mildnetcrew: December 2010

Friday, December 31, 2010

RING IN 2011 WITH BOOKS!

2011 CONFETTI CAKE from FAMILY FUN

HAPPY NEW YEAR (almost!) I hope you make a New Year's Resolution to read aloud more books with your kids in 2011! Check out this great list of Caldecott Medal winners.

Below I've posted a couple of ideas I found from Family Fun Magazine for New Year's Eve. We used to love opening up our mailbox each month and finding this magazine waiting for us with tons of ideas for great crafts, recipes, parties, and family get-aways. (Now they have a website too!)

My favorite New Year's Eve memory is when we celebrated the beginning of the 2000's with our close friends who also had three kids. Every hour, starting around 8:00 PM, we had a different theme until midnight. We centered the table decorations and food around the themes - we had a teddy bear theme, Star Wars theme, doll theme, etc. When the clock struck midnight, we went outside and did the "bubble wrap stomp" (below), blew horns, and popped little canisters of confetti.

MIDNIGHT BALLOON SHOWER (a bit involved, but fun)
Line up two rectangular paper tablecloths and punch holes every 2 to 3 inches down one long side of each.
Stitch the tablecloths together with yarn, leaving a foot or so at the end for a rip cord.
Tape the cloth to the ceiling on three sides, leaving the side opposite the rip cord open. Tape the cord up separately, so it's accessible. Let the center of the cloth hang down to allow space for the balloons.
Blow up at least 75 balloons. (you can store the balloons in large garbage bags until it's time to fill the cloth.)
Buy thin streamers and metallic confetti (as opposed to paper confetti - you might end up with stained floors, if someone spills any kind of liquid on the paper kind).
Stuff the cloth with balloons, then add the confetti and streamers on top. (Reverse it, and the confetti will weigh down the cloth and filter out ahead of time.) Tape up the last side of the cloth.
Let her rip! At the stroke of midnight, just one strong pull tears through the paper, releasing a cascade of balloons and confetti--followed by stomping feet and a cacophony of pops.

BUBBLE WRAP STOMP (super easy!)
Looking for a way to ring in the New Year that will have the crowd on its feet? Look no further than a packaging supply store. For just a few dollars, you can pick up several yards of large Bubble Wrap (or recycle Bubble Wrap that comes with holiday gifts). Just before midnight, unroll it on a hard surface, such as a wooden floor or driveway, and when the countdown concludes, GET STOMPING on that bubble wrap!

jelena dokic sports playes pictures and images

jelena dokic

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Leighton Meester

Leighton Marissa Meester (born April 9, 1986)is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and fashion model best known for her role as Blair Waldorf in the television series Gossip Girl.Meester was born to parents Constance and Doug while her mother was serving a federal prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas.Although her mother, Constance, was serving time in prison for her involvement in a drug ring that smuggled marijuana from Jamaica to the United States, she was able to give birth to Leighton in a hospital and nurse her for three months in a halfway house before returning to prison to complete her sentence. At this time Leighton's grandmother cared for her.
Meester maintained that her parents gave her a normal upbringing and, despite their criminal past, are good people with experience that has only made Meester more open-minded and non-judgmental, "It made me realize that you can't judge anyone—especially your parents—for what they've done in their past, because people change."
Meester jokes, "Look, I could've turned out a lot worse"and has even cited her mother as her style icon.

In 2007, Meester appeared on the television film The Haunting of Sorority Row, and played a part in the ensemble comedy/drama Remember the Daze. She also appeared in the horror/thriller film Killer Movie in 2008.
Meester had a small role in the 2010 comedy Date Night and a cameo on Going The Distance.
She was cast in Screen Gems's upcoming dramas Country Strong and The Roommate.She will star in The Uncatchable Cowgirl Bandits of Nottingham, Texas alongside Amber Heard; in the indie dramatic comedy The Oranges opposite Hugh Laurie; and will star next to Selena Gomez and Katie Cassidy in the young femme comedy Monte Carlo, loosely based on Jules Bass's young-adult book Headhunters.In April 2009, Meester signed a recording contract with Universal Republic.Meester's first single, "Somebody To Love", featuring R&B singer Robin Thicke, was released for airplay on October 13, 2009 and became available for digital download on October 14, 2009.Her second single, "Your Love's A Drug", was digitally released on March 30, 2010.In 2008, Meester posed with Ed Westwick in a Nikon Coolpix series camera advertisement. Meester also appeared in Clearasil commercials and in 2009 ads for Reebok.She has been a spokesperson for Sunsilk's "Life Can't Wait" campaign.In June 2009, she and Ed Westwick were named the new faces for the Korean clothing line ASK Enquired.She has also been a spokesperson for Safe Horizon to raise awareness about and prevent domestic violence.Most recently, Meester has signed on to be the current spokesperson for Herbal Essences hair products. Vera Wang has also chosen Meester to be the face of her newest scent breaking in summer of 2011, stating that the actress's "beauty, talent and spirit will inspire all the young women that I hope will enjoy this passionate, new young fragrance." Leighton Meester has also just been named the new face of fashion house Missoni and South Korean makeup brand eSpoir.

Leighton Meester Beautiful Soft Make Up

Leighton Meester Elegant Party Dress

Leighton Meester Hair Colors

Leighton Meester Looking so Cute

Leighton Meester Long Wave Hair Style

Leighton Meester Unique Costume

Leighton Meester Before and After Make Up

SIX GEESE A-LAYING!

In honor of this sixth Day of Christmas, I'd like to keep with a goose theme. You can click here to read my past post about Mother Goose books, but I'm really excited to share six "Gossie" books with you!

"Gossie is a gosling. A small, yellow gosling who likes to wear bright red boots. Every day."

These simple, sweet board books are perfect for preschoolers. Gossie, Gertie, Ollie, Peedie, and BooBoo will help your child learn about friendship, siblings, and sharing.

I've enjoyed perusing author/illustrator Olivier Dunrea's website. He lives in a tiny remote village on the western edge of the Catskills Mountains on the Upper Delaware River. The house he lives and works in is called "Henwoodie" - the Henhouse. Henwoodie is a large Arts & Crafts style house surrounded by an acre of gardens, lawns, and terraces.

He says about his Gossie books: "Gossie & Friends began in 2001 with sketches of goslings while I was staring out the studio window watching Canada geese fly overhead, honking loudly. A pair of red rubber toy boots sat on my bookshelf for some strange reason. As I sketched goslings I started drawing them wearing red rubber boots. And that is how the idea for Gossie and her "bright red boots" came to life."

Gossie

Gossie and Gertie

Ollie

Ollie the Stomper

Peedie

BooBoo

Emily DiDonato

Emily DiDonato (born February 24, 1991) is an American model. She was raised in a small town in Orange County in upstate New York and is of Irish and Italian ancestry. After a family friend encouraged her to pursue modeling, she signed with Request Model Management in 2008 and booked jobs as the face of Guess? clothing for spring 2009 and as a model in Ralph Lauren's "Rugby" spring 2009 advertisement campaign. In May 2009, she was signed as the latest face of Maybelline New York, a notable accomplishment for a model who had just graduated from high school with only a few months of modeling experience, and made her television commercial debut for the company's "Color Sensational Lip Color" line, alongside Christy Turlington, Jessica White, and Julia Stegner. DiDonato began modeling for Victoria's Secret in August 2009, and appeared on her first magazine cover with The Block's October 2009 issue. Prior to the 2009 New York Fashion Week, Vogue Germany dubbed her "top newcomer." In 2010, she became the face of Giorgio Armani's fragrance Acqua Di Gioia.