The MTA approved it's "doomsday budget" yesterday, which includes fare hikes and service cuts. But no worries, because the MTA Service Specialists have been deployed. Find out about the details of the new budget and the humorous stunt women who are commenting on the fare hike by taking to the rails dressed as retro airline stewardesses and offering riders the "service you deserve."

Yesterday, I wrote/ranted about the new Kindergarten registration process and didn't get to share some other important education news. Below find some quick links to news about pre-K registration, new G&T schools and private preschool admissions, plus a response on Kindergarten admissions from the DOE.

We wrote earlier about the NYC DOE's decision to change some of the basic principles of Kindergarten admissions. The main one that they seem to be toying with is the promise that every child who lives within a school zone is entitled to a spot at that school. The fact that families would have to apply for their neighborhood schools was dropped on parents just weeks before the kindergarten application process began and gave parents no time to seriously reconsider their options.

Yesterday the NYTimes reported on the outcome of this system, which is that many families that expected seats in their local schools are being turned away. Parents are understandably frustrated, angry and worried and DOE spokesman, Andrew Jacob's, advice that families should "wait until September" is perhaps one of the most idiotic official responses I've ever heard—as if parents are going to sit on their heels until school starts in the Fall to figure out where their 5 year olds will attend school.

Straight from my inbox:

The Gap is turning its rotating concept store on 5th Ave. and 54th St. into a Tiny Dancers ballet studio in partnership with Ballet Tech, a tuition-free ballet school started by world-renowned choreographer Eliot Feld. On Wed., March 25, Gap and Ballet Tech will be opening their doors to NYC’s aspiring “tiny dancers.”

Each Saturday and Sunday, the store will be open for participants to drop-in, dress up, and dance their heart out with instructors from Ballet Tech. The free drop-in lessons will be in session Sat., March 28, through Sun., April 26.

In the news today: how one woman is feeding her family of four on $800 a year, the accumulated knowledge of another woman's 18 years of parenting (apparently it fits on one page), how to reduce your junk-mail footprint (just do it), how to get off the phone faster, a free way to turn your kids art into frame-able nursery art, and how Super Mario is taking over the city, in real life. Check it out.

It's one of the most sought out topics on Mommy Poppins, birthday party ideas. Well, now we've got a page dedicated to everything we've ever written on the theme. And what's more, we're going to write about New York City birthday party ideas every day this week. So check out what we've got in our New York City Birthday Party Guide and stay tuned for more great posts about kids parties in New York to come.  

Oh, and while we've got your attention, make sure to check in next week because we're going to be giving away some awesome tickets to the top kid shows in New York City. Don't miss it.

I don't know about you but, I need something funny to laugh about to nudge me from this long week into the weekend...and I think I found just the ticket. I don't know why this video of the outtakes of Ricky Gervais and Elmo on Sesame Street is floating around the internet, but I'm glad it is. How does Elmo stay in character while Gervais is yanking his chain? Elmo shows RIcky Gervais what real acting is. Even Gervais can't keep a straight face through this routine. Enjoy.

Twitter has become a great resource for finding cool things to do with kids in New York City. Pretty much all of the institutions are on there, letting us know about their events, plus there's lots of parents and bloggers sharing tips too. I've been scouring the NYC Kid event tweets for great tips to share and "re-tweeting" them, so if you are following me [@mommypoppins] you can always find out the latest.

But if you want to get all the tweets right from the souce, here's my list of the Top Ten people to follow on twitter for NYC kids Events, Activities and News: