moms extraordinaire
"Every working mom needs a little me time!"
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Moms Extraordinaire Site Mirrors Its Founders' Lives
(Monday October 01, 2007) - Contributed by By PEGGY O'CROWLEY
c.2007 Newhouse News Service
WEST ORANGE, N.J.
Erica Oliver, Monique Pryor and Tiwanda Randolph are three busy working moms, juggling careers, children and households while trying to eke out some "me" time.
But when they turned to the existing magazines and Web sites for working mothers, something didn't click. For one thing,the three are African-Americans, and none of the sites seemed to reflect the diversity of their lives. For another, the sites didn't have that warm, welcoming, we're-all-in-this-together kind of vibe they were looking for.
So, necessity being the working mother of invention, they designed a new site www.mymenetwork.com incoporating what they saw as the reality of their lives. Called Moms Extraordinaire, a k a ME, its slogan is "Every working mom needs a little 'me' time!"
"The magazines and sites out there just don't reflect our surroundings. I don't see me or my neighborhood in them," said Pryor, an attorney and mother of two from West Orange.
Oliver, a marketing executive and mother of two, also from West Orange, said the site is also different because it encourages women to follow their "passions and goals, and we want to give you the permission and the tools so you can do it."
To that end, the site offers tips on everything from how to relax to quickie dinners you can throw together to how to find a pair of Prada shoes at big discounts. Most of the columnists and bloggers are black, and much of the photos and artwork feature black moms. While Pryor said that is not the site's only audience, it's important for the three that the site does reflect their own lives.
The supportive spirit of the site is an organic outgrowth of how the three friends got together in the first place. Pryor, married to an arts administrator, met Oliver, married to a Realtor, at meetings of Mocha Moms, a support group for at-home mothers of color, when they took time off when their children were little. Pryor has two daughters, Mecca, 5, and Micah, 20 months; Oliver is the mother of Madison, 4, and Brendan, 18 months.
Randolph, of East Orange, an office administrator and single mom of Myles, 4, joined the duo when she and Pryor met at a breast cancer fund-raising walk. "They have helped me give myself permission to take my own time. I wasn't doing that before," Randolph said of her new friends.
The three decided to spread their mission to a wider audience. They plan to publish a monthly newsletter online and a print magazine, and attract big-time advertisers. They've tapped into their own networks of relatives, friends and colleagues to contribute, including Pryor's mother, Barbara Collins, a diversity expert and executive coach; Erica's sister, Elaine M. Brown, a vice president at HBO, novelist and writer; and long-time friend Cheryl Washington, a former host of Fox television's daytime shows and currently host of two cable TV shows.
Recent entries include choosing a school for your child by Pryor, whose oldest is ready for kindergarten, and how to exercise while pregnant.
While they're starting out locally, they plan to expand to cities across the country, and perhaps the world. "We've connected to other people in Washington, Chicago, Philly, Atlanta and L.A. We've already heard from people from Utah to Israel," Pryor said. "The sky's the limit."
And while they're promoting "me" time, their own time is now often spent working to build the site, writing copy, looking for advertisers, coordinating events — all done while maintaining their full-time day jobs.
They often end up working at each others' houses while their children play together. "We'll all get our laptops and work in my backyard while the kids run around," Oliver said. Her husband, David, and Pryor's husband, Eric, have also pitched in to help, they said.
That cooperation is critical to their lives — and the spirit of the site, they agreed.
"We're very passionate about this," Pryor said.
(Peggy O'Crowley is a staff writer for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. She can be contacted at
pocrowley(at)starledger.com.)
http://www.newhouse.com - Newhouse News Service Generated: 9 October, 2007, 09:11
ME (Moms Extraordinaire) was featured on the television show 'Spotlight NJ' on November 18, 2007.
West Orange Chronicle
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Extraordinary trio launch site for working moms
WEST ORANGE, NJ - When Monique Pryor moved to the township five years ago, she was bombarded with suburban lifestyle magazines intended to address the common issues facing families living in communities like West Orange.
But Pryor, an attorney and mother of two, was dissatisfied with the selection. Where were the magazines dedicated to busy, working moms like herself?
“There were magazines for seniors, for children and for parents, but there was nothing in particular connecting the working mother and child together,” Pryor said.
For Pryor, the definition of go-getter, the next step was a no-brainer. If no such publication existed, it was up to her to create one.
But at first, something held her back.
“I did exactly what so many other working mothers would do — I let somebody talk me out of it,” Pryor said. “You think you have too many commitments and too many time constraints to pursue your own passions.”
Three years passed, but Pryor eventually launched an online version of her dream magazine — and its mission is to prevent working mothers like herself from making the same mistake. The magazine, called “M.E.” is short for “Moms Extraordinaire,” and its slogan reads, “Every working mom needs a little M.E. time.”
“Our goal is to make sure working moms are spending time for themselves,” Pryor said. “It’s difficult because we’re trying to balance it all while still pursuing our own dreams. But we’re more than just moms and we’re more than just careerwomen. Our magazine helps encourage women to stay fashion forward, current on the news, involved in hobbies they love, and still be top careerwomen and great moms.”
Pryor credits fate as the impetus that allowed her push her doubts aside and dedicate herself to producing the magazine, which is accessible at www.mymenetwork.com. Fate, she said, is what connected her to her two co-founders, without whom the magazine would not exist.
One of those co-founders is fellow West Orange resident Erica Oliver, a marketing executive and mother of two who, along with Pryor, is a member of Papillion Incorporated, a non-profit group dedicated to community volunteerism. Excited about the prospect of inspiring women, especially working women with children, Oliver offered her marketing expertise free of charge and also took on the duty of programming, designing and maintaining the Web site.
The other co-founder is East Orange resident Tiwanda Randolph, an office administrator and mother of one who met the duo at a breast cancer walk in Newark. Randolph had previously sold advertisements for a family magazine and also brought her administrative experience to the group.
“We connected because our passion is to help and support women,” Pryor said. “It was just a perfect fit.”
Both Oliver and Randolph share Pryor’s views on motherhood and womanhood, and together, the threesome managed to turn “Moms Extraordinaire” into a fully-functioning Web site that has already received hits from Illinois, Georgia, Utah, and even Israel.
The site’s content includes articles on a diverse array of topics, such as children’s nutritional habits, quick and easy fashion fixes, and tips for operating a successful business. Many pieces are written by family and friends of Pryor, Oliver and Randolph.
The threesome have even developed their own product line, featuring caps, t-shirts and tote bags that carry the M.E. logo.
Ultimately, they hope to develop a print version of the magazine, which busy working mothers can carry in a purse or diaper bag as they run around to their many commitments.
With the goal of turning “Moms Extraordinaire” into a profitable, full-time business with a major impact on working moms nationally, Pryor, Oliver and Randolph seem almost oblivious to the fact that they’ve added another huge commitment to their already-hectic schedules.
“Sometimes we’re up until the wee hours of the morning working the site and then three hours later we’re making our kids breakfast and heading to work,” Oliver said. “Then we schedule time on weekends to have meetings while our kids are playing. It’s gotten to the point where we’re working, but we don’t even realize we’re working. Besides, we believe in this. It’s not a job to us anymore.”
Pryor agreed.
“We make it work because it’s important to us to have these resources and to deliver them to working moms everywhere,” she said.
Today, the “Moms Extraordinaire” team expanded its own resources when they attended a private networking, mingle and martini event at the Nicole Miller boutique in Livingston. Along with some of their own contributing writers and mothers previously profiled on their site, they joined a group of top working mothers and executives from the New York City metro area, for a private viewing of Nicole Miller’s fall collection.
Check out Moms Extraordinaire at www.mymenetwork.com.
Laura Moss can be reached at 973-763-0700, ext. 109, or at wochronicle