There's so much new stuff going on, I just wanted to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming with this brief message explaining some of the happenings:

Story Maps
You may have noticed the NYC map added to our left sidebar. It's not just any map, it's actually a very cool tool created by local news site Outside.In that let's you search for our stories by map. Each marker on the map represents a place we have written about. Click on the marker and you'll get a pop-up of every post we've written about that place. Just click on the story title to go to the article. It's pretty cool. You can zoom in to the part of the city you want to find places or events and find stories from as far back as 6 months ago by changing the time-frame at the top of the map (which is set by default to one week). I'm testing this feature out and want to know if you all find it useful or not, so please shoot me an email and let me know if you'd like to see more mapping tools like this.

Exergaming is all the rage now with parents (and corporations) trying to figure out how to get kids up off the couch and moving. The Wii and Xbox Kinect are the biggest sensation in exergaming, finally allowing parents to feel less guilty about hours spent in front of the TV, but there are lots of other fun games that get kids moving while they are having fun playing. And, hey, it's not so bad for mom and dad to play along and get a little exercise too. I've been surprised at how out of breath I can get from playing these games and you don't have to spend a lot.

Top 5 Games that get kids moving:

The UK's Guardian ran a story this week titled "NYC fears return to dark days of the Seventies as financial crisis bites".   Having grown up here in the 1970's, an article like this does little to scare me, lets also remember that the 70's were fun!  The idea of the city I love becoming cheap, edgy and filled with bell bottoms and flower patterns sounds really exciting.  Sure sure, the crime (and polyester) were bad things and I really don't want to see them return but I can't help but see the silver lining of this economy - cutting down on useless consumerism (btw, Nov. 28 is Buy Nothing Day), conserving energy, relying on creativity like swapping and community to fill in the gaps.  Just like I am constantly amazed at how flexible and resilient my two year old can be when I put her to the challenge (like this past weekend when I had her up till 11PM doing karaoke), NYers are way too crafty and spirited to let a dip in the Dow turn us into fearful whiners.  So to all those across the pond who are worried about us slipping back into Serpico territory, fuhgetaboutit, we are fine!  Keep reading for that article plus posts on which strollers can be emotionally impovershing, tips on how to avoid bottle mouth, why teens online is a good thing, which gift cards to avoid this holiday season, the very sad fate of Project Runway and more.

With everyone looking to shave a few dollars off their expenses a be a little greener too, swapping is becoming more and more popular. This is something we've always been big fans of and we get together with our friends regularly to trade clothes and other items. We do brunch and dish as we try on each other's clothes. At the end, someone takes all the left-overs to a Housing Works to donate.

Besides swapping clothes with your friends there are many local and national resources that can help you swap everything from your child's toys to your actual house or apartment. Here are the resources you need to cut the cord to your cards and trade what you've got for what you want. You'll be more than prepared for Buy Nothing Day on November 28th.

A little bit of everything this weekend, so whether you're looking for indoor or outdoor activities, film, art, a cool concert, or something literary, we've got it and it's all free. See wonderful short films at MoMA, A Mr Ray concert, buy discounted books and holiday gifts at a charity book fair, story time, magic and skating at Bryant Park, and crazy cool can art in Battery Park City. Have a great weekend and get ready for some turkey eating.

Are New York kids different than other children? Some people think they're more mature, more precocious, maybe more sophisticated. Who can say how and if New York kids are really different, but there's no question that when you grow up in NY, New York City becomes a part of who you are.

That's why I think the work of Tom Matt is the perfect way to celebrate the birth of a new New York baby. Tom Matt does wonderful original pastel cityscapes: Whether it's the romantic sultry streetscapes of Lower Manhattan or the burgeoning industrial views, Tom Matt sees NYC just the way I like to imagine it.

But what makes his work perfect for a baby gift is not just what he draws, but what he draws it on.

Unfortunately due to cutbacks, all of these trolley routes have been discontinued as of 2012. What do the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, Prospect Park and the Prospect Park Zoo all have in common? They're wonderful NYC cultural institutions that you almost feel guilty for not going to more often (or ever). You know they're great, they're just a little...inconvenient.

But now, they all have something else in common too...they're all stops on the brand new FREE Heart of Brooklyn cultural shuttle. The Heart of Brooklyn Culture Shuttle is a free hop-on hop off service running three different programs:

In New York, our children are being raised with a cultural world at their fingertips. Yet, somehow I always seem to find myself wondering why we aren’t enjoying more of the cultural excursions that NY has to offer?

I suppose it’s because the simple thought of taking my two sons, ages 5 and 3, to a Broadway production brings chills to my spine. The crowds, the dark theater, the fact that I know someone will have to use the potty in the middle of the show and we’ll have to interrupt the entire row of attendees to get out (and back in)…But the reality is that there are many terrific production companies specifically geared to introduce children to theater and create a lifelong appreciation for it.

One such company is Literally Alive, and Sunday we headed to the Village to attend their latest production, Beauty and the Beast. Designed for kids ages 3-10, we knew this production was our speed when we heard there was a workshop held before the show where the kids could make an art project. The project in this case included making a mask, and the children were simultaneously crafting and learning about theater. The playwright and producer, Brenda Bell, visited with the children and engaged them in some Q and A which taught them that theater is about acting out the boooks we might read at home, and that what we were about to watch was real people getting dressed in costumes and masks and acting out stories for entertainment.