So I'm chatting with this friend and she's all "la la la, Thanksgiving next week," and I'm all "la la la, um, no it isn't," and then I'm all, looking at the calendar and I'm totally "no way! Thanksgiving's next week! How can that be?!" True, the writing has been on the wall, the trees quietly being lit, the jolly old elves popping out of chimneys and into the malls. And perhaps my favorite harbinger of the season, the appearance of the red cups at our favorite coffee joints (I, for one, will be getting my caffeine on this weekend). But doesn't it seem as if the turkey is getting short shrift in this arrangement? Or maybe that's just the way he wants it...

In the meantime, you can use this building-up-to-the-holidays time to blackmail strongarm encourage some good works in your children. This weekend, kids can help clean up the California coastline and participate in a fundraising walk. Perhaps they'll be so inspired they might even clean their rooms. (A mom can dream.)

We've got another newsletter giveaway this week. If you're reading this in our newsletter, look up, there it is!  If you're a subscriber reading this on the website, go check your email! If you're not a subscriber, I just don't know what to say to you. Except maybe: subscribe!  Then you, too, can participate in our super cool, subscriber-only giveaways!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for the weekend...

Not so long ago, it was every kid's dream to join the circus. Times may have changed, but never fear: the circus is alive and well and raising its tent across Southern California. We spent an afternoon under the Circus Vargas tent this week, and because we believe in dreams, we'll be sharing the fun and sending one lucky Mommy Poppins subscriber family to the circus, too (details to follow in our weekly newsletter).

Don’t. Panic.

It’s a week before Halloween and you don’t know what your kid is going to wear to go trick-or-treating. You’re going to be okay. Mommy Poppins is here to guide you towards some easy, crowd-pleasing costumes.

We're mostly talking about younger kids here, babies on up through kindergarten (and we've even got some special ideas for young girls). Much older than that and they either insisted you get their costumes ready weeks ago or took matters (along with your car keys) into their own hands.

This weekend has the stink of Halloween all over it.  Oh, some folks might try to pull the cobwebs over your eyes, talking about “autumn” and “the harvest.”   Yeah, that’s why we’re hitting every pumpkin patch and hayride within a 50 mile limit.  For autumn. And throwin’ candy in kids’ bags is totally a harvest thing.

We all know where this is heading. Four weeks of Halloween mania will give way to two solid months of … the C word. (Not the bad one, the good, merry-jolly one, but I don’t want to say it too loud lest little ears get ideas).  Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a little something up our sleeves, something to help you get an early start to your holiday prep?  Silly old bear!  Anyway, you know what they say: giveaways - you never have them until you’re having them. Surprise! We're having one! (You can do that sort of thing when you have 500 Facebook followers.)

This weekend holds tons of other surprises, like the Kinetic Sculpture Race, a skateboard art workshop, LA’s Largest Block Party and the Jewish County Fair, a concert at the beach and a chance to look to the stars.  Might even be enough to distract someone who has pumpkin on the brain. Or hunny…

Keep reading for our favorite picks for the weekend, and to get the deal on that giveaway…

It’s hee..eere. The orange and black color schemes. The sudden emergence of pumpkin as the number one vegetable. The punny and playful neologisms like spooktacular and fright-tastic. We have begun the month-long observance of the most child-centric of holidays: Halloween. No worries if you're not ready to hit the ground screaming on this one: our Halloween Guide can point you to all the best shrieks and giggles around Los Angeles.

It would really take something out of this world to overshadow All Hallow's this weekend. Out of this world? Ha! Try been there and back! It brought our entire city to a halt a few weeks back as we tilted our heads skyward to catch its final glorious flight. Now it pulls a Carmageddon, closing some roads,  but instead of grumbling, we want to line up to see it pass. The Space Shuttle Endeavour is traversing our surface streets en route to its new home at the California Science Center, and we've got the lowdown.

Oh, and there's a few other things going on too, involving the circus, antique tractors, The Next BIG Thing, Indiana Jones, free pumpkins, and more more more!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for this weekend!

Okay, gods of Carma: we get it. We Angelenos are at your mercy. At your word the roads close and we’re glued where we stand. Now in your benevolence you have released us, and allowed us to pursue the infinite sources of entertainment within our reach. And there is a lot going on this weekend.  A lot. (You would think it’s a holiday weekend or something, but it’s not. Maybe in other places it is, but here it’s a run-of-the-mill, random, not-a-holiday weekend. With so much to do).

But I think you’ve taken it a little too far, my friends. Now, instead of being stuck at home, you want us to be in half a dozen different places at the same time. We’ve got the folksy fun of  Folk Festival Weekend at Underwood Farms in Moorpark, the playfully spooky Pumpkinliner in Fillmore, the Aquarium Kids Fun Run and Southeast Asia Day at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, the Angel Festival  in Sierra Madre, the Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival at LACMA, and Abbot Kinney Festival and Discover Marina del Rey Day on the West side. (Seriously, festivals in the Marina and Venice on the same day, who thought of that? Oh, that’s right, you did, {cough} Carmaggedon {cough}. Thanks for that).

And CicLAvia?  The event that winds its way through the city, a giant street party incorporating landmarks such as Exposition Park, Little Tokyo, MacArthur Park, Chinatown and the grand opening of downtown’s Grand Park… and all of it done without automotive interference? Oh Carma gods, now you’re just toying with us.  What are you trying to tell us? Do we need our cars?  Are we better off without them..?

To be continued next weekend, as the Space Shuttle Endeavour winds its way through surface streets en route to its new home at the California Science Center. Is it a plane? A car? Or something else entirely… stay tuned!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for this weekend!

Run for your lives! It’s every man for himself, women and children first. Head for the hills, wait, no, not the hills! Unless you live in the hills, then stay in the hills, but if you live at the shore, whatever you do, don’t head for the hills, because the day we have been dreading is finally here: say hello to my little friend Carmaggedon. For north (the 101) is north and south (the 10) is south, and ne’er the twain shall meet.  At least for the duration of the weekend.

So what does that mean?  It means you gotta stay put. Whatever fun you plan on having, it'd better be within spitting distance of your home. Luckily, we live in Los Angeles, where fun is never hard to find. This weekend alone, you can celebrate the Harvest at the Annual Chinatown Moon Festival in Chinatown, indulge in Italian culture and cuisine at Feast of San Gennaro Los Angeles in Hollywood, honor public servants while riding a tractor-drawn wagon at the Public Safety Weekend at Underwood Farms in Moorpark, dance to the drums and soak in the art at the Watts Towers Day of the Drum and Jazz Festivals in Watts, and share your love of reading at both the Orange County Children's Book Festival in Costa Mesa and the West Hollywood Book Fair (in WeHo of course!).

(Note: Abbot Kinney Festival, which is usually this weekend, is being held next Sunday, October 7).

Keep reading for our favorite local picks for this weekend!

Look up in the sky:  it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… well, yeah, it’s a plane.  But look at what’s on top of the plane: the Space Shuttle Endeavour. After 25 missions and more than 122 million miles, Endeavour is en route to its new home at the California Science Center. First stop LAX, but, like any good tourist, Endeavour wants to catch all the sights before it lands. Wherever you find yourself Friday morning, take a moment to look up and you might just see history flying by. And that's the beauty of Los Angeles: sometimes all you have to do is step outside to find inspiration.

Name your interest, there are a thousand ways to pursue it. Kids moved by Endeavour's salute can gaze at the stars at the Griffith Observatory or watch more earthbound flyers at Santa Monica Airport's Open House. Future poli-sci majors can rock with all 44 American presidents, or root for the underdog senator played by Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Creative hyphenates can find their muses at Pasadena Museum of California Art's birthday party, Hammer Kids' LitLab, or the art & music festival ZAMFEST. Whatever your passion, Los Angeles has you covered, and the sky's the limit!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for this weekend...