Where to stay: You’ve got tons of options in San Antonio, from hotels downtown to those closer to Sea World (which is why we all really go to San Antonio with kids, right?).  My all-time favorite place in San Antonio is the Hyatt Hill Country, which is definitely upscale and unfortunately out of our budget for this trip.  We decided to stay on the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio, because we wanted the convenience of restaurants within walking distance.

I had a love/hate relationship with the hotel we stayed in, the Drury Inn and Suites – Riverwalk.  Loved the location, which was right on the Riverwalk, loved that they offer breakfast and ‘happy hour’ food for free (although we got very tired of the same breakfast each day, and never even tasted the evening food…but free is always better than not-free!).  It’s a beautiful, historic hotel, which I also loved (see beautiful photo above).  However, I hated our room, which was on the 5th floor and right above the parking garage (yes, car alarms could be heard), and had one window that faced a concrete wall of the Embassy Suites next door.  There were better rooms in the historic hotel with floor-to-ceiling windows (I peeked while the maids were cleaning) that face the Riverwalk, and we considered trying to switch, but the idea of repacking/unpacking all 5 of us was too much to contemplate.  The contrast between the tiny, wall-facing window of our bedroom vs. other areas of the hotel was actually so hilarious that I took a photo of the stairwell just for contrast (see below).  I think we’ll choose differently next time, but for our first visit, the Drury Inn and Suites-Riverwalk was serviceable.

Our hotel room window

Beautiful bright stairwell

What to do: Most families visit San Antonio to go to Sea World San Antonio, and of course, that must be the centerpiece of your trip.  I recommend two days there (at least), and you can read my tips for little ones at the park on Fun Family Vacation: Tips for Visiting Sea World San Antonio with Kids.  However, you should plan to spend a full day in downtown San Antonio, as well.  Our day started with a riverboat ride through the Riverwalk, upon the insistence of my two boys.  They had seen the boats on the river for the two preceding days we’d been in the Alamo City and wanted to ride one.  The rides are a full hour long, which would have stretched them if they weren’t ready for a little rest after two days at SeaWorld.  Depending on your boat driver (pseudo gondolier), you can get a great history of the city and become oriented to many landmarks of the beautiful river.

We then visited the Alamo, which held little charm for my kids, and – honestly – myself.  If I hadn’t been preoccupied with keeping up with all of them, I may have pondered the historical significance of the battle and the men who made such a fight for liberty.  Interestingly, as this is the first time I’ve visited the Alamo as a Mom, the biggest “aha” moment I had was looking in the single room the women and children stayed in during the siege.  Thinking of the families that were forced to watch their husbands/fathers die in battle hit me harder this time than ever before.  However, my present-day reality called in the form of two boys jostling through a crowd and out the door, leaving Mom (me) little time to stop and reflect.

(Note:  The Alamo is celebrating its 175th anniversary.  There is an I-Max movie about the Alamo that plays at the San Antonio IMax just a few blocks from the historical site.  If our kids had been older, we would have definitely taken them there to give them (and us) a history lesson before visiting the old fort.)

After our short pass through the Alamo, we headed to the San Antonio Children’s Museum, which had been recommended to us by some friends who visited last summer.  It was awesome, and the perfect activity for parents who wanted to let their kids burn energy indoors vs. another day in the sun.  Between the PowerBall Hall, the airplane trip, Lego car building and racing, and the HEB grocery store, it was hard to get the kids to leave.  We ended up returning after lunch / nap and staying until the museum closed at 5pm.  (If the construction zone/Holt front end loader exhibit had been open, I’m sure we’d have had to come a second day to appease my 3-yr old!)  At only $7/person over age 2, it was a bargain for the entertainment value.  (By the way, when is Dallas going to get a great Children’s museum like this?  The basement of the Museum of Nature and Science is OK, but a distant comparison to Houston’s Children Museum and also San Antonio’s).

Where to eat: There are so many options on the Riverwalk, you won’t have trouble finding a place.  We were on the western end of the loop, so dined at County Line BBQ, PizzaRita’s (actually on the street level above its Tex-Mex counterpart, Rita’s on the River), and Texas Land & Cattle (right downstairs from our hotel).  PizzaRita’s won our kids over with the great pizza, friendly staff, and (unfortunately for PizzaRita’s) fairly empty restaurant where Mom and Dad didn’t try to contain them as strictly as we might have otherwise.  Yes, that’s my 2 yr old in the picture below chasing my 5 yr old around the table.

Other resources to plan your trip: To find information about San Antonio and plan your trip, these were the sites I found particularly helpful.

The San Antonio Riverwalk – official site (http://www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com/)

SeaWorld San Antonio (http://seaworldparks.com/seaworld-sanantonio)

We highly recommend Sea World and San Antonio for a family trip.  With our family of five, with three little ones (age 5 and under), taking a vacation anywhere is a daunting task.  It’s quite a production to pack us all up, with the required blankies, pillows, lovies, and such…not to mention car seats and strollers.  Airplanes at this point are out of the question, but a five-hour car trip is doable – especially along I-35, which has many options for stopping (i.e., McDonald’s) along the way when little legs get too antsy.  Here’s what we did when we visited SeaWorld San Antonio with our kids.  To see what we did in the Alamo City overall (hotel, riverwalk, other things to do), go to my post on What to Do with Kids in San Antonio.

Sea World San Antonio for Little Ones:

SeaWorld San Antonio is huge and intimidating for a Mom and Dad with three hyper kids in tow.  We decided to focus the first day on seeing the shows and the animals, and the second day for splashing.  In hindsight, we could have mixed the two, but as this was our first trip, we didn’t know what to expect and wanted to hit the ‘must see’s’ the first day and then relax (so to speak) on the second day.

Buying your tickets: We were told to buy our tickets ahead of time, but honestly, the lines to buy at the window of the park were not that long.  If you search on Google for SeaWorld coupons, you’ll find several options.  We knew we wanted to go for two days, so we searched for ‘2nd day free’ and found many links for coupon codes.  (WARNING – some places will try to charge you for the coupon code – don’t pay.  You’ll find a workable one for free.)  The one we found was on HotBuzz4U.  After purchasing, we found an even better deal was on Commerce.4Adventure.com, which was Adult at Kids Price and 2nd Day Free.  I also saw a Facebook coupon that would have worked if we had wanted to buy tickets on the day of for that same deal (Adult at Kids Price and 2nd Day Free).  You may want to consider buying an annual pass for one adult in your group, however.  It is $99.99 (on the SeaWorld San Antonio site), gives you free general parking (which is $15) and 20% off discounts at various places in the park, including food.  We would have easily paid that back in our two day visit.

When to arrive: Over the two days, we tried two different approaches.  On the first day, we got there around 9:30, thinking we’d get in line before the park got busy when it opened at 10am.  Oh, what novices we were!  We ended up standing in a very long line for about a half hour after the park opened – so a total of an hour to wait (and yes, everyone already had their tickets purchased in that line, which surprised me).  The second day, we arrived around 10:40am, thinking the line would be pushed through and we’d get in without a boring, hot wait for the kids.  Nope.  Still waited, although this time we only waited half an hour.  Lesson:  prepare yourself for a long wait.  Tip:  go to the north line, not because it moves faster, but because there is more shade.

What to wear: Other than plenty of sunscreen, I suggest wearing swimming suits.  Our kids wear rash guards and swim shorts (yes, even Kate), which are basically like wearing quick-dry t-shirt and shorts.  There are a lot of opportunities to get wet throughout the park, which you will want to take advantage of to cool off during your visit.

What to see: Our kids, even our 2-year old, loved the shows.  Days later, she is still talking about “sea lions” and “whales coming” and “people watching”.  You must see Shamu, of course, but also don’t miss the other shows, especially the Cannery Row Caper with sea lions, otters, and the fattest walrus you can imagine, and Azul, with beluga whales, dolphins, and acrobats.  Get your seats early…the stadiums do fill up, so we headed in around 25-30 minutes before show-time to pick our seats (and we had plenty of company already).  My tip is to time snacks or lunch with your seating, so you can keep the kids occupied while you wait for the show to start.  And, unless you truly want to get wet, don’t sit in the first 10 or even 15 rows…the park does not exaggerate about all the splashing!

You also will want to walk through the park and see the various animal habitats, including dolphins, penguins, sea lions, and tropical coral reef.  If you can, feed the fish.  Our older two children loved interacting with the animals this way, and it made for great photo opps!  We happened upon the feeding time for the sting rays and other fish in the Coral Reef exhibit, where a scuba diver gave the fish a scheduled feeding, and that turned out to be a real treat to watch the fish interact with her (plus a cool, dark respite from the sunny, 95+ degree heat outside).

What to do: The newly opened Sesame Street Bay of Play was a great play area for our kids.  It has a toddler dry playground that’s shaded, plus a 3 yr and under only splash area.  There is a three-story (or more) climbing jungle gym that the kids can play on to get really hot, then they can splash in one of the spray areas to cool off.  There are a handful of rides for little ones, like a merry-go-round, plus some slightly more daring ones for the Pre-K set, like the Shamu Express roller coaster.

We spent almost all of our second day at the Lost Lagoon, which is the waterpark at Sea World San Antonio.  We could have spent longer, and even considered turning our two day passes into an annual pass so that we could come back for a third day (in hindsight, glad we didn’t, as we had a great time in San Antonio for our last day of the trip).  Our younger two kids loved the Lil Gators splash area, with its soft play slides and shallow water, as well as the Activity Pool.  Our 5-yr old liked the Splash Attack (which he called the “Splash Castle”), a three-story structure with geysers and sprays that gets you wet every which way.  All the kids loved the wave pool.  Mom’s favorite would have been the lazy river (called Castaway Cruisin’), but unfortunately we didn’t even get a chance to try it.  Two tips for Lost Lagoon:  life vests are plentiful, so no need to bring your own for the kids.  If you can afford it and they are available, a cabana would be a great investment if you plan to spend the day at Lost Lagoon, as shaded chairs are hard to come by (alas, I only looked longingly at them from afar on our trip).

Overall, it was a great vacation, and we had a great time at Sea World San Antonio.  To see the other tips from the rest of our trip to San Antonio, go to my post What to Do with Kids in San Antonio.  Enjoy!

My friends (all of them wives, by the way) and I often joke that we need to hire a wife.  Not to replace ourselves (fully, anyway), but someone to assist in the constant activities and management of busy households.

Well, I’m actually hiring one.  No, I’m not kidding.  I’m extremely serious.  Returning to a “real” job after selling MomsOutLoud.com (my “fake” job of two years – yeah, right!) will require me to shift my focus away from the mundane vastly important jobs of laundry washer, taxi driver, lunch-box packer, and such.  Instead, I will be doing the mundane vastly important jobs of information collector, spreadsheet adder/subtractor, and report printer.  But at least I will be getting paid.  And have other adults to talk to IRL (“in real life”) vs. email, Twitter, Facebook and such.  I am so excited!

So, if you are an experienced household manager, please read on!  Please note:  I could make this a LOT funnier, but because I really do want to hire someone, the rest of this post is serious.  If interested, please email me at rebekah@momsoutloud.com.

Title:  Household COO

Start:  July 26

Job description:

West Plano family of 5 needs domestic help weekdays for ~20 hours/week, between 2 – 6pm daily.  Duties will include a range of household activities, grocery shopping, meal preparation/lunch packing, and picking up kids from pre-school to bring home.  Specifically, the tasks will include –
-  Daily ’straightening’ and light cleaning of house (we have a different housekeeper do main cleaning each week)
-  Managing grocery list and doing grocery/household shopping
-  Laundry washing/folding
-  Evening meal preparation
-  Sack lunch preparation for children
-  Picking up children (ages 5, 3, and 18 mo.) from pre-school at 4:15pm, getting them settled at home with TV/quiet activities
-  Babysitting children until parents arrive home between 5:30-6pm

Requirements:

English speaking (does not need to be 1st language but must be able to communicate well)
Good driving record
Must have reliable vehicle that can fit 2 car seats + 1 booster seat
Loves children
Organized
Ability to multi-task
Likes pets (we have 2 dogs and 2 cats)

Pay: We’re targeting between $12-15/hour depending on experience and maturity

Read the full article based on the research here: Teachers May Be Swayed By Child’s Reputation (http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/teachersmaybeswayedbychildsreputation.html).

Do you think I could send them in to Clorox for them to use in a commercial?

Yes, Moms, she is.  And that she is ME.  Read about my self-inflicted pain (and joy!) here.

Baby Kate (now 14 weeks old, pictured at left doing her most hated activity – tummy time!) is my most precious baby.  She had colic early on and, coupled with her bright red hair, she had us worried she was going to be High Maintenance.  But thankfully she’s settled into a sweet baby routine of smiles, giggles, coos, 3 naps per day and even a few full nights of sleep. 

So who are the other 2 babies?  Of course, they are MomsOutLoud.com #1……and (soon to be delivered) MomsOutLoud.com #2. 

MOL #1 was conceived when I left my corporate comfort zone in Feb ‘08.   Roughly 9 months (two development teams, numerous false hopes, and many dollars) later, MomsOutLoud.com #1 as you all know it was launched.  I poured my heart and soul into its creation, and just like any Mom, I have been so proud of it and its growth.  In fact, we just topped several much more established (like years, even decades, more established) local websites on unique visitors in June according to www.compete.com.  [Sorry, even I can't resist a little patting on my own back every once in a while.]

But ever a perfectionist, almost as soon as MomsOutLoud.com launched, we started working on version 2.  I thought I wanted enhancements.  My developers told me I needed a new platform.  So we rebuilt the site.  Everything.  From the bottom up.  During which time I had my “real” baby, Baby Kate.  And the result will go live within the week.  Roughly 9 months from the launch of the first site.

MomsOutLoud.com #2 is uber-cool.  It’s got RSS Feeds (I didn’t know what those were 12 months ago).  It’s got embedded video (I didn’t know what that was, either).  We have a poll.  We have breadcrumb navigation.  We have comment-able articles.   I am giddy.

So, Moms, within a week, expect an extra email from me letting you know that our new site, with all its cool extra features and easier navigation, is live.  In the meantime, MOL #1 will be available…but its little sister will really WOW! you.  

Rebekah Cooksey is the Founder and Chief Executive Mom of MomsOutLoud.com.  She lives in Plano with her husband, 3 children aged 3 through 14 weeks, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and (for the time being) 2 web-sites. 

I had the pleasure of spending time with Sci-Tech Discovery Center Volunteers and one of the Hawaiian Falls‘ “Ambassadors of Fun” on Monday at Maui Moms.

For those of you who haven’t read the MOL newsletter for the past bijillion weeks (no fingers being pointed or anything!) and don’t know about Maui Moms, MomsOutLoud.com and North Texas Kids are partnering with Hawaiian Falls to bring you Maui Moms Club on Mondays throughout the summer.  “Club” is actually a bit of a misnomer…there are no memberships, no papers to sign, no dues.  It’s not even exclusive to anyone (although they only let nice people can get in – just kidding).  

Maui Moms is simply Hawaiian Falls’s way to help Moms who have smaller kids (like me) be able to bring their children out to the park for the morning and get their “money’s worth” of fun before heading home for nap.  So, Moms get in free with the purchase of a Little Kahuna ticket ($13.99).  That’s you and kid into Hawaiian Falls for $13.99.  Even if your kids no longer nap – or your kids are not so little anymore – and you stay until the janitors kick you out that night, it’s $13.99 for both of you.  The ONLY requirements are that you (1) Tell them you are here for Maui Moms as you purchase your ticket to enter, and (2) That you get there between 10 am – 12 noon.

For those of you who have never been inside a Hawaiian Falls (like me, before Monday), it is amazing.  Keiki Cove (pictured here) is a fun climbing, sliding, splashing (even crawling) fun place where even the youngest kids can have a blast.  There is also a wave pool, lazy river, and of course, HUGE water slides that get the older kids screaming with laughter.

And that’s not all!  At Maui Moms, not only do you both get in for $13.99, Hawaiian Falls lso provides fun activities for the kids in addition to the wet, splashy fun they always have.  Some days it’s a craft, others it may be storytelling.  On this particular day, Sci-Tech Discovery Center was on hand with science experiments for the kids. 

Sci-Tech Discovery Center is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide a dynamic, interactive experience that inspires people of all ages and backgrounds to embrace discovery and innovation through the exploration of math, science and technology.  They have been bringing the experiences TO people within Collin County and surrounding areas over the past seven years, first as a task force of the Junior League of Plano and then as a stand alone non-profit.  Soon they will be announcing details on a physical facility that will house this unique and fun center full-time.

On Monday, a great group of volunteers from Sci-Tech were on hand to lead kids through hands-on science experiment.  They had several on hand, which I promise I understood as they were explaining to me, but of course cannot relay again with any sort of coherent explanation.  With one exception – the sunscreen test.

If any of your kids ever give you grief about having to wear sunscreen, just replicate this experiment for them.  Check out this picture.  Sunscreen was absent, applied in SPF 30 and applied in SPF 50 on the three different strings of beads. Can you guess which?

Look at the contrast between the strings that have no sunscreen (darker beads due to no protection against the sun’s rays) versus the lighter beads (due to the sunscreen screening out the harmful rays).  This strong visual of the power of the sun’s rays made me pause (and think that possibly the SPF 15 moisturizer I use every day is not strong enough).  I’ve heard it said recently that SPF 50 is the new SPF 30, and after seeing this, I’m a believer.

The best part about the morning was that I got to meet a few Moms who had not heard of MomsOutLoud.com, share with them the vision for what we’re all about, and watch as their kids experimented with the wonders of science.  Older kids certainly enjoyed the hands-on fun, but even littler children had a great time trying out the different “tests” they could perform with every day objects.  Here’s a couple of bathing beauties testing out how water droplets make colors bleed together (I think their favorite part of the experiment was drawing on the coffee filters!).

Thankfully, I have spared you all from any photos of myself, as I have not had a chance to exercise or get out in the sun very much this summerr (something about getting a website business launched and growing?!?).  But we’ll be back at Maui Moms on the Mondays to come.  When you’re there, be sure to stop by and say hi…and do a fun activity with your kids!!

Thank you especially to Erica, the Ambassador of Fun who made us all so welcome, and Laura Curran, Director of Sci-Tech Discovery Center who organized the volunteers and experiments for all the kids!

Rebekah Cooksey is the Founder and Chief Executive Mom of MomsOutLoud.com.  Photo courtesy of Rachel Logan Photography.

Tell us about your business.
 
I am the franchise owner for USA Martial Arts Leadership Academy in North Frisco (at southeast corner of Teel Parkway and Main Street).  We are in the business of changing kids lives through martial arts. We have a proven track record of improving self-confidence, self- discipline, self- defense, and physical fitness in a fun and educational atmosphere.
 
You are very young to be a business owner.  Tell us about your journey.

I’ve been involved in martial arts for as long as I can remember. When I was four years old, I began my journey into the martial arts world, and I earned my 1st degree Black Belt at age 11.  That’s really when I decided I wanted to own a martial arts studio when I grew up.  So, while living in Dallas, I spent my time outside school training in martial arts and eventually even teaching classes.  

I went to the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma and graduated with a degree in Health and Exercise Sport Sciences and Sociology.  The entire time, I planned and saved for opening my own studio.  I had trained for years (since I was 6 years old) with the President of USA Martial Arts & Fitness, James Boecker, so I when I graduated I went to work at the Allen location.  This was great training on the business side of owning a studio, and I got some good lessons on what it takes to run a successful business.  I never dreamed I’d be able to own my own facility so soon, but opportunity came to convert an existing martial arts studio in Frisco to a USA Martial Arts location.

Now, as a second degree Black Belt, I feel I’ve got a tremendous amount of talent and knowledge to share with students.  I’m still studying – training for my third degree Black Belt and I also have a first degree black belt in Traditional Martial Arts Weapons.   

She is excited to opportunity to share her passion for martial arts with students of all ages
 

What was the biggest surprise you have had since getting into this business?
 
The biggest surprise, and the hardest thing as well, is how much I needed to prove myself to the students and most of all the parents.  I had to show the parents that I am a qualified Martial Artist and can run a business as well.  I thought the take over would be easy, and that everyone would embrace me with open arms.  I guess that shows how naive a 22-year old can be!  Taking over this school was the hardest thing I have ever done.  I’ve had to prove myself time and time again that I am qualified and equally if not better prepared than the previous owner.  Being a female in a male dominated industry is an honor, but also a challenge. I feel like I must work harder, be smarter, and run faster than the people around me.  I know that I must work hard everyday because I can lose everything as fast as I have earned it!
 
 
That does sound challenging.  Are the rewards worth it?    

Oh, yes.  The best thing about being a teacher of the Martial Arts is changing lives of my students.  I have had many students who have come to our school that were painfully shy and insecure with themselves.  That is what is great about martial arts because not everything has to be done as a group to succeed – you can go at your own pace.   I have done many martial arts lessons in my office because the child was too scared to come on the mats.   However, once we had the chance to work together, the child felt more comfortable with their surroundings and they were finally able to step foot on the workout floor. It is amazing to see that after time and effort the students become more confident and begin to feel better about themselves. 

What does your typical day look like?

As a small business owner I have the privilege of being the “chief cook and bottle washer”.  I am the first to arrive and the last to leave.  I would not have it any other way.  In the morning I handle all paperwork and business matters.  By early afternoon it is time to be on the mats teaching.  By 9 PM, I am getting ready for the next day.  As much as we are a Martial Arts school — we are a customer service business.  If I do not satisfy my customers — they will go somewhere else.  
 
 

What are your plans for the future of this business?  What goals do you have for it?

Just like all business owners, I want to grow my Academy. I’ve been very fortunate to see enrollment increase every month.  Many business people are always focused on opening that next location; expand into a new community.  Right now I’m just focused on growing at my own location in North Frisco. 

The one “extracurricular” thing I’ve been doing is exploring creating a program for our school to work with underprivileged children. One of the best attributes of our program is the building of self confidence and self worth.  With this power, you are unstoppable, and I would love all children to have access to such a great boost to their self esteem regardless of their economic situation.

What are your big hobbies and interests outside of work?
 
I love spending time with family and friends, but honestly the most fun I have is training for my next black belt!

Anything else you’d like to tell our readers?

Your readers are mostly parents, so I would tell them to encourage their kids if they show a strong interest in something.  I always had the encouragement and support of my parents and this made all the difference to me.  And now I’m 22 years old and living my dream!  I have the privilege of working not only with amazing students but their families as well.  I get to live my dream every day, and that is not something most 22 year olds get to do.  My start all came because my parents believed in me and helped me achieve my goals. 

And in case you haven’t read it, here’s my blog post:  Why I’m Proud to Drive a Mini-Van.