Exercise. Something you know is good for you, but yet, so easy to avoid. And, when you have to pay through the nose for a gym or yoga class it can feel like adding insult to injury. But, no more excuses, here are some great free exercise opportunities all over the city, so - just do it! Bryant Park Free yoga and tai chi on Tuesday mornings and yoga on Thursday evenings. Make a whole day of it; bring your laptop and enjoy the free wireless before or after your downward dog!

[THIS POST IS FROM 2008. PLEASE SEE OUR 2009 EVENT PICKS FOR MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND.]

I can't believe it's Memorial Day Weekend already...and I'm cold! But here it is and it's bringing the good weather with it. Memorial Day Weekend marks the openings of the city beaches and swimming pools. Also Victorian Garden's Manhattan's own amusement park. And this week is Fleet Week. Get ready for summer with our lists of top family beaches, swimming pools and amusement parks. Whether you are staying in the city or heading for the hills it looks like this Memorial Day Weekend really will be a great kick-off into the summer season.

The big fireworks display Thursday night was just the beginning of the celebrations for the 125th Anniversary of Brooklyn Bridge. This weekend is filled with fun family events starting tonight, plus a bunch of other interesting cultural events. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

The travel industry is notoriously ridden with a lot of "guides" that are actually just advertorials. But family bloggers and parent writers are stepping up to give parents traveling with kids real information based on their personal experiences. We've gathered together the top genuine resources for family travel from blogs to books.

DeliciousBaby
An excellent site I have found is DeliciousBaby. Debbie blogs about traveling with her two small children in the US, Canada and Europe, sharing their favorite destinations, kid-friendly restaurants, plus her site has lots of great family travel tips to make traveling with kids a little easier.

Despite the fickle weather, summer is just around the corner and it's time to get serious about planning those summer vacations. So, this week we thought we'd share some summer travel ideas with a couple of family friendly destinations to inspire your summer travel dreams. This first one is a guest post from Jackie Burwell from the Bay Area's aParentlySpeaking blog. Jackie shares her insider tips on a visit t San Francisco with kids. Thanks, Jackie!

We here at the Bay Area's aParentlySpeaking blog know families traveling to San Francisco are looking for a few key things: the soaring orange bridge, clanging cable cars and that famous Ghirardelli chocolate. So here's our idea of a perfect day or two by the Bay with tots, teens or tweens; five cool family outings that should give you and your kids your photo opps, trolleys and treats, but show you another side of our pretty city too.

Photo Credit: Contra Costa Times

I admit it, I'm lovin' The NY Times this week...

In a relationship rut? Check out this article on Michael Roach and Christie McNally, the Buddhist couple who vowed to be both celibate and never apart by more than 15 feet. It will either give you some ideas or make you feel just fine with what you've got going on. Either way, it's totally fascinating.

More Stroller Nazi Talk. Stroller Moms can't get no love in Park Slope. And is anyone else out there also getting tired of the term Stroller Nazi?

This weekend is absolutely jam-packed with festivals and activities, so I will just write about the top ten can't miss activities in brief. Also be sure to check out our Weekend of trickster and Folklore Events post for this weekend. This is yet another weekend I wish I could be in ten places at once (one of them obviously being in bed...oh, man, wouldn't it be great if you could spend the day in bed while your other self went out with the kids and did all kinds of fun stuff...sorry, little mommy fantasy moment there.) 

Photo: Anansi, The Spiderman of Africa

My son loves trickster stories (gee I can't imagine why). Trickster stories exist in one form or another in just about every culture. We have Bugs Bunny and Johnny Depp, but Native American and African stories are filled with animal trickster tales.

Trickster stories are great for kids. Kids love seeing grown-ups act like mischievous children and also getting fooled, but trickster stories also help children see mischievous behavior from another perspective and learn about the consequences of their actions.

This weekend there are a bunch of activities to expose kids to some fun and interesting trickster and other folk and multicultural tales.

I want to thank everyone for participating in our Mother's Day Giveaway Week. It was really fun reading everyone's comments and giving away all those prizes. Today we're announcing the winner of our Mother and Child Portrait Session Giveaway and I wanted to share the posts that readers picked out as their favorites in the comments of our Spa Giveaway. In addition to some of our most popular posts and favorite weekly features like Linkin' Blogs and Free Fun Friday, a bunch of readers have really been paying attention and chosen some of the hidden gems of the site as their favorite posts. Take a look at what your fellow readers have been liking on the site:

Reader's Choice: Best Mommy Poppins Posts
Armchair Exploring: Cool sites to discover off-the-beaten-path New York
Mom??™s Groups Roundup
best candy stores in NYC (Actually two posts, Economy Candy and Sweet Life)
Green Sites for Families
It's time to give up the (water) bottle.
100 things to do with kid in NYC
Indoor Activities for NYC Kids
where to ski with kids in new york
summer camp overview
Great Places to Swim
99 Sensory Activities For Any Child

Thanks, everyone, for reading the site and sharing your favorite posts with us. We're glad you like it!

And now to announce our big winner: