At Mommy Poppins we don't just inspire our readers, we inspire each other! After hearing about our founder Anna's trip to the Guggenheim's Gutai exhibit with her nine-year-old, I decided to take my seven-year-old. That's her in the pic, having a blast literally leaving her mark on a piece called "Please Draw Freely." It's a thought-provoking show that prompted my daughter to start thinking about what constitutes art. Gutai closes next week, so it's your last chance to check it out and enter to win our Guggenheim giveaway.

It's a new month, which means it's time to get out your calendar. Our NYC, New Jersey and Connecticut sites all posted their May Go Lists, highlighting the absolute best things to do with kids throughout the month. With spring kicking into high gear, there are lots of amazing free festivals and fairs, plus Mother's Day is on the horizon. Speaking of the holiday, in addition to our posts about fancy brunch spots and readers' restaurant picks, we came up with five unique Mother's Day brunch ideas in NYC that offer more than just a meal. Meanwhile our Boston site has three easy recipes kids can make for mom on her big day, and our Travel site has Mother's Day getaway deals.

Here's what else we covered on NYC this week:

Have you (or your kids) always dreamed of seeing a giant photo of your face in Times Square? Thanks to the Inside Out public art project, you don't need to become famous for that wish to come true. Through Friday, May 10, this innovative photo booth truck parked near the TKTS Booth will be spitting out huge, one-of-a-kind, black-and-white portraits of anyone willing to wait on line for FREE. And although you are allowed to keep your poster, the artists behind the installation encourage participants to have their portraits plastered on the Times Square pedestrian plazas instead. After all, that's the whole point of the Inside Out Project.

I went to Times Square to check out this public art installation in person to see if it was as cool as it sounded. And it totally is. However, there are some important things to know before you go, especially if you're bringing kids. Read on to find out the best time to go to avoid the crowds, how you can make a group reservation and what the Inside Out Project is all about.

Are you ready for some free fun? Because there's plenty of it this weekend. Spring festival season kicks into high gear with the return of the New Museum's biennial IDEAS CITY StreetFest, Hippo Playground's annual spring fair, a slew of school fairs and the NYC Irish Dance Festival, which kicks off this season of Summer on the Hudson.

Lots of our top event picks for the month of May take place this weekend as well, like the Super Sonic Kindie Music Festival, citywide volunteering initiative It's My Park Day and the New York Road Runners' no-cost Youth Jamboree. Plus there are free concerts by Gustafer Yellowgold and Sugar Free Allstars, the annual Cinco de Mayo Mexican Parade and free comic books will be given away in all five boroughs.

These are just a few of the great things going on this weekend. All of our best bets are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Spring Fun Guide. And if you're looking to plan out your entire month, check out the new edition of our NYC Go List, which highlights the absolute best things to do with kids throughout May.

As an intrepid Mommy Poppins blogger, I am always on the lookout for cool new ways to experience New York City with my eight-year-old son. While we're certainly up for exploring neighborhoods on our own, when I heard about the do-it-yourself mobile tours offered by Stray Boots, I thought they sounded like fun.

A Stray Boots outing is equal parts walking tour and scavenger hunt. You just download the app on your smartphone, head to the starting location and go. But the entire route isn't given to you up front: At each stop, you need to complete challenges and answer questions in order to progress to the next destination. Along the way, the app shares historical tidbits and facts about the places you visit and the surrounding area.

Stray Boots started in NYC and now offers tours in multiple cities all over the country. For our first one, my son and I and two of his friends decided on the Chinatown and Little Italy tour. While Stray Boots tours aren't specifically aimed at families, we had a great time. Best of all, even though we'd all been to Chinatown and Little Italy before, during the tour we got to see the neighborhoods in an entirely new way.

Mother's Day always feels like so much pressure. Where will you brunch? Will the kids like it? Will you ever be able to pay off the credit card bill? With Mother's Day fast approaching on Sunday, May 12, it's time for you (or your partner) to start planning (although what's the old adage? If you want something done right...).

Our NYC Kid-Friendly Restaurant Guide is filled with fantastic family restaurant recommendations in all five boroughs, including eateries with family entertainment. We even have two posts dedicated to traditional Mother's Day brunch options, both swanky spots and reader favorites. But if you're looking for a unique Mother's Day brunch experience, one that comes with more than just a meal, we have five offbeat ideas that include arts and culture, a cool waterfront foodie tour and fun at an iconic racetrack.