The DOE has left 6000 Pre-K spots vacant this school year and is now scrambling to fill them. With a deadline of October 31st, the city is urging parents to apply for these free public Pre-K spots still available at some of NYC's top public schools. We've got the inside scoop on what's going on and how to get one of these free Pre-K spots.

If you think this blog is called Mommy Poppins 'cause I'm some sort of uber mom, you couldn't be more wrong. Although I admit I love organizing things, in theory, I also love procrastinating, avoiding and flat out ignoring all those yucky, boring chores that go along with being a parent. Case in point, I'm sitting here typing this while knowing I haven't filled out my kids' picture day forms, I only know where one of them is, oh, and picture day is tomorrow...And these chores are endless. You could seriously do nothing but buy shoes, and schedule dentist appointments, not to mention groceries and meals, SNACKS!, lunches! What about new toothbrushes every 6 months! Who has the time?!!

In order to be as good a procrastinator as I am, I've had to develop some good organizational habits to streamline some of those yucky chores, leaving me free to, well, mostly do all those other chores that I should have done last week. I thought today I'd share some of them. They're not big revolutionary secrets, but they do save me some time and money and hopefully will save you some too. Plus there's a giveaway at the end.

You don't hear about Fort Greene that much and that's probably a good thing. Good for me anyway. I've been enjoying spending afternoons there, with and without my kids. Fort Greene's quiet, bucolic tree-lined streets are the perfect antidote to a stressful day of work and there's lots of fun stuff to do in the neighborhood with kids.

Time to announce the winner of our Moey Live: P is for Party Giveaway. Kiseniya wins two tickets to see Moey Live. As for the rest of us, we can buy Moey tickets with the Mommy Poppins special discount code and get $5 off on every ticket up to 6. Just use the code MOGNA21. For tickets call 212.239.6200 or buy online.

Art is taking over the streets of Downtown Manhattan at two events:

Throughout October, the entire length of 14th Street will be the home of some weird stuff as part of an obscure art event called,

This weekend is going to be great zoo weather. Nice and sunny and cool, but the big summer crowds are gone. We visited the Bronx Zoo and had a great time. It made us wonder why we don't go there all the time.

The impetus for our visit was the new Madagascar exhibit. (I can't imagine where I got that idea from). And it was definitely worth the trip. While Madagascar isn't as dramatic as the Congo exhibit with it's amazing gorillas, it was fun for everyone and I gathered some tips for visiting the Bronx Zoo along the way.

I have the pleasure of introducing another new reader-turned-contributor to Mommy Poppins today. Karina Glaser hails from the North, no not Sarah Palin's North, Manhattan's. She has promised to keep us informed on the best stuff for kids and families going on in Washington Heights and Inwood. Check out her Washington Heights and Inwood post in our Neighborhood Guide. And here's a great event for this weekend I've heard many people rave about:

Jodi Call wrote a great piece for us this summer with four excellent outings and I thought it was so great I invited Jodi to write for us more often. Jodi thought it was so great, she started her own blog; Pistols and Popcorn follows her amazing adventures around New York with her son, Roan. Here's, hopefully, one of many awesome posts from Jodi:

“What kind of thing do you want to do this week-end?” It’s the question I pose to my son, Roan. But we both know I’ve always got something in mind. This week he tried to trip me up with this: “I want to do nothing, but we can do it outside.” Oh brother, mister. You’ve no idea who you’re messing with.

This weekend is the 2008 Art Under the Bridge Festival. This is the 12^th year of the festival, and my 3^rd year as a devotee. After a summer full of orchestrated outings and a few weeks of structured school days, the timing couldn’t be better for an entire weekend of chaotic fun with your kids.