I am writing this from a friend's home in Weehawken after having evacuated our home in Hoboken. I know that many of you are in a similar position and some, much worse. All the Mommy Poppins family send their thoughts and prayers to our readers and our entire state. Obviously, there are very few venues that are even open this weekend, so we will not be posting our weekend events, but here is one of our most popular articles for stuck-in-the-house craziness, 99 Sensory Activities for Kids. For those who wanted to enter our Barefoot Books giveaway, we will extend the deadline to subscribe for another week. Please check our Facebook page for updates and we'll see you soon. You know we love you, NJ.

Well, NJ, for the second year in a row, we’re facing a whole lot of “indoor time” with our kids due to freakish weather. We will say nothing about global warming in this post (ahem), only give you some great ideas for fun stuff to do inside while Sandy rages outside. Check out the tips from our own NJ writers, or hope over to NYC Mommy Poppins for a more extensive list of don’t-go-crazy ideas. Stay safe, NJ!
 

We love "green" and we love rhyming, so you bet we’re loving Green Halloween! Mommy Poppins NJ is excited to be participating in the Healthy and Green Halloween Bash with our pals, the Metro Moms. Dress the kids in costume for a weekend afternoon of healthy trick-or-treating, dancing, playing, games, natural organic products and treats, facepainting, arts & crafts and a super special secret GIVEAWAY just for MP NJ fans (read on for the super special secret details)!

When you can capture the imaginations of a theater full of children with only a few actors, a few props and very few words, it seems that your play may be a hit. This is the case with MP fave Mile Square Theater's "Go, Dog, Go!" Gentle and unhurried, with bold colors, striking images, catchy music and tons of physical humor, "Go, Dog, Go!" is a breath of fresh air for our (not yours, of course, but somebody's) screen-obsessed kids.

It's that special time of year when school is on the brain and we're all thinking about great classes and activities in which we can involve our kids (and ourselves). So we at Mommy Poppins NJ are delighted and pumped and excited and all those happy -ed words, to introduce our Enrichment Programs, Classes and Activities Guide for New Jersey! Check out our ever-growing list of great classes in our fair state, complete with general listings and full articles about our faves. Classy!

My kids were beside themselves when they found out that I was interviewing Rich Collins from The Imagination Movers. When I asked them what burning kid-question I should pose to Mover Rich, they both chimed in "Can we come and meet Warehouse Mouse?" The Movers aren't worried about being upstaged by their furry "second banana", however; their Emmy-winning TV show and wildly popular tour and CDs are testament to just how popular these four imaginative dreamers are, for kids and parents alike. Read on for my interview with IM Rich Collins, details about their NYC and NJ shows, and a chance to win a Family Four Pack of tickets to the May 10th Rock-o-Matic show at The Count Basie Theater in Red Bank!

All of us here at Mommy Poppins New Jersey have been working hard and birthday-partying like crazy and we're proud to finally introduce our NJ Kids' Birthday Party Ideas Guide! Chock-full of tips, ideas, locations, pricing, and personal experience, we hope our Birthday Party Guide will take some of the stress and legwork out of your planning and let you just enjoy your special boy or girl's big day. We'll be updating our Guide continually, so check back often for the skinny, gathered by our Mommy Poppins partiers. Enjoy!

I do love a good water park, but if there’s one thing I hate more than being cold, it’s being wet and cold. Which is why I was so enamored of the Great Wolf Lodge Indoor Water Park in the Poconos. A balmy and constant 84 degrees, no matter what the weather outside--now this is my kind of water park. And with the mere hour and a half drive from Northern NJ, this is the ultimate in family weekend trips. Mentally put on your swimsuit, and read on for my family’s "good times" at the Great Wolf Lodge.