If you can get past the skyscrapers and sidewalks of New York City you may start to see the diverse natural environment we live in. Our city is made up of beaches, forests, marshlands and glacier formations. There are animals everywhere, too, seals in the harbor, red-tailed hawks on Fifth Avenue, raccoons in Central Park and coyotes have recently been spotted lurking around in northern Manhattan and The Bronx. And since we are located on the eastern flyway, our skies are filled with hundreds of different species of birds.  My family is passionate about the natural world around us and so are many other New Yorkers as evidenced by the myriad of nature centers available to us – even in the winter.

Nature centers are a great way to while away a winter’s day and maybe even learn something you didn’t already know about the city. Drop in during their open hours and check out the exhibits that cover animals, plants, history and geography. Or hit one of the many special events or organized group activities going on all winter. The best part is there is no entrance fee to visit (but some centers will accept a donation.) 

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter. Luckly, we've lined up 13 of the best places to grab hot chocolate in Brooklyn, just in time for the cold, dark February weather. And if Phil is to be believed, you'll be enjoying a hot cup well into March.

See our posts on where to get a great cup of hot cocoa in Manhattan and Queens also.
 

Not too long ago we covered How to Choose and Use a Baby Carrier in New York City in our Baby Guide, but now that it’s cold outside, with more frosty weather to come, you'll want to learn how to keep warm and toasty while wearing a baby carrier (since that old maternity coat isn’t going to stretch around a sling for too much longer!).

The sad fact is that NYC kids suffer from higher rates of asthma due to air pollution. A new spa in Chelsea now offers a natural remedy for asthma and respiratory discomfort by breathing in salty air. And their special kids room means it's fun too.

We've been updating our Indoor Activity Guide and parrticularly our list of drop-in indoor play spaces so NYC families can find lots of fun things to do during this cold weather.

With cabin fever setting in over these winter weeks, I've been bundling up my 13-month-old and taking field trips to a few indoor spaces with open play times. With drop-in play areas, it's great to be able to hang out for a few bucks admission without having to commit to expensive memberships or classes. My son loves exploring the new toys, and I love not having to clean up the mess.

Check out one of my new favorite drop-in indoor playgrounds:
 

The sweetest Valentines are always the ones you make, especially if they are made of chocolate! It is so simple to make molded chocolate lollipops for Valentines Day that even little children can make them without too much help. It takes only 1 ingredient, 3 steps and only about 15 minutes “hands on” time. 

I recently mentioned how much I love the new parenting book NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. NutureShock challenges many of our pre-conceived notions of parenting and looks at recent science to show what's really going on with our kids. It covers topics like talking about race, lying, praise and one of the chapters talks focuses on gifted and talented testing for kindergarteners, questioning the our ability to measure true giftedness at that age.

Lots of events to share this week and some new developments on the site. Exciting (for me) is the upgrade of our server. I know, woohooo! But we've been getting so much traffic that the site was going down occasionally. Now you'll enjoy super fast page load times. I know you're gonna be really excited about that!

You may have also noticed our new events calendar. It's got a nifty widget on the home page where you can easily browse events for each day of the week or click to see all the events listed. You can also submit events now. So feel free to tell us about your school carnival or neighborhood street fair. If it's cool we'll share it with everyone.

One last update is our Camp Guide, all new and improved.

If you can contain your excitement over these developments, we'll get on to the events: 

This weekend kicks off two weeks of fabulous Chinese Lunar New Year events, plus, a MP favorite, Winter Jam, Target Free Museum Days, open houses, concerts and more. and while you're out and about you might want to hit the City Bakery Hot Chocolate Festival, or drop by one of these indoor public spaces for a warm-up.

A great way to get a feel for a camp is to visit it in person. Whether you're thining about day camp here in NYC or in the country, or especially sleep away camp, there's no better way to check it out than to meet the people see the facilities first-hand. Many camps will let you visit any time, but some have special open house dates where you can get a our and maybe even try out some of the activities for yourself. We've collected a bunch of upcoming open house dates, but if you don't see the camp you're interested in listed here, just give them a call and ask when you can visit.

Check out our Camp Guide for more ideas on cool summer camps around NYC.

With a Bang! and a Grrrr! kids will love to ring in (and gong in) the Year of the Tiger on Chinese Lunar New Year, February 14th, 2010. Whether you cheer on lion dancers, follow the dragon in the parade, or go out for yummy dumplings (or make them in a fun workshop), we’ve got the goods on all that’s happening and where to find it to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year in New York City.