Alone

I took time this morning to be 100% alone. I don’t get to do this very often, and when I do I seize the moment. It’s vital for my mental health to get alone time with nobody else around. 

I loaded myself up and took  a road trip up to Trader Joe’s! I’ve fallen in love with a couple of their products. This wine as you can see. Delish. Only 6$. Tastes amazing. I highly recommend. 

Also-not my photo. I’m sitting in the dark as I type this and realized I needed a pic to share. Thank you google. 😂😝

Also, my sister-in-law has gotten me hooked on this shampoo/conditioner and body wash. I mean it’s down right fantastic. It says tingle. And oh does it tingle!! I’m slightly obsessed. I have three more of each now! I beyond highly recommend this! Makes your shower smell SO good. 

Ok off the product train-sorry I was just so excited to share  those two things!! I also went to Costco. I HATE going in there because it’s just always SO busy! I was required to wear a mask, to which I did and to which I hate. I ran in for toilet paper and coffee. In and out and it wasn’t too crazy. I spent more time in line to check out than I did shopping. 

We spent the afternoon at the farm again. Lots of cousin time and riding toys around. Lots of laughs and snacks. I enjoyed loving on little LoLo and so did Viola. She LOVES that girl. Viola wanted to take a picture with her but not with me. So I gave her the stink face. 

Vi is SUPER cranky today. She has been having so much fun with her new friend Evelyn, and she spent the night last night. No kid gets the proper sleep when away from their bed, so she’s been somewhat of a bear today if she doesn’t get her way. I’m also a mean mom and told her no! Who would have thought I could be mean to my kids! 😉

Anyway, got the yard mowed before the heat wave hits tonight and now I’m feeling better after taking some Benadryl. Dang allergies have me up a creek today. I hate the first few weeks of June! Hay fever is a real thing y’all. A real thing!! 

Until tomorrow 

Therapy

I sought out my own therapy today. I decided to color with chalk.  I had a moment to be extremely bored and I was also alone outside. All the kids were occupied doing something.  The girls were both with a friend and the boys were playing with the boys across the street.

 This keeps happening more and more. The kids playing off with other kids, which is totally fine by me. I just have to make sure I have eyes or ears on the boys. They’ve been extra rowdy this week. (Side story-they have been going puddle hunting and I can’t keep up on their laundry! 🤦🏼‍♀️) 

Anyway- back to my therapy. I was kinda proud at my stars. That’s what I like to doodle when I have chalk. They’re bright and bring life to my driveway. Wow that sounded so cliche. 

Henry was the one who snapped a picture. I didn’t ask him to or prompt it. All the kids kept asking who decorated the drive. They were slightly shocked that their own mom would do such a thing. It’s like I’m not allowed to have down time or do something I enjoy. 😂 

I got lost in my thoughts while coloring. I kept thinking about being on the treadmill this morning and how the music just sort of pulsed through me. It felt amazing. I had my headphones on but I blasted my voice. Isabelle even looked at me and said “sshhh” 😳. I decided to then debut to her my lip syncing skills. 

Anyway-I had two very good therapeutic sessions that I did for myself at home. We all need to do this. Self care is so vital-especially during all this insane stuff going on around the world. 

Now I’m ready to find a good movie to watch and crash! 

Until next time!! 

Songs for thought

I’ve done so much thinking the past couple of days about everything going on in MN. My social media outlets are polluted with nothing but, and it’s been hard for me to digest. I’m not one to voice opinions very often. Lately I feel that they need to be addressed though. I came across this picture today and it left me stunned. 

Our family has mixed races. I cannot even begin to think of what it is like to be in their shoes. All I want to do is scream from the roof top!  That I hear you. I see you. We all do. You have me. You have my support and I’ll do what I can to ensure you always feel safe. What I would give to take the worry and fear away for those who feel it. 

 Not all law enforcement is like what we have seen displayed. There will always be some who are power hungry and hold their noses above everyone else. There are also so many good ones. I know some personally and it hurts to think that they may be feared as well when they’re such good people. 

I like to turn to music when I’m searching for the right words to say. Today I had three that stuck out in my head. One Is full version with video attached. The other two are a specific verse.  I included the video for the last song.  Words are so powerful. And I believe these songs hold a good place in how I see things currently. I hope you watch them. If not, at least see some of the lyrics. 

My hope for everyone is that we all choose kind. Being a decent human is what’s important. Now more than ever. 

Until tomorrow. 

I don’t own rights to these songs or lyrics! 

Five Finger Death Punch 

Blue on Black 

Night falls and I'm alone

Skin, yeah, chilled me to the bone
You turned and you ran, oh yeah
Oh oh, slipped right from my hand

Yeah

Blue on black
Tears on a river
Push on a shove
It don't mean much
Joker on jack
Match on a fire
Cold on ice
A dead man's touch

Whisper on a scream
Never change a thing
Doesn't bring you back
It's like blue on black

Blind, oh, but now I see
Truth, lies and in between
Wrong can't be undone, oh no
Well it slipped from the tip of your tongue

Yeah

Blue on black
Tears on a river 
Push on a shove
It don't mean much
Joker on jack
Match on a fire
Cold on ice
A dead man's touch

Whisper on a scream
Never change a thing
Doesn't bring you back
It's blue on black

Blue on black
Tears on a river
Push on a shove
It don't mean much

Blue on black
Tears on a river
Push on a shove
It don't mean much
Joker on jack
Match on a fire
Cold on ice
A dead man's touch

Whisper on a scream
Never change a thing
Doesn't bring you back
It's blue on black

Yeah, blue on black
Yeah, it's blue on black
Yeah, blue on black

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p8NQUbLQGio

True Colors Justin Timberlake & Anna Kendrick version 

You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged, oh I realize
It's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
The darkness inside you
Can make you feel so small

Show me a smile then
Don't be unhappy
Can't remember when
I last saw you laughing
This world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
Just call me up
'Cause I will always be there

And I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you

Pentatonix Hallelujah

Well, maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fwMowPviUAQ

Final goodbye

The end of each school year is always bittersweet. It’s full of memories and hugs goodbye, and lots of good lucks to the outgoing fifth graders for the exciting next chapter in their lives! Add in the events of 2020 with covid and it calls for some pretty sad changes. 

Today didn’t prove to be any different for our Irving family. Our school had a final goodbye parade and I won’t lie-it was pretty epic!!

 I don’t think any of us staff expected the turnout that we had! It was incredible. It was the best way to say “see you next year” and good luck to our 5th grade students. Seeing SO many faces light up when they saw a familiar face! My excitement when I saw specifically the students I work with directly! It was almost magical. The family atmosphere is so tangible at Irving. It’s amazing. 

I REALLY hope our “have a good summer” comments really are only six weeks long. Side note-remember we are a year round school. If covid keeps us from getting to go back in July-I might just loose it! 

So for now, we will just go with the flow of life. Settle into our summer routine-which will not be any different from what we’ve been doing. Just still really crossing my fingers for the pool!! 

To Viola’s teacher-Katy...you’re amazing. I think Vi blossomed a lot with you this year-even though she’s been super stubborn since covid-you’ve impacted her life, and mine, for the better! You’re so sweet and compassionate and you’re made for this job. 

I’m glad Iz got this final goodbye. She has had Erin for two years now, and she’s grown a lot with her. Erin-thank you for being amazing and patient and such a great leader for her. It’ll be weird not having you come “next year”! 

To Kyndsie- Henry adores you. You were a perfect fit for him this year. He has grown so much and I truly think you helped mold a lot of that for him. We will sure miss the kindergarten hall!! 

To everyone else that works at Irving that may read this-I hope you all have an epic summer. Stay safe, be happy. Live in each moment. Take pictures. And try something new! Hopefully we all have awesome stories to share when we’re together again!! 

Until next time! 💛💜

A virtual grad

Since 2020 has been so much fun so far for everyone, why not throw in a virtual kindergarten graduation! Like I said the other day, I feel so bad for these kiddos because it’s such a fun and exciting thing for them to experience. Henry is very lucky to have such an amazing teacher!! She put together the best slide show video of all the kiddos saying what they want to be when they grow up. It was cute, sad, and exciting all in one emotion.  

So we got our picture at school today. We’re all now looking at a first grader! It was bittersweet being on school property too.

I have included here the YouTube link to see the graduation video. https://youtu.be/0aCymGXGK9E

 

Tonight has had its challenges. I plan to write a nice and long journal to Isabelle. I’m hoping that’ll help clear my head about some of the things that were said earlier. 

Until next time! 

Long over due

As I mentioned yesterday my big sister Ang is visiting from Texas. She brought her daughter, Launa, with and man she’s grown too!!  It’s been three years since we’ve seen them!  

I loaded up the kiddos and we headed to my dads in Urbandale for some family time! We didn’t run into any bad weather. It rained a little while we were there but we were able to have the kids outside and play. The kids were equally excited once my other sister, Jaedyn, got home from work!

It was fun catching up and laughing and just being together. It doesn’t happen very often so it was a good time. 

Sisters!!! And we’ve never looked so good!! 



I found something neat out about this guitar while visiting too. It was my grandmas! I never knew that! I’m always learning something new. Looking forward to more time together Friday! 

Kids are tired and way crabby so off to bedtime routines we go. Hopefully. 

Until next time 

Final week

I have completely lost ALL track of time. Since we have been stuck at home since spring break, it dawned on me that this is the final week of school. Henry will be virtually graduating kindergarten. Ugh. Makes me so sad. Those kids work so hard all year for their big end of the year performance. This whole no school business just isn’t fair. 

Like I’ve said many times over, our house thrives on a routine and fairly strict schedule. This has all but been washed away. That is probably the hardest part for me. 

I tried very hard in the beginning to keep the kids interested in their online learning. I will not lie to anyone. I literally gave up after a week and a half. I have four kids. It’s nearly impossible to keep them all engaged. One was willing. Two were for a while, and now we’re just getting by day-by-day. I have a totally new kind of respect for teachers. We continue to read and stay active and have deep conversations -so we’re more of a-what do they call it- free range school. 

😉 

I have plans this week to get the kiddos to Irving to get their official last day of school pics at the building. I have to document it. Always. So I now have a first grader, 3rd grader and a 5th grader. I have so many different thoughts and feelings about Iz being in her last year of elementary school. That went WAY too fast. 

Adrian will repeat preschool. He’s just not quite ready for kdg yet. 

I was finally able to get two of my three Irving kids to pose with our sign. I’ll take what I can get at this point. 

Somewhere along the way this week we also have our Irving parade. I’m hoping that weather holds out and we’re able to do it. I miss all those that I work with a lot, but man. Those kids. I miss them something fierce. I can’t wait to see familiar faces and wave from afar. 

Tomorrow I have exciting plans. My sister is visiting from Texas. Staying with my dad in Urbandale. I can’t wait to see her!!! It’s been three years!! 

So on that note...until tomorrow. 

Sunday snip its

Today I’m exhausted. I didn’t get hardly any sleep the night before last. Up late plus storms and then having to get up early yesterday. My Fitbit told me I got 3 hours and 49 minutes of sleep. I don’t think I’ve gotten that little of sleep since maybe college...I’d not high school! (WOW I’m old!) I can’t really function off anything less than six hours, so the fact that I made it through yesterday is amazing. I was feeling it on our drive home from Missouri. Exhausted, sunburned and hungry-I started to feel sick. I fixed that with food! I slept so good last night too, but today I’m just zonked. 

Spent the whole day inside nursing my sunburn. My face is SO red!! I’ve loved being lazy though. But I’m also never truly lazy. I cleaned, did laundry. Took care of kids. I did spoil myself and watch a movie. Oh and I drank a bottle of wine. That was yummy. And much needed. 

Viola spent most the afternoon at her friends down the street. I got this hilarious pic of the girls “sunbathing” spa style. 😂 

Viola has found a new friend and is having the time of her life and that makes my heart happy. 

My anxiety has been eating at me today-I’m a silent sufferer. I’ve managed though. Some days are rough-today would be that sort of day. I usually come out on top of it and I feel that I have. 

This morning Isabelle and I went to the store for some one on one time. The radio was also on point. It makes my mood so much better to have awesome music. I was embarrassing her and it was fun! Music is always a win in my book. SO good for the soul! 

And we’ve come to the point where we all realize I’m rambling. So until next time! 

Crash and burn

Remember the video I shared of the boys flying down the hill and having dramatic landings and rolling in the grass. Well...today Henry went down said hill on a scooter and took quite the tumble. I wasn’t right there. I had been sitting in our deck since I knew they were at the hill. Our neighbor was there with her daughter and ran and got him. Luckily he’s just scrapped up and ok. It was very dramatic. Well all things are with my kids. It’s just how we roll. Nothings ever easy or simple. 😉 

I firmly believe that even if he did have his helmet on, this still would have resulted. Maybe not as bad, but still. 

This one I got worried because I thought maybe a rock was stuck. Luckily after some good cleaning it was obvious there wasn’t any. 


After realizing he didn’t have his helmet on, I text Ryan and told him what had happened. He came home with two new helmets. One one for H and one for Vi. We just have to get Iz a new one now. She doesn’t ride as much as the other three. So until Ryan got home, when Henry was ready to get back on anything with wheels tonight, he used Adrian’s helmet. It’s been a very long and somewhat dramatic day. I’m exhausted from the emotional ups and downs. I’m ready for the weekend and some good storms. Hopefully. 😊😊

Rocking Adrian’s helmet. He’s resilient. I love how brave he is. He tells me he isn’t, but I reassure him that because he got back on something with wheels-he is! 

Until next time! 

Dear Isabelle

I’ve decided I’m going to write a journal entry to Isabelle daily-or at least that’s my goal. 

I’ve been having so many issues with her during this whole Covid crisis that it’s really taking a hit on us both. I figured if I could find one good point-especially during our bad days- it might encourage her to have more confidence, understanding, empathy, and so on. She’s such an amazing kid and I really want her to know it. I also want her to cherish something special between her and I. I’ll probably do it with Viola too-heck probably all of my kids one day, but for now it’s me and Iz. She needs me a lot and I also need her. 

Weekend recap

I’ve been MIA all weekend. Sometimes life gets busy and I get caught up in trying to keep up with everything and everyone around me! 

Recap 

Friday night we had a fire in the backyard. We grilled and enjoyed some good company. I ate way to much-per usual- but it was fun. Afterwords on those events the next day are never my fave. Cleaning up everything we had to take outside and the mess of sticky food and drinks lingering on the counter bother me. Ryan helped me get it cleaned up and then I cleaned house. I felt much better about myself after that. Continued my day with lots of laundry. 

Iz had a friend over Saturday night and Vi spent all of Saturday at the neighbors house playing with their daughter. I think she’s found her new best friend because she is always asking if she can go back. Sunday was spent being fairly lazy and visit for with Ryan’s parents. We usually go over there on Sunday’s and play. 

Today I have a laundry list of things I need to get done going through my head. Hopefully I can accomplish it. I’m feeling rather blah right now. I can hear the kids making weird animal shrieking noises at each other upstairs. I should be concerned but it’s honestly just how the communicant sometimes. That’s also weird. Oh well! 

Till next time 

Throwing this in because I grabbed Henry a pair of goggles. He’s obsessed with them. Weirdo. 😂😝

Headbands galore

Yesterday the girls waited ALL day for our UPS guy, Mike, to show up. Well he took a lot longer than usual.

Nature got in the way.  We had an unexpected tornado warning. Those DO NOT go over well in our house. Like at all. Lots of screaming and freaking out. TV going in and out. We finally decided to head down to Isabelle’s room. She has no windows and a nice big closet. I was able to keep my phone going and KCCI on, so after a very long 45 minutes we could return to normal life again. 

Fast forward to just after six, and he finally showed! All us ladies got headbands from my mom! Even the boys were enjoying them. 

Viola got these cute ones with bows. She insisted that each boy try them. We just have to convince Ryan. I don’t think that’ll work though! 😝



Isabelle and I got the same kind. I didn’t take a pic of myself because yesterday I looked like crap! So she can keep it cute for both of us!! 

And of course Bru boy. This dog tolerates SO much from these kids. He sure does look cute though!! 

It’s been a busy day of running errands and mowing and getting the yard looking nice again. I’m tired! Tonight we’re having a bonfire. Maybe I’ll blog again later. Maybe I won’t. Guess y’all will just have to wait and see! 

Kappy Wednesdays

Ever have those days where one kid wakes up in a bad mood and just sort of ruins it for everyone? That happened to me this morning. Luckily, somewhere in there, things changed and our day got better. Especially at two this afternoon! 

Every Wednesday since March the kids and I have gone over to my sister-in-laws house. Her husband, Justin, is over in Kuwait for a while. All fingers crossed that he’s home before Christmas. I want to be there for them as much as possible without being overwhelming. We stick to a weekly get together-permitted everyone is feeling good or other events come up. 

Any who- I like to call today the devoted all Kappy day. The cousins all play together fairly well, and it’s a good mom break for both myself and Kristy. Who doesn’t love adult conversations when you’re with kiddos all day long! The kids all look forward to this day as well. Always asking what time we’re going and what not. 

Baby Lolo is changing so quickly. She sure does love all the extra attention and isn’t afraid to let anyone know she needs it. Iz and Vi usually can’t get enough of her. 





These kids LOVE to play house/school no matter where they hang out. Emma and Gracie are good teachers. 

We got some suuuuper yummy s’mores bars for a snack. I love how good Kristy is at making sweets. She’s my kind of gal! ❤️ 

Until tomorrow! 

High emotions

Today I have found myself to be all over the place in my emotions. Granted, being stuck at home with the kids is undoubtably hard, but not having our normal routine is SO much harder. 

I miss the nights when all the kids were out and asleep by nine at the latest. Lately, my oldest isn’t even asleep by 10:30 if I’m lucky. As time rolls on and the days grow longer, it’s much more difficult to get them to come inside for the night-the boys especially. 

During my walk this morning I was watching the latest Disney home sing along that aired on Mother’s Day. I ket feeling like I was going to break out crying while singing along. I tried hard to shove those emotions aside. I always do. It’s my nature to ignore myself and put everyone else first. Before I knew it, it was 2 in the afternoon. I was cozied up with the girls watching a show. I crashed. My overly exhausted self caught up and I took my first nap in I don’t know how long. I felt better after. My head was clearer, and I was ready to take on the evening. 

I think the best part of my day was getting a surprise sign to have in my yard by our ever amazing PTO from school. It made my day. Like really made it. As cheesy as it sounds I freaking love my job and we’re all family there. I miss it something fierce. I want my normal back. I want my kids’ normal back. Change isn’t usually hard for me. This is though. And this is why my emotions are all over this week. 

If you’re feeling it too, I’m here with you. We’re all in it together. Hopefully for not much longer! 

So until tomorrow we will all remain strong. We’ve got this and I’ve got this. 💜💛💜💛

Back at it

It’s been a hot minute since I have blogged last. Over three years to be exact. March 2017 was my last! A lot has happened. A lot has changed. I’ve grown as an individual. I’ve grown with my family. I’ve had a lot of good times, a lot of bad times, and a lot of “hey, you can do this” times. I’ve always been one to be open about my life and how crazy it is with four kids. 

So for those who are new, I took it upon myself after Henry was born to blog about my day. Every. Single. Day. It became a good and healthy habit. I tried to not complain-however some days I felt like that was all I did! Then I ran into server problems and app issues with my older phones and just never really got back into publishing my life’s adventures. I’m going to try again. It’s therapeutic for me to write out my feelings, thoughts, anxieties, frustrations, and so on. If you’ve stuck around this long-awesome. Welcome aboard! 

Let me tell you a story. I’m not a perfect mom, person or wife. I’m far from it. I suffer from a lot of anxiety. Some days it’s extremely overwhelming inside my brain, others are good. I try to make myself look like everything is ok on the outside, but a lot of times I’m struggling inside. Having four kids is without a doubt the hardest thing I’ve done and continue to do. Don’t get me wrong-I love my babies, but some days they make my job as their mom downright miserable. 

Last time I blogged I think we still lived in Indianola.  Now we’re in Milo. Own our home. We are in year four of making it our own. I love it in Milo. Small, quaint and homey. I’ve met a lot of amazing people along the way in the last six years we’ve been in this area. I wouldn’t change anything either. 

Picture-some days I feel like this is how my life goes! 😂

My goals right now are to live without regret. It’s a crazy time in the world right now. We are on day-I don’t even know anymore- of covid running the show. So welcome aboard to my Life With Six Kappy’s blog. Enjoy the ride. 😝