Even though the St Patrick's Day Parade is NYC's biggest and most popular parade, it's never appealed to me much. Maybe it was the years of working in Mid-Town and seeing the streets littered with plastic beer cups at lunchtime that turned me off. Or the blaring bag pipes and drunken college students might have soured me on it as a kid-friendly event.

But St Patrick's Day is still a great excuse to celebrate Irish culture with some cool events and activities where kids can earn Irish dance steps and music, learn the Irish mother tongue and hunt for leprechauns. Check out some cool St Patrick's Day events and learn about an alternative St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The forecast for this weekend? Sunny, not too cold and a 100% chance of cool events for kids in NYC. Be on the lookout for an amazing performing arts festival, a craft market and Jim Henson-inspired retro show for kids (and their nostalgic parents), 2 great excuses to head to the Bronx, and a hike where kids will search for leprechauns (if that won't get your kids to go hiking I don't know what will).

Here's the best of the weekend activities for each of the five boroughs:

As twittering becomes more and more popular, I've been enjoying following all the great information that's being tweeted about, especially lots of great stuff about New York City. I thought I knew a lot about what was going on before, but it's just amazing with all these voices how much more information there is. And I find it so inspiring to see all these people sharing great tips. I thought I'd pass on some of the great info I've mined from twitter this week, both from our KidBuzzNY group and from the people we follow.

A while back we wrote about how awesome the Night at the Museum Sleepover. But the Museum of American Museum of Natural History isn't the only cool place you can sleepover. Here's some news about other cool places to spend the night, including one you can do this weekend for a great little weekend trip out of town.

So, you’ve decided it’s time for the kids to venture off land and into the pool. After taking a look at our post on how to choose the right swimming lessons for your child, you might be wondering where to go and what this adventure is going to cost. Luckily, as with most things here in the city that never sleeps, there are swim lessons that can fit into any budget (including free) and swimming classes for kids at every level. Read on to find out all the options for kids swimming classes in New York City from Mommy and Me swimming lessons to group and private swim instruction.  

It’s almost Spring and hope is in the air!  Right now there are so many fun birthday parties happening and we’re all emerging from our houses to go to them.  If you’re one of the parents planning them, we’ve found 31 awesome cake designs you may be able to put together (ok, I wouldn’t be able to make them, but I have a friend or two who may).  Also: tips on learning to talk to your child about race, the newest (very extreme) way to loose weight, Chris Brown trying to get the kids behind him and the best idea of the week.  Go!

Going to Disney World feels like a can't-miss obligation for New York City parents: like if we don't take our children to the Magic Kingdom before they outgrow the magic it will just be another decade of therapy to pile on to all our other parental misdeeds.

I'm sure Walt Disney World is 100% as magical as it is said to be, but here are 10 reasons why New York parents should consider opting for Disneyland instead:

Oh man I cannot believe I even have time to sit down at a computer to write.  With the weekend weather as beautiful as it was, and my son's decided efforts to expend each piece of energy he stored up over the winter, the computer has been the last place for me to land.  Somehow, though there are great writers still writing out there in the WWW, and I've done my best to lasso them up.   Today:  NY Mag has released their "Best of New York" issue, why women feel dissatisfied (hint: stop comparing yourself to the lady next to you), help with transitioning your child during a move, and one Brooklyn mom's hilarious hi-jinx.  Read them.... then go outside!