Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Are you a Business Owner? Now Sponsorship is easier (and cheaper) than ever!!!!

Every day, moms across the country are logging into their chapter of The Mommies Network, thanks in part to the support that we get from our sponsors... and our moms are returning the favor by finding out more about those businesses that support their chapter.

That could be you!  Sponsorship is a really inexpensive option to marketing, and this week, it's even more affordable.

Now until July 23rd, we are offering 50% all Forum Sponsorship spots with a graphic and text.  For as little as $10-$125, your business can be in front of our members for a whole year!!!! 

And, we try to make it really easy for you.

Simply Click Here and select the 50% Forum Sponsorship Option.  From there, select your chapter and how many spots you want and fill out all of the other information and your discount is instantly applied.  Or, you can look around to see if one of our other options works better for you!

After submitting your sponsorship, you'll be taken to a secure PayPal page, and with that complete, we will have your sponsorship up and running within 24 hours!! 

An entire year of presentation to our members for as little as $10.... how can you NOT afford to! 

Click Here to order your sponsorship today.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

WANNA CHANGE YOUR USERNAME? NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!!!!!

We are in the last 48 hours of the Mommies Network May is for Mothers, and we are upping the perks for you to donate!!!



If you make a $25 donation before 11:59pm on May 31st, you can change your username by simply forwarding your donation receipt to heather@themommiesnetwork.org!

Yeah- it's really that easy!!!

Visit http://themommiesnetwork.causevox.com to make your donation right now!!! 
Thursday, May 8, 2014

Are you part of the 99%?

How would you feel if I told you that less than 1% of the people around you cared about what you need?

Far too often, we feel the impact of standing alone and just wish that someone else would stand there with us, knowing that the journey would not be so hard if we just had a few extra people to help us along the way. This is apathy, and it's a big problem. I bet this is something you have experienced in your life.  However, when the shoe is on the other foot and something out there in the world needs us, we tend to pass it right by.

The Mommies Network has over 20,000 members... moms who come to us for help and support and community.  20,000 moms just like you.  Last year, less than 350 of those members donated to The Mommies Network during our May is for Mothers campaign.  Look around you- do you think that only 350 of our members need support and community and the other 19,650 don't? And which one of those are you?

When we look at our chapters, that is not what we see.  We see moms logging in day after day, sometimes 20 or 30 times a day.  What we see is that almost all 20,000 of those members do need us and do use us, but that less than 1% of our membership helping burden the cost of the other 99% of us.  Less than 1% of us are committed to what you need.  

Forget the money, because it's not about the money.  It's about apathy.  The indifference of saying 'I don't need to do anything because someone else will take care of it and I'll still get what I need'.   Do any of us really want to be that person?

Are you satisfied knowing that select few people are more invested in your support than you are? 

This week, the conversation we are having on the forums is asking our members to make a commitment. We are asking one simple question:

 "What will you do to make your community better?"

It doesn't have to be money!  There are dozens of ways you can help... little things like signing up for Amazon Smiles and giving 0.5% of your purchases back to The Mommies Network, or asking a friend to join so that our community of support gets bigger, going to an event that one of our volunteers worked hard to provide to you, or even just not passing by a post without saying something.

Or you can give a few bucks and know for the next year that you were not a part of the 99% being cared for by 1%, if for not other reason than to know that a community cannot sustain itself like that and you know you use and need that community.

Give today so you can receive tomorrow. 

Get Support.  Give Support.  The Mommies Network. 


Tuesday, May 6, 2014

I Don't Like Mothers Day

Let me tell you why.

I don't want to sound ungrateful- I really don't!  But, I could do without the store bought card.  Flowers are always nice, but they will wilt ( and guess who is going to have to throw them out and wash out the gunky water from the vase?)

Honestly, one day a year, a $5 card and overpriced flowers do not make this job any easier. I'd rather get something I know that I need.  Something that actually makes motherhood a little easier.  Something that is personal.  Something I use the whole year!

This year, I am asking the people I love to give me a community of friends and people who understand me. This year, I'm just asking the people who love me to skip the card and the flowers and make a donation to The Mommies Network instead.

The Mommies Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which means that it can't continue to bring FREE support to moms without help.

It's super easy and takes just a second!  Just click on the image you would prefer below and you can post it right to your Facebook Wall. Tag the people you know will be sending you a card and ask for this instead!  Best of all, you actually are saving time (and money) of those people you love, because this takes just a minute.  We will even be send out a personalized E-Card to you on Mothers Day to let you know that person has made a donation in your honor.

Give up the Mommy Myth that you can't ask for what you need, and tell the people that love you to skip the card... you'd prefer a circle of friends this Mothers Day!

Click here to Share this image on your Facebook Wall

Click here to Share this image on your Facebook Wall



Saturday, May 3, 2014

Tales from our Supermoms

Over the past two days, we asked for our moms to share their Mommy Myths, and the response has been overwhelming!  Here are a just a few*...

I had to learn it's okay to ask for help... My mom was very sick several years ago and was in and out of the hospital.... between taking care of my mom, going back and forth to the hospital... trying to keep some sort of normalcy for my family.... Dinner, homework, etc, I almost lost it. I felt like the world was on my shoulders and I was a moment away from losing it. 

Thankfully several friends from this site would just send little notes of encouragement, offers to help with the kids, etc. I wouldn't have made it without them. I tear up just typing this because I will never be able to repay them for what they did during that time...."
 
"I'm not one who's afraid to lay it on the line.... For some reason however, it took me longer than usual to talk about (some) issues. I finally opened up last week and boy am I glad I did! It was like a weight was lifted. I don't want to talk about it on FB .... but I knew here I'd be safe. I got a ton of support and a wealth of information I would've had no clue about otherwise. I feel a lot better about my situation and I feel like I'm able to move forward not only more educated but also supported which means the world."

"When I started back at work after having my first daughter, I really depended on the MOTC forum for major support. I remember the feeling of missing the baby were so strong I felt like someone was ripping my heart strings out! I cried my first day back. The first few weeks were the hardest, and I went to the forum often for encouragement, understanding, advice, tips on how to balance working and being a new mom. It was so fantastic to get connected with other moms who knew exactly what I was feeling."

"I was talking to my MIL last night on the phone, and she asked me how I was coping... I said "Well, I am managing to feed the kids and keep them fairly clean, so we're doing okay." and she said "Well, I see you post smiling, happy pictures on FB and just think you are doing fine,....
Which is exactly why BM helps me. I don't post this stuff on FB because I don't want the whole world to know, but I can come here and talk, vent, ask for advice etc. I know that people here, other moms going through similar things will understand and give me support. 

That's really such an amazing thing TMN provides, for their members to get and give support, for FREE! "

This is what just a few of our moms are saying when they are telling us why they need their chapter.  We are not social media!  We are a place where moms find support when the rest of the world expects them to just deal with what life throws at them.  But we cannot do it alone.. just like these moms cannot do it alone.

We give this to our members for free because we don't believe that moms should have to pay to get this kind of support... but that doesn't mean that that it's cost free for us to provide it. We have moms who can't donate... and we understand that.  We also have moms who already give their time to our organization, and we do not want to ask them to give more... they make your support possible! If you can give, give for yourself and another mom.  Your donation means that these moms and tens of thousands of moms just like them can come here tomorrow and get the support they need!

Click here to donate now! 
* Some of the details have been changed to protect the identity of our members and have been used with the permission of those members  Our mission: To provide a safe, secure, FREE place for mothers to find support and encouragement from other mothers and to empower them to be better women, mothers and community leaders.
  


Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Lessons from a Stressed-Out Mommy!

I've had it. The smile has disappeared from my face and I am in a twisty-twirly spiral of self-doubt and the words echo through my brain like a mantra I know too well.
 

I can't do it all....

 
Those aren't the words of the Mommy I show the rest of the world.  To the rest of the world, I am a rock.  A pillar.  A foundation.  But inside, I am crumbling.  The dozens of masks I put on... complete parent to my children, loving partner to my spouse, absolute provider to my family, dedicated employee to my job, willing volunteer to the schools and clubs, kind and thoughtful neighbor, generous and loving daughter, giving and supportive friend... I'm exhausted and I'm sick of constantly sacrificing myself. I have to be these things- all of these things- and I don't know which one to let go of ( or even if I can let go of) without feeling like I've disappointed everyone.  And in my mind, I spin.

...But I have to do it all.

 
This is where I have been.  Tied up in knots.  Caught in a race with myself.  Unable to feel any satisfaction because everything I did, even if it was good, was never good enough. And the path out of my Stressed-Out Mommy Syndrome was simple.  I just wanted someone else who understood it all.

There is a relief that comes with having someone who tells you that you are not alone.  The reason is that within struggle lies a feeling of solitude..and not  the good kind of solitude I get when the kids are in bed and I can have a moment of peace.  The bad solitude... the lonely solitude.  People, by nature, long for connection, especially in times of struggle.  And during those times, the best connection is made by simply acknowledging that my struggle is hard.  And that I am not alone in thinking that.

What lessons have I learned?  Three simple things:

 
Admit the struggle.   Every time you think the world is depending on you, stop telling yourself that you can't show that to the rest of the world.  Stop thinking that you don't deserve support, because you do.  We all do.





 
Don't underestimate the power of connection.  Connecting with other people is key, and finding a place where you can let down the masks, and what you get back is that you are not alone; it's vital to overcoming struggle that you not feel like you are walking the path by yourself.


  
-  You only get what you are willing to give.  When we connect, we cannot simply expect to take and never give.  Connection is about exchange.... others being there when we need them, and showing up when others need us.  With this, we create our own safe space. Our own community of people we can turn to.


This is what we do at The Mommies Network.  When we started, we didn't do it to get the latest slow-cooker recipe or to debate about the whether we return shopping carts or not.  We did it because we recognized that connections matter, and that women ( and especially mothers!) find it difficult to connect in a meaningful way unless we have a place to be honest about our struggles.  And nobody can understand the struggle of a mother like another mother.  When I talk about the twisty-twirly spiral of self-doubt, that is a place that almost every other mother recognizes.  When I say I can't do it all but I have to do it all, millions of other mothers know this feeling... because they feel it too.


We Get It
We've Been There


This month, The Mommies Network is launching in annual May is for Mothers campaign focused on one idea... the letting go of the Mommy Myth.  The Mommy Myth is simply that we don't need help and support.  What we do is give you a safe space to let go of your Mommy Myths.  A place to come with your struggles and have a community of moms who understand why it's so hard who can rally around you and say the thing you need to hear... that you are not alone.
We are YOUR Community
We are asking for a donation- whatever you can afford- so that we can continue to keep "the lights on and the doors open", for you and for every other moms in our communities.  If you have received support, or watched other moms benefit from simply having a place where they can be honest about their struggles, please make even a small donation.  We want to keep doing this year after year, but we can't do it without your help.

Click on a mom YOU identify with to help us keep doing what we love.... supporting you! 
http://themommiesnetwork.causevox.com


Monday, March 24, 2014

Now Thru 3/31- earn $5 for The Mommies Network by purchasing from Amazon!!!!

The Mommies Network
Now through 3/31, make an Amazon purchase through The Mommies Network Amazon Smiles page, and Amazon will donate $5 to the organization we love so dearly ( in addition to the 0.5% we receive regularly). If you are making a purchase from Amazon ( including Prime purchases), please use this link to earn TMN $5!!!

HOW EASY IS THAT!!!!  

Click Banner to sign up now to start earning money by shopping at Amazon for The Mommies Network!

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