My New Years Resolution is to work more efficiently in 2011, so in an effort to become a lean, mean, mommying machine, I am jumping right into our best bets for this weekend, after I alert you to a few things that are going on that you definitely want to know about.

Firstly, many of the cities museums are offering their monthly free “first” days this weekend since last weekend was the holiday.  Families can check out the goings on at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan for free on Friday or The New Museum on Saturday (read below for the scoop on that).  The fantastic holiday train show at the NY Botanical Garden closes this Sunday, so if you didn’t get a chance to see it yet – this is it, to sweeten the deal- Thomas the Tank Engine will be there greeting the kids and posing for photos.  Tickets are still available to see, The Inflatable Theater Company at Symphony Space, and they are definitely something not to miss, they use these transforming, fabric inflatables in their act and turn boxes into giant dogs and stuff.  Finally, if your Christmas tree is still hanging around, like mine is, have the parks department turn it into mulch that they can use in NYC’s parks this year.

Happy New Year! Read for our best bets and have a great weekend.

Yes, we're all wiped out from the holidays, but instead of couch potato-ing through the rest of the winter, why not venture out and see what New Jersey has to offer this weekend. We have a great contest for four FREE sets of tickets to the awesome Bari Koral Family band, and you can also finally see the holiday lights you missed because you were too busy during the actual holidays or take part in the wonderful winter activity of maple sugaring. Happy New Year, Jerseyites!

NYC is an ever-changing landscape, but even a jaded New Yorker has to be a little bit impressed with how many new and amazing kids spots opened up (or renovated) here in 2010 — Well, OK, technically, some of them opened in 2009, but they were still fresh and new in 2010. Here are some of our favorite new spots for kids in NYC this year. You won't be surprised that most of our favorite picks are not just awesome, but free. *love*

When the winter cold sets in, not only do the kids bounce off the walls, they also manage to turn the house upside-down. Better plan: Let them get the wiggles out somewhere else. Indoor playspaces were created by some very wise adults, let us tell you. Our favorite kid-tested spots will keep the small ones entertained for hours, and you with a clean house (plus some sanity).

I am halfway through this week of "Best Of 2010" lists and and I'm starting to think I might not be cut out for this type of thing. It's hard to pick some blogs knowing you are leaving so many others out. To make matters worse, my innocent little list of the Best Local NYC Blogs got linked from the NY Times, so now my choices are forever part of the blog of record.

So before I jump into my list of my favorite Mom Blogs, I'd like to make a little speech about how I am choosing. (clear throat, tap fork on glass). The blogs I am including are blogs that inspire me, each in their own way. They are also the blogs that I happened to have thought of during the few hour window that I wrote this post. Tomorrow different things will be on my mind and I will find new sources of inspiration (and remember old ones that I didn't think of when I was writing this — and apologize in my head to people I left off the list). But I hope that this post will be a source for you to find some new inspiration too, with some great blogs that maybe you didn't know about yesterday.

10 Favorite Mom Blogs that Inspired Me in 2010:

During the post holiday winter months meal prep can be a real drag. The New Year has me searching for something different to do with all those root vegetables, and desperate for a way to make winter salads palatable. And with my resolution energy I'm looking for better ideas for my kid's school lunches. There are tons of great food blogs that provide exotic ideas and great desserts, but I need something inspired and also practical for my family. Luckily, there's help out there. Here are some of our top picks for desperate parents and their hungry, sometimes picky, children.

The new year is a time of reflecting. Looking back on 2010 there are so many great discoveries we made that we'd like to share. This week, in addition to our regular posts, we'll be sharing some of our favorite websites and other stuff that we've enjoyed this year, starting with some of the great websites about living in New York City. These sites are great resources that often inspire me (when I have time to read them). You may want to book mark this post to check back with these cool blogs often.