I don’t know much, but I know that Aaron Neville and his Quintet featuring Charles Neville are coming to the S.S. on Saturday.
So I’m going to tell it like it is.
(Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Head to the new Veterans Plaza at the Silver Spring Civic Building for a day of jammin’ jazz. In addition to the New Orleans legend headliner, local greats Marcus Johnson, Chopteeth, Rumba Club, and Janine Carter will be performing.
It’s totally FREE. So bring the kids, or go later and get a sitter.
Hey, I’ve looked all my life for some fun for you guys.
Discovery Channel Shark Week Alert: According to Patti, as of noon today Chompie is up!
The big inflatable shark that sometimes appears on the Discovery headquarters building to celebrate SHARK WEEK is rumored to make his appearance this weekend.
His name is Chompie.
And he is awesome.
What’s also awesome? The cool wildlife shows about SHARKS that will dominate the programming waters on Discovery starting August 1. Shark Week is the longest-running annual special on Discovery – the first Shark Week aired in 1988. But you really don’t have to wait until August 1 – you can watch full shark-y episodes on Discovery.com right now.
May not be suitable for children…or parents departing for the beach anytime soon.
Here’s the info on the giveaway items:
I have 1 copy of Discovery Channel’s 25th Anniversary DVD which has a variety of episodes from some great documentary series: Raising the Mammoth, Walking with Dinosaurs, Blue Planet, Crocodile Hunter, Planet Earth and Life.
and
I have 1 copy of the complete Season 2 of Cake Boss on TLC – a 2 disc set that has the whole story about Buddy Valastro and his family who run Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken (aka the Real Future Housewives of New Jersey throwing tantrums when ordering their wedding cakes). I’m giving away this DVD to get you guys ready for the next cake-y series this summer: DC Cupcakes which features our very own local Georgetown Cupcake!!
How to win one of these DVDs – there are multiple ways to win:
- Leave a comment here if you see that Chompie is UP this weekend on the Discovery building!
- Share a photo of Chompie anytime that he’s up there.
- Leave a comment about your kids’ reactions to seeing the big shark.
- Become a fan of Shark Week on Facebook.
- Share the DC Cupcake link on Facebook or Twitter.
- Leave a comment about your fave flavor at Georgetown Cupcake.
I’ll randomly draw the winners on the premiere night of DC Cupcake, July 16!
Good luck at winning…and happy sharkin’.
Disclosure: I have not been compensated by Discovery for this post. All free products provided by Discovery are being gifted to readers. I was invited to a swell party for Silver Docs last month. Oh, and my husband Chris works at Discovery. So they pay my mortgage. I guess there *is* that bias.
After a month of limbo, Great Kids Village’s Silver Spring location is re-opening tomorrow, Sunday June 13th in a brand new space: the former Mayorga Coffee shop at 8040 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring/NW DC border.
Great Kids Village is kicking off their first day in the new digs with a kids concert by Melissa Green! Melissa Green is a great children’s musician who parents enjoy too. In fact, she’s so cool, she will be featured on the next Putamayo Kids CD, Rock & Roll Playground. 
Doors open at 11:30am for play, the concert starts at 12:30pm, and they’re staying open until 6 pm. All your kids favorite play stations, craft areas, the kid coaster, the mini grocery store, mini-golf course and everything else will be back and running for imagination learning and fun.
Moving to the former Mayorga space also means that Great Kids Village Silver Spring will soon be opening a Healthy Cafe on the premises for your snacking and lunching convenience.
So go check out the new site, groove along to Melissa Green and have a great Sunday back at Great Kids Village. They’ve missed you and are sooooo happy to be back.
Upcoming Events at Great Kids Village Silver Spring and Columbia locations
Follow everything Great Kids Village on Facebook
Open Play Hours
| Tuesday through Friday: |
10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Thursdays open until 7pm for neighbors only) |
| Saturday: |
9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. |
| Sunday and Monday: |
11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. |
**closed 4th of July**
Momz Share's Jen & Lara and me. Photo by Amanda of http://thenagainphotography.com/
If you’re reading this you probably have a kid. And you obviously read blogs (thanks!)
But do you have a blog yourself? Are you thinking of starting one?
Then you have to get your cute self to a Momz Share event! These great in-person networking parties just started this year, thanks to the genius of Hip As I Wanna Be’s Jennifer Gerlock and Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom’s Lara Di Paola.
The second event was held this weekend at The Little Gym of Silver Spring (a SUPER party space, for grownups as well as kids!) and packed more fun into three hours that I would have thought possible:
- The Souper Girl of Silver Spring brought her yummy vegan soups – you can have these healthy soups delivered right to your door for easy, kid-friendly, health-conscious and delicious meals.
- More donations of awesome raffle items were provided by La Papillon Spa, Peace Love Lip Gloss, Bring It To Fruition, The Round House Theater, The Maryland Science Center, Port Discovery, The National Aquarium, Tuscan Home Decor & Design, All things Italian, Certifikid, The Melting Pot of DC, Be Lifestyle MedSpa and Simplify Organizing.
I finally met in person people that I already love through the power of the Internet gods and our common worship:
- Scary Mommy – You already know this woman is a wonderful writer, an incredible humorist, mom blogging resource and shutterbug, but she’s also a fabulous co-worker and friend.
- Resourceful Mommy - If you’ve ever been to or won swag from a Twitter party, thank this chick. She invented these online get togethers! And she is down to earth and delightful and adorable.
More Awesome MomzShare Attendees That I Met & Fondled/Frightened, or Know & Love
Hide The Cheese - my new favorite food blog EVAH. I am forcing this chick to be my friend. She should be afraid. But if she runs away, at least I can make her recipes.
It’s My Time To Write - a truly great professional writer and mother just began this beautiful blog
Treets! Photo by Lolli of Better In Bulk.net
Musings From Me
The Land of Bean
Sisarina
Tech Savvy Mama
Parentopia Devra
Teach Mama – Vote for Amy at the Scholastic Parenting Blog Awards!
I’m Not The Nanny
I crashed this photo of Seriously a Homemaker and Chief Bit Mom Leticia of Tech Savvy Mama. Photo by Lolli of Better in Bulk.net
Caffeine And A Prayer
Parenting By Dummies
The Too Fatties
Living In Maryland
Laundry For Six
An Acorn Dreaming
Urban Mama
A Spiced Life
Toddler Planet
Wrecklamation
The Traveling Marshalls
Twofer Mom
Linda Sellers
ProMom Blogger
and more women I wish I’d met!
Next time, I’d love to hang with YOU! I’ll keep you posted on the next Momz Share, hosted by Scary Mommy, but you can also follow Momz Share on Twitter (@momzshare)and on Facebook (here) and if you are a business that would like to become involved in some way, please email lara.momzshare(at)gmail.com.
Find a playgroup for your kid...and yourself!
Are you a stay at home mom or dad, either full or part time? Do you live in Silver Spring, Wheaton or Kensington and are you looking for a wonderful, warm group of parents and kids? Then look no further and join the Wheaton Area Moms (WAM.)
WAM is an independent support group for moms and dads. The group plans activities for the member parents and kids, and most activities are held on weekdays, when at-home parents need the most support. The group can help you find a weekly play group, provides monthly mixers and meet-ups, and schedules other activities for the parents and kids. (Because while the A Parent in Silver Spring calendar can give you some outing ideas, it’s also great to know you’ll see a friendly face at that nature center puppet show when you arrive!)
WAM also
has a Babysitting Co-Op – perfect for stay at home parents that can never find a sitter when they have a wedding to attend or really need to get their groove on, Recipe Exchanges – perfect for home chefs making the same darn dishes every week, and Moms Nights Out - perfect for moms that need to go out once in a while without a diaper bag and order something other than chicken nuggets.
I personally know about five of the members of WAM. They are hands-down the first chicas I would want to be my buddies if I were new to the area or parenthood and looking for friends. Heck I’m naming all members of WAM the Women of the Week here on APISS, they’re so radtacular.
And as someone who literally wandered around Silver Spring and DC for six months with a huge smile and an adorable baby, hoping that I’d randomly make a mom friend (since I knew zippo other women in the area with babies), it wasn’t until I joined a moms’ group when Charlie was seven months old that I broke out of my solitary existence. Yup, me, the busy body who’s always bossing you around on what to do with your kids was fellow-mom friendless. I met all my pre-mom friends for drinks and brought Charlie along (“Look at you! You have a baby…in a bar”), and sat on my front stoop all dressed up with my baby on my lap waiting for my husband to pull into the driveway at the end of the day. Pathetic. 
After I found my moms’ group? My husband Chris would come home most days to an empty house since I was off yucking it up at one mom’s house or another or at a park with my pals. (“Sorry honey, I have no freaking clue what’s for dinner…isn’t it awesome?”) Or the poor dude would open the front door to catcalls and laughs from a living room full of kids drinking apple juice and moms sipping Diet Coke and wine.
My point: Moms clubs are great. And WAM is especially great. Join now. Here’s the deets on how to sign up. Newbies are encouraged to join in one of the following open activities before officially becoming a member: a visit to a library on the first Monday of the month at 10 am and a trip to a nature center on the third Thursday of the month at 10 am. (So if you’re reading this on St. Patrick’s Day March 17, there’s a nature center outing scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday March 18 at 10am! You could be hanging with WAM in less than 24 hours!) Contact the club for the specific locations.
If you don’t live anywhere near the 20902 zip code, where many of the members reside, then here are some other good group options:
- La Leche League (it’s not just about breastfeeding – it’s a way to find a local community of mothers)
- DC Dads on the Run (this active group of dads with jogging strollers will probably re-activate now that outdoor running weather is returning, right DC Urban Dad???)
Know of another marvelous moms and dads’ group? Leave a mention in the comments!
Special thanks to the members of WAM, my Women of the Week, for your information for this piece. For those moms and dads out there that need a support group, you will be their Women of the Decade.
