A few short weeks ago my husband and I motivated to take our kids into New York City to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Many hours later (as well as many toll roads, parking fees, and bathroom stops later), my 4 year old informed me that she preferred the artwork in her Olivia the Pig book to the John Singer Sargent exhibit we just viewed.  Why, oh why did I spend so much money on taking them to a fabulous NY museum when there are so many phenomenal museums in our own backyard here in Fairfield County?  Our next museum adventures will be within a 20 mile radius of home – and just look how many great exhibits there are in the local area! And don't forget to check out our Kid-Friendly CT Museum Guide too!

Located in the center of NJ, Ocean Grove brings small town living to the Jersey Shore. At just one square mile, it's a family friendly town that offers relief from the crowds, noise and commercialism that can be found at other beaches. With its gingerbread cottages and quaint main street, Ocean Grove has a 1950's feel that makes it a great destination for families year round. For information on great small towns in North Jersey, check out our posts on Millburn, Nutley and Chester.

Get out your family calendar: This week has been about planning ahead across all of our sites. Our carefully curated March Go Lists are up for NYC, New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester and beyond so you can find out the absolute best things to do with kids throughout the month.

If you're looking ahead to summer, we continued our overhaul of our Camp Guide by updating our free and cheap camps post, and highlighting all of the improvements to our Camp Directory, including the ability to leave reviews and ratings for the programs you love.

And if spring break is on your mind (it's coming up this month for private school students and in April for public school kids), you can find destination inspiration on our Travel site, in our NYC Family Getaways Guide and on all of our regional sites. Connecticut just wrote a post about the awesome Catamount Aerial Adventure Park and Rockwell Museum in Great Barrington, MA, Westchester has a list of the best things to do with kids in Mount Kisco and New Jersey has a wonderful series on great small towns worth discovering.

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

Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead this weekend. Daylight Savings begins on Sunday and that means "longer days" to get out and enjoy all the festivities Westchester has to offer. This weekend also kicks off the St. Patrick’s Day Parade season. Enjoy parades in White Plains and Mount Kisco plus the Northern Westchester Putnam Parade in Mahopac.

It’s also sugaring season, when the warming daytime temperatures stimulate the sap to flow and there are several sugaring events to choose from this weekend. Head to Sugarfest at Westmoreland Sanctuary where you can enjoy the Nannyhagen Creek Band during a pancake breakfast. Or stop by for an informal sugarhouse chat at the Trailside Nature Museum. Muscoot Farm is also joining in on the sugaring fun, Teatown’s naturalists share facts and folklore about this sweet time of year and the Greenburgh Nature Center hosts a Maple Sugaring Party.

This weekend is also the grand opening of the Hudson River Museum’s new state of the art, digital Planetarium. Read on for our top weekend picks. If you see something that piques your interest, click through to the event listing to view full details. Looking for more options? Be sure to check our Event Calendar for more fun happening this weekend and beyond. Also be sure to sign up for our FREE newsletter to get the latest on news and events in Westchester delivered right to your inbox.

There’s plenty going on this weekend, from free movies at the Museum of Science and maple sugaring tours in Milton and Natick to the opening of Brundibar and But the Giraffe! in Cambridge and Honk! in Concord. Ben Rudnick performs in Boston, Margot Fox in Arlington, and Elska in Brookline. Read on for more of our weekend picks, and visit our Events Calendar for a complete list.

Finally, just a reminder to set your clocks ahead on Sunday. Enjoy the weekend.

Is there anything better than getting up early in the morning? How about getting up an hour earlier than early because someone had the bright idea of springing the clocks forward? Still with me? How about getting up an hour earlier than early to run, a lot, like a lot a lot, a whole marathon worth? Have I lost you entirely? Here I am to reel you back in: free doughnut, nom nom. Makes the waking up almost seem worth it,  and you don’t even have to break a sweat.

But if you want to (break a sweat that is), have we got the dance floor for you. Baby Loves Disco is back in town, this time with a Mommy Poppins discount and a 70s disco theme. "Ah,ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive..."   And speaking of Vinnie Barbarino...

...Adele Dazeem is not performing in LA this weekend, but she's about the only big name star who isn't. We've got Laurie Berkner (love her on Sprout!); we've got Tom Chapin (Grammy winner and also Harry's brother).  We've got Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band (Latin Grammy winners! They're going to be on TV this Fall!). We have productions of White (Winner at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Cirque du Soleil: Totem (catch it before it's gone!), and we've even got Sid the Science Kid. (Or as Vinnie would say, Snurf the Sneetch Keister. But what do we know, we're just Mimsy Picklecatcher).

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for the weekend...

This bitterly cold winter has left many parents looking for ways to entertain their stir-crazy kids. On days when heading to the local park isn't an option, indoor play spaces can be a parents best friend.  If your little monkeys are bouncing off of the walls, some of the indoor  entertainment options listed below might just give you a few hours to catch your breath.  For even more ideas, visit our Indoor Play and Rainy Day Activity Guide.