Today

    So, I admit it, I'm a slacker. I let the toilet paper run out at AP for the 2nd time in the past two months. I'm also out of socks for my customers to purchase. I have no black ink in my printer, so printing  waivers or a sign in sheet today for that matter was out of the question. 

     The reason for this madness: I'm lazy. I barely have time to tie my own shoes.....actually I don't tie my shoes, I just slide my feet into the shoe and tuck the excess string. I'm tired. I've not had much time off from work. Or maybe. There are some crazy health issues that have been plaguing me for the past 5 months now that prevent me from doing everything I used to do so quickly. Grrrrrr. And oh yeah, I'm hiring again.  

   Whatever the reason, today I discovered how easy ordering supplies online is. Toilet paper and ink should be in tomorrow via a truck! I find peace in knowing that I am organized when in comes to the important stuff like remembering my customers names, keeping track of birthday parties, being super OCD in planning my schedule months in advance and I sanitize my place like a F-ing lunatic. Did I mention, my kid got all A's on her report card? I must be doing a little something right. 

Signed, 

The not so perfect business owner. 

Never Drop Your Kids Off at School with Pajamas On!

For years Amaya has begged me not to drop her off at school while wearing my pajamas. For years my grandmother always told me never to go out of the house not wearing matching underwear or without a bra. My mother always warned against not doing my hair before going out. Today I avoided the request and advice of all three, and man did it backfire on me! I had just pulled into the drop off circle at Amaya's school when my car totally cut off. I tried to restart the car but I got nothing! So, there I was in my non working car, with my pajamas on, no bra and bed head in the middle of the car drop off line.  Amaya, with her helpful self, springs into action and ask if she can go get help. I reluctantly say yes and look into mirror to try to fix my Afro as she is on her mission to find help.  Did I mention that I'm a PTA mom and room parent at the school?

Help arrives. I'm happy, yet want to stick my head back in my car to hide. Luckily, I did brush my teeth before I decided to hop into the car. I am so thankful for the Vice Principal and the P.E Teacher for helping to move my car. I hope they don't remember the image of me this morning looking as if I had just rolled out of bed. Well......anyhow. Have I learned my lesson?  I think so. Only time will tell.  Most mornings it's just easier to get her ready and come back home to shower, eat and dress for the day.  All I know is that for now I'll take the extra five minutes to make myself presentable.......just in case! 

Vision Board Planning for the New Year

When I was a counselor one of the coolest things I did with my girls was to have them create vision boards.  A vision board is a really simple project that helps you to reflect on goals you may have or things you may want to manifest in life.  When I was in the preparation phase for Amaya Papaya I created a huge double sided vision board.  The board helped me to organize my ideas about various play areas and the type of toys I wanted to have at my facility. This really helped me in establishing my vision for Amaya Papaya as a creative play space called a playlounge that mostly offered kid powered & classic toys.

Creating a vision board is simple and only requires a few simple items that you most likely have sitting around your home. Gather the items below, set your intention and start creating!


Materials needed
Blank piece of card stock or poster board (8x10 or larger)
Glue
Scissors
Various Magazines

To create a vision board follow these simple steps
1.) Set your intention, think about your goals and the things you want to manifest in your life. 


2.) Cut out pictures and words from magazines that related to your goals or things that you want to manifest in your life.

3.) Organize the cut outs how you would like to have them on your board.

4.) Glue the cut outs to your board


Putting your vision board to work

Once your board is created you can share it with your friends or keep it to yourself.   Ideas of sharing with friends are posting a photo of your board to social media and explaining your board in a post.  You can meet up with a friend or friends to discuss your goals and intentions. Talking about your goals can often times be therapeutic and help keep you accountable.  If you should decide to keep your board to yourself,  keep it in a place where you can see it and reflect on it often. The more you are reminded of your goals and have them organized the better it is to achieve them.  You can add items to your board over time if you would like or create a new board for various aspects of your life.

Today through next Friday at Amaya Papaya I will invite parents to create a vision board for 2015.  If you are in the area stop by to let the kids play and create a vision board for yourself.  If playtime at Amaya Papaya is not a part of your plans next week, set your intentions and create one for yourself at home! I plan to create a series of boards this week. My intention is to create a family board, personal board and business board. There will be some overlap as everything I do as a mom, wife and business owner make up my whole self and one would not be complete without the other.  Happy new year and happy vision board creating!

We LOVE our Customers SO much!

This month is all about LOVE, and as most of you know I truly LOVE being able to serve MY Central Florida community by providing a hip hang out for you and your kiddo's to chillax at and PLAY!
I LOVE seeing all of your children's faces light up as they bounce on our trampoline, play in our sand box or make dinner for you in our "custom" wooden kitchen!
I LOVE seeing those of you that take advantage of our FREE WiFi to get work done or simply being a place that you can visit to get in some adult conversation.
If you didn't know, every inch of Amaya Papaya was created with LOVE using more of my HEART than my hands.  Although it takes major physical effort, your dollar$ and many sleepless nights :) to keep this place operating, It's is truly your LOVE of AP that makes it all worth it!
Please be sure to continue to show your LOVE for AP by visiting us often and participating in one of our exciting events this month. It's YOU that keeps us here during these hard econimic times and YOU that will keep us here for many years to come!  THANK YOU!
During the month of February look out for our "We Love of customers SO much" campain.  During this month we will be giving away FREE passes to AP, goodies from our prefered vendors and other swag that you will want to get. :) Be sure to become a fan of ours on Facebook if you are not and look out for the goodies!

Also, during the month of February AP will celebrate Black History month by posting a Black History fact a day on our FACEBOOK page.  WE will choose facts that are kids friendly that toddlers and pre-schoolers can relate to.  We ask that you share these facts with your little ones and educate them about these awesome Black Americans. 

LOVE,
Yolonda
Amaya's mom

Three Years! The Joys of Business Ownership!

This week I found out about yet another locally owned indoor play space closing their doors. Since I've opened, I can name a long list of others that have not made it or that will be closing soon. It truly makes me sad, especially knowing all of the hard work and dedication that goes into maintaining a place like this. I have had the pleasure over the past five years (two planning, three owning AP) of connecting with many awesome indoor play-space owners. We share ideas, stories, feedback and offer support to one another about these community meeting places that we have created in our communities. While we sometimes appear to be bursting at the seams during our "busy season," there is the dreaded "slow season" that seems to linger when we are struggling to get people in the door. We don't have grand marketing budgets; rather, we rely on word of mouth from our fabulous customers and other forms of gorilla marketing   to spread the word about these little places where kids can PLAY. Each year that Amaya Papaya sustains and grows, I am humbled by your support and that of other people in our community who not only bring their kids to play or participate in activities at Amaya Papaya, but also spread the word about us as they are at the playground, in classes, or simply passing by another parent who looks like s/he could use a break! I've even heard stories about people spreading the word about Amaya Papaya in other cities, states or countries and then meeting those guests at AP when they come to visit Central Florida! Thank you!

So here I am at year three and one month. I could say that it has been all me and my big ideas that have kept AP open; however, that would be a big untruth. If it had been all me, I would have given up a long time ago. Although some people have thought of me as a super hero with a cape (that's just the shadow of a kid who follows behind me), I am simply a mom who depends a lot upon the persuasion of two year olds who can convince their parents to bring them to play in a little piece of play heaven (LOL). It's been a blessing to wake up each day, come to work (on time I might add), see your kids' smiling faces, and talk to each of you about our experiences as parents. Lord knows that it takes a village to raise a child, but I also think it takes a community to help keep a mommy/daddy sane.  ENTER THE AP COMMUNITY TO THE RESCUE! When I first began to think of this place, I imagined a place where community could be "created.” I imagined that all types of families could come to enjoy AP and be accepted. I imagined that parents could come into AP and be safe from parenting-style judgment, that kids could learn at their own pace, and that friendships would be formed. All of this and more has happened! YOU have helped to shape the AP culture!



While the latter has been grand, some people have found that they don't fit into the culture of this community. I've heard that some don't like our variety of toys, some disagree with the staff that I have selected over the years, some have not connected with other parents at AP, and some simply find the idea of AP to be silly. I've heard earfuls from people over the years about how I should structure AP, about which programming I should bring to AP, and even how I should run AP in general. Just last week a parent told me he did not see the value in AP. While all of these things offer me valuable feedback (lots of which I take and use), it has also provided me with a valuable lesson in life and business. Although I am  a person who loves to help others and wants to make people no less than happy,  I have learned that I simply cannot make everyone happy. I cannot expect everyone to see my vision or understand the purpose to my AP madness.  In this day and age, customers can easily share their opinions and cause harmful damage to a business' reputation by posting negative reviews on the same social media forums that we use to build ourselves up. When sharing these opinions, it is easy to forget how much effort was put into growing and sustaining the business. It's easy to forget that no business, its owners, or the people they choose to hire, will ever be perfect. My hope is that those who don't agree with my business model, or any business for that matter, will understand that I/we   work hard to provide a place that is simply here to bring a smile to the face of the children and the parents who need it. So what's next? Come see me and ask. I LOVE to talk (if you haven't already discovered that)!   I will simply embrace growth and change and move forward!