Hi, I’m Abbey Kennedy! An Iowa native, I was born and raised on Des Moines’ southside. SE 14th gives me good nostalgic vibes! My favorite used bookstore, Help A Mind Thrive, Keep a Book Alive exists on my childhood side of town. I love revisiting the southside of Des Moines to show my kids various locations that hold meaning for me. The old Fort Des Moines, for example. Foggy mornings near those red brick buildings are the most mysterious!
Fast forward to my grown-up self. I met my husband Eric through the Des Moines music scene as well as through the childcare I worked at. Eric’s daughter Gaibrien and my brother Ladd brought us together without fully realizing the parts they played until later.
After five years of dating, Eric and I married in June of 2009. A year and a half later I bore our first baby girl, Ivy (10). Our other children, Lark (7) and Asa (6), soon followed. I went from working toward my college degree and owning an arts business to being a stay-at-home-mom. Since becoming a parent, I’ve learned quite a bit about myself and my family. Our family is blended, unconventional, and expressive. I wouldn’t change our loud and quirk for anything!
About My Family
I love my husband, my children, and our Doberman mix, Monk! My husband is a software engineer by day, a wonderful partner and a loving daddy by night. He’s also a musician and jack of all trades. He can fix anything. Eric has a great sense of humor, a sensitive and logical spirit, and laidback energy. He’s both a dreamer and a realist. He’s an enneagram five through and through!
Gaibrien is an artist, a free-thinker, and a beautiful human. She’s a fantastic older sister! It’s fun to discuss all things personal, political, spiritual, or quirky with her.
Ivy is ultra-creative, spirited, and sensitive. She talks to me twenty-four hours a day. I can always count on Ivy for a good laugh, a passionate idea, or a burst of fire. She keeps me humble and awake.
Lark is my dainty bird. She’s intellectual, kind, and quirky. She knows exactly what she wants, as well as what she doesn’t want. She is a peaceful child and often reminds me to be patient.
Asa is my cuddly, hilarious, thoughtful buddy. He works hard on his ideas and loves to be of service. He was our surprise child, and I couldn’t have asked for a better surprise! He brings joy and thoughtfulness to every aspect of our lives.
What I Like
I consider myself curious and good-natured, ready to learn and try new things. I often crave an iced oat milk latte. A hobby of mine is sharing my unfiltered life on Instagram via @velvet_gazelle. Documentaries and podcasts are my favorite mediums to consume, but sometimes I need to take a break from real life and rest in fiction. Another way I like to rest, at least emotionally, is to ride bikes and take walks with my family. Especially during the summer! I love summer and all the perspiration involved – perspiration makes me feel alive! I’m terrible at small talk, but I will readily listen to your life story. The enneagram is my favorite way to understand my relationships with other humans. The more I learn about another person the bigger my world becomes. This is both humbling and magical.
What To Expect
I look forward to sharing pieces of myself and my family with you, like my experience of finding sobriety years into motherhood. Having children changed my life and as a result sobriety became front and center.
I will also share my personal experience of being married to a man who is thirteen years my senior. Since being together for seventeen years, it’s been a passionate, bumpy, wild, conflicted, and loving life with Eric.
The deconstruction of my faith has changed the way I view social issues; another pertinent paradigm shift I can share on Des Moines Mom. Once religious, now spiritual, I have never felt more unashamed or free in my relationship to the unseen.
You’ll probably also find me writing about ways to creatively engage with kids, our eclectic unschooling lifestyle, what I love about Des Moines, as well as the ways motherhood has smashed most of my own expectations right out of me (as motherhood will).
What an honor to share my individual perspective of motherhood with you! I look forward to being a part of the Des Moines Mom community. I can’t wait to learn from each of you along the way. I’m sure I have much wisdom and perspective to gain. Cheers to all moms finding themselves, being themselves, and raising children to be themselves!
