A Day in a fairy tale

Have you ever just wanted to run away to a magical garden, like something out of a fairy tale? I pretty much do on a daily bases to be exact. I'll let you in on another awesome stop in this great state of Maine where you can do just that. In the small coastal town of Boothbay Harbor, there lies a whimsical place called Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. I love this place and try to go at least once a year. Every time i go back they have added something new. The best part of the gardens is that there are different plants in bloom at different times, so you can go in June and see Paeonia-Peonies, Viburnum, and Rosa-Rose. In July the Water lilies, Japanese Iris, and Hydrangeas will be in bloom. There are nature trails to walk and if your not feeling up to walking they have guided tours for free and random employees driving around golf carts to pick you up if you need a break. Which is pretty awesome cause being a fat kid and in the heat usually don't mix well and i enjoy a little golf cart ride every now and again. 

Even if your not a total flower buff this place has something for everyone. They have a huge children area filled with a bunch of fun cool things for kids, mini houses to play in, a tree fort with a rope bridge to climb, story times, a bear cave, and of course a fairy village where young and old can go and make fairy houses out of nature objects. My favorite thing is Fairy Fridays. They have a jam packed morning planned for all the little fairies in your life. On this day when we went they had scheduled a puppet show,  fairy yoga, bubble dancing, and wand making. I can't even handle the cuteness. 

Another favorite area of the gardens that I enjoy is the sensory garden. This is a garden that works your senses.  They have these tall stone columns with holes in them for you to stick your head in..i know sounds weird, but you stick your head in there and hum and the sound bounces off the walls magnifying it. Don't hum to loud you might blow your ear drum like you're at a Metallica concert.  They have some running water you can run your hands through, and giant lily pads in the pond. Me and my daughter both love the reflexology Labyrinth mostly because we love an excuse to be barefoot but the different sized stones provide a very nice foot massage. 

I could go on and on...and on about how awesome this place is, but you really need to see it for yourself. Like yesterday 

Things to know: 

1. They do have a cafe there if you do not want to pack a lunch

2. The gift shop is awesome be prepared to buy something

3. There are bathrooms in the main building and on the child's side in case your little one has to go ASAP! 

4. It gets busy so get there early and be prepared to spend a few hours

5. Pack extra water the best time to go is in the summer and its HOT! stay hydrated 

6. Most importantly Stop and smell the roses :) 

 SHHH TOP SECRET!! 

while you are out in the area in case you or your little one has had enough and just need some quiet time there is a little park free to the public about 12 mins away, its called Barrett Park. Its a small park overlooking the bay there are bathrooms, picnic tables, a gazebo, beach and a tree swing. The water was super warm when we went and there was a TON of hermit crabs in the water, which honestly freaked me out but if your into that sort of thing then you will love it. The tree swing is everyones favorite just make sure to watch your little ones its a little tipsy. The address is 

Lobster Cove Rd

Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538 

Just for viewing not for Bathing

So I know this blog is mainly about all the cool places to go in the great state of maine, and of course Maine is my first true love, but I have a confession..I have a secret lover, its been going on for awhile now, and I feel that I need to get it out in the open. I LOVE NEW HAMPSHIRE!! the North Conway area in particular. 

Not only are there a ton of cool shops but there are tons of exciting things to do with kids. One of my favorite little spots is Diana's Baths. No its not a giant bath tub where the locals hangout and wash each other. Diana's Baths lie along Lucy Brook in Bartlett which is fed from Big Attitash Mountain. It is a great place for people to go and enjoy nature, and explore the cascading falls and pools in the brook. The hike to Diana's Baths is about 6/10 of a mile, wide path, and mainly flat, which is great for young children, because we all know how much fun it is hiking up a trail with a 40lb kid on your back. My daughter loved checking out all the little pine cones, the "Gum" tree and playing drums with sticks on a log.  There is a large parking lot and a self pay station to use the trail. you pay 3 dollars and you get a pass that you can also use at other national forrest sites like Echo Lake and Cathedral Ledge, which are also pretty cool and I will talk about them later.

Word of Caution

The water levels and intensity of the water flowing in the brook can vary greatly depending on the season and rainfall.  In the summer the flow is greatly reduced making it much safer to for visitors to walk along the rocks and wade in the pools. So keep an eye on your little ones and be safe when walking on the rocks. 

Frozen in New England

I don't know about you but I am totally over this winter, or should I say over the month of February. What to do with a 5 year old when there is 6 feet of snow on the ground and its -10 degrees out? Go to an ice castle of course. Now many of you have seen all the beautiful pictures of the ice castles in Lincoln NH on facebook, intsagram, and even the news. It looks like a magical wonderland where for a minute winter doesn't suck so hard.

We decided on Friday afternoon that we were going to take a nice scenic drive out there to check out these ice master pieces. My daughter was so excited because of course Elsa the snow queen had made these and she was going to be there to welcome her with open arms and of course build a snowman with her. What she didn't know was that it was almost a 3hr ride and Elsa was not going to be there and the only snowman there was a replica of Olaf that she couldn't touch.  

After 3hrs of driving we had reached our destination thanks to Tom Tom, ended up in the back entrance .Word to the wise do not plug in the address from the website actually plug in the address to the McDonalds in Lincoln NH that will bring you right to it. We made sure to dress very warm, my daughter was rocking fleece pants, snow pants, long sleeve shirt, sweat shit, winter coat hat, mittens, and winter boots. Take a minute to imagine dressing a small child who is bouncing up and down looking for Elsa.

We get our tickets and walk into the fortress, and it truly is breath taking how pretty the ice looks and how they made slides and tunnels, the coolest thing was these snow globes they made that had trees and dragons inside. Of course it was the most beautiful place to take any sort of picture and just marvel at the sight of it. 30 minutes after walking through the gate it begins...Mama wear is Elsa? Why isn't she here? I'm freezing! and then full out IM FREEZZZING melt down. (In my mind I'm thinking OMG we just drove 3 hrs, you need to suck it up plus you are wearing like 8 layers of clothes if anyone is freezing its me in my jeans.!) But do I say that Of course not, I take her nice warm mitten covered hand and walk her inside the gift shop area where I tell her we can warm up and have hot chocolate and then go back out. Wouldn't you guess, they didn't have Hot Chocolate or anything hot for that matter which honestly you are a freaking ice castle you should have something warm, maybe a small bonfire near by. We had to leave immediately to get to the nearest Dunkin Donuts for hot Chocolate or all hell was about to break lose.

 

Here are my Tips for visiting the Ice Castles with a small child.

1. Dress Warm

2.Bring Hot Chocolate

3. Spend the night out there, we drove 3hrs for 30mins and then 3hrs home...not fun

4. bring a camera you really can get some beautiful pictures.

 

I have a friend In TOMs

Toms shoes we have all seem them I mean how can you not they are everywhere you look.  When I first saw the toms I thought they were the ugliest things I have ever seen. the toes were square and they just looked so unsupportive. One reason was that I thought my feet would be to fat for them and they would look weird and because of that thought they weren't cool.I did really love what they stood for and how you buy a pair and they send a pair to a someone in need that part was really cool. At the preschool I work at 8 out of 12 kids have a pair. They look super cute on kids I'm not gonna lie. However my dislike for them grew even more when having to deal with them falling off kids feet every 2mins, It was so annoying I couldn't even stand it. One day we lost only one of  a child's tom somewhere in the room, it took us most of the day looking for it, it was later found stuffed inside the dramatic play kitchen.

Now I know what your thinking ok Debbie downer the blog is called I have a friend in tom so what changed.. I was given a gift card to a local store that one of the parents owns as a birthday gift. First off I have never had a job where you get gifts at work for your birthday so that was pretty sweet. On a random day after work Me and my co-teacher decided to check out the store, and cash in our very generous gift cards. The store is called Bliss and is located in the heart of Maine's old Port. Super cute shop with very hip clothes and accessories. Well wouldn't ya know they sold Toms there. I decided to try a pair on, and was instantly in love. they are the most comfortable thing I have had on my feet since my LL Bean Slippers. I had the poor employee running back and forth from the back room with different colors and sizes to see just how the different styles and colors looked, I'm pretty sure behind her smile she wanted to cut me. I ended up buying a pair of the classic black canvas and got a corduroy pair for liv, she wears them everyday. I'm working on finding the perfect pair for the husband now. The moral of this blog is never judge a shoe by its box put it on your foot and give it a stroll. Buying toms is not only helping others its actually a really comfortable flat shoe.

Oooo Spooky

So its fall in Maine beautiful time of the year, my favorite time of the year I might add. We are currently living close to another great money trap for us parents, Pumpkin Land. When viewing the website they let you believe that you will have a whole day of fun with just paying to get it. of course they offer other thing to do there..You know.. cool things, but of course you need to spend extra money on tickets for those. Now I have an almost 4 year old I'm reading the website and its stating that there are several bounce houses, a kid maze, and a hayride to go get a pumpkin, along with a petting zoo and other things. So for some reason I forgot who my child was and had convinced myself and my husband that for 20 bucks we could have a nice fun time at pumpkin land and leave with a pumpkin.  We head out to Mechanic falls in search of the mystical land of pumpkins.
 as we pull in the place is packed there are attendants to help you park in this field. Right at the entrance is a row of  port-a-potty's, like any good parent would do after a long car ride, or before going into a amusement park of some sort you would ask or have your child try and go to the bathroom. My daughter makes me laugh every day and pull my hair out for that matter. Of course we go into the port-a potty and she can see well...human waste floating in blue airplane goo. She freaks out in her outside voice there's poop in there. after what seemed like 10mins of convincing we compromised with me plugging her nose while having my back turned to her so I wasn't watching. We were already off to a good start as you can tell. we buy our tickets and head through the giant pumpkin entrance. What do they have right in the middle of your view before you even walk 2 feet, is the giant bounce pillow. The Giant bounce pillow is a bounce house with no walls or ceiling like a pillow. Kids are drawn to it like a moth to a flame my child was no different she blackout and just ran to it. before I was even there she had her shoes off and was waiting in line...OH WAIT!! You need tickets for this...of course you do.  So we buy 10 tickets 2 bucks a piece for her to bounce on this pillow, that she actually was afraid to do once she got on it and needed one of the workers to bounce with her...I wouldn't let her get off..if you want to bounce on the giant pillow oooh you bet ya bottom your bouncing on that pillow. We used the rest of the tickets on the haunted day ride which was cool for young kids even made me jump a few times. We took our hayride out to the pumpkin patch and picked a good size pumpkin that the husband had to carry around for about 45mins.. Must things to do at pumpkin land

• Haunted Day ride: they tell you a story as you enter the haunted forest all the while there are spooky and random animated characters ready to jump out at you.

Frankenstein's Giant slide: Super steep slide NOTE: if you child is in leggings or tights they are going to fly down the
slide.
 
3D circus: I Think was the best thing they had there. An old barn painted with circus imagines in 3D paint, they give you glasses at the door and you can walk through as much as you want. the Alien landing part is really weird its a spinning tube with a straight plank down the middle for you to walk through mean while all with 3D stars spinning around you. After my third time through I was feeling dizzy. 

Corn Maze, and/or Munchkin Maze: we did the munchkin maze cause it came with the ticket and I didn't think liv would make it through the 10 acre intricate labyrinth of the Big maze.

If you have a small child under 2 or nearly 3 you could probably get away with not having to buy extra tickets. there are several bounce houses that were packed with toddlers just happy to be alive.

 

 

a Total " I love you man Moment"..

Caution: I have had three Grown up drinks while writing this it may be all over the place..

Not every adventure is a magical nature walk or a whimsical theme park trip. Life is an adventure in its self. Take for example today. Just another typical day in the Holmes household, both me and my husband had 8am appointments, he needed a teeth cleaning and I needed to go to the doctors about a foot problem I have been having. Oh yeah and we had the 3 years. We did what any normal married couple would do in a situation like this and played rock, paper, scissors to see who was going to have to take her with them to their appointment. I lost...rock always gets me. The husband ran up the street to put gas in my car for me and I was left running around the house trying to get dressed and get the mini beast dressed, and trying to feed her something so I didn't feel like a horrible parent rushing her out of the house without giving their kid breakfast. I finally get a mini me to sit down and eat an english muffin. So I can play a game of candy crush and finish my coffee while I wait for the husband to come back. Out of now where in full drama mood my daughter runs out into the kitchen telling me she has a button in her nose. I look.. I see nothing.. I tell her, "you're fine there is nothing up there".. *Insert mother of the year award here* she goes back to eating her breakfast and watching some obnoxious cartoon singing about how sharing is caring.. I continue to play candy crush cause lets face it..its crack. I look at the clock I have 5mins to leave to get there early and she comes back.."mama there is a button in my nose and it hurts". I amuse her by giving her a tissue and telling her to blow. Well I'll be damned there was a button in her nose and it was STUCK!
THis is the first time i have had to deal with any object besides macaroni up the nose. I tell her to keep blowing keep blowing like it Lamaze class..she's freaking out screaming it hurts, I'm freaking out thinking shit I'm gonna miss this appointment and end up in the ER while they suck out some old vintage button from my daughters nose.  As my husband and I are holding her down with a pair of tweezers trying to pull the button out, listening to sesame street playing in the back ground I thought to myself this is my life...I don't even know if my pants are clean and I'm pretty sure I just saw a bird fly out of my daughters hair...but this is it..  its not a bad thing is just not what good house keeping tells you its suppose to be. I don't know if its my new happy pills or the drinks talking but ya know what, you just have to embrace your life no matter what the situation may be. It has taken me almost 2 years to be able to say that I love and enjoy my family and its craziness, it sure is never is a dull moment.

Well I made it to my appointment 10mins late, along the way Livy telling everyone in our path that her mom had a broken foot. come to find out I did kinda have a broken foot and have to wear a "robot" boot for 2 weeks. my child is afraid of it but my toddler classroom love i

I better not see a snake!

So today me and the Ol' family decided to get out and enjoy the weather cause word on the street was that Sunday was suppose to rain. I'm a big fan of the website Alltrails.com, its a great page where you just type in your zip code and it lets you know of trails near you. I have heard many people talk about rattlesnake mountain and how the trail was easy and kid/dog friendly.  It even had 3 1/2 stars on the rating. I believe it even has the geo tracking box somewhere on the trail. So we take the drive out to Raymond about 45mins from where we live right now. The trail is located on Rt 85 in Raymond heading towards crescent lake. you will drive by a boat loading area and then about 1/4 mile on your left you will see a field for parking. Small lot only about 4 cars can fit but we just parked on the side of the road no worries. So we start by walking through a field to get to the head of the trail, which is wide and cleared nice scenic woods view, feels like your just taking a nice nature walk. Me and my Daughter picked up leaves that had already fallen and changed color and I tried to gave her my best explanation as to why they are changing color..im sure if she remembers that moment 10 years from now she will know I failed miserably.
So we come to a point in the trail where it turns and goes straight up. I'm like umm ok well it cant be to bad maybe for a little bit then it will level off and we will be fine. Oh no I'm not sure on the actually mileage or kilometers but I'm gonna guess and say it was at least a mile. it was very rocky, lots of branches and very steep. Like steep to the point where we had to grab trees on the side to help pull ourselves up. Ok now you also have to realize we are out of shape. we know this we weren't trying to be mountain climbers.
At one point Our daughter is screaming for her PB&J sandwich laying on a fallen log, my husband who has walked ahead a bit yells down "it just keeps going up do you want to turn back?"  Now if we had turned back I would not be writing this...well maybe I would of but I would of seriously made it sound like we were climbing mount Washington. So we took a break and ate lunch on an old log. Once we rested we continued on our way, finally we made it to what we decided to call the "top" it was just a wide open large rock area we could see some of the lake through the trees nothing to wild but it was the first flat area since we started. we sat there and had water and hung out. Livy talked to all the people walking by telling them her life story, her dog's name was Zooey, she thought the trail was very steep, and that we were gonna take naps when we got home. One couple stopped, livy of course asked them as many questions as she could, one being "are you going home?" The young thin athletic looking couple says no we are going to go apple picking. I then reply" oo that sounds fun" ..thinking in my head are freaking kidding me if I don't die on the top of this mountain I'm definitely taking a nap when I get home maybe even in the car.

Then I notice the dad is carrying a 6-9 month old on his back, who we now know is named calvin thanks to liv.  I then say "aww you have a baby on your back how was carrying him up?'  He then replies "not to bad really.." has he's looking down at me and my husband sweating and stuffing our faces with cheez-its he nods and says "have a good day" and they head on their way. I look at my husband and say " they just huffed it up this mountain with a baby on their backs and instead of collapsing in their cars out of breath they are going to go apple picking, we are walking to the top of this mountain".  So we did! The rest of the trail from where we were to the top wasn't that bad not as steep that's for sure and the view was really nice and peaceful. The walk down was a little tough cause it was so steep at one point livy was just holding on to her dads backpack so she wouldn't fall. I was so proud of her for making it up and down the trail on her own it was harder then we had expected and usually she just lays in the middle of the path refusing to move, but she did great this time and I'm glad cause there is no way I was gonna be able to carry her. I'm sure the hike wouldn't be bad if you were in shape and mentally prepared of what's to come.