After the nonstop barrage of agonizing photos, videos and news coverage of Hurricane Sandy and her aftermath, I find that I'm only now starting to process how devastating the storm has been to our city and the entire East Coast. My family and I were lucky: Our East Harlem neighborhood is practically untouched, and we never even lost power. Other members of the Mommy Poppins family were not so blessed: Many of our bloggers are still without power, a few suffered damage to their homes and our special needs contributor, Alison, and her family have pretty much lost everything in Rockaway. I think all of us know someone in Alison's position. Even if your local area is fine, the effects of the storm have just been so far reaching that all New Yorkers have been personally touched by it in some way.

Over the past few days, I've read a lot of articles about how to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Most suggestions involve donating money to national organizations like the Red Cross and Save the Children, which is wonderful. But for New Yorkers who want to make sure their money is used locally, or readers who are interested in more hands-on opportunities, here are five ways you can give back to New York City after this unfathomable natural disaster.

New York City schools are closed on Wednesday, which means you've got to find ways to amuse the kids... again. At this point, you've probably burned through our list of things to do at home during the hurricane and you're itching to get outside. While the subway remains shut down and power is still out in parts of the city, limited bus service has resumed (and it's free on Wednesday!) and the severe weather warning has been lifted, so you can actually go somewhere—you just need to know what's open.

Although it's going to be a long time before it's business as usual in New York City again, we did find a number of kid-friendly places that are open and welcoming families on Wednesday, October 31. Be sure to call ahead before you go to confirm prices, hours and availability (details seem to be changing minute by minute due to the post-hurricane chaos).

New York City (and the entire East Coast) is still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. So Halloween may not feel as festive this year. While it may seem like an inconsequential thing to think about right now, the fact is lots of children (and grown-ups!) look forward to October 31 all year long, and many are hoping they can still enjoy a bit of trick-or-treating despite the events of the last few days.

If your family is lucky enough to have survived the storm unscathed and you're up for costumes and candy, we've got the scoop on which Halloween parades, spooky parties and haunted houses are still happening. Unfortunately, many big annual events have been canceled due to the storm (even the huge annual Village Halloween Parade!) but there are still a few things going on. One big word of warning: As of now, everything we've listed is supposedly still on and we're doing our best to reconfirm all of them but be sure to visit the events' official websites before you head out to make sure they're still happening as planned.

As we write this we're just waking up to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The photos and videos going around are harrowing and humbling. Many of our bloggers, friends and family are without power, or evacuated from their homes. We still have no public transportation, no school and (for most) no work. Today is about assessing the damage and trying, slowly but surely, to resume our normal lives. We hope that your family is safe and that you're able to recover as quickly as possible.

A big part of things going back to normal is returning to our routines. And for us, that's telling you about the great things happening in NYC for kids (yes even now)! Eventually, we'll all be up for getting out and about again. And when that happens, we've got the scoop on some new places to explore, including a mini-museum devoted to famed NYC magician Harry Houdini, an outdoor ice skating rink in the Bronx and a second outpost of one of our favorite Brooklyn bookstores. And while you remain homebound, be sure to check out our list of fun things to do indoors to ward off cabin fever.

Now that our family has settled into a busy fall routine (work, school, dinner, repeat), we're usually so wiped out we fall asleep before we get a chance to spend any quality time together. This got me thinking back to my own childhood and the fond memories I have of playing classic board games like Candyland and Monopoly with Mom and Dad. My husband and I are excited to bring back the old-fashioned 'game night' with our children--read on for 5 great suggestions for your own!

I happened to be in San Diego this weekend for a family wedding and was worrying that our return flight on Sunday had a good chance of being canceled. Lucky for me (or unlucky, however you want to look at it) our flight went without a hitch and we arrived at 4pm right before JFK canceled all of their domestic flights. On the way home to CT we made a point to fill up the car with fuel and to stop by the grocery for "power outage food", mainly chips, fruit, water, cookies, almond milk and cereal. I also hit up the ATM to have cash on hand. I plan to cook up soup and some meat tomorrow morning so that it doesn't go to waste and is edible these upcoming days. You see, embarrassingly enough, even after Irene's wrath last year we still don't have a generator! When the power goes out you can find us all huddled by the fireplace roasting marshmallows. Many along the coast have been evacuated due to anticipated heavy flooding, mass transit is closed as well as most schools. We're all in this together. Might as well make the most of it while we can and prepare for safety's (and sanity's) sake. Our NYC site has a great post with lots of ideas on ways to keep busy and have fun with the kids during the storm.