The DOE has left 6000 Pre-K spots vacant this school year and is now scrambling to fill them. With a deadline of October 31st, the city is urging parents to apply for these free public Pre-K spots still available at some of NYC's top public schools. We've got the inside scoop on what's going on and how to get one of these free Pre-K spots.

If you think this blog is called Mommy Poppins 'cause I'm some sort of uber mom, you couldn't be more wrong. Although I admit I love organizing things, in theory, I also love procrastinating, avoiding and flat out ignoring all those yucky, boring chores that go along with being a parent. Case in point, I'm sitting here typing this while knowing I haven't filled out my kids' picture day forms, I only know where one of them is, oh, and picture day is tomorrow...And these chores are endless. You could seriously do nothing but buy shoes, and schedule dentist appointments, not to mention groceries and meals, SNACKS!, lunches! What about new toothbrushes every 6 months! Who has the time?!!

In order to be as good a procrastinator as I am, I've had to develop some good organizational habits to streamline some of those yucky chores, leaving me free to, well, mostly do all those other chores that I should have done last week. I thought today I'd share some of them. They're not big revolutionary secrets, but they do save me some time and money and hopefully will save you some too. Plus there's a giveaway at the end.

Ahh, another week in news. The debates everyone was dying to watch turned out to be fairly dull, I suspect I wasn't the only working mom out there that couldn't even stay awake. And then there was the crazy karmic coincidence of OJ being convicted 13 years to the day of his last acquittal.

Keep reading to get the low down on how you can feel better about your finances, pick up some fashion tips and realize that your sex-starved partner is not alone (so tell him to stop complaining already).

You don't hear about Fort Greene that much and that's probably a good thing. Good for me anyway. I've been enjoying spending afternoons there, with and without my kids. Fort Greene's quiet, bucolic tree-lined streets are the perfect antidote to a stressful day of work and there's lots of fun stuff to do in the neighborhood with kids.

Take advantage of the amazing fall weather this weekend with our pick of the best free outdoor kids events. Find out where you can hear They Might Be Giants, the coolest weekend activity for four-year-olds and why now is the time to hop on the Roosevelt Island tram. Plus, keep reading to get a special discount code for half price tickets to Goody Two Shoes kid-disco where you can party like it was 1999.

Time to announce the winner of our Moey Live: P is for Party Giveaway. Kiseniya wins two tickets to see Moey Live. As for the rest of us, we can buy Moey tickets with the Mommy Poppins special discount code and get $5 off on every ticket up to 6. Just use the code MOGNA21. For tickets call 212.239.6200 or buy online.

Art is taking over the streets of Downtown Manhattan at two events:

Throughout October, the entire length of 14th Street will be the home of some weird stuff as part of an obscure art event called,

This weekend is going to be great zoo weather. Nice and sunny and cool, but the big summer crowds are gone. We visited the Bronx Zoo and had a great time. It made us wonder why we don't go there all the time.

The impetus for our visit was the new Madagascar exhibit. (I can't imagine where I got that idea from). And it was definitely worth the trip. While Madagascar isn't as dramatic as the Congo exhibit with it's amazing gorillas, it was fun for everyone and I gathered some tips for visiting the Bronx Zoo along the way.