Sunshine, fresh air, plenty of running around and sports. Those are some of the great reasons to send your child out of the city to one of the many wonderful country day camps that surround the city. If you (or your child) aren't quite ready to head out of the city, here are five camps in NYC proper that approximate the country day camp experience.

Find more options in our Camp Guide and Directory.

Skiing and snowboarding near New York City always feels like a trade-off. The further you are willing to drive, the better the skiing. The less you drive, the less you get in terms of runs, altitude and amenities. Or so I thought until our recent visit to Mountain Creek Resort in New Jersey. Mountain Creek is the closest ski area near New York City, but we found it offers a superior experience even to some further away ski mountains. I don’t know how I had missed this great ski spot so close to the city.

Just 47 miles from the George Washington Bridge, we arrived at Mountain Creek in just over an hour. Dealing with the logistics of skiing with kids can be stressful, so taking hours of travel out of the equation made the day much more relaxed. We didn’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn or feel rushed to get on the slopes. We knew we could take our time and still get a full day of skiing and boarding in. No worries.

As amazing as this city is, living in NYC is not for the faint of heart. Raising kids here? Even more so. If you’ve gotten through preschool, elementary school, and even middle school admissions, you may be thinking, “I’ve got this.” Even spreadsheet-making, type-A parents who mastered the earlier grades may be shocked at how overwhelming and chaotic the high school application process is. I should know; I'm going through it with my second kid now and I'm still dizzy from the whirlwind.

Even if your kid is still a tyke, it's worth knowing what you are in for. I didn't want to just rely on my own experiences though. After addressing our mutual PTSD, I got the inside scoop on what you need to know about applying to high school in NYC from a bunch of been-there-done-that local parents.

In his victory speech President-elect Donald Trump vowed to be a “president for all Americans.” Since Election Day, however, there have been an alarming number of hateful events in our nation’s schools invoking Trump’s name. We are now living in a country where children fear for their safety and that of their loved ones. As advocates for children and families, we, the mothers and fathers of Mommy Poppins, call on Trump to explicitly denounce all forms of hate speech, attacks, threats, and bullying that are erupting in our nation’s schools and beyond.

Donald Trump, saying “stop it” isn’t good enough. Your directive must be explicit, immediate, and unequivocal. There can be no room for confusion. We call on you to directly address all Americans to say hateful speech and behavior against people of any race, religion, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation is not acceptable to you or this nation. 

I’m thrilled to announce that Mommy Poppins is now in Houston! Our local Houston moms have been running all over town to get the inside scoop on the best attractions and activity ideas and share their tips with you. Already the Houston site has loads of information from 24 fun family fest in October to Houston restaurants where kids eat free, 25 splash pads for keeping cool, great advice for finding a local nanny, and so much more. And we’re already starting to load up our family event calendar and local business directories, too.

Newsletter subscribers will get our first weekly email with the top weekend activities this Thursday. If you’re not signed up, sign up now and tell your friends! Don’t forget to like Mommy Poppins Houston on Facebook, too, and make our page a favorite so you don’t miss out on the latest news, highlights, and giveaways.

We’re so excited about our new Houston community, but that’s not all we’ve had in the works. Those of you who are long-time readers know that we totally revamped our website in February. Boy, was that a lot of work! Since our launch we’ve continued to develop more improvements to make it easier to find what you are looking for in the vast amount of information we have. Apparently, it’s not that easy to build a website when you have over 20,000 articles, 5000 listings, and 450 guides to manage! I thought this might be a good time to quickly run through some of those changes that you might not have noticed yet.

You made it through the summer. The kids are back in school. Now for a little me time. And I don’t mean just sitting quietly reveling in being alone for the first time in months (although that’s awesome too). It’s time to go out with some friends and laugh your patooties off together. Hey, maybe even have dinner and adult beverages!

So gather your girl crew, ditch the mini-mes, and head out for a night of fun. We picked out a few Off-Broadway shows that won’t break your budget (one is only $5!), but will give you plenty of giggles. You deserve this!

“What would you do with kids in Silicon Valley?,” people asked me when they heard we were planning on spending a few weeks there this summer. Sure, the nerd capitol of America doesn’t sound that thrilling at first. But just as we have to thank the geeks and nerds for bringing us great stuff like the smart phone, the internet and Pokemon Go!, having all those squares concentrated in one place means San Jose, Palo Alto, and the surrounding towns are jam-packed with some pretty awesome stuff for those of us who appreciate the geekier side of life.

Whether your family members are true technology buffs or just love a good science museum, there’s loads of fun from Santa Cruz to Palo Alto to get your geek on. Here are the top things to do in Silicon Valley for science and technology-loving kids:

Blue Waters Resort and Spa in Antigua is not your everyday vacation destination. This luxury spot is perfect for that special-occasion getaway, especially a multigenerational family vacation. With villas that can be configured for 1-6 bedrooms and a staff that makes sure everything goes smoothly, families can plan a truly get-away-from-it-all trip, including all the logistics and interests of a big-family vacation, and feel confident it will be a hit.

Antigua is known for its laid-back and friendly people, bright blue waters and 365 sandy beaches. Blue Waters Resort offers all that, with luxury suites, and service to boot. The staff is as friendly as it gets and bends over backward to make sure you are happy.