Real Maine Mom Guide

Thank you to all who donated to our recent school supply drive. 🏫 ✏️ 🎒 What started as sweet little Coco's Collection in her community quickly turned into a big idea that a lot of us wanted to deliver on... so we, Real Maine Mom, and @mepoweredpastries decided to get involved. When all was said and done, we had collected enough donations to fill and deliver .... 🤯 43 backpacks for Maine kids of all ages to return to school this fall. We fulfilled this need according to the kit lists suggested by @maineneeds on their website... but Lindsay & Coco personally wanted to make things even more special and included 🌟 extras where appropriate, like water bottles with the backpacks, and they even stuffed 12 lunchboxes 👏 with necessities like toothbrushes, deodorant and soap. It truly felt so good for us and the kids to be a part of this process with you all, and we can't thank you enough for your attention to this matter and your generosity. Our School Supply drive has come and gone, but Maine Needs works tirelessly year-round to help meet the needs within our local Maine communities. It's never too late to help, so check out the many ways you can do just that on maineneeds.org or follow them here at @maineneeds #schoolsupplies #mainebacktoschool #maineneeds #mainedonations #communityeffort #mainefamily #mainemoms #mainemom #donate #mainechildren #maineeducation

We're ALL about the things that make our lives as moms a bit easier! 🌟 Parents in and around Scarborough are RAVING over @kristiskitchen207 and we just feel this is something we have the responsibility to share with you! Here's how it works 👇 Join the Facebook group "Kristi's Kitchen Mom Made Meals" on Facebook. Each week, Kitchen Queen, Kristi, will put out a poll on possible meal options for the following week. Group members will be able to vote on Monday's meals BUT to ensure votes are QUALITY ❤️ a vote counts as an order. 📣 Again, if you vote for a dish, you are signing your to purchase that dish if it wins the poll. Sort of exhilarating, right?! 🥳 If it doesn't- well, you're off the hook... but you can still choose to order the winning dish if you so choose. You may also choose to order Thursday's meal, a dish that Kristi will pick and describe in that very same polling post! Prepayment will be required for any orders. Pickup is at a disc golf facility in the Pleasant Hill area of Scarborough, and you'll have a several hour window on Monday &/or Thursday to pick up your meal. When you go, Kristi will have out lots of other treats that are sooooo good. Today, we tried the chocolate chunk cookies 🍪 and the Sourdough Bread 🍞 (when she has it, it sells out fast). People also go nuts over her "Big Ass Brownies" but I havent tried them yet. So shat I'm really saying is good luck getting out of there without more goodies. Finally, school is starting soon, why not save yourself the trouble of a couple meals each week? Or occasionally? If you go in the group you have to keep your eye out for the Chicken Pot Pie days... Marry Me Chicken and Chicken Piccata (Kristi's pick for next Thursday). You're welcome. 👏 ❤️ #mainemoms #mainemeals #mainefamily #scarboroughmaine #mompreneur #homemademeals

I recently got this new Beach bag from @whatsbuzzingatthehive in Saco, Maine and watch til the end to see my favorite feature.... 😃 ..but really, this is the best case scenario beach bag ⛱️ for a mom because the material is fine getting wet 🌊, it has built‐in drainage (inevitably things are leaking in my bags these days), easy to wipe down, and plenty of storage. I love the comfortable straps and the neutral color. Even my husband said, "that's a pretty cool bag" when I thought he'd say, "why another bag?!" 🤣 If you haven't checked out The Hive in Saco, Maine it's a must for every local mom, IMO. This local mompreneur is amazing at sourcing the best products in terms of practicality, affordability and fashion so there's truly something for everyone there. Lastly, this is not an ad- I really just loved the bag- but I did win it fair and square in a recent giveaway held by the Hive 🏆 (follow along with the Hive so you don't miss any future shenanigans)

Recipe for a perfect summer day! 🌞 + 🍓 + 🎂. Can't beat starting your morning at a baking class with the kids. They made the most delicious pound cake with @mepoweredpastries. From there, we carried on just up the road to @maxwellsfarm to pick some fresh strawberries! We worked up an appetite and stopped at @higginsbeachmkt for some lunch to go (got to try it) and baked and prepped the most delicious strawberry pound cakes. All in a days work for all 3 of us- especially the kids who loved taking ownership in this process. These are the summer memories that dance in my mind all winter long making it all worth the wait!

We just HAD to have Miss Ellie of the Little Music Maker perform at our daughters 2nd birthday party. "Ellie" was one of the first names my girl has ever spoken (with great enthusiasm too!), and having made such an amazing impact on her development in the most fun way, it was more than a pleasure to have her there to celebrate with us. In fact, we planned the party around her availability, and this lady is a hot ticket! We'll, obviously, my daughter loved it, but she also had the attention of our adult guests! Watch through til the end and see! I highly recommend Miss Ellie for any of your music needs! #mainekidsmusician #mainemusician #mainebirthdayparty #mainepartyentertainment #maineevents #mainemusic #maineperformer #mainewithkids #portlandmainewithkids #portlandmainekids

Wow! The Greater Portland community has been so gracious with their compliments to us regarding the 1st annual Kids' Pick Awards, AND we are so very appreciative, BUT let's not forget what this event is all about. It's about the local businesses that serve our families and children in our community, day-in and day-out, year-round. You work tirelessly to support and enrich our children, you put your blood, sweat, and tears into these businesses, and YOU are deserving of a celebration! Sneak peek our event photos by @amandahuebnerphoto - This is the 2nd event Amanda has covered for us, and she always does a stellar job. We'll be posting a gallery of images from the event at realmainemom.com/kids-pick-awards-2024/ very soon as well as a longer video! Don't forget to check back! Thank you to our primary supporters of this event: @ketchaoutdoors and their trust and partnership in our vision for this event. Ketcha played an integral role in it happening, and what a beautiful backdrop we had at this venue! We'll never forget the first couple of businesses that stepped up without hesitation to sponsor our event, each with $500 donations (@mepoweredpastries & @castlesintheskyevents). This immediate support and trust allowed us to give the event the green light just 2 short months before it was held. Countless other businesses followed in supporting this event with monetary donations in that short period of time. @goldfish_portland @babybootyworkout @martialartscenterpoint @mainehappyglampers @justforkidspediatricdental @sm.pediatricdentistry @dunstantapandtable @sfladancecomplex We also received many in-kind donations that fulfilled event needs from folks like @sugarmemaine @balloondecorbylaur @brickyardhollow @charcutemarie @amandahuebnerphoto More than 20 businesses & organizations contributed to the fundraiser raffle and swag bags, too! 👌 👏 😍 We're already planning our 2nd Annual event in 2025- numerous businesses have already reached out. It's remarka

Real Maine Mom is happy to officially present the 2024/2024 "Kid-Friendly Portland" guide. Pick up your physical copy at kid-friendly hotspots across Greater Portland, Maine today! View on realmainemom.com anytime! Our first edition is made possible by the following local partners: @goldfish_portland @mepoweredpastries @castlesintheskyevents @babybootyworkout @kids_learn_spanish @meg.hatch.photography @misselliemusic @childrensmuseum_theatreofmaine @mainehappyglampers @kgenatureschool On the cover, we are happy to feature an image by @amandahuebnerphoto Inside this first edition, we feature lots of complimentary mentions of local kid-friendly businesses (as many as we possibly could!!) Keep your copy handy to spark some ideas next time you're looking for an adventure, activity, or planning your next b-day party. Share this great resource with visiting families this summer! 🌞 We will have copies up for grabs around our communities until early 2025, at which point we will be preparing for the 2025/2026 edition! Business inquiries for the next edition are welcome anytime. #kidfriendlyportlandmaine #kidfriendlymaine #mainekids #mainefamily #mainemoms #mainethingstodo #visitingmaine #maineactivities #maineplaygrounds #mainebeaches #mainelocalbusiness #maineguide #portlandmaine #greaterportlandmaine #mainebaby #mainetoddler

A little behind the scenes from the flower prep for Kids' Pick Awards. Thanks for sharing, Lindsay! #mainekidspicks #kidspickawards #realmainemom #realmainemomguide #flowers #eventprep

Summer is basically here! We're starting to work on our summer bucket list ✔️✔️, and what better way to do this than to look back on some of our favorite activities from the past year?! The challenge for us can be finding new & exciting things to do... so tell me, do you see anything new you'd like to try on this list? ☀️ ⛱️ #summerinmaine #summer #maine #summerbucketlist #kickofftosummer #mainesummer #mainewithkids #mainekids #mainefamily #mainemoms #mainemom #portlandmaine #portlandmainewithkids #mainetravel

Lindsay went to check out the cookie printing process with @sugarmemaine today! (You may get to see this first hand, too... read to the end to see how) Meredith, owner of SugarME, just completed an order for our Kids' Pick Awards Event tomorrow evening featuring the Real Maine Mom logo, and we are in LOVE with how they came out! We had reached out to SugarME in the planning process for some custom cookies, and Meredith stepped up as a lead sponsor of our event, fulfilling this need for us! To say we appreciate her support is an understatement. We will be placing these 100 cookies inside the swag bags for attendees to enjoy. We're you as intrigued as we were with the cookie printing process? Great news for attendees- SugarME will be onsite at our Kids' Pick Awards event this Saturday, printing cookies on demand for our guests from any image they'd like! Lindsay and I are planning to have pics of our kiddos printed!

We're done session #2 with Swimming B ISR. I wanted to show the process because I often get questions about ISR swimming and how it works. This is, of course, only our experience and the process or experience may differ for other children... Watch til the end to see why I'm so proud, and as always, feel free to DM me with any questions. Water safety > water fun @swimmingbisr #isrmaine #isrswim #isrswimlessons #isrswimbabies #maineswimlessons #mainefamily #mainekids #swimsafety #watersafety #readyforsummer #mainesummer