Ah, Spring! This week we saw the weather warm up and temperatures rise over a slew of sensationalist reporting in the parenting arena. Not sure what's going on, but even the paper we expect to be above this garbage is dishing it up. Is it Spring Fever, the loss of that extra hour of sleep, or a desperate attempt to compete with snarky online media vehicles? Whatever the reason, we hope they screw their heads back on straight. In the meantime, here's what everyone is in a lather about:

I've been posting a little bit lightly this week because I was under the weather. My family is a mess, actually. This week has been full of lice and vomit and in the middle of it all my daughter has been taking all her middle school entrance exams, but that's another story. Anyway, I have some fun deals, discounts and promotions to share, but I know some people that get this in their email tomorrow are going to miss the Pinkberry promotion and be annoyed that I didn't post it yesterday, so I just wanted to explain why.

It’s the time of year that New Yorkers start to breathe a sigh of relief.  We return to the streets, blinking in the long forgotten sun, happy to have made it through another cold and snowy winter.  It is hard to believe that two weeks ago we were literally buried under a foot of snow but now it seems to have melted into some pretty blissful pre-Spring days.  You won’t need your parka or your snow boots when you go out this weekend (you may need an umbrella though.)

Parks across the city beckon with their offerings of cool, free, family fare like a Native American puppet show, bird watching and live animal encounters. But, if you aren’t ready to spend time outdoors just yet, there are plenty of exciting things going on inside, too. Boogie down at one of the many kiddy concerts, visit Artopia a family arts festival or take in a flick from The New York Kids International Film Festival - tickets are still available. And don’t forget St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner.  Visit the Irish Arts Center during their Annual Open House this Sunday.

Update: There is no elephant parade in 2014 due to the circus playing in Brooklyn..

Once again the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus is heading into town and since the circus elephants can’t go up the Penn Station escalators, they need to get off the circus train a stop early in Queens and walk through the Mid-Town Tunnel, and straight across Manhattan to Madison Square Garden.

Posting this event is always controversial because some people feel that watching the circus elephants march across Manhattan is supporting their mistreatment in the circus. On the other hand, I get lots of emails every year asking me when it 's happening. My position is that this is a pretty crazy thing that happens in NYC and I'm letting people know. Do what you like with the information.