Kids love pets. Especially furry ones. Double especially big, furry, drool-y, ones that need to be walked and run and scooped up after several times a day and kenneled when you go on vacation and given expensive shots. Except they don't like all that stuff so much.

And the whining and begging and pointing out of cute dogs can wear a parent down to the point where maybe having a cute little doggie doesn't seem like such a bad idea, even if you do live in NYC in an apartment the size of a toothbrush holder and work 60 hours a day to pay for it. Which can lead to post traumatic pet ownership.

But, dogs are forever. You can't just get a cute puppy and keep it for a little while and then return it when the charm wears off...or can you? Urban travel guide, Gridskipper, reports on a new service that has come to NYC that may be the final answer to that perennial question, "Mommy, can I have a puppy?"

Just a couple more days of vacation for me and the family. I'm going off-line for these last few days and I'll be back to regular posting on Monday.

I swore I'd never stand in line behind a velvet rope again. But when I heard about Baby Loves Disco

Sherri Margulies is a an awesome film editor who happens to be the mom of an adorable little babe in NYC and, now, is Mommy Poppins' first contributor. Her first two posts, featured today and tomorrow, are about music activities for babies in NYC. Welcome, Sherri!

Just like everyone else in Manhattan, I learned quickly that I needed to register my little one for some classes in order to get her resume going to get into a good preschool. My nanny, who rocks, thought it best to demo some music classes. Demo classes for a 6 month old, sounded crazy, but I thought she must know something I didn't, and indeed she did. After trying out Music Together and Music for Aardvarks we came across Little Maestros and she was blown away.

In my last post, I said that my current favorite outing with kids in NYC is to take the trolley to explore the South Bronx. I thought I'd write up some more details so more of you can enjoy this great excursion. And thanks to everyone who has contributed their favorite outings.

Mommy Poppins has a loyal following now of hundreds of readers every day. Your comments have let us know that this site is a valuable resource for finding great stuff to do in NYC with kids. But with hundreds of you out there, you're a great resource too. What great finds have you uncovered?

Let's all share our favorite day out with the kids in NYC and see what gems our collective knowledge will uncover.

The National Parks Conservation Association is reaching out to NYC parents to get our input on the redevelopment of Gateway National Park. Specifically they are holding a design competition for a new park at Floyd Bennett Field in Queens and have invited Mommy Poppins readers to vote.

This was a good month for Mommy Poppins. Our community grew a lot this month as more people are finding the site and we're seeing it in increased comments and contributions from readers. The water fun week definitely had some of our most popular posts and we got a lot of positive feedback on those articles as well as the Summer Guide and these others:

Top 5 Beaches Near NYC for a Family Daycation