Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the U.S. Open

This past weekend was Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the U.S. Open, a program designed to introduce kids to tennis. While many of the usual events were rained out, the entertainment was still stellar - you can check out a video of Honor Society's performance and Justin Bieber at the event below (CBS broadcast the day's program as well).
These acts were joined by Jordin Sparks, and past performers include Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers. Will Ferrell, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, and Andy Roddick made the rounds, as did the perennially popular Serena Williams. Local tennis phenom Skylar Morton of Bethesda, MD, joined in the festivities and helped to raise funds for the National Junior Tennis League.

Honor Society at Arthur Ashe Kids' Day:


Justin Bieber at Arthur Ashe Kids' Day:


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Just For Fun: The Barbie Dance Craze

Mattel has teamed up with Beyonce choreographer, JaQuel Knight (who most recently directed Sasha Fierce/Beyonce's Put a Ring on It music video), to introduce a new dance: the Barbie. The video from Mattel can be seen below and goes along with Aqua's "It's a Barbie World" tune (the original Aqua lyrics have been cleaned up a bit), and Mr. Knight's instructional video on how to perform the dance is also below. Mattel will launch new, posable Barbie dolls this October - hence the video to show that Barbie can dance.

Mattel's "The Barbie" video: (a minute and a half)


JaQuel Knight's Instructional dance video for "The Barbie": (about 3 minutes)


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Miley is Kicking and Screaming

Miley Cyrus' new album, Kicking and Screaming, is being released TODAY! It's available exclusively at Wal-Mart. The star performed one of the hits from this album, Party in the U.S.A. last Friday on the Today Show - here's the video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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First Tweens on Martha's Vineyard - Much Like Any Family Beach Vaca

First Tweens Malia and Sasha Obama certainly lead a life different from the rest of us, but as pics from their week on Martha's Vineyard show, the First Family spent time on their family beach vacation much as any other American family would: hanging out at the beach, riding their bikes, spending time with family, grabbing lunch at a local clam shack, and choosing ice cream and treats at the general store with their dad. In case you missed it, here are the highlights of the First Tweens stay on Martha's Vineyard this week: they stayed in Chilmark with family and friends, rode their bikes in Aquinnah, hung out on Oyster Watcha beach, picked up bags of lunch for friends from Nancy's Snack Bar, visited the local attractions - the Lighthouse at Aquinnah, and chose treats from the oldest store on the Vineyard, Alley's General Store in West Tisbury. All in all, the First Family kept to themselves and enjoyed some together time.


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August 30th is Toasted Marshmallow Day

Toasted marshmallow shakes from Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill are the PERFECT end of summer treat before heading back to school. Owner and Chef Spike Mendelsohn shared his recipe for the shake on Oprah:

Toasted Marshmallow Shake Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 bag jumbo marshmallows
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp. sour cream
2 cups creamy vanilla ice cream
On a medium-size cookie sheet, place 1/2 bag of marshmallows in a row.

Place under your burner in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes, until completely charred.
Take out of oven and let cool.
Repeat this step but only let the marshmallows toast, so they are slightly burnt.
Take out of oven and let cool.
In a blender, pour milk, sour cream, ice cream and charred marshmallows.
Mix for 5 minutes.
Pour in a large glass and top with 2 to 3 toasted marshmallows.

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Maya's Blog: My Visit to the BSG HQ!

My trip to the Beacon Street Girls' office was TGTBT! After my visit to the real Beacon Street earlier, I was invited to visit the offices of B*Tween Productions, the company behind the BSGs. I got to meet the CEO - Ms. Swartz, the Associate Web Editor - Ms. Corrigan, and one of the writers. We were invited on a tour through the Merchandise Room and the Editorial Room. The next stop was the Idea Room where we saw the early drafts of the books and covers. Then it was off to the Conference Room where we got to view the groups' ideas on the website, new books, and contests. And that's where I was interviewed! It was very interesting to see another type of tween business that had similar goals to my mom's: the goal of creating something that my girls my age can enjoy and parents don't have to worry about being inappropriate. All together the trip was super COOL! See my pics!

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We Are SO Excited For the Wizards of Waverly Place Movie Tonight!

On Disney Channel at 8pm EST! Wizards Tonight!

Cool Book Series to Cultivate Love of Math and Science in Tween Girls

We've just learned of a great book series to encourage tween girls in maths, science and technology: Girls Know How. Each book "features a girl facing a challenge who is encouraged by a character based on a real-life role model at the pinnacle of her career." Worth checking out!

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American Apparel in Kids' Sizes!

Coming soon to a store near you: American Apparel in kids' sizes! Our tweens love this line for comfy basics, costume underlayers and school spirit wear, but they were always swimming in them - now they'll have these great pieces that fit!

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A Real-Life Bandslam

Inspired by the (sadly under-rated) movie BandSlam, a coalition of non-profits have joined together to create SchoolJam USA - a real-life battle of the bands competition for U.S. high schools. This is the real deal, readers: the groups behind SchoolJam include Music
For All and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.
Bands can upload videos of their original performances between now and Sept. 15th to SchoolJam's website; the top 50 finalists (as judged by a panel) will be voted on by the public on the website. The top 10 elected finalists will perform in Anaheim on January 16, 2010. There are prizes for the finalists' high school music programs, for instruments, and an all-expenses paid trip to Europe. All band performers must be between the ages of 13 to 18 years old. Good luck!

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Nick Jonas for President?

A follow-up from our post earlier today on Nick Jonas' trip to D.C. today: at the National Press Club, Nick said "I always had this dream that I would become president one day" - in 2040. It's nice to hear that celebrity isn't the end-all-be-all for this talented young man.

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Happy Birthday to Rupert Grint!

Mr.Grint, a.k.a. Ron Weasley, is 21 years old today. The Harry Potter film star is currently working on a teen drama series.

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Mr. Jonas Comes to Washington!

Nick Jonas is in town today, August 24th, to address the National Press Club about Type 1 Diabetes. He will be speaking about his program, Simple Wins, about living with the disease. You can learn more here at: www.NicksSimpleWins.com

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Saltwater Taffy's 126th Anniversary

Ms Twixt and family need no excuse to eat saltwater taffy, and it comes as no surprise that for our eldest's public speaking project, she chose to teach her class about the history of this treat. Its origins are murky, but during a summer storm in August of 1883, a candy store along the New Jersey boardwalk was flooded with sea water. The store owner dusted off his salty candy and dubbed it "saltwater taffy". Quite a few shop owners also sold saltwater taffy (which does NOT contain saltwater, BTW) so no one person can claim to have invented it. So enjoy!

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Demi's White House Tour

First Tweens Malia and Sasha Obama are HUGE Demi Lovato fans and invited the star to a special tour of the White House. Demi was there yesterday, on her 17th birthday and before her show at the Patriot's Center. Demi did not get a chance to meet up with the girls, though, on this trip.

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Project Runway Starts Tonight! - Season 6!

Our house is all a-buzz as we anticipate the start of Season 6 for Project Runway tonight! As it's still summer, we will likely let the girls stay up to watch it at 10pm, but soon we'll be Tivo-ing the epidosdes. We can't wait to see the new show and set in L.A.!
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Happy Birthday to Demi Lovato!

Demi Lovato is in town today for her concert at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA. Lucky concert-goers will have the opportunity to serenade the star on her 17th birthday.
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THANK YOU D.C. PARENTS!

We are honored to have been chosen by local parents as the Best Kids' Clothing Store in Washington, D.C.! This is our second year straight of receiving this title in the Nickelodeon's Parents' Pick Awards, and it means even more to us to have been selected from this year's very crowded field. THANK YOU!!

The Story Behind Ugly Dolls

The L.A.Times ran a feature on the creators of the Ugly Dolls, David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, today. We are HUGE fans of Ugly Dolls and were thrilled to learn more about the story behind them. You can read the article here: L.A.Times article on Ugly Dolls, but the 30-second summary is that David signed his love letters to his college-sweetheart (Sun-Min) with little caricatures, and one day Sun-Min sewed him a doll-likeness of one his doodles as a surprise. The rest is history.
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Hilary Duff Helps Kids in Need Go Back to School

Former tween queen Hilary Duff is helping kids in need go back to school both here and abroad. The co-founder of the Blessings in a Backpack program was in Bogota, Columbia earlier this month to distribute 3000 bags of food to children and families in need (see story on www.ecorazzi.com). This is their first site in South America - Blessings in a Backpack currently helps 26,000 kids in the U.S. and Canada.
This is not just a celebrity photo-op either: Blessings in a Backpack is a project conceived of and run by Hilary Duff and Stan Curtis (USA Harvest founder) and started four years ago. The program helps to prevent kids of free school hot-lunch programs going hungry over the weekend: these kids qualify for free lunch at school during the week, but they and their families face hunger when school is not in session. Blessings in a Backpack sends these kids home with food in their backpacks for them and their families to help them through the weekend.
What an amazing cause! You can click here to learn more about how to get your school involved in supporting this program.

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Good Stuff Eatery Adds Mini-Menu!

Our new favorite place to eat, Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery just announced that they are adding "mini moo shakes", "snack fries", and "bitty burgers" to their menu! Yea! Now we can sample more than one of their delish shakes at a time! Woot! Credit for this find goes to DailyCandy Kids DC.
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Taylor Swift Blogs About Back To School

Breakout musical star Taylor Swift had a recent post to her blog (click here for a link to Taylor's blog on MySpace) on the anxieties of heading back to school. Ms Twixt thought she hit the nail on the head in describing the fears and excitement of this event. Check out her blog and let us know: do you have the same fears as Taylor?
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First Tweens Tour Philly

Last week the First Lady and First Tweens took a day trip to Philadelphia. Philly is just short train ride from D.C. and is home to so many historical landmarks, including the Liberty Bell (of course), Betsy Ross' house, Indepedence Hall, and many more. Malia had studied about Betsy Ross when she was a third grader and wanted to learn more about this American icon. The First Tweens toured several sites and one very lucky tween girls from Ambler, PA, Olivia D'Angelo, joined Malia and Sasha on their tour of the Betsy Ross House. Olivia's mom does PR for the City and snagged an invite - you can read more about Olivia's experiences here.
When Ms Twixt and tweens visited the Betsy Ross house, the historical tour guide showed us how to make a five-pointed star with a single snip (just like Betsy Ross did when making the flag). Instructions on how to do this are shown here. We also recommend:
- Running up the Art Museum's steps (from Rocky - a great photo op - be sure to load your iPod with the theme music); note that the Museum is closed Mondays
- Touring Independence Hall (Remember these scenes from the National Treasure movie?)
- Finding a cheesesteak joint for lunch (just ask passers-by for a recommendation - every Philadelphian has a favorite)
- Shopping in the funky stores on South Street
- Sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Rittenhouse Square (Rouge is our favorite - pommes frites for everyone!)
- Having dinner beneath the giant Buddha figure at Buddakan where Ms Twixt and Mr Twixt can unwind with a cocktail and everyone can eat amazing Asian fusion
- Catching an act at Penn's Landing (they have a slew of summertime events)
The First Tweens also stopped for ice cream - this time it was gelato from Capogiro on Sansom and 13th. Malia and Sasha both ordered the Dulce de Leche flavor - yum!
Ms Twixt loves the idea of running away with her girls for a day trip! Where are your favorite places in Philly to go with your tweens?

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First Tweens Go West for National Parks Day

The First Family headed west this weekend to tour Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon and to raise awareness of our National Parks. Just like millions of families, the Obamas gazed at Old Faithful when at Yellowstone and the Colorado River from the ledge of the Grand Canyon. In Montana, the First Tweens proclaimed the erupting geyser as "Cool!" and were regaled by their father while standing on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon about his first trip there when he was 11 years old. And, like all families, the Obamas stopped for ice cream along the trail.
The National Parks are an amazing resource in the U.S. and are enjoying record visitors this summer as more Americans stay closer to home for their summer holidays. Ms Twixt has not stayed over in a National Park as yet, but Cookie Magazine did a nice write-up on where to stay and what to do while in Yellowstone.
Did you visit a National Park this summer? Which one? What was your favorite part?
(In this post, photos are from Reuters, Newsday, Cookie Magazine, and others.)

Happy Birthday Joe!

Mr. Jonas is 20 years old today! We wish him a very happy birthday! You did a great job at the Teen Choice Awards, Joe! What do you think of Joe's new hairdo?
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70 Years and Counting: It's Time to Put On Those Red Shoes and Go Dancing!

This week marks the 70th Anniversary of the Wizard of Oz! This film, which NEVER won an Oscar (which only goes to show, awards are not everything), had its Hollywood premiere on August 15, 1939 (Here's an LA Times article on the anniversary). Ms Twixt will remember those sparkly red slippers from her childhood forever! This film classic continues to delight audiences of all ages and even sparked the girl-power sequel: Wicked (We love, love, love the message of "defying gravity"!).
Ten fashion designers recently revamped Dorothy's ruby slippers for an exhibit shown during the Spring 2009 shows, and these are now on display in London. Given the anniversary this week, we wanted to share with you the slide show of these fantastic creations - enjoy!
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Girls Rock DC Band Showcase Today!

If your tween liked Camp Rock or School of Rock or the latest band movie, BandSlam - starring Vanessa Hudgens (see our review of the movie from the screening last month) - you should bring her by the Girls Rock DC Band Showcase this Saturday, August 15th. Girls Rock DC is a non-profit group that runs a rock-n-roll camp for tween girls - you can learn more about this organization at www.girlsrockdc.org Tomorrow's showcase at the 930 Club is put on by tween girls for tween girls featuring tween girls! You can view of video from this year's camp here:

Girls Rock! DC from Lisa Marie Thalhammer on Vimeo.

Doors are at 10:30am and the Showcase runs from 11am to 1pm. Tickets are only $10, and kids 12 and under are FREE!
The 930 Club is at 815 V Street NW

We hope to see you there!