welcome to Flying Kites!

my name is Kaley

I am the mom to Gabe (4) and Lydia (2)

{I’m also a wife, a tea-drinker, a bargain hunter, a crafter, a hostess, etc. etc}

Motherhood has taught me some things about myself:

I can be pretty selfish with my time,

I get angry over spilled milk,

and I can do the immature eye roll to perfection when my kids want to watch Animal Mechanical for the 100^th time.

those are the lessons I am not proud of.

This last year, I have found myself looking backwards

at myself in first-time mommyhood

when everything was new, and fun, and easy

{at least, that’s how it looks in retrospect!}

I have also found myself looking forwards,

past the days of diapers, time-outs, and constant neediness

to all-day school, unaccompanied playdates with friends, and real conversations with my kids

the grass is always greener, right?

In these last few months of hating my actions towards my kids and ungratefulness for where we are in life, I have come to one powerful conclusion that has changed my outlook on parenting:

Motherhood is more than a job, it’s a relationship.

Even though these early years of parenting might seem like an unpaid job at a daycare, it’s so much more than that. These early years are the building blocks to a future relationship with my kids. I have come to the conclusion that these years are going to set the tone for how my kids and I will relate to each other. Will I be a fun mom? A yelling mom? A dictator mom? I clean-freak mom? A loving mom? A patient mom?

My kids are important.

They are important because they are people.

They have fears (the vacuum cleaner),

hopes (please, please, a Jake Pirate ship!),

dreams (to finally “have a turn” at driving the family minivan).

I need to see past the dirty diapers, the endless meals, the dirty dishes, the house that never stays clean, the constant talking….

I need to see the person.

I need to start investing in a relationship with these little people so that someday, I won’t regret how I handled the early years.

I really want to invest some quality time in my kids now and not just when they’re older and “easier”

I hope you will join me

ps – these pictures were taking by my awesome husband when we took an afternoon trip to the beach in Santa Barbara, CA. after 3 hours of driving, the kids were only interested in the beach for about two. figures!