We are thrilled to introduce you to our newest Alamo City Moms Blog team members! You’ll get to know them more over the next week as they share their first posts with you. Here’s a little insight into the newest San Antonio moms who are joining our team!
America
America is a San Antonio native and proud Longhorn alumna. After working in advertising in NYC, traveling, and teaching abroad, she thought her return to San Antonio 10 years ago was only temporary. Then she met a cowboy with an equally unusual name, and the rest is history. He thinks life beyond Texas is dreadful, while America dreams of traveling again…one day. They have three kiddos ages seven and under. America now finds herself surviving on coffee, driving her kids around town, questioning her parenting skills, and helping out part-time at her husband’s dental office.
What is your favorite thing to do in San Antonio? Find hidden gems in and around San Antonio that are kid-friendly, laid-back, and not too crowded.
What are your guilty pleasures? Wine, Shark Tank, and Pinterest.
List a few things you can’t live without. My phone, my faith, and mascara.
What would your perfect day entail? A lazy morning of sleeping in and a good cup of coffee followed by hopping in the car for a family fun day and capping the night off with a date night that involves wine.
What’s the best thing about being a mom? The unlimited hugs and kisses, reliving your childhood every day, and establishing your own family traditions.[hr]
Amy
Amy Johnson is a work-at-home mama of four kids, ages 11, 8, 6, and 4. She’s lived in San Antonio for over 15 years and has a degree in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Previously a program director at a local literary arts nonprofit, she began blogging as a creative outlet when she became a stay-at-home mom. Now a freelance writer and crafter, Amy believes in the power of handmade, secondhand, and eco-friendly living. Her favorite craft store is the thrift store, and she shares DIY and creative reuse ideas on her blog, Maker Mama.
What is your favorite thing to do in San Antonio? My most recent favorite thing is Yoga in the Ruins. It’s Saturday mornings out at the Hot Wells Conservancy right along the Mission Reach. It’s amazingly peaceful—you don’t even feel like you’re in the city.
What is your guilty pleasure? Dark chocolate.
List a few things you can’t live without. A good cup of coffee, a good book, lavender essential oil, and lots of hugs from my kiddos.
What would your perfect day entail? Coffee with friends, a bike ride along the river, and sunshine! (And no fighting siblings—that would be a miracle!)
What is the best thing about being a mom? Seeing my kids turn around and mirror the positive things I hope they’ll learn; seeing their creativity blossom and hearts grow.[hr]
Dawn
Dawn is an Army brat who found her way to Texas for college and ultimately managed to make the Lone Star State her permanent home after marrying into the Army and loving life in Europe for a while. Living the civilian life with her now formerly military husband, Dawn is the mom of a four-year-old native Texan who teaches her about dinosaurs, sharks, and Lightning McQueen on a daily basis. She proudly embraces the title of “boy mom,” even when that means getting excited about snakes and bugs. When she’s not busy parenting the original strong-willed child, Dawn works in public relations and dreams of listening to something other than the Cars soundtrack in her own car. Dawn and her little family live in Schertz, which isn’t the other side of the world from San Antonio, despite what some people may think. They enjoy exploring and going on adventures together as much as possible.
What is your favorite thing to do in San Antonio? Explore the nooks and crannies of the River Walk. We like to go off the beaten path, not to just the “tourist” areas.
What are your guilty pleasures? Naps, hot showers, a good Moscato, and yummy ice cream.
List a few things you can’t live without. Friends, lip balm, and a good hair clip.
What would your perfect day entail? Sand, waves, wind, and laughter.
What is the best thing about being a mom? Snuggles and hearing “you’re the best mommy ever.” No matter how bad or good your day has been, it always makes your heart leap.[hr]
Denisse
Denisse grew up in the South Texas border town of Mission, where she met her best friend and future husband, Ian. After going to college at Texas A&M University, she and Ian were married and moved to San Antonio, where she worked as a preschool special education teacher. She loved her job but decided her heart was at home after having her first baby. Two more children and 12 years later, she still loves being married to Ian and being a stay-at-home mom to their three kids. Denisse loves coffee and taking naps. She writes at denissewarshak.com.
What is your favorite thing to do in San Antonio? Lately I enjoy going to the Pearl area on Saturday morning with my husband and kids. We buy fruit and jellies at the farmers market and head to lunch somewhere. This week I made a crisp with the peaches we got last week.
What are your guilty pleasures? Food. Food is definitely a weakness for me. And naps. Every day that I can get one in.
List a few things you can’t live without. My glasses and/or contacts. I’m blind as a bat and couldn’t do anything if I couldn’t see!
What would your perfect day entail? No plans! A lazy morning and big breakfast at home with my kids, a family movie, and maybe a little time for just me at the end of the day. And a nap. Always a nap.
What is the best thing about being a mom? I can’t choose one thing. Being a mom has been better than I could have ever expected. It’s unpredictable, hard, exhausting, and by far the most fun, rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Best. Job. Ever![hr]
Heather
Heather was born and raised in San Antonio and became a mom in 2013 when her son Luca was born. She enjoys the outdoors and even mowing her own lawn. She and her husband, Santiago, look forward to raising a feminist boy with a heart for cars, trains, airplanes, and all modes of transportation. Her professional experience since graduating from Tufts University with a degree in art history includes working for a variety of arts and cultural nonprofit organizations. She recently quit her day job to be a stay-at-home mom. Her dream job would be to work for Sesame Workshop or be President of the United States. In the meantime, Heather enjoys filling her family’s weekends with the diversity San Antonio has to offer.
What is your favorite thing to do in San Antonio? Chalk It Up
What is your guilty pleasure? Dark chocolate
List a few things you can’t live without. My family
What would your perfect day entail? My family, Chalk It Up, and dark chocolate
What is the best thing about being a mom? Hearing my son laugh[hr]
Jill
Jill Robbins is a wannabe wine snob and lazy runner. She moved to San Antonio when she was 18 months old, so she considers herself a native. She has a degree in social psychology, which so far has been unhelpful in understanding the behavior of her husband and three children. She’s lived all over the world: the Midwest, England, and Germany, and she’s excited to be back in her home town but still trying to get used to the heat and humidity again. She writes about adoption, motherhood, and midlife on her blog, Ripped Jeans and Bifocals, and freelances for various magazines and websites such as The Huffington Post, She Knows, Babble and Scary Mommy. She was part of the 2015 cast of Listen to Your Mother, Austin and really likes coffee. A lot. You can follow Jill on Facebook and Twitter.
What is your favorite thing to do in San Antonio? The zoo and Brackenridge Park. I get a huge sense of nostalgia from just being there, and it’s fun to share that with my kids now. That train ride never changes, and I like knowing there are some things that stay the same.
What is your guilty pleasure? Dark chocolate-covered almonds with a sea salt crust. They sell them in the bulk foods part of HEB. I buy them, hide them, and eat them in secret. Shhh!
List a few things you can’t live without. Coffee, Facebook, and Smashbox lipgloss—I am not a very complicated person. Ha!
What would your perfect day entail? Any day when there were no “have-tos” on my list. That doesn’t happen very often.
What is the best thing about being a mom? The laughter. My kids keep me on my toes, cause me to lose sleep, and frustrate the heck out of me. But they make me laugh, and I think that keeps me young.[hr]
Katy
While not born in the Alamo City, Katy moved here at the ripe age of one and eventually became a proud Keystone graduate. She has called San Antonio home since she first arrived, with the exception of the four-year stint spent in Nashville to attend Vanderbilt University. After graduation, she moved back here to serve as the director of marketing for a local law firm. She and her patient husband have three kids: one son (3) and identical twin girls (almost 2). When not working or mothering full-time, she likes to drink wine, read historical fiction, and enjoy some peace and quiet. You can read more about Katy’s busy but very fulfilling life on her blog, A Mom Divided.
What is your favorite thing to do in San Antonio? Everything at the Pearl Brewery—from dinners with friends at the awesome restaurants to the Farmers’ Market and walking on the river with my kids.
What is your guilty pleasure? Drinking wine and watching Lifetime.
List a few things you can’t live without. It’s cheesy, but I can’t live without my family. Also, my phone.
What would your perfect day entail? Sleeping in while the kids quietly eat breakfast with Daddy, grabbing a nonfat chai latte, taking the kids to do something fun like the park or a train ride, and then having a peaceful lunch with the children and the hubs (and everyone behaves, eats, and doesn’t once ask to go to the bathroom or get out of their seat). After taking the kids home to nap, I get a mani/pedi and prepare to spend the early afternoon/evening with friends having cocktails and dinner. We would go to The Melting Pot (my fave!) with my hubs, and he wouldn’t complain about having to cook his own food. (I would also settle for my perfect day consisting of not having to correct my kids once—they would just know how to get along, speak respectively, and clean up themselves and our house.)
What is the best thing about being a mom? Being blessed to be loved by these three little people. It’s amazing to be needed by your children. It’s a huge responsibility, but the best gift God has ever given me.[hr]
Michelle
Michelle moved to San Antonio five years ago and continues to find more things to love about the city. She and her husband met at Texas A&M and started their marriage in Minnesota. After six years of very cold winters, they returned to Texas. Michelle has two kids: a nine-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son, along with a very quirky rescue dog. She is a former corporate food scientist turned part-time yoga instructor. She still takes her food very seriously—she just doesn’t get paid for it anymore. When she’s not cooking, practicing yoga, mothering, or cleaning, you’ll find her curled up with a cup of hot tea and a book.
What is your favorite thing to do in San Antonio? Explore the quieter parts of the River Walk, especially during the fall.
What is your guilty pleasure? Eating a bag of Central Market White Cheddar popcorn for lunch while flipping through a gossip magazine.
List a few things you can’t live without. Green Jasmine Tea, my Yoga mat, and my iPhone.
What would your perfect day entail? A day full of good food, punctuated with a solo yoga practice, a family hike, and a gathering with my favorite people.
What is the best thing about being a mom? Discovering that I can love and feel more than I ever knew possible.
Are there any single moms listed? Would love to see one.
Excited to meet you all soon, and read your posts. Welcome to a great experience, ladies!
Congrats to all the great new ACMB bloggers! Can’t wait to read your upcoming posts. Go Dawn and Amy, proud of you two!!!
Welcome, ladies! So excited and proud that you are part of the Alamo City Moms Team!