Merry Maids. A Mom’s Best Friend(s).

Even before I was a working mom, I never had time to properly clean my house. Okay, I never made time to properly clean my house, but let’s not split hairs, shall we? Honestly, I have the greatest respect for people who spend precious time to keep their homes tidy, and I do try very hard to be part of their exclusive club, but when Merry Maids contacted me and offered me a free cleaning, I jumped on it like a monkey on a cupcake. Or like a busy working mom on a maid service.

Weekly Wrap Up: Easter Bunny Photo Ops and Egg Hunts in NYC, Harry Potter Exhibit and More

It's been a busy week at all of the Mommy Poppins sites! Must be the time of year: April brings Easter, Passover, spring break, Earth Day and a host of popular festivals like the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair and Sakura Matsuri.

Don't worry: You won't need to try to cram all of those activities into one weekend. But since they're coming up, we wanted to give you a heads up, so you had time to mark your calendars.

Read on to see what else we covered this week on Mommy Poppins, in NYC, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.

8 Things Parents Should Know About Harry Potter: The Exhibition

Harry Potter: The Exhibition is open and ready for Muggles, wizards and Potterheads everywhere. I'm a Harry Potter fanatic: I fully admit to lining up at midnight for book releases, hitting the theater on opening day for the movies and, yes, owning a pair of plastic Potter specs. I tried to control my giddiness—which can rival that of any 12-year-old Potter geek—while exploring the exhibit at Discovery Times Square last weekend. If there's someone in your abode who dreams of studying at Hogwarts and knows the name of Ginny Weasley's first boyfriend (answer: Michael Corner), this display of props and costumes used in all eight films—including the soon-to-be-released Deathly Hallows: Part II—is an unbelievable treat.

There's Harry's invisibility cloak, beds from the Gryffindor dorm, a larger-than-life Dementor and a lot more. But before you don your cape and fly off with your brood to the exhibit, here are eight things you should know.

Kids' Bike Races and Tours in NJ!

Break out the bikes! Springtime is the best weather for bike riding. Now that my kids have lost the training wheels and are able to ride the distance, we are ready to do some serious biking… starting this weekend with the Branchbrook Park Cherry Blossom Bike Tour in Newark! If you would rather keep both feet on the ground, there is also a nice offering of kid-only mountain biking events throughout New Jersey that you won’t want to miss. Don’t forget to wear your helmets!

Things to Do For NYC Kids and Families April 9-10, 2011: Festivals, Exhibits, Music and More

There's never a dull moment in NYC and now that it's spring, great things to do are sprouting up everywhere! On Saturday, baseball fans can cheer on their favorite Little Leaguer at various opening day celebrations, in particular a huge Brooklyn parade. Or head over to the Morgan Library to participate in a cool interactive family workshop exploring the connection between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. You can also hit up a fun outdoor festival; there are three of them scheduled this weekend, including the popular annual Children’s Carnival at the Queens County Farm Museum and the self-explanatory Touch-a-Truck fest in Brooklyn. If you're in the mood to take in a show, Boom Town opens at the New Victory, and two one-offs, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Junie B. Jones, play in Brooklyn and on the Upper West Side, respectively. And the first Easter egg hunt of the season happens at the Staten Island Zoo on Sunday.

Read on for the our best bets for the weekend, and remember, The Mommy Poppins Events Calendar is chock-full of storytimes, theater, arts and crafts programs, and lots of other fun activities for families.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Events in NJ, April 9-10: Go Wild with Bees, Bingo and Borneo, or Mild with Fashion, Flowers and Fossils–mostly FREE!

You know how we love alliteration here at Mommy Poppins and this weekend is full of it--Bees, Bingo, Borneo... yeah, you get it. There is so much fun stuff to do in early spring, so take advantage of the might-be-warm weather or all the indoor possibilities in case of more rain (or snow--could be, it's been a weird spring so far, right?) Have fun!

10 Summer Sports Camps for young children in southern Litchfield County, Connecticut

I received a request for summer sports camps near Washington, CT for a 6 year old. WIth a bit of research I came up with the following options that are not too far of a drive for anyone in the southern portion of Litchfield County. Of course, many of the camps will accept younger and older children as well. You'll have to read their fine print for details. Not every camp accepts 6  year olds so I appreciated the inquiry. Hopefully this list will help your young sport get his/her fix. TIp: It's always good to start with your local parks and rec to see what they are offering (so I've included Washington's info here). Please post any additional options I may have missed in the comments section below. And by all means, share with your friends!

Pages