The holidays are over (boo), which means the kids go back to school (yay!). Yes, we love them, but I doubt I'm the only parent who feels like I need a break to recover from holiday break.

For better or worse, it's time to get back to business, like our biweekly links roundups. Our first 2012 installment includes stories about schools (of course), Legos aimed at girls and sex ed via text message. Gives a whole new meaning to ROTF.

As part of our continuing series that highlights area museums, Mommy Poppins Boston recently toured three museums on the North Shore: the Wenham Museum (Wenham), Cape Ann Museum (Gloucester), and Peabody Essex Museum (Salem).

While they vary in size and focus, from the cozy Wenham Museum to the nearly 500,000-square foot Peabody Essex, each one offers a unique museum experience for kids and families, with special exhibits and programs geared to different ages.

[UPDATED 1/24/13]

Wait just a second.  I’m still eating Christmas cookies (the stale ones, anyway) and I’m getting camp brochures in the mail?  I’m thinking sledding, not swimming! But around here, it pays to think ahead about summer camps.  The right camp can make for happy summers kids…and happy summer moms. Here are just a few great summer camps in Fairfield County to choose from:

Happy New Year! New Year's is always a special time for Mommy Poppins because I started the site as a New Year's resolution five years ago (happy fifth birthday, MP!), and I wrote our popular list of 100 Things to Do in NYC with Kids the following New Year's. (Apparently I'm highly motivated by New Year's, who knew?). Unfortunately, I don't have anything that exciting up my sleeve today, but couldn't let January 1 go by without acknowledging some of the amazing new destinations we wrote about in 2011.

As we all know, NYC is constantly evolving with new attractions opening (and closing) all the time. While the pace of new kid biz openings seems to have slowed from its heyday a few years ago, there are still incredible places popping up in New York City. If you follow the site religiously, you will know about all of these, but for those of you who may have missed one or two of the approximately 500 posts we wrote this year, here's a rundown of our favorite new NYC attractions for families that opened in 2011.

We've had a quiet week here at Mommy Poppins, post-wise at least. Since the kids are off from school, we've been running around making the most of NYC during the holidays.

Over Christmas weekend, we went caroling in Washington Square Park, caught the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, bought and decorated our tree, and went to see the famed Christmas House in the Bronx. This weekend, we're looking forward to family fun on New Year's Eve, and a resolution-filled New Year's Day. We hope that your family is enjoying the break as much as we are!

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut, as well as selected stories from our sites in Boston and Los Angeles.

Happy New Year!

Boston offers families plenty of opportunities to ring out 2011 and welcome in the new year. Families can choose from the first-in-the-nation First Night celebration to kid-friendly celebrations at area museums, plus ice skating at outdoor rinks, New Year’s Day hikes and historic walks to start the New Year out on the right foot. Most of the holiday events of 2011 wrap up this weekend, and, if the New England weather cooperates, local ski areas will be making snow and grooming their trails.

Read on for details, and enjoy!

It's the last weekend of 2011, so why not do it up right? We already gave you ideas for celebrating New Year's Eve with the kiddies, but there is some daytime to fill up as well. Why not make a noisemaker for the big night or go to the last holiday movie night of the year or have a big First Night celebration? We hope you have a happy 2012, NJ!