When I started Mommy Poppins in 2007, I really had no idea that it would ever grow the way it has. My goal was to share how amazing it is to raise children in NYC, and info about exceptional educational outings—especially ones that were free or inexpensive. Over the years, parents have found us through word of mouth or when searching for resources for their children. Currently Mommy Poppins is read by about 500,000 people each month and gets more than a million pageviews. I never would have imagined it!

Mostly, Mommy Poppins has expanded naturally. Like-minded parents loved what we were doing and asked to be part of it. First, moms who wanted to write about their experiences in NYC came on board, and later, others joined to create sites in Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston and Los Angeles. I am grateful that we have such an incredible team of parents who put their hearts and souls into creating these sites.

The Westchester site, however, was a little different. It was really born out of reader demand. And I love that. So a big thanks to all the Westchester folks who emailed me demanding their own site. Here it is; I hope you like it. Of course, it doesn't yet have the wealth of resources that our other sites do, but we will add those over time. We're just starting to build up our Westchester Event Calendar for the top things to do throughout the region, and we'll be sending out our first Westchester weekend events newsletter this Thursday. Sign up today so you don't miss out on anything.

Our Westchester blogger, Sonia, is a Mommy Poppins veteran who has written for the NYC site for more than a year. She lives right on the Westchester border with her husband and three children, and is now focusing her full attention on Westchester. The site will report on things to do in Southern Westchester, Northern Westchester and the Hudson Valley, so it will cover a lot of ground for local families. For those of us down here in NYC, it will be filled with great day trip ideas like the Hudson River Museum, the Legoland Discovery Center in Yonkers and our just-published profile of the gorgeous Glen Island in New Rochelle.

Another project we're working on at the behest of readers is our new Mommy Poppins app. Our Indiegogo campaign is almost 30% funded and, if we reach our goal, the app will be FREE. Moreover, if we meet our stretch goal, we'll be able to add an event calendar, which will make the app even more awesome. Ultimately, the app will cover all of our regions, but we're launching in NYC and then rolling it out to other areas based on demand. If you'd love to have a Mommy Poppins app, please consider contributing $2 to help pay it forward, or donate more to take advantage of a variety of great perks. Either way, leave a comment to cast your vote for your area to be next. You don't need to contribute to leave a comment, but we hope you'll consider supporting the app.

Thanks to all of our readers for your support and helping us make Mommy Poppins the wonderful resource and community that it is. We couldn't do it without you. And thank you to all of our advertisers, overwhelmingly local businesses, that support the site and make it possible. I'd especially like to thank our Westchester advertisers Gate Hill Day Camp, Mohawk Country Day School and Breezemont Day Camp for believing in the Mommy Poppins Westchester site enough to advertise with us in our very first week. I think that's a big testament to both the site and our following.