There's so much new stuff going on, I just wanted to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming with this brief message explaining some of the happenings:

Story Maps
You may have noticed the NYC map added to our left sidebar. It's not just any map, it's actually a very cool tool created by local news site Outside.In that let's you search for our stories by map. Each marker on the map represents a place we have written about. Click on the marker and you'll get a pop-up of every post we've written about that place. Just click on the story title to go to the article. It's pretty cool. You can zoom in to the part of the city you want to find places or events and find stories from as far back as 6 months ago by changing the time-frame at the top of the map (which is set by default to one week). I'm testing this feature out and want to know if you all find it useful or not, so please shoot me an email and let me know if you'd like to see more mapping tools like this.

Exergaming is all the rage now with parents (and corporations) trying to figure out how to get kids up off the couch and moving. The Wii and Xbox Kinect are the biggest sensation in exergaming, finally allowing parents to feel less guilty about hours spent in front of the TV, but there are lots of other fun games that get kids moving while they are having fun playing. And, hey, it's not so bad for mom and dad to play along and get a little exercise too. I've been surprised at how out of breath I can get from playing these games and you don't have to spend a lot.

Top 5 Games that get kids moving:

With everyone looking to shave a few dollars off their expenses a be a little greener too, swapping is becoming more and more popular. This is something we've always been big fans of and we get together with our friends regularly to trade clothes and other items. We do brunch and dish as we try on each other's clothes. At the end, someone takes all the left-overs to a Housing Works to donate.

Besides swapping clothes with your friends there are many local and national resources that can help you swap everything from your child's toys to your actual house or apartment. Here are the resources you need to cut the cord to your cards and trade what you've got for what you want. You'll be more than prepared for Buy Nothing Day on November 28th.

A little bit of everything this weekend, so whether you're looking for indoor or outdoor activities, film, art, a cool concert, or something literary, we've got it and it's all free. See wonderful short films at MoMA, A Mr Ray concert, buy discounted books and holiday gifts at a charity book fair, story time, magic and skating at Bryant Park, and crazy cool can art in Battery Park City. Have a great weekend and get ready for some turkey eating.

Are New York kids different than other children? Some people think they're more mature, more precocious, maybe more sophisticated. Who can say how and if New York kids are really different, but there's no question that when you grow up in NY, New York City becomes a part of who you are.

That's why I think the work of Tom Matt is the perfect way to celebrate the birth of a new New York baby. Tom Matt does wonderful original pastel cityscapes: Whether it's the romantic sultry streetscapes of Lower Manhattan or the burgeoning industrial views, Tom Matt sees NYC just the way I like to imagine it.

But what makes his work perfect for a baby gift is not just what he draws, but what he draws it on.

Unfortunately due to cutbacks, all of these trolley routes have been discontinued as of 2012. What do the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park and the Prospect Park Zoo all have in common? They're wonderful NYC cultural institutions that you almost feel guilty for not going to more often (or ever). You know they're great, they're just a little...inconvenient.

But now, they all have something else in common too...they're all stops on the brand new FREE Heart of Brooklyn cultural shuttle. The Heart of Brooklyn Culture Shuttle is a free hop-on hop off service running three different programs:

This past summer, I was talking about blogging with my friend and incredible writer, Liz. Liz writes a very funny blog about motherhood, called MOM-101. I don't really remember what we were talking about, but Liz said, "You know how when you're writing your posts you have someone in your head that you are writing to?" and I kind of nodded along because I didn't want to admit that I was not privy to this, obviously, important secret to great writing.

In fact, I don't usually have anyone in mind when I write a post and often I feel like I'm talking to myself, unless one of you nice people happens to email me and tell me I made a mistake in the post. (Thanks!)

But this post I wrote to Jodi. Why? Because on Friday I went to see Cirque Mechanics Birdhouse Factory, the new show at the New Victory Theater. And, feasting my eyes on the opening routine where a dozen performers danced and did acrobatics in sync across the stage amidst working gears and cogs, I couldn't help but think,

Thanks to everyone who shared their great Holiday Activity ideas in our blurb giveaway post. If you are looking for ideas for starting our own traditions, definitely read all the comments in the original post. Read on here for our five winners and the blurb discount code: