Do Over!

Do you hear the angels singing? Listen closely. It's the Hallelujah chorus.

It seems what they say is true. It's always darkest before the light. Yesterday, I was ready to quit motherhood and apply for a job at Starbucks. By the way, there's one around the corner as well as a Long John Silver's, McDonald's, 7-11, Coldstone Creamery and more.

Today, Maisie held it together and didn't have one, single tantrum. Not one. I guess the rest yesterday was a good thing or maybe she's just getting used to life here, but my light-hearted, joyful, funny, beautiful, little girl was back in full form.

Sunny mood and sunny weather in place, we headed to the Botanic Garden for a do over. This time we took a cab which took all of ten minutes as opposed to the 45 minute long trek on the subway like last time. 

We started with the National Orchid Garden. My step-mother-in-law has a bunch of orchids and I've killed a few myself so I know how tempermental they can be. I have an incredible respect for orchids so seeing all them blooming here was just mind-blowing. I mean, there is pathy after path of orchids mixed in with other gorgeous plants. Fan palms had fans bigger than my out-stretched arms which is saying something because I'm the missing link. There were lily pads that must've been three feet in diameter. They have a cold room with very special orchids, too. It's just incredible. There is also a ginger garden in the park. 

When we were here the first time and caught in the downpour, we found a food court with nothing but Asian food - and Asian people. This time, we saw a several other options including a restaurant that looked like it might even be a 5-star place. We chose the kiddie court outside of the Children's Garden. The kids were thrilled with their hot dogs - hot dogs that rivaled a foot-long in size. The only thing is hot dogs are made out of chicken here. Maisie ate hers like corn on the cob which was a bit disgusting.

Then we headed into the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden which is designed to get kids interested in gardening. My kids? They headed right to the water play area which was pretty boring compared to all the ones we've seen lately. In fact, as we left the water area, Maisie said, "I want to go to the splash ground now." Doh. 

The rest of the garden was fine - not as special as I'd expected. There were a couple of cool plants to see - like touch-me-nots begging to be touched. Maisie liked the table and chairs made out of tree stumps and we pretended to have wedding cake with candles. Hudson was partial to the tree house though he gave me heart attacks doing his typical not-for-a-two-year-old stuff. The maze with 3-foot plants was also a hit though Hudson squished himself through the gaps in the plants when he got stuck. Cheater!

I'm so glad we came back. Our experience in the rain the first day wasn't so good. The garden is huge - like Central Park huge, I think. So it was a little like three blind men grabbing different parts of an elephant. If we hadn't come back, I'd have had a less favorable impression of the park. Now? It's a must-see experience!