I spent this past weekend, & the one before it with my extended family in Easton/St. Michael's, MD.  My son had so much fun fishing with his daddy, crabbing with his cousins and just spending time with those relatives we do not get to see as often as we'd like.  Overall, we had a great time, though my son has a serious case of anxiety when it comes to swimming.  He used to be fine and want to get in the pool.  Now, he literally has a panic attack and runs away from the pool.  Clearly something we will need to work on before our Disney cruise in December!!

Aside from that, there are a few fun giveaway and I am looking forward to seeing several of you at the advanced screening of The Old Life of Timothy Green tonight!  While not made for kids per-se, I think it looks like an amazing story and my friend and I cannot wait to check it out.  We also cannot wait to hit up the Montgomery County Agricultrultral Fair going on this week at the fairgrounds in Gaithersburg.  The Fair runs through the 18th with different hours on different days.  Also remember that this is Tax Free Shopping week in MD.  Keep reading for all the details!

I'm thrilled to announce the winner of our BabbaBox giveaway is Annie Hanson!!  Annie- last call to claim since I did not hear from you last week.  If I do not hear from you at [email protected] by 9am tomorrow, a new winner will be announced.  For anyone who didn't win but would like to try out this awesome monthly box, remember you can use code a20off to get 20% off your first box.

This week, we have a great giveaway from Sesame Street Live "Elmo Makes Music" coming to Baltimore in early September.  Keep reading the newsletter to find out more and then be sure to refer everyone you know for your chance to win!

Remember if you are a Cirque du Soliel fan that now is the time to buy your tickets to Dralion, coming to the 1st Mariner Arena NEXT week!!  The show is supposed to be absolutely amazing!!!

If you have a craft or recipe you would like to see included in the newsletter, please e-mail it to me at [email protected] with subject NEWSLETTER.  Also, please send a pic and be sure to include your byline as you would like it to appear.  Also, if your teen or pre-teen every writes an article they would like to submit (book or movie review, things to do in our area, etc.), please feel free to send that along as well!  I'd love to give them the chance to be published nationally (which might look great on a resume...hint, hint)... Oh, and if you ever know of events for older kids, PLEASE share them with me!!  My son is almost 5, so I know I am not in the pre-teen/teen scene yet, but would love to add more events for kids of all ages to the calendar.

THANK YOU to our site sponsors who allow us to bring you this free newsletter and website every week!  We could not do this without their support!  Please be sure to show some super Mac Kid love to MarVaTots'n Teens, Willow House with Lani, My Gym Kentlands, Adventure Kids Playcare, and Sabrina at Pixie and Pirate Destinations!  We'll be running a special Work From Home business directory in mid August so please write me if you'd like more info about advertising your business!  All ads for this section must be reserved by August 15th.  Please e-mail [email protected] for a copy of our media kit and more info on any of these specials.  

Remember that in addition to the event listings, remember there are LOTS more events listed in the updated weekly events article including open gyms, story times at the local libraries, craft workshops and more.  We also have a Kids Eat Free or Cheap section, a Now Showing section with current productions at local theaters, and a Macaroni Kid Saves section.

Until next time...Peace, Love and Macaroni!

Lani