To celebrate the official beginning of summer, this week we are doing a huge Summer Kick-off Giveaway with great prizes. Some of the prizes we'll be giving away are passes to NYC area amusement and water parks, and an amazing catered dinner for ten! What could be a better way to start your summer. The first giveaway will be posted later today and more giveaways will be posted through out the week, so check back in and don't miss out.

In other news,read on to hear about changes to the NYC public school schedule for next year, teachers who are paid to do nothing, a col new website from the parks department, more deals, a computer program that teaches physics in a fun way and a fun way to learn about New York's Dutch history. Enjoy.

Debbie Koenig teaches a unique cooking class for new parents, called Parents Need To Eat Too, from her own Brooklyn kitchen, where she arms her students with tips, techniques and recipes to make sure putting a delicious and healthy dinner on the table doesn't get put aside along with your pre-baby jeans.

We got Debbie to share some easy, healthy no-cook recipes that are perfect for enjoying this summer, when the last thing you want to do is sweat over a hot stove. Thanks, Debbie!

Today is the anniversary of the day that I idiotically decided to stick to my commitment of teaching my STUDENT UNION SILKSCREENING CLASS! rather than going to see They Might be Giants, who were playing live in a great small venue in Madison, Wisconsin on the day that happened to be my 20th birthday. Since I'm getting perilously close to an unspeakable age anyway, as of today, I am no longer celebrating my birthday, but only celebrating the anniversary of Don't be an Idiot Day. To celebrate Don't Be An Idiot Day you must go do something fun, preferably at the expense of some obligation that really won't matter in the long run. All of you are welcome to celebrate it with me.

Also, in honor of the mumble mumble anniversary of that momentous day and the first inaugural Don't Be An Idiot Day, I am rejoicing with some news about the band that started it all. Here's some cool stuff going on for TMBG fans:

Mommy Poppins has always been a labor of love, but never more so than working on this redesign. Actually this project started out as just a simple desire to expand our neighborhood pages and make it easier to find all our new guides, but Simon, my amazing (and handsome) developer, was so good at making my wouldn't it be cool ifs... come true, I just kept coming up with more, and more...and more. Finally, a mere 9 months later, we've got a whole new site, with a new design and lots of cool features that make it easier to find what you're looking for and more fun to use.

Read on for highlights of some of the new cool features of the site and please leave a comment and let us know what you think:

The 10th Anniversary of the Congo Gorilla Forest makes now an especially good time to visit, because The Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo is celebrating with special programs that highlight the Congolese culture. There will be traditional African drum and dance performances by the Harambee Dance Company, kids can watch “lunchtime with the gorillas” at 2pm each day, and experience the crafts of the Republic of Congo with artisans from the Museum for African Art leading workshops in Basket-making, Gourd Adornment, Bead-making and Mask making. Best of all, visiting the zoo contributes to WCS's ongoing conservation work with gorillas and the Congo.

You’re pregnant, nauseous, working on a deadline, and oh-yeah, trying to cut back on food costs in the middle of a recession. You know that you’re supposed to be eating really healthy right now, but lack of time and energy, and the need to save cash have been pushing you towards some not-so-healthy food sources lately. Plus, hangover food seems to be the only thing that calms your morning sickness. All is not lost! Our guest poster, Frances Largeman-Roth, and author of the  new book, Feed the Belly: The Pregnant Mom's Healthy Eating Guide, will show you how you can actually eat on the run without breaking too many nutrition rules. Hey, these are tips that we can all use, whether we're pregnant or not. Thanks, Frances!

It’s always healthiest to make your own food. That way you’re in charge of how much fat, sodium, and preservatives are involved. But there are some healthier picks at the chain restaurants. Here's the skinny on avoiding the fat (and other bad stuff) at the top fast food chains, what to order and what to avoid, for a healthier diet during pregnancy:

First, I gotta thank all you great people who voted for us for best NYC local blog over the weekend. We got some real momentum going. I hope you will all keep voting for us every day. If you were not online over the weekend, please take a moment to catch up on how you can help Mommy Poppins get dubbed number one NYC local blog and vote for us.

And now for the news: we haven't done one of these for a while now so there's lots of school news to catch up on, especially with budget cuts, mayoral control and test scores all hanging in the balance. Also find out about a really cool fundraiser, the new parenting trend, and great deals on eating out during kids' restaurant week. Dig in: