all images by Jessica Martin Photography
This week’s Meet a Mom interview is very exciting. Get to know Alison Carman, the new Managing Editor of South Austin Moms.
Read more below about her background, family and places they like to go in Austin!
Tell us about yourself-
Hi! I’m Alison Carman and I’m so excited to be taking over South Austin Moms from my friend Kasey! I have been an austinite for over 10 years and I couldn’t dream of calling another city home. After spending my entire childhood in north Houston, I decided to make the move to San Marcos to attend school at Texas State University (Eat ’em Up Cats!) where I graduated with a degree in special education. When it was time to graduate and get my first job, I knew I couldn’t leave the Hill Country and needed to figure out where I belong within Austin. I got my first teaching job in north Austin and while I loved it, I knew I wanted to move to the “funky part of town”. My husband and I built our first house in south Austin and I knew I finally felt like I was where I needed to be and we moved into our brand new house about 6 weeks after getting married. I was a teacher for 7 years before getting pregnant with my first child and while a piece of my heart will always be in education, I was so excited to stay home, just me and my girl. Fast forward to COVID times and I got pregnant with my second child, my son. After he came into the world and completed our family, I was looking forward to finally get back to myself a little bit and try to find a way to give back to a community that gave so much to me. When Kasey approached me about taking over South Austin Moms, I couldn’t say no.
Tell us about your family-
I met my husband in the beginning of the tinder era. On our first date, I thought to myself “calm down, it’s just a date, there’s no way you’ll marry this man” Well, I proved myself and everyone else very wrong when we got engaged a year later. It was a total “when you know, you know” moment. He is my opposite in the best way, and he’s the rock that grounds our family. Fast forward to 4 years later and we welcomed our first baby, a beautiful girl. We were over the moon to be new parents but found ourselves thinking our family was not complete and almost 3 years later, our son was born and he was the missing piece. They are silly, fun, loud, sweet, loving and messy and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Why I took over South Austin Moms-
As a new mom without many friends who had kids of their own, I found myself searching for a community. I looked high and low into all opportunities for parents in South Austin. All of this google and social media searching turned out ot be very exhausting. I found a couple social media pages that proved to be very helpful, including South Austin Moms. When Kasey was looking for her replacement, I was so excited to give back to this page, which was such a great resource for me! I am looking forward to sharing so many different events, opportunities, and businesses in South Austin to all types of families.
Let’s make this community collaborative! Send me an email or a message on social media if you see of something that would benefit this space!
At The Local Moms Network, we believe in giving moms the gift of time. What’s your favorite mom hack?
Motherhood can be very difficult and while there are no shortcuts to make it easier, my favorite way to make my life a little less hectic is to carry extras of anything I think we might need in our car. Did my parents just invite us to stay for dinner that might run late into bedtime? No problem- I’ve got spare pajamas and an overnight diaper for the baby in my car! Uh-oh! Did the baby just have a blow out in the car seat and I left the diaper bag at home?! No worries- I keep an “oh sh*t kit” in trunk of all the essentials! No matter the situation, I know I can handle it.
Favorite restuarant with and without kids-
My husband and I really love Loro to enjoy without kids. Their bowls are so flavorful and their frozen gin and tonic is just *chefs kiss*. We also love Valentinas BBQ and Eurasia Sushi. If we are bringing the kiddos along with us, we love to let them play at Jester King and enjoy a delicious pizza. They especially love to hang out with all the goats! Their seasonal beers always hit the spot. We also love to go out to breakfast at Kerbey Lane or Waterloo Ice House.
Favorite drink spot-
We love a good patio margarita so our favorite will always be Vaquero’s for happy hour. My husband and I also love a really good brewery if we’re bringing the kids along. Meanwhile Brewery is easily one of our favorite places to hang out with the whole family. They have everything from coffee to non-alcoholic drinks to a few of their own beers on tap. The playground is a crowd favorite for all ages.