Serendipity Comes to Washington

Manhattan institution Serendipity opened in Washington today, and our tweens were excited to attend the opening. We've been to the New York location several times during the holidays, but I have to admit that the crowds - and the lines - were a bit much.

The Georgetown Serendipity, however, blissfully has no lines and very manageable (read: light) crowds. The charm and kitsch of the New York location is still evident but with some Washingtonian touches: in addition to a giant Exxon Pegasus sign there is a larger than life statue of Abraham Lincoln sipping a signature Frozzen Hot Chocolate.

The new location is still working out a few service kinks (despite reservations there was a wait for our table and a Humble Pie Sundae was missing a few of the ingredients listed on the menu), but the owner, Rodrigo Garcia, was very gracious and apologetic for any troubles. Our tweens loved their Frozzen Hot Chocolates and were excited to have one of their favorite frozen treats closer to home.

The Washington Serendipity seems more like an old fashioned neighborhood ice cream parlor than a tourist destination, and we're hoping it stays that way. Serendipity is in the Georgetown neighborhood of the District in the former Nathan's location at the corner of M and 30th Streets NW. Unlike the NYC outpost, this location accepts reservations via Open Table, and a private party room will be opening soon upstairs.

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New Orleans Tweens Learn About Barbie's New Career: As Architect

Barbie is both nostalgic and notorious but iconic nonetheless. The icon's maker, Mattel, this week introduced Barbie's chosen profession for 2011 as an architect to a crowd of tweens in New Orleans at the American Institute of Architects annual meeting. Mattel chose this field specifically because women are under-represented in it (personally, we like that architecture is so math-based) and chose this date as it is the 125th anniversary of women being allowed to join professional associations in the architecture field. Barbie's career options are being showcased as part of the toy maker's "I Can Be..." campaign; last year Barbie was a computer engineer.

The doll and her accoutrements are, of course, available for sale ($13.99), but if you were one of the tweens in attendance at the AIA event and career workshop, you received the doll for free.

Check out the video below with the interview of two outstanding women architects as they talk about Barbie's new career and why they got involved in the campaign:




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Beware of the Latest Facebook Scam: the Dislike Button

Our eldest daughter was checking her Facebook profile today and called me over to point out a new feature: the Dislike button. Her response was telling, "Oh no. This is not a good thing." Given the prevalence of "Facebooking" amongst her classmates and tweens in general, it's understandable how a Dislike feature could get out of hand quickly (Formspring anyone?)
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We did some research and learned that the Dislike button is a fraud - it is not a new Facebook feature. It was developed by cyber-hackers in a "clickjacking" scheme (in which one's profile is hacked and spam is sent from it - a similar clickjacking scheme spread earlier about a Justin Bieber ticket contest).

We hope that your tween approaches you with similar questions - it's important not just to protect your computer's data from malware but also to keep her identity and reputation online protected. Check out our tips on how to keep your tween safe online.

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Happy Chocolate Chip Day!

It's National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, and our tweens are celebrating with homemade cookies and cookie dough ice cream. Another fun recipe to try is this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake from Martha Stewart - it looks delish!

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What's Cool For Tweens in May: MsTwixt's Calendar

Ms Twixt's Calendar

• May 1 Girl Scouts' Eco Expo at Fort Washington Park
• May 1 National Lemonade Stand Day
• May 1 Princess Mia Thermopolis' birthday (from "The Princess Diaries"!)
• May 2 Anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts
• May 2-6 National Teacher Appreciation Week
• May 5 Pinkberry opens in D.C.!
• May 9 Little Miss Bossy's birthday!
• May 13 Robert Pattinson's birthday!
• May 14 Miranda Cosgrove's birthday!
• May 15 National Chocolate Chip Day
• May 16 "Beacon Street Girls" author Annie Bryant's birthday!
• May 21 Buddha's birthday!
• May 22 A.N.T. Preview on Disney Channel
• May 22 Anniversary of Pac-Man
• May 23 National Taffy Day
• May 29 Backstreet Boys and NKOTB with Jordin Sparks concert

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It's Little Miss Bossy's Birthday!

Well, today is the author's birthday. Roger Hargreaves would have been 76 years old today, and he created the "Little Miss" and "Mr.Men" book series. He was inspired to start the series when his then six-year-old son asked him what a tickle looked like; the rest is history. Our favorite is Little Miss Bossy :-)

Google has done a series of Google Doodles in honor of the artist today.

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Wonderful Cinco de Mayo Craft Ideas For Tweens - Using Materials You Already Have Around the House

We were searching for some last-minute craft ideas to occupy the tweens while the grown-ups enjoyed a Cinco de Mayo cocktail hour. A quick search online yielded four wonderful craft ideas for tweens on a new favorite blog: Craftzine (http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/05/beautiful_tissue-paper_crafts.html).

The materials are super simple: tissue paper or bright colored cocktail napkins, some twine or ribbon, tape, and bamboo skewers. Craftzine has adapted the beautiful Mexican flags/banners with simpler silhouettes, offered up an adorable idea for mini-pinata party favors (this project is more involved), and created a stunning display of cocktail-napkin paper flowers.

Our tweens will try a few of these projects tonight!

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Pinkberry, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Tweens

Washington is a-buzz about the opening of Pinkberry today. Our own tweens are thrilled that their favorite fro-yo outlet is coming to the District. 'Turns out that Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez are Pinkberry fans too - they went to an L.A. location recently .

At Pinkberry's Grand Opening Party today, attendees will receive free frozen yogurt and be served by local radio host Tommy McFly (94.7FM) - so tweens are bound to like the music.

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Tween Celebrities at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

Several tween celebrities and favorite stars were in Washington, DC this weekend for the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The Dinner is an annual event that attracts the biggest names in media, business, and Hollywood to the Capital to fete and be feted by the President.

ABC's "Modern Family" star Ariel Winter (with braces!):

Glee's Chris Colfer:

Funny girl Amy Poehler:

Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford:

Olympic medalist snowboarder Shaun White:

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Tweens Learning About Science, Engineering and Conservation at Girl Scouts' Eco Expo

Today we drove a gaggle of Girl Scouts down to Fort Washington Park in Maryland for the launch of the "Girl Scouts Go Green" (a year-long national partnership with the EPA for girls to learn how they can positively affect the environment). At the Park, Girl Scouts of the Nation's Capital had organized booth staffed by the USDA Forestry Service, NOAA, Boeing, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many others with activities designed to help tweens explore science and the environment.

A very popular station was run by the Living Classroom Foundation - here, girls constructed boats using newspaper, straws, tin foil and duct tape and tested to see how well each design could float. The trick was that the boats had to support several dozen pennies in the process. It proved far more difficult to do than it looked. A local Daisy Girl Scout named Alexandria held the day's record with 192 pennies.

Other activities included a recycling relay race, how to make a reusable grocery bag out of old t-shirts, and learning about bats in Lincoln Caverns. Several hundred girls showed up for the event despite the drizzle and overcast skies.

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