Fab Moms: Wisconsin

Theresa Nemetz
Photo credit: Apple Dapples Photography

Theresa Nemetz

Nemetz is the president of Milwaukee Food & City Tours. What started as a walking tour has grown to include bus tours as well as culinary vacations around the world under the name of Travel Deliciously. 

Mom to: Enzo, 9, and Rose, 6

Hometown: Milwaukee

Favorite ways to spend family time in WI: I love taking the kids on road trips to explore new cities and places in Wisconsin. The Great River Road along the Mississippi River is a great trip with fun little towns– the pizza farms along the way are perfect for kids to run and play while enjoying a great meal. We love making Christmas magic and traveling to new communities to see their Christmas tree lighting ceremonies. There are so many free or low-admission museums in Wisconsin, and I’ve found that MilwaukeeWithKids.com is a great resource for discovering these spots throughout the state. We recently visited the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh and we were very impressed, along with the Kenosha Public Museum. During the pandemic, we really dove deep into getting in the car to find the best playgrounds and ice cream shops too!

Your most rewarding motherhood moment: Day 1 – becoming a mom – was probably the most rewarding moment. I had such strong medical anxiety during the pregnancy, and I was convinced that I could never give birth. And then with the strength of so many friends and moms in my life that insisted that I could do it, I actually did! The realization that I did it and earning the ultimate reward of becoming a mom was a fabulous moment. 

Biggest challenge as a mom: My biggest challenge is scaling a company significantly, during a pandemic, while trying to be present with my kids. Young kids only see this exact moment in time, and don’t always understand why a work trip or phone call needs to happen in the moment to better the future.  

A mother who inspires you and why: Entrepreneurs such as Julie Waterman from Indulgence Chocolatiers, Katie Wessel from Milwaukee Pretzel Co., Lauren Schultz from Purple Door Ice Cream, Angela Quigley from Married in Milwaukee and Erica Hanson Elia from Classy Girl Cupcakes have all shown me what it means to be a brilliant businesswoman while also caring for a young family.

Best piece of advice for a new mom: I used to love scrapbooking, but it was just too hard to keep up with it once the kids were born. I also love genealogy and get frustrated when you can’t solve a mystery because the family history wasn’t recorded and no one remembers the whole story anymore. I took the pressure off of myself and rather than creating a perfect scrapbook for the kids, instead I just opened up a Word document and started typing a journal of their life. Not only am I documenting my whole life with all of the memories I had growing up, but then also documenting their thoughts and moments. 

Your biggest hope for your children: I want my kids to travel the world, become great humans, and be happy in whatever they choose to do in life. 

How are you celebrating Mother’s Day? My day will probably still involve doing the dishes and laundry because those chores never seem to take the day off, right? The kids are already being secretive about something…so I look forward to seeing (and I suspect most likely wearing) whatever creation they make at school. I also look forward to having a meal with my own mom to celebrate the day too. Happy Mother’s Day!

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