Yes, keeping the romance alive with your spouse is important even after you have kids, sometimes more so. But, I've never been a big fan of the forced romance of Valentine's Day. We love celebrating Valentine's Day with our kids, who get much more pleasure out of chocolates and flowers than I ever have.

Our tradition starts the night before when my husband cuts paper hearts out of construction paper and sprinkles them all over my daughter's bed and bedroom floor while she sleeps so that she wakes up to a sea of love. And the day concludes with the four of us enjoying a candlelit picnic of delicacies spread out on the floor of our living room. Again, our kids love the romance and I think we have our own kind of romantic moment from being a young family all happy together.

Plan your own romantic Valentines Day dinner for four at home and make it even more magical by not having to lift a finger. Susie's Supper Club is a new service that will deliver a complete dinner ready to heat up and serve. Not only is the food delicious, but it is much healthier than restaurant food, made from organic ingredients purchased from local farms practicing sustainable farming.

Do you have a parenting story to tell?  Click to find out how to share your story and possibly have it reenacted by Megan Mullally and Cheryl Hines.  Also:  where to share your secrets and read other peoples', stuff we already knew now backed up by science, new information on Breast Cancer and don’t miss this year’s award winning books. Do it!

I think the holiday hang-over is finally over and the family events machine is gearing up again. This weekend there are too many great events to list so make sure to check our calendar for lots more fun activities we just couldn't get to here. But, below are some super winter festivals, kids day at the comic conference, free museum programs and stay tuned. Later in the day I have some cool film events to share.  

Confession #1: Children’s shows typically bore me to tears. Yes, even my own children’s school productions. Get them up, get them on, then get me out. Add my children’s short attention spans and tendency to sigh and squirm excessively throughout performances and you get the picture of our typical family theater outing. So it was with great trepidation that I ventured to TADA Youth Theater with my five- and three-yr old daughters for a child-actor only production, “Golly Gee Whiz!”. Much to my surprise, not only did the show command the undivided attention of every child in the audience, but (confession #2) all of us, repeat ALL of us, thoroughly enjoyed the show.

(Keep reading for a special offer from TADA!)

Got a note from Emmanuel who wanted to know about Winter Vacation Camps so we rounded up some cool ones. There are vacation camps for every kid from preschoolers to teenagers with lots of variety; science camps, arts camps, sports camps, even a week-long skiing and sleep away camp in the Berkshires. Cool.

Already the middle of the week and have you considered the implications?  You only have ten days left (nine if you’re looking at the school calendar) to fulfill all of your Valentine’s Day obligations.  I’ve found the cutest, and free-est (c’mon, give me a fake word here and there) ideas for handmade giveaways appropriate for the holiday.  Check that out as well as ideas for reading fun with your boys, an ASAP audition for your talented child to be in the Wizard of Oz, and some help finding that earring you lost on the 6 Train.  Go to it!

Trying to save a few bucks by skipping out on a baby sitter doesn’t mean you have to be cooped up every Friday night, dreaming of sassy restaurants with plush furniture. Many places in New York City offer drop-off times, especially around Valentine’s Day, that allow you and your date to have some play time while the little guys are having a good (and safe ) time, too. Plus, drop-off services won’t leave your wallet as empty as that baby sitter of yours, you don't need to worry about paying for the car service home, and your kids will have so much fun they'll think it was their party night, not yours.

In honor of Cupid, skip the Netflix and try one of these happenin’ spots for a night on the town that’s fun for you and the kids. We've listed the Valentines Day event, but most of these places do a Parents' Night Out Event regularly, so check them out for now, or for later.

Last Spring the lovely people at Universal Studios Orlando invited us to visit their park in Florida for a VIP tour. It's not something I might have sprung for normally, but after having the most amazing theme park experience ever, I am completely sold that this is now the only way to ever see a theme park. And after doing a little frugal mommy math, I think I can even justify it as paying for itself.

So here's the deal with the Universal Studios VIP tour. I haven't been on any Disney World or any other theme park VIP tours so I don't know if they are all the same, but basically it works like this: You meet your guide and he chats with you about what kind of stuff you want to do. Then he takes you through the park, completely picking out the itinerary so you don't have to think about it at all. But the most amazing thing about the VIP tour is you cut every line (except like two rides that are too popular to let people cut without instigating a vengeful mob scene.) and move through the park at lightning speed, which not only is super cool and fun, but takes all the stress out of visiting a theme park, eliminates fights between siblings about where to go next, and completely eliminated my own exhaustion and fatigue.