Tina's Realm

Oh yay, Barney

2011-12-23T10:02:00.000-08:00

Just heard my 6yr old (watching tv) lament, "Oh yay, Barney. *pause* This is for toddlers."

Lets eat nuts

2011-12-21T22:35:00.001-08:00

My 6yr old was just singing the Prince song "Let's Go Crazy"...in his rendition, it sounded like this: "Let's go crazy...Let's eat nuts!"ROFLMAO!! Always a source of amusement, this one is!- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

"I'll do it!"

2011-12-10T19:00:00.001-08:00

Maeven: Dad, can I play on your iPhone? Adam: No Maeven: Why not? Adam: Because I'm mean. Maeven: No you're not. Adam: Yes I am...see I'll come over there and whack you. *whack* Maeven: *laughing* That didn't hurt! Do it again!! Adam: No. Tyren: *piping up* I'll do it!!

Looking up...

2011-12-09T09:33:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning dwelling on how I want to live somewhere else...how I think it would be better to live in the cohousing development a friend of mine lives in, as everything's new and energy efficient and the whole community takes care of all the little things that we ourselves cannot seem to handle as independent home owners in this run-down house we currently own. Thinking how I'd like to

Multi-generational education

2011-09-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Since enrolling my kids in a homeschool charter at the beginning of this school year (just about a month ago)...I've had a chance to see what I now strongly believe education SHOULD look like. Multi-generational. NOT segregating specific age groups and having them in a classroom with just one or 2 adults...but the WHOLE FAMILY being involved! My kids now get to go to classes which might be

Big changes for us

2011-09-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the "Welcome Back" potluck at ERCLC. Got to re-connect with old friends and make some new ones! It was very friendly and wonderful! I am feeling VERY good about this choice to try this charter. The drive is a bit much (one hour, one way, so 2 hours each trip), but we listened to an audiobook and the kids did just fine. I just have to remember to get plenty of sleep the night

So we're venturing into the charter school realm...

2011-08-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

I founded The Learning Village Homeschool Resource Center a couple years ago because I had heard about this fabulous homeschool charter in Visalia (an hour away)...and I wanted something like that here in Fresno. I decided, after many online discussions with local homeschoolers, that we could make that happen here and went about making it so. I got our 501(c)(3) status and founded and led the

Interesting flashback…

2011-06-12T12:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I got a blast from my past. Very interesting to me because I just am usually not exposed to this crap anymore these days…so I really notice it when it happens. A kid was visiting a neighbor and lurking around the kids playing in my yard…I still don’t really know what he was saying and if things were truly the way I perceived them…but I got a vibe off this kid from the way he carried

Another day, another dollar

2011-04-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

OK not really...but I AM making more money with my businesses and I feel big things coming!! I'm really excited by it all! At the same time I'm feeling particularly overwhelmed with life right now...but that is pretty much a given with me. I hate the feeling of overwhelm and just tonight I'm starting to feel like its smothering me again...but this isn't an uncommon feeling. I am just thankful

What my life has been like lately

2011-02-28T10:26:00.000-08:00

Ok this is going to be a whinefest...just warning you. I think I deserve to whine a bit after the last 2 weeks I've had. Starting at or around Valentine's Day Maeve got sick. Sore throat, lots of crying about how her throat hurts (she always gets a sore throat when she gets sick, and she has NO tolerance for pain whatsoever. Its a joy to listen to alllll day long, lemme tell you.) Midweek Tyr

making the best of where i am

2011-02-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

i woke up this morning after having some very vivid dreams about moving to jersey (where i spent my high school & early college years) to a fabulous old house i used to live in with lots of big rooms...that house was in a cute little town of freehold (bruce springsteen's "hometown", which isn't so small anymore)...but in my dream it was on the beach (which, as i recall, was only about a half hour

time wasters

2010-09-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

i've spent a lot of time lately thinking on how to get enough time to do things that are important to me...and it occurred to me that i'm REALLY glad now that our tv consumption is at an all-time low. what a time waster tv can be! there's really not enough time in the day for me to get all that i want/need to get done, done...where in the world would i fit regular tv viewing? i see computer

the comedy of my life

2010-09-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

today i got out of the shower and was heading to the laundry room to find some clean clothes (stark naked, as is normal in our house)...headed to the laundry room after first checking out the front door to make sure no one was heading up to our house at that moment since i was going to be walking by an open window. saw no one but saw a van in front of my next door neighbor i didn't recognize and

summer's end

2010-08-30T00:14:00.000-07:00

ok summer isn't officially over yet. but its feeling nearer to the end. the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter! it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend, in the low to mid 80s! felt like our hellish summer heat was finally over...though i know the temps will soar again this week and continue until we finally get to october, when we'll see fall weather finally. it was a marvelous

WHO I AM MAKES A DIFFERENCE

2010-07-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

*let me preface this to say i'm not writing about anyone in particular here except myself. this is just me, talking out loud to myself and sharing my thoughts today with anyone interested in reading them.* today, as with every day nowadays, i got up at 6:30am and headed out for my walk, plugged in to my mp3 player. i listened to another fabulous homeschool podcast and it has me fired up and

Tyren's Robot Birthday Party--Pt. 1

2010-07-12T10:22:00.001-07:00

Holy cow, Tyren's robot birthday party went REALLY well! Funny because I think I felt the least prepared for this one than any of them. Typically I start planning months in advance and even order a bunch of stuff online...which I wish I had because I couldn't find ANYTHING robot in the stores here locally. (I'll post to some things I found online in another post for those that might want to

where do i start?

2010-06-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

oh my heavens, i cannot tell you how happy it feels to have that damned big room DONE! the carpet/linoleum went in today. here's a rundown of what's left now: finish linoleum (carpet guy was missing what was needed to properly complete covering the steps today) buy/install can light covers (14 of them) get contractor to plane the french doors (they are snug to the carpet now, but he knew that

just breathe....

2010-06-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

i have to remind myself to breathe. i'm getting that worked up feeling where i'm feeling out of control with stress. after 3 years of having our house in chaos because of the big rm being out of commission and crap piled up in various areas of our house and shed and inaccessible for the most part...we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel....but it sure has ramped up the stress

A book to touch your soul

2010-05-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Eleanor's Story: An American Girl in Hitler's Germany I stumbled upon this book while in the library looking for books on Eleanor Roosevelt. Literally just saw it on the shelf and picked it up because of the name "Eleanor" in the title. That's when the full title grabbed me and I had to check it out and read it. I literally just put down this book after completing it cover to cover. Its one of

can i just brag on my little girl?

2010-03-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

so remember that i made the rule that the kids cannot have any computer time unless they do their chores? well, for awhile they have decided they didn't want computer time. little stinkers! but recently (and i had a feeling this would happen, given time), maeven has decided that she really does want to play again. so lately she's been doing ALL her chores (completely of her own volition, not any

don't forget the little people

2010-03-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

just wanted to take a minute to rant about how people treat video crews. probably other service people as well. most of y'all reading this probably won't ever run an event that you'd even need to think of this...but perhaps you have a spouse or family member that you can pass the word along to. or maybe you will have a wedding sometime in the future. can i just say how annoying it is how often

Notes from an Oprah Show

2010-02-28T12:51:00.000-08:00

I'm going through some old video tapes and found an old Oprah show that caught my interest. It was a show about domestic violence leading to murder. The part that caught my interest was an interview with an abuser that beat all his wives, and nearly killed his current wife...he was a cop and he and his wife managed to get a lot of therapy and help and are still together. What interested me was

My dad understands...

2010-02-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

"I don't know how you do it all!" and similar comments is something I hear at least weekly from everyone. From strangers, from friends, from loved ones, from EVERYONE. And while I know it is well intentioned, it really wears on me sometimes. Hearing it so much, it starts to make me feel like maybe they mean I am doing TOO much, in which case I am feeling judged. But I know that's just my own

change in our days

2010-01-31T11:20:00.000-08:00

well i am happy to say, thanks to my change in our routine, that my kids are not spending hours and hours every day on the computer. something that i was really feeling was a problem. over time, i managed to gradually wean them from that and now they are at the point that they MIGHT get an hour on the computer (IF they do their chores), and some days they just don't get any. and they are finding

seriously, i don't get it

2010-01-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

this is all coming from an email i just got just now, so bear with me as i just need to vent...i just had someone email me because he says that he knows that i am trying to promote nonviolent games and that he made this video where he interviewed his friends and thought i'd find it interesting.well it basically is a commercial for the game "call of duty 2", an EXTREMELY violent war game. i'm not