As you can see, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy our site has been pretty slim this week. Some of our bloggers were lucky enough to emerge from the storm unscathed, but many are dealing with lengthy power outages and at least one blogger has sustained significant damage to her home. Most of Long Island is still without power and I'm hoping you are all safe, and that the worst you are coping with is an intense overload of board games.

We aren't posting about events this weekend, as most businesses and areas are still without power at this time. If the power comes back up, please share news with us on fun things to do in our comments section, or on our Facebook page. I've included a few links below to help weather the wait. Please be safe everyone.

I am writing this from a friend's home in Weehawken after having evacuated our home in Hoboken. I know that many of you are in a similar position and some, much worse. All the Mommy Poppins family send their thoughts and prayers to our readers and our entire state. Obviously, there are very few venues that are even open this weekend, so we will not be posting our weekend events, but here is one of our most popular articles for stuck-in-the-house craziness, 99 Sensory Activities for Kids. For those who wanted to enter our Barefoot Books giveaway, we will extend the deadline to subscribe for another week. Please check our Facebook page for updates and we'll see you soon. You know we love you, NJ.

New York City is, slowly but surely, starting to recover. Buses hit the streets on Wednesday and subways started rolling again in parts of the city today (bonus: public transportation is FREE on Thursday and Friday. You can see a map of which subways are running on the MTA website.) And although public schools are closed through Friday, restaurants, culture spots and other places are beginning to reopen—save for businesses in neighborhoods that were hard hit by the storm like Coney Island, the Rockaways, much of Staten Island and downtown Manhattan, which is still without power. Even as life gets back to normal for much of NYC, it's important to remember our neighbors in need. Something we should all keep in mind, even as we start getting out and about again.

Since schools are out for the rest of the week, many kid-centric spots are offering special activities on Thursday and Friday. Here's where to take the family through the end of the week.

Our weekend roundup of events includes concerts by Vanessa Trien in Arlington and the Boston Children’s Chorus in Boston; magic shows with Bonaparte in Natick and Scott Jameson in Brookline; and the first Christmas Festival of the season. Read on for details, and remember, you can find more things to do by checking out our Events Calendar.

Our thoughts are with those who are living without power or cleaning up the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Although several Boston-area towns have had to “reschedule” Halloween, most children have donned their costumes, hit the streets and sorted through their loot by now. If the sheer volume of candy freaks you out, we have some ways make it disappear.

And while we’re finding it a bit hard to believe that end-of-year holiday activities are gearing up so closely on the heels of Halloween, our Events Calendar is starting to fill up with things to do for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve. Tickets to some of the more popular events go quickly, so it’s worth exploring the Mayor’s Holiday Special website, which offers half-price tickets to many holiday shows all over Greater Boston and is a great resource if you’re interested in saving some money and still seeing some of the best shows around.

Enjoy the extra hour of sleep on Sunday with Daylight Saving Time!

This is one of those weekends when it's going to be tough to plan. (Heck, it's hard to plan the next two days! Public schools are officially closed Thursday and Friday.) As of this writing, power is still out in downtown Manhattan, much of Staten Island and parts of the other boroughs; subways aren't running (but some will be as of Thursday) and buses are limited; all NYC parks are closed; and many of our neighbors are trying to piece their lives back together after suffering devastating losses, all due to Hurricane Sandy.

After spending so much time cooped up this week, we all want to go out and start enjoying our city again, but it's probably going to be a bittersweet experience. If you're looking to assist New Yorkers in need after Sandy, read our post about ways you can help locally. There are even volunteering opportunities this weekend to help clean up NYC parks (must be age 12 and up though).

All of our best bets for the weekend are below. As always, you can find additional options in our Event Calendar. That said, before you head out to any of these happenings, check the events' official websites as details may change depending on the residual effects of the storm.

Many CT families are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. We at Mommy Poppins wish our readers a smooth recovery and power restored quickly. Towns such as New Haven, West Haven, East Haven, Fairfield, Orange and Milford have delayed trick-or-treating until November 7. 

If you are able to get out of the house this weekend, we have some activities that will lift your spirits and give your kids a fun diversion. Just be sure to call before you go to make sure the event hasn't been canceled. While out and about be very careful of downed power lines and loose tree limbs.

Who could have ever imagined that Halloween in CT could be postponed or even canceled for a second year in a row due to weather?! We've just gotten back on line ourselves in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and want to extend our deepest wishes for peace and love to all of those who are affected by this recent tragic storm. That being said, many children are still hoping to get out and celebrate Halloween. The information on town openings is still uncertain in some areas. If your town was heavily damaged, most likely Halloween will be postponed or canceled. Please don't take the children out in areas where trees and electrical wires are down. Call your local police department for the update on whether your town has been deemed safe or not. If not, maybe you can get a group of neighbors together and celebrate in someone's home instead. All of that being said, here is a listing of some Halloween events that are still going on around the state. Have a safe and fun Halloween everyone! You deserve it!

After the nonstop barrage of agonizing photos, videos and news coverage of Hurricane Sandy and her aftermath, I find that I'm only now starting to process how devastating the storm has been to our city and the entire East Coast. My family and I were lucky: Our East Harlem neighborhood is practically untouched, and we never even lost power. Other members of the Mommy Poppins family were not so blessed: Many of our bloggers are still without power, a few suffered damage to their homes and our special needs contributor, Alison, and her family have pretty much lost everything in Rockaway. I think all of us know someone in Alison's position. Even if your local area is fine, the effects of the storm have just been so far reaching that all New Yorkers have been personally touched by it in some way.

Over the past few days, I've read a lot of articles about how to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Most suggestions involve donating money to national organizations like the Red Cross and Save the Children, which is wonderful. But for New Yorkers who want to make sure their money is used locally, or readers who are interested in more hands-on opportunities, here are five ways you can give back to New York City after this unfathomable natural disaster.