Listen close, happy kids are nearby

Parenting becomes a lot easier when you stop and listen to your kids. I can put them in swim lessons, soccer, gymnastics and every sport and activity in between and they will always have a smile on their faces. It's hard to tell when they are unhappy. Most of the time though, they aren't begging us to enroll them in some of these activities. It just happens to be that time of year, we sign them up because we did it the previous year. I'm going to start paying attention and spend my money wisely - I'm going to invest my money in my kids. Diana loves to draw and doodle and says that she wants to be an art teacher when she grows up. She's been fortunate to have three teachers so far who have made art an integral part of their classroom curriculum. Maybe this is where her motivation comes from. Lord knows it's not genetic. Her cousin is quite the artist and has an art-related major at USF. Another cousin can play guitar and was in a band for a long time. If Diana really wants to pursue this art thing she needs practice and that starts with us. She can only do so much sitting at her table in the playroom. Unfortunately, there aren't many options for art classes in Vacaville. I found a place in nearby Davis that offers a Saturday art class for kids her age and it covers a wide variety of mediums. She starts the class in a couple of weeks and I'm excited to see where it leads. I'm sure she's going to learn a lot and have fun and that's the most important thing.