Mommy Poppins NYC may have been quieter than usual this week due to school recess and a pesky server outage, but our lives have been busier than ever. Our bloggers have been running all over our awesome city, enjoying all kinds of spring break fun. My daughter and I laughed our heads off at Bello Mania at the New Victory Theater (we even got the famed clown's autograph!), saw Rodgers and Hammerstein's reimagined Cinderella on Broadway and stopped to smell the blooms at Macy's India-themed Flower Show. (We posted a gallery of Flower Show pics on our Facebook page.) Meanwhile Anna and her family explored the Guggenheim's Gutai: Splendid Playground exhibit and enjoyed the first great playground day of spring. We hope you and your kids have been enjoying spring break as much as we have.

Of course we still have many days of fun ahead of us. Sunday is Easter and there are lots of egg hunts throughout NYC as well as Fifth Avenue's fabulous Easter Parade. And then Monday is April Fool's Day and our Boston site came up with 10 hilarious pranks to play on kids. And don't forget to check out our roundup of special spring break activities. There are so many great things going on in NYC right now, you'd need an entire season to try them all.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

With two big holidays happening this weekend, Boston is buzzing with bunnies, Easter egg hunts, and Passover preparations. There is still time for kids to see the Easter Bunny around town and take part in some really big Easter Egg hunts. Plus, we have some great ways to fill your Easter baskets and Easter eggs if you’re celebrating at home. And signs of spring are finally cropping up all around us - including sheep shearing festivals! Plus, we’ve posted our April Go List - 5 special events happening in and around Boston this month.

Also on Mommy Poppins Boston this week, we share insights into two museums. Kristin and her toddler made some exciting discoveries when they decided to explore new territory at the Boston Children’s Museum, and Tara found a Providence museum that is well worth the trip: the Culinary Arts Museum. A reminder: it’s the final weekend of the Cre8tivity Challenge. We need some inspiration for our Pinterest board, A Month of Creativity. Send photos of your family's creative moments, and we'll post them.

Finally, are you prepared to have a good laugh with your kids on April Fool's Day? Check out some fun pranks you can play on your kids!

Here’s wishing everyone a great weekend. Read on for some of our suggestions of things to do. Enjoy!

Sometimes we want our kids to have birthday parties teeming with enriching activities and professional party entertainment from start to finish. Other times, we just want them to go outside and jump somewhere far away from the sofa. Families with sprawling back yards might be fortunate enough not to need the information below, but for the many, many LA families raising kids in smaller homes than they ever imagined they would, our wonderful city parks are our life support system; the parks that allow bounce houses can be even more so. Check out 12 great parks we love that let kids enjoy bouncers at their birthday parties.

Can't bear the thought of another laser-tag or spa-day birthday party? No problem! We've rounded up plenty of options for you to choose from and some you might even enjoy doing right along with them. Here are a few fresh ideas for you that are sure to make this year's party a big success! 

And take a look at our Long Island Party Guide for all things birthday-related.

Spring is finally here! A time for sunshine, flowers, and, of course, baby showers! The planning and design of baby showers have grown leaps and bounds in today's baby-happy world, and they've definitely have become more personal and creative. We spoke with four Jersey-based event planners about new trends in baby showers... plan a memorable one for a pregnant friend, or throw a fabulous one for yourself!

I am an urban-dwelling mama. If a discussion ever comes up about moving to the ‘burbs, my initial reaction is always, "But what would I do without the Boston Children’s Museum?".

I have the luxury of having the museum in my backyard, and let’s just say my toddler and I put our annual pass to good use. Our children’s museum excursions are very predictable. It wasn’t until my most recent trip that I thought I might go batty if we didn’t break up the pattern. So we had a long chat about it. (Ever notice how toddlers need this kind of explanation if a routine is broken? Actually, so do most adults.)