A Fun-filled Weekend

On Saturday, CJ, Crystal, and I went to the Kentucky Horse Park.  It was fun. We had never seen horses perform in person.  Crystal even got the chance to ride a pony. The kids got their faces painted, and Crystal got her picture taken on a pony. CJ refused. He was worried that he may break the pony's back! LOL!!!

On Sunday, we all went to the church where Mario attends with his girlfriend.  They were having a dinner and a fun tent for the kids outside. I was so proud of all my boys because they all volunteered to help with running of the tent, set up, and tear down.  

Ballet Under the Stars

Today's highlight was taking Crystal to Ballet Under the Stars.  It was very impromptu.  I woke up from a nap at 7:30pm, looked in the Lexington Family Magazine for what was going on today, realized I highlighted the ballet which started at 8pm, and we went.  Of course, she now wants more ballet lessons. And I believe I will sign her up. A friend of mine sent me information on auditions for a children's choir today.  So, between gymnastics, ballet, choir, and piano lessons, I think her plate will be full! LOL!!
On another note, I am a massage therapist and I own a mobile massage business.  I am sooooo happy because my business is really picking up.  It will allow me to make twice the money I am making in half the time! My goal is to do at least 9 massages a week. That would be ideal for me.  What is really exciting is more of my clients are requesting that I massage their children.  That really excites me because I ultimately want to have a pediatric massage practice within a year. There is still so much for me to do, but I'm ready for the challenge!
I am so happy right now.....

Apple Camp Day #2

Today at Apple Camp, CJ and I edited his movie using iMovie and created his first film. It is only 90 seconds long, but it was really fun putting everything together.

Day 3 is on Saturday, August 11th. They will show all the movies the campers made. We wont make it, because we have a family gathering at Cumberland Falls. It's probably for the best though, because CJ won't even watch his own movie even though everyone keeps telling him how good it is.

Mommy/ CJ Day!!!

Sooooo, I woke up yesterday morning and my mother informed me that CJ had Apple Camp. She signed him up months ago and I had totally forgot. It was so cool! Here is a description of the camp:
          Apple Camp for Kids

At Apple Camp, kids ages 8–12 will learn the ins and outs of iMovie and how to make their own films. The free three-day session, held at the Apple Store, leads up to an Apple Camp Film Festival where campers debut their masterpieces.

Yesterday was the first day and they drew a storyboard, made their own theme music using Garage Band, and their homework was to film their movie.  Here are a few pics from the class....

I was so proud of CJ.  He tends to be painfully shy, but he jumped right in on creating his storyboard.  He changed it quite a few times, but it felt so good to see him using his imagination.

After camp was over, we went to lunch at Saul Good's restaurant and instead of crayons with the kids meal menu, they gave us these little wikki-stix. We asked for an extra pack, and decided he would use them in his movie. We talked about what he wanted to do for the upcoming "school year" (since we are unschoolers, we don't do "school" nor do we have "breaks").  It was a lot of fun. 

The next stop was Disc Replay. There is a wrestling video game he got about a year ago, but didn't get to play because it kept messing up. I took it to Disc Replay and for $1, they cleaned it. I offered to buy him an additional game since I only spent a dollar on him, but he refused. He said he just wanted his game and he wanted me to save my money because I might need it later.  :)

I love my baby boy!!!

Just Another Sunday

My eldest son, Mario, is unofficially dating (she can't have a boyfriend until she's 16) a girl whose grandfather is the pastor of a church.  He asked me last night if I would take him to church, so Crystal and I decided to attend the service too.  It was a good word.  He spoke on living your truth.  After church, Mario's friend left with us as we headed back to the Half-Price Book store with more 50% off coupons.  We also ate at Chipotle. When we got home, Crystal made perfume with the kit I bought her today at HPB. I thought the perfume was rather stinky, but she seemed to like it.  The rest of my day I will watch the Olympics and sleep.  Mario is reading the RL Stine book he bought, RJ is staying overnight at a friend's house, and the younger two are spending time with my mother (who lives with me).  I am in my room, alone, and happy :)

The Boys at WWE Raw

No pics to post :(   They had awesome seats and they all had an absolutely great time. CJ was sad that he didn't get to buy a belt or get an autographed t-shirt, but at least he got to go, right? That's what I told him. At one point he started complaining about Mario and I stopped him in his tracks. I had to remind him that I will NEVER take him to a wrestling event so he better be good to Mario, because he's the only one who can take him. LOL!!!
They said John Cena beat Big Show for the cage match. And that's all I really remember. I hate wrestling because I hate fighting, as fake as it may be....

Mommy/Daughter Day!!!

Today was Mommy/Daughter Day!!! First we stopped at Half-Price Bookstore so I could use my 20% off coupon that expired today.  At first Crystal said she wanted to get a book too, but then she decided not to get anything there and just wait until we went to Justice. My choice....a book titled 'Unschooling Rules'.  Truth is, I think I could have wrote this book myself.  I've already experienced much of what he wrote about. But I bought it anyway because I saw something in it I liked.  He said, "What a person learns in a classroom is how to be a person in a classroom."  Yes, that one point is the reason I bought that $5 book.  

The second stop was Justice for Girls.  I had a 40% off coupon.  We went looking for a bathing suit, but they only had the kind with the bikini bottoms and I am not going for that! LOL!  She decided she wanted jewelry. Cool.  The jewelry was Buy 2 Get 2 Free.  So she chose a pair of earrings and 2 necklaces for $10 each and a bracelet for $6.  After my discount, I only paid $12! 

The last stop was Dairy Queen for Blizzards. I had a coupon for buy one get one free. She chose Cookie Dough and I chose the flavor of the month, Chocolate Lovers!!! We got out Blizzards and ate them outside. We talked, played some kind of mannequin game she learned her week at summer camp, and we took pics. We had a great day.  I'm still waiting for the boys to call me so I can pick them up from the fight.  They called and said they had good seats. I hope to have at least one pic to post. Crystal and I are watching the Olympics right now and she is also doing "book work", her choice :)

July 27, 2012

Today was a wonderful family day.  The highlight was going to the YMCA and watching CJ and Crystal swimming.  It is so exciting to me because now all four of my children can swim.  Crystal is definitely the youngest of my children to be brave enough to jump off the diving board.  She took her first swim lesson just 4 months ago.  In 4 months, she learned how to swim, she passed a swim test (swam the length of the pool and tread water for 30 seconds), and now she is jumping off the diving board with ease.  It was just last summer when I was excited that CJ got the courage to jump off the diving board at age 8.  He started taking swimming classes 4 months ago too, but to learn technique since he taught himself how to swim.  I have visions of the 2 of them swimming for the Y's swim team. RJ played basketball while at the Y, and Mario is out of town.  Tomorrow I will have them all home and it will be another great day.  WWE Raw is coming to town, so the boys will go to that show, and my daughter and I will do something girly.  I'm not sure what we will do yet, but I'm sure she will want to go shopping at Justice (good thing I have a coupon) and we'll probably go out to eat at BD's Mongolian BBQ (I have a coupon for that too).  She loves mother/daughter days as much as I do, so I try to make sure we do it at least once a month.

The Gingerbread House

Today was a sleepy day.  I'm not really sure why, but RJ, CJ, Crystal, and I slept almost all day. I think the most exciting thing that happened today was Crystal's gingerbread house. I bought the kit around Christmas time, but never let her put it together.  She caught me on the right day today :)  I made her do it by herself and she had fun decorating it.

The Intro

I guess it's only right that the first post should introduce who I am.  Who am I? (deep breath)  My name is Kila. I am.....
Mother:  I have four children. My boys are Mario (17), RJ (14), and CJ (9),  and my daughter is Crystal (6).
Teacher: I have been "homeschooling" my children for 13 years now. Currently, the older two are in public school and the younger two are still home with me.  I say "homeschooling" because that word doesn't accurately describe our experiences. Unschooling is probably more appropriate, but something about the word 'school' makes my skin crawl. LOL!
Business owner:  I am a licensed massage therapist and owner/operator of Mobile Massage By Kila.  As the name states, I provide massage in the home or at the office.
Superwoman:  I get to call myself that because I am a single mother and have managed to keep my sanity AND be happy while successfully handling all my responsibilities!

My reason for blogging is two-fold.  First of all, I love to write.  I have kept a journal since the first grade.  Secondly, I want to share my experiences with others and hopefully encourage other single parents that they can homeschool, too, if that is their desire.  I eventually want to write a book, but life is so busy right now that a blog will have to suffice for the moment :)