An Updated Review of Malena's Mini School

In January of 2012, I was on the hunt for a new daycare facility for Kaleb and ended up deciding to enroll him into Malena's Mini School at their location on Pine Forest Road.

Although he had just turned 3 earlier that same month, he was placed into the "older 2s" class because Malena's promotes on the same schedule as the public school system and his birthday hadn't happened before the cut-off.  At the time, I was a little disappointed about that, since he was already fully potty trained.  Little did I know then that the "older 2s" class would be the highest level we would be happy with at Malena's.

At the beginning of June, the week after the public schools let out for the summer, Kaleb was promoted to the 3-year-olds class.  Since he was already fully potty trained, he wouldn't have to wait until the end of the summer for his promotion.  It was really great for the first week or so, but the newness wore off quickly.

While I am a very strong proponent of young children taking naps—Kaleb still takes one every afternoon, no matter what—I am no where near as rigid on this point as Malena (the owner) is.  She serves the children lunch at sometime between 11a.m. and noon, and then expects them to lie down immediately for a 2-hour-minimum mandatory nap.  Even though a 2-hour nap would be no problem at all for Kaleb at home in his own bed, the early time coupled with the distraction of being in a room full of friends made it very difficult for Kaleb to accomplish this napping requirement.

He began coming home with bad daily reports almost every day, and most every comment was centered around Kaleb not being compliant with the napping law.  To make matters worse, Malena herself told me that she was making that class' nap times, and my child in particular, her personal mission.  Her stern attitude made me feel as if I were in the principal's office all the time.

P52, Somewhat: Week 14, "Toys"

The photo topic this week is "Toys," and toys are definitely something I know plenty about.  Why?  Because I'm a parent, and my son has a particular talent for making an absolute mess.

A few days ago, I blogged about my son's new Jobs Chart, mentioning that one of his jobs is to clean up all his toys every weekend.  When I was this topic coming up, I knew in advance what the photo would have to be this week.  So, when we woke up yesterday morning, I snapped a pic of our living room floor before all the toys got cleaned up.

And, rather than writing a lot this week, I have decided to let the photo speak for itself.

P52, Somewhat: Week 13, "Accessory"

This week's post almost had me stumped.  We have been given the topic "Accessory."

Let's face it: I'm totally not a girly-girl.  I don't wear make-up, I don't usually have the most trendy jewelry, and I don't really accessorize much at all.  I do own many little items that would qualify as accessories, but none of them were things that I felt were really all that important to me or things I thought would make a good photograph.  So when I hit that brick wall mental block, I did what any natural lexophile would do: I turned to the dictionary for ideas.

Here is what the dictionary told me:

That single definition lit up many areas of my mind, but it was this part that stood out the most: "Contributing to or aiding an activity or process."

I knew immediately what to photograph for this post.

P52, Somewhat: Week 12, "Spring"

Do you ever get the feeling that the inanimate or non-sentient things around you are aware of what's going on in your life, and that they're working either for or against you?  Sure, we may know it's not true,  we as people sometimes can't help but imagine and project human qualities onto nonhuman things.

We get mad at the car when it won't start.  We beg the traffic signals to hurry up when we're running late.  We thank the cool breezes when we're outside on a hot day.  And though we know that none of these actions actually have an effect, many of us continue to do them.  And, as evidenced by the picture to the right—which I snagged from the  Facebook profile of my friend, Sarah C.—some of us even make a preemptive habit of being genuinely polite to some of the objects in our lives.

Personally, I have frequently felt like everything was going right for me lately.  Don't get me wrong, there have been some trying times too, but when things are good, lately, they're very very good.

This week's P52 post topic is "Spring," and Spring is a season which has arrived even earlier than usual in my part of the world.  All over the place, record high temperatures are being recorded.  Kaleb's back into wearing shorts to school nearly every day, and I'm digging the capri pants back out.

P52, Somewhat: Week 11, "Nostalgia"

This week's P52 post topic was "Nostalgia."  I could think of plenty of things to write about, but they were all either quite mundane or were memories I like to keep to myself.  Then I was looking through some storage boxes, came across one very small item, and was stricken with a bout of nostalgia.  So I snapped a photo of that memory-inducing item, and here it is:

"Tiny Memories" photo by Sarah Getz for P52 Photo-A-Week Challenge, 3-12-2012

Just three short years ago, Kaleb's little feet were shorter than my fingers.  While I can't honestly say that I miss having a newborn baby, I can't help but look back fondly at where we've been.

Responsibility, Part VII: Workplace Behaviors

Back in January, I wrote a series of blog posts about responsibility, the first of which can be found here.  However, over the past couple of weeks, I have realized that I forgot about something that is a major aspect in the lives of most of the people I know: work.

Most of the people I know are not wealthy enough to stop working, not old enough to retire, and not lucky enough to have a spouse who can/will work 3 jobs simultaneously so they can sit on their fat rumps at home all day.  And so, most of the people I know work.  And for these same reasons, I work too.

But before I launch into a post centered around responsibility in the workplace, let me first share a bit of my own employment history.  I have had enough jobs to create a resume several pages long, and those jobs were a bit random and totally varied in their types.  Some of those jobs are experiences I look back at with fond memories.  Others are places in my past that I'd rather not spend much time thinking about.  Among the latter, you will actually find the highest paying job I've ever had.  During my 2nd stint working at Waffle House (most people working there have worked there more than once), during which I did double duty as cook and waitress, I brought in more income than I ever have with any other job I've held.  When I waited tables, I was good at what I did and brought home fistfuls of tips.  When I cooked, I was good at what I did and earned a grill bonus nearly every shift.  In fact, that one single year, I claimed more on my income taxes than most teachers at my school will be claiming on their 2011 taxes this April.

Yes, you read that right: Many of the people whose job it is to serve you double and triple mountains of greasy, Scattered, Smothered, Covered, Chunked, Diced, Peppered, Capped, Bitted, Spiced, Country, & Topped hash browns are bringing in MORE income than the teachers who work in our public schools providing students with the education necessary to keep them from lifetimes of serving  double and triple mountains of greasy,   Scattered, Smothered, Covered, Chunked, Diced, Peppered, Capped, Bitted, Spiced, Country, & Topped hash browns.

P52, Somewhat: Week 10, FREE WEEK

Several dates over the course of this P52 Photo-A-Week challenge have been left as unassigned free weeks.  This is one of those weeks, and I decided to use it to take a photo that would illustrate an ideal evening at home for me.  So when the perfect night came along, and after Kaleb was tucked into his bed, I snapped a few quick shots the remnants of our quiet evening activities.

Lately, Kaleb and I spend a lot of our evenings together doing quiet activities that exercise Kaleb's developing motor skills.  This particular night, we spent out time on the floor of the living room coloring in some brand new coloring books with crayons and stringing beads onto shoelaces.  Kaleb likes pretty much any activity we do together, but these are some of his current favorites.

"Beads on Strings & Coloring Things" photo by Sarah R. Getz for P52 Photo-A-Week challenge.

(9Lo9i9D): 9 Things I Love about My "Mom Van"

Today's list is a list of 9 things, in no particular order, that I love about driving the big blue Mom Van!  Yes, I still miss driving the Camaro (can't say I miss the Sentra much), but the van is so much more practical and suits my life much better right now.

1. Lots of space for bumper stickers!
2. I get to sit higher up off the road.
3. Extra seating for trips with friends.
4. Changeable number of seats and variety of seat positions for different purposes.
5. Pretty decent gas mileage.
6. Easy to spot in a parking lot.
7. TONS of cargo space!
8. Easy to keep organized.
9. Very comfortable, even on longer car trips.

What do you drive?  Do you love it?  Hate it?  Why?

(9Lo9i9D): 9 Best Movies I Have Ever Seen

Today's list is a list of 9 movies, in no particular order, that I would say are the best I have ever seen.

1. Children of Men
2. Cold Mountain
3. Gattaca
4. Breakfast at Tiffany's
5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
6. Lost Souls
7. Singin' In the Rain
8. The Stand (Yes, I know it's 8 hours, but I love it.)
9. The Brave One

What are your favorite movies of all time?  Are you willing to admit them publicly?

(9Lo9i9D): 9 Pairs of Shoes I'd Love to Own

Today's list is a list of 9 pairs of shoes, in no particular order, that I would love Love LOVE to own.  Sadly, most of them are not in my budget.  If you see a pair you like, too, click the link/caption under each pic to be redirected (in a new window/tab) to a site where you can buy them for yourself—or for me, if you really felt like it.

↑ Get them here.

P52, Somewhat: Week 9, "Distance"

This week's post topic is "distance."  I could think of plenty of distant objects the photograph: a setting sun, a tree in a field, a storm looming on the horizon, a boat heading out to sea.  And any of those shots, along with a multitude of others would be great practice for a photographer using this photo-a-week challenge to bolster their photography skills.  I, however, am not a photographer; and while I may see some improvement in my amateur photography skills by the end of this project, it is not my primary motivation for participation in this challenge.  Rather, my motivation for attempting this was to help bring some added variety and diversification to my blog and give me a chance to further build and exercise my writing skills.

So rather than deciding on what photo to write about, I decided instead to write about something that I could find a photo to complement.

What comes to mind when I think of the things in my life that are meaningful yet distant?

Jack.  Of course.

Friendships worth having require a great deal of shared work and mutual responsibility to keep them healthy.  And maintaining such relationships over long distances grows exponentially more difficult.  For it to work, you must care enough to work for it.

Frequent readers of my blog will already know who Jack is and how we met.  (If you missed that post, you can catch up here.)  Jack and I share a relationship that neither of us quite know how to properly label.  We are friends, for certain, but there is more too, and it is the addition of this "something more" that makes our friendship so valuable to us both.  And even over the 10,122 miles (16,290 km) between here and Jack's current home in Japan, that "something more" gives a reason to stay close.

(9Lo9i9D): 9 Foods I Could Eat Every Day

Today's list is a list of 9 foods, in no particular order, that I never seem to get tired of.  I would say I could eat them every day, but I would surely double my weight in a matter of months if I were to do that!  Nevertheless, these are foods I surely enjoy!

1. Chocolate (preferably Hershey of Lindt)
2. Mac & Cheese (preferably as a leftover)
3. Egg salad sandwiches, my own egg salad recipe on plain ol' Bunny Bread
4. Steak & cheese baked potato from Steak Out with butter and sour cream
5. Pasta Roni's Parmesan cheese angel hair pasta with added shredded Colby Jack cheese
6. Jimmy Dean chicken biscuits with cheese
7. Reese's Cups
8. Sonny's baked chicken
9. Olive Garden bread sticks with alfredo dipping sauce

What about you?  What are the must-haves in your daily diet?

(9Lo9i9D): 9 Places I Enjoy Shopping

Today's list is a list of 9 places, in no particular order, that I can actually say I enjoy shopping.  No, they may not be the only places I ever shop, but I sure wish they could be!

1. Publix - Yes, I know it's only one of the many grocery stores in our area, and I am also aware that they are not the cheapest...they're not Walmart.  But they are pretty much comparable to Winn-Dixie or Food World price-wise, and the people who work there are so very polite and helpful.  The stores are cleaner than any other grocery places in town, the selection is great, and they always have some awesome specials and sales running.
2. Shoe Station - DO you like shoes?  I do.  I love them.  And this store has the most amazing variety of any shoe store in Pensacola.  I can always find something beautiful to love there, which is why I never allow myself to go unless I am prepared, financially, to make a purchase.
3. Lane Bryant - For plus-sized women, Lane Bryant is the clothing store equivalent to Mecca.  This isn't a store that sells skinny-girl clothes in "bigger" sizes too.  This is a store that sells clothes exclusively for plus-sized women like me!  And wanna know what makes it even better?  When one of my skinny-girl co-workers raves about a new shirt I'm wearing, I can smile and know that it isn't made in their size!
4. Tuesday Morning - If you haven't been to this store, you really ought to go pay a visit sometime.  There's one here in Pensacola in the same shopping center as TJ Maxx and Shoe Station on Davis Hwy.  It's a bit of a variety store, and not always immaculately organized, so don't go if you're in a hurry.  But they always manage to carry some of those items that I see and immediately can't figure out how I've lived without!
5. TJ Maxx - This is another store I never visit when I'm in a hurry, and never with the intention of buying anything but clothes (although they do carry home goods as well).  But it's a bit like panning for gold...you find more pyrite (junk) than real gold.  But that makes the real gold no less valuable!
6. The Old Path Natural Herbs - This place is run by people with some rather wacky religious views.  However, I'm sure they'd think the same about my views, so I can't complain.  I've never purchased their "famous" tea (approx. $50 per gallon!), but they have very high quality dried herbs which come in handy for a wealth of other things that do fit into my spiritual practices.
7. Barnes & Noble - Books are wonderful.  Affordable books are even better!  When I have the funds to purchase my books new, this is where I get them.  When I am in the market for used books, however, I make a trip to Hawsey's Book Index on Navy Blvd.
8. Staples - I have a [probably unnatural] love of office supplies.  Shhh, don't tell anyone.  And now that Pensacola has a Staples, I can feed my addiction on a smaller budget.  I even own my very own "Easy Button."
9. Ross - I first shopped at Ross when I was married and living in San Diego, and I loved it!  Several years after moving back to Pensacola, we got a Ross here (several, in fact) and I was happy to have that retail option back in my shopping life again.  Personally, I prefer the Davis Hwy. location, but they all have great deals!

What about you?  Where are your favorite places to shop?

(9Lo9i9D): 9 Things I Adore About Kaleb

Today's list is a list of 9 things, in no particular order, that I adore about my son, Kaleb.  You know, I love him because he's my sweet little boy, but some things that he does just make me adore him that much more!

1. He wakes up happy every single day.
2. He is always happy to see me every morning and every day after school.
3. When he gives a hug, he really means it!
4. He's not at all self-conscious.
5. He may not know all the words to a song, but that doesn't stop him from singing his heart out!
6. He still thinks I'm the smartest person on the planet.
7. He smiles at everyone, and at the drop of a hat.
8. He gets really excited about little things.
9. He learns something new and amazes me every day!

Are you a parent?  What are those sweet things you adore about your own children?

(9Lo9i9D): 9 Things About Middle Schoolers that Confuse Me

Today's list is a list of 9 things, in no particular order, that I have observed about my middle school students.  These are things that I find absolutely confusing, and I am unable to understand them.

1. They think it qualifies as "dating" even when they can't drive OR pay on their own.
2. The boys don't seem to know their proper pant size OR the location of their waists.
3. The most popular kids at this school are also the one smost likely to end up in jail one day.
4. Boys think words are worth fighting over.
5. Girls think boys are worth fighting over.
6. They wear $100 shoes, but don't bring a pencil to school.
7. "He was looking at me!" is still a valid reason for anger.
8. They expect to pass without doing any work.
9. They don't understand why the staff keeps telling them what to do!

What about teens confuses you?  Were you the same way when you were their age?

(9Lo9i9D): 9 Things I Do After Kaleb Goes to Bed

Today's list is a list of 9 things, in no particular order, that I do (sometimes or every day) after Kaleb goes to bed each night.

1. Catch up on the day's news.
2. Eat Hershey Kisses.
3. Have a glass of wine.
4. Listen to music of my choosing.
5. Skype chat with Jack!
6. Write blog posts.
7. Respond to emails.
8. Do dished without a 3-year-old underfoot.
9. Watch occasional funny videos on YouTube.

Are you a parent?  What are the things you enjoy doing after your kids go to bed each night?  How do you spend that time?

(9Lo9i9D): 9 Things That Never Fail to Make Me Smile

Today's list is a list of 9 things, in no particular order, that can bring a smile to my face pretty much any time.

1. Watching Kaleb "read" books to his stuffed animals when he doesn't know I'm watching.
2. Skype chats with Jack!
3. Hanging out with good friends like Sharra & Matt, Richelle & Jeromy, or Tom.
4. Getting through the register and finding out the total is less than I expected.
5. People riding motorcycles who slow down beside me to wave at or entertain Kaleb.
6. Watching people in my rear view mirror laughing while reading my bumper stickers.
7. "You know what, Mommy? I love you!"
8. Finding forgotten money in a pocket, even though it's rarely more than a dollar.
9. Getting to sleep past 8a.m. on a weekend morning.

So, what are the things that make you smile?

9 Lists of 9 in 9 Days (9Lo9i9D)

So, to finish out the month of February, I've decided to post a series of 9 Lists of 9 in 9 Days.  The first list will be posted today, with another list posted each day for the remainder of the month.

Here is a list of the 9 Lists of 9 I will be publishing over the next 9 days:

• 9 Things That Never Fail to Make Me Smile →
• 9 Things I Do After Kaleb Goes to Bed →
• 9 Things About Middle Schoolers that Confuse Me  → 
• 9 Things I Adore About Kaleb  → 
• 9 Places I Enjoy Shopping  → 
• 9 Foods I Could Eat Every Day  → 
• 9 Pairs of Shoes I'd Love to Own  → 
• 9 Best Movies I Have Ever Seen  → 
• 9 Things I Love about My "Mom Van"  →

This is going to be fun, and my readers are welcome to make their own additions to each list in the comments section of each post.  I look forward to reading what you all might add!

P52, Somewhat: Week 8, "Color"

This week's post topic is Color.  Color is something that has always been important in my life.  As a natural redhead, I can even go so far as to say that color—specifically the color red—has been a defining force in my life.  So, when a friend suggested that I might want my photo this week to be a red-centered photo, I agreed and set my mind to deciding what to photograph.

Red hair?  Red shoes?  Screen photo of this very blog?  There are hundreds of red things in my life.

However, the "red" I see most routinely and noticeably lately are the glowing red numbers on the display of the digital alarm clock on my bedside table.  These glowing red numbers are the first thing I see every morning when it's time to get up and start my day.  More importantly, these glowing red numbers are the last sight I see before going to bed each night.

Many times I sit in bed, blogging too late into the night, watching the time ticking past on the clock and counting down the hours and minutes until I'll have to wake back up....using the time on this clock to determine how much longer I can allow myself to stay up writing and still get enough sleep to function as a mother and at work the following day.  It's not uncommon for me to see the time change from one day to the next before finally satiating by writing needs enough that I can get some sleep.

Quest for a New Daycare Has Ended! — Review of Malena's Mini School

Update, August 28, 2012:  Our happy time at Malena's was cut unexpectedly short.  While I still believe that Malena's is an exceptional daycare facility, especially within Pensacola, it is no longer one I would recommend to those looking for daycare for children over 3 years of age.  For an updated review, click here.

Today marks one month that Kaleb has been attending Malena's Mini School on Pine Forest Road in Pensacola.  I am extremely happy with the school, and with Kaleb's progress since he has been attending!

In the first couple of weeks, Kaleb had some behavior incidents.  They were well-documented to provide the information to me.  Both times were incidences of the same type that he had begun to exhibit shortly before we left his previous daycare, things he had learned over time by watching his peers at that previous daycare.  And each of them was Kaleb's learned response to feeling a bit defensive with another child.  But as he has been there longer, he is learning that he doesn't need to be on the defense all the time at Malena's as he was at the "old school," and his teachers are helping him learn more positive ways to work out problems between himself and other students or problems with situations he cannot control.  It's a big step for my little boy, and one that is being handled in a loving-but-firm manner by his teachers, Ms. Amanda and Ms. Richelle.