Des Moines Parent Spotlight: Sheryl Powell of Eat, Play, Love Des Moines

Des Moines Parent Spotlight

by Erin Huiatt

Des Moines Parent Spotlight: Sheryl Powell

Sheryl Powell founded local blog Eat, Play, Love Des Moines and it was one of the first blogs I ever started to follow. I loved seeing all the fun she was experiencing around Des Moines while supporting local businesses. It truly inspired me to do something similar! To this day I still love following Sheryl’s fun adventures with her family. Learn more about her family, Des Moines favorites and more!

Give us a little background on your family and personal life! How many kids do you have? Have you lived in Des Moines all your life?

I’m originally from Boston, MA. I moved to Des Moines in 2005 and fell in love with everything Des Moines has to offer. I knew I wanted to raise my family here. I have 3 kids, a 12-year-old Son (Nathan), a 12-year-old Step-daughter (Lucy) and a 2-year-old daughter (Evie).

What is your business, and what do you do?

By day, I’m a Special Education Associate for the Waukee School District. By night, I’m the founder of www.eatplaylovedsm.com. Eat, Play, Love Des Moines is my blog that highlights local businesses, things to do and places to eat. Although I haven’t been as active on my website since having my daughter two years ago, keep your eye out for some new posts coming soon!

Why did you become a small business owner?

When I moved to Des Moines from Boston, I didn’t think there would be much to do or many good places to eat, so I made it my mission to find all the good spots. As I shared my experiences on social media, family and friends encouraged me to share my knowledge of all the fun things to do in Des Moines with the world, and with that, Eat, Play, Love, Des Moines was born.

Where is your favorite place to take your children to play indoors?

We absolutely love the Des Moines Children’s Museum in the Valley West Mall. We actually just held my daughter’s 2nd birthday party there last week and it was super fun.

The older kids love to do escape rooms. Breakout Games in Urbandale is their fave.

Where is your favorite place to take your children to play outdoors?

My kids love to swim at any of the aquatic centers or at the pool at Lifetime Fitness. In the fall, we love visiting the pumpkin patches/farmyards.

Parent’s day/night out. Describe your perfect parent only day/night out in Des Moines.

It’s hard to choose! Dinner at the Cheese Shop and a show at the Des Moines Playhouse would probably be my first pick. I also love hibachi at Taki or Ohana Steakhouse and a Breakout Game (not just for the kids!) We could spend an afternoon at Summerset winery listening to music or taking a painting class at one of the painting studios. So many things to do!

What are some tips on juggling parenthood, working, and personal life?

We just try to make time do to things as a family as much as possible and it can be challenging trying to find activities that make the adults, 12-year-olds and the 2-year-old happy all at once. But, even it’s just going bowling for a few hours or spending the night at the Ramada Waterpark Hotel, we make sure we have something fun that everyone can look forward to that will get us through the busy/stressful weeks.

What is your number one parenting tip?

Pick your battles! Not everything has to be perfect…it’s OK to let some things go.

Also, you can never have too many matchy-matchy outfits with your kids. They may not like it now, but they’ll appreciate it when they’re older…trust me.