Casting Call: Moms Make it Work

It's crazy to me to think that the Moms Make it Work series began back in January. And now it's MAY, and I'm going to have a baby in two-ish more months. Woah. Where has the time gone?

So far we have had 34 fabulous posters for our series, focusing on supporting each other despite our differences and finding comfort in our similarities. At first I thought I would be done with the series at the end of April, but I'm still loving this collective voice of real moms with various situations. I just don't think we should be finished yet, considering the fantastic positive response this series has gotten from you sweet readers. There are more stories to be told, more moms to be heard, and more head nods to be had when you read something a mom writes that rings true for your own life. It's nice to feel like we are all living different lives with different circumstances and yet we are all moms, just doing our best. We struggle with a lot of the same concepts no matter how/where we spend our hours each day. We appreciate a lot of the same joys in life, too. Alike/different---but motherhood can be a pretty awesome bond between women and should NOT be a reason for judgement/criticism. Again, kumbaya, and fist pounds, and all of that supportive stuff.

I watched a segment about mommy bloggers on the Today show last weekend, and it said that 1 of 3 bloggers is a mom (I knew we were a rare bunch!!). It also went on to say that we all just want to find common ground, to feel like we aren't alone in this big motherhood thing, to identify with someone else who is going through it 'with' you. I could not agree more---about blogging in general, but I also feel like this series really pin points that feeling of commonality. Even the moms that lead completely different lives than my own have taught me so much, caused me to reflect on how we are different, and mostly they've shown me that the grass is not always greener.

So yeah, I still really like this guest posting series and want it to live on for a bit longer;)

For the second phase of the MMIW series, I want to do a few things differently: first, I'm going to take a bit of pressure off myself and not feel bound to the twice weekly posting schedule going forward. Sometimes I might put two posts up in a week but more often it will be one post 'every now and then.' Second, I am on the hunt for a few select situations that haven't been represented in our posters quite yet. This is where I need your help!

On Instagram, I just briefly mentioned a few of my 'most wanted' posters for the rest of the series, and got a lot of really fast/awesome responses. I now have two dads that are going to post for us this summer---both of which are the primary caregivers of their kids for at least part of the week. Really looking forward to a male perspective on how to make it all work! I also have one mom who is a single parent due to divorce, one international mom from England, one younger mom/military wife, and one mom with a 'big' family of four (going on five) kids. I have other posters lined up, too, but who else do we want for this series?

Here is what I'm thinking:
-Other international moms
-Other single moms
-Other moms with 4+ kids
-Moms with teenagers/all school aged kids (past the 'little kid years' part of parenting)
-Moms of moms (grandmas! Like Memaw's post) who raised kids in a different time than our own.

Is there any other 'type' of mom that you are dying to hear from in this series? And does anyone want to offer themselves up for the above categories? Know of another blogger or friend that might write a post for us? Let me know in the comments or email me at mylifeintransitionblog at gmail dot com. If you don't fit any of those roles but you still want to post for the series, email me. I think everyone has something unique to offer anyway, even if it's not one of the specific situations listed above. You don't have to be a blogger or on Instagram, but you do have to be willing to share pictures of you and your family along with your story.

Another thought for you readers: are there other questions you'd like for the posters to answer going forward? I don't want every post to sound exactly the same but I *do* like the basic questions the posters have been asking already, too;)

I'm trying to round up everyone for this next phase of the series before baby boy comes, so that I can have posts scheduled out through the summer. I want to keep the series fresh, informative and fun to read without veering too far from the original premise. Which is why I'm hunting for specific moms that haven't told us how they make it work.

Ready, set, nominate yourself/your friends for the series! And go! ;)