Sometimes the MTA takes a while to update their website, so I was pretty excited to spy, recently, a new working elevator at one of my most traveled transit hubs.

Valentine's Day is a holiday I've always had a love-hate relationship with, but considering my husband's love affair with all things Apple, this year I'm turning it over to his mistress to celebrate Valentines Day. It's a good move, really, because Apple seems to have the bases covered this V-Day from free apps to help you plan a special night out, to heart iTunes store gift cards, or even a pretty pink or red iPod Nano and plenty of creative ways to use the technology to make special, memorable Valentines Day Cards and Keepsakes. Read on to find out more about some really cool and creative Valentines Day Gift Ideas.

Oh, and check the Snap This Up section at the top of the home page for a great giveaway! (hint: it's an iPod and you can touch it)

A few interesting articles to share this week about Facebook privacy (you may be surprised what you don't know), the lifelong health benefits of vaccinations, and some quirky New Yorkers who are going without heat. Plus school news about a new school, new program and lots of new playgrounds. And free self-defense classes for teens and FREE movie rentals.

This week there are lots of fun kids concerts being offered by local businesses to help raise money for aid to Haiti. And a bunch of baby and kid stores are donating a portion of their sales to relief efforts also. Take some time to have some fun and do some good at the same time.

Four day weeks always seem the longest, but the good weather has us energized to get out and go this weekend. Read on for where to get your (traditional) groove on, what kids' shows to see, and what concerts are in town (Audra Rox!), Plus make your own stained glass windows, a scavenger hunt in Grand Central, make your own breads, camp fairs, nature tours and more.

No matter what age they are, kids really have good theater in this town. New York City is uniquely set up to provide top quality children’s entertainment, thanks to its host of actors, musicians, puppeteers and storytellers happy to perform for the little ones. Better yet, these productions are created to specifically engage a young child and many of the shows are interactive, usually about an hour in length and generally affordable. If you haven’t taken your child to live theater performance yet, check out this list of shows being performed this winter and get going.

If your little New Yorker already thinks they've seen it all, you might consider hustling them down to TADA! Youth Theater's production of B.O.T.C.H. The musical follows seven wayward subway riders into the tunnels beneath New York, where they stumble onto several curiosities even life-long top dwellers couldn't lay claim to.

With the cold and wet days we've been having, nothing sounds more appealing than hanging out in a cool cafe and there's no reason that you can't do some cafe chill time even with kids in tow. Just ask Rebeca Ramirez-Haskell who has been keeping a blog called The Coffee Beaners where she records her explorations, with son Diego, of the best coffee shops in NYC. Rebeca has chosen some of her favorite places to share with us.