering the crazy world of parenting and found writing to be a wonderful creative outlet for me. It quickly became not only a way to document my day to day life, but also a way to work through whatever was currently going on in my brain. I believe in being completely honest about how I am feeling on any given day. After all, parenting isn’t always pretty, and it certainly isn’t easy!”

Tamara Grand of fitknitchick

Tamara Grand is a BCRPA-certified personal trainer, group fitness and indoor cycling instructor, writer, wife, mother, and knitter extraordinaire. She lives with her husband and three children in beautiful Port Moody, BC where she divides her time between knitting, exercise and keeping her family organized. She blogs about fitness, food, family and fibre (yarn, that is) at fitknitchick.com. She loves to engage with her readers, so leave her a comment on her blog or follow her on Twitter @fitknitchick_1.

Joyelle Brandt of joyellebrandt.com

After a meandering journey through teaching college, a stint as the lead singer of an electronica band, and new motherhood, Joyelle returned to her childhood passion for art. She (mostly) ignored the voices in her head telling her that she would never be good at this, and started creating. She found connection and inspiration online, learning from and being inspired by many amazing mixed media artists, and is now living her dream of becoming a working artist. Joyelle believes the three most important things in this life are love, kindness and gratitude. Her goal is to be a beacon of light, inspiring others to pursue their passions. She blogs about kindness and the creative life at www.joyellebrandt.com.

Jackie Mandzak, Savvy Suburban Mama

Jackie Mandzak is a mother of two young boys who keep her on her toes (or off them, literally, since one of them is responsible for her having foot surgery this year). Working fulltime as a conflict resolution advisor/mediator she’s learning the skills to keep her sons’ brotherly battles to a minimum, although she’s been told it’s a fruitless effort. Living in the suburbs is where it’s at for her, even though it means enduring the commuting grind into Vancouver. It allows her to raise her family with a big yard, small school and the illusion of a slower pace of life. As the creator of Savvy Suburban Mama, she writes about home, family and activities as well as reviews products and hosts giveaways. You’ll even find the odd social commentary in there. Writing is a passion for her, but in this season of life the great novel is waiting in the wings rather than on the screen. RIght now she finds blogging the perfect blend of writing and living. While in search of topics to share, she has discovered a penchant for decluttering – which really does help off-set her shopping gene.