austin-moms-blog-kimberly-pena

Hello ATX mommas! I am so excited to be joining the wonderful group of ladies at the AMB! I am originally an Okie but came to TX as soon as I could. My love with Austin began when my older sister moved her when I was ten. I spent visits soaking up experiences at Central Market, Zilker Park, the Bat Bridge, South Lamar, and the Greenbelt. I knew I wanted to come eventually but just wasn’t sure when. On spring break my senior year of college I came down to see if I could find a job and got set up on a date with a guy simply described to me as a cute cop from El Paso. Well I knew he was the one from the first time he kissed me….he needed a bit more time, but a few years later we were married and now we are still going strong 8 years and counting. We are both very strong willed people and have worked hard to find a journey of love that works for us.

151088_522560159494_7792123_n

I started out working after college in nonprofits with the Girl Scouts of Central Texas and have been a middle school history teacher for the last 5 years in Hays CISD. I love to cook and bake (my kitchen is one of my happy places) and take random photography. I just recently started blogging my cooking adventures at thehillcountrywoman.com. Our little family moved to Buda last year and have been loving the small town life close enough to the big town immensely.

IMG_3183

We welcomed our son Thomas in April of 2013. He is all boy but he also is a lot like momma i.e. he never stops talking! 1610914_10153342797561177_8289454436802887704_nHe started at 7 months and hasn’t slowed down since. He was nicknamed the Joy Boy by his great grandmother when he was about 6 months and he truly is our Joy Boy. He thrives on learning new things and sharing it with others, and he is always smiling. He was born with a condition called Microtia-Atresia that affects how his right ear formed (or didn’t) while in the womb. He is hearing impaired and wears an Bone Anchored Hearing Aid on a headband for that. He love ninja turtles, being outside, and eats more than I do most days.

We are very close to our family that lives around Austin, in west Texas, and some in Oklahoma. I don’t think I could have gotten through my beginning years of marriage or motherhood especially without my mother, mother in law, and grandmother in law. My mom was always a working mom so to me it just made sense as well. A lot of things about being a mom have either come completely my way or the exact opposite so I have learned to be much more flexible and definitely choose my battles. I am a pretty straight forward person regardless of the situation and that seems to work best so far.

1464683_855267730854_7548920647326230320_n

I love lists so here are a few things I adore or abhor:

I adore:

  1. chocolate
  2. coffee
  3. college football
  4. real people
  5. kids12187723_845720558464_7846530562881920851_n
  6. board games
  7. history
  8. reading
  9. conversation
  10. even numbers – i know it’s my weird thing

I abhor:

  1. laundry
  2. burpees
  3. fake people
  4. passive aggressiveness
  5. mommy wars
  6. tantrums
  7. mustard greens – just the smell alone
  8. close minded people
  9. odd numbers
  10. abusers of any kind

 

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here