It's inevitable. I'm pregnant. It’s hot. I am officially an ice cream hunter. But, I’ve been particularly picky about the selection process. Great for local shops on Long Island that specialize in making their own ice cream, bad for my poor husband who has to go out to get it for me! But he can’t deny it either. Long Island’s ice cream shops are a true novelty. Whether it’s the fact that the ice cream is homemade, or that each morning the waffle and sugar cones are made from scratch as well, or maybe it’s the nostalgia that those mom and pop shops evoke. We’ve rounded up some of the best spots for ice cream on Long Island. Chances are, you’ll see my husband at one of these picking up yet another daily round of ice cream for me. Read on to see where to go this summer to cure your ice craving.

Summer in New York City can feel like one season-long music festival. There are an incredible number of free outdoor concert series around town, and my family and I try to hit as many performances as we can. (We never say no to complimentary culture.)

Since we often make a day (or evening) of it, some kind of meal is always involved, and as an ex-Food Network employee, I admit that I can be picky.

Some series, like Celebrate Brooklyn!, have wonderful concessionaires to complement the amazing performances. Others, like Waterside Plaza’s Music Under the Stars, leave the food up to you.

Here are five concert series that promise awesome eats or have great places to pick up snacks nearby.

If your kids like comedy and kung fu, they'll get a big kick out of Jump at New World Stages. This martial arts show from Korea has been touring the world for the past few years (it previously played in NYC during the 2007-2008 season), and it follows in the tradition of Off Broadway offerings like Stomp: wordless spectacles that leap over age and language barriers.

I admit, my daughter and I are not huge martial arts fans. (Is it sexist of me to say it's a boy thing?) Even so, we were wowed by the fast, high-flying feats, and the kids in the audience particularly enjoyed all of the slapstick humor, which is choreographed with Jackie Chan-like precision.

If you want to see this show, you've got to move fast: We just found out that it's closing this Sunday, June 12!

This is the time of year when parents start worrying about how much their kids will forget over the summer. As the mom of a kindergartner who's starting to read on his own, I want to make sure that he continues to leaf  through—and more importantly, love—books. That's why I'm signing him up for Summer Reading.

On Thursday, June 9, New York City’s three public library systems launch the 2011 edition of this wonderful annual program. Since all public school students have that day off, they can attend one of many free kick-off celebrations and sign up for the program, which tracks kids' consumption of books, music, DVDs and video games.

Read on (or better yet, have your kids do it) for the info on Thursday's fetes, and how your children can get in on this summer-long tradition.

Hot enough for you? It's hard to believe that less than six months ago we were enjoying snow days. Now we have 80-plus degree temperatures and hurricane warnings.

The upside to summer seemingly arriving early is you can start enjoying warm-weather activities, like beaches, sprinklers and boat rides. Plus, looks like we have clear skies for all of the incredible fairs and festivals taking place this weekend.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut.  

June. Ahhh… The end of car pools, coats and homework crying fits. The beginning of summer, when the memory-making feels almost visceral. The gluttonous gorging on strawberries; gleeful races to the sea foam; the tucked up legs in the freezing movie theater, and yes, the management of a tremendous amount of wet towels. This weekend kicks it all off with good eats, nature-time, sea life (human and animal), and even some beary nice theatre. Welcome, summer. I feel nostalgic already.

We realize that every weekend we say there are so many amazing events, you'll have trouble deciding what to do. But this Saturday and Sunday, you'll truly wish you had the ability to clone yourself, especially with all the fairs and festivals going on.

A lot of the fun takes place in our city's wonderful green spaces. Washington Square Park welcomes the World Science Festival Street Fair, Tompkins Square Park goes arty with the Howl! Festival and Madison Square Park throws its annual Spring Kids Fest.

There are also two fabulous free trolley tours in the Bronx. On Friday evening, you can catch the City Island Seaside Trolley and on Saturday the Bronx Culture Trolley celebrates Puerto Rican pride with stops at various Mott Haven art spots and a community festival.

Other highlights include Gustafer Yellowgold in concert, the Central Park Zoo debut of Dora & Diego’s 4-D Adventure, the return of Frogs: A Chorus of Colors at the American Museum of Natural History and so much more. Plus, since it's the first weekend of June, many museums offer free admission times.

Read on for our best bets for the weekend, and remember, the Mommy Poppins Event Calendar contains even more options. Have a great weekend!