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Nice Job Mom: We Rock- The Winners Announced!

The Winners have been chosen!

We asked you to tell us why you rock and submit tips on how to be a rockstar parent! And you did! A LOT of you did! The votes are in and we have chosen the winners. Congratulations to everyone!

Grand prize winner Sandy Nevels’ tip was to involve kids in a healthy lifestyle by exercising daily, visiting farmers markets, growing a garden and preparing and cooking meals together.
Marybeth Mank suggested that moms parent their kids with “love and logic. Allow them to make their own decisions, within reason. Then, help them to live by the consequences of making those decisions.”
Debra Baron explained that she remembers how she wanted to be treated as a kid. As a result, she removed the conversational filter with her own kids so that her teens and their friends know that there is no topic that will ever be considered off limits in her home.
Jillian Cupps shared this quick trick for moms who want to look good and be practical: Trade dresses for events with friends. She posed the question: “How many times have you bought a dress for a large event and only wore it once because you were photographed in it so many times?”
Joanie Atwater drove the music education theme home – she explained that she creates home music videos with her kids to make great memories they can enjoy now and laugh at later.

We recognized Nevels by awarding her a trip Los Angeles, where she and her son will enjoy the VIP treatment, including a private meeting with Sara Bareilles prior to her performance at the famed Greek Theater. We will also recognize her, along with Mank, Baron, Cupps and Atwater, by donating – in each of their names – $10,000 earmarked for the music education program at a school of their choosing – for a total of $50,000 to advance in-school music programs. Checks will be presented to each school in Fall 2011 by Sara Bareilles and us here at 8th Continent Soymilk!

Congratulations to all of the winners and if you haven’t checked out the amazing Rockstar Mom Tips yet, head on over to our website and register to get a $2.00 coupon and see how parents rock out!

Wanna tell us why you rock? Hit us up on Twitter or post on our Facebook Page!

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Why I Rock Today: Shower Tiles

Article by: Megan Stremick

My husband has been out of town on business for the past few days now leaving me at home to deal with our current bathroom renovation…by myself. Now, I’m not complaining but I do feel it necessary to mention that I am taking care of a two year old, teaching yoga part time, working part time, don’t have a nanny, don’t have a cleaning lady and I’m 7 months pregnant…not to mention that I loath home renovations. A few of my girlfriends have commented:

“oh, isn’t it so much fun, you get to pick out all new stuff and redesign everything”.

My answer is an eye squinting, nostrils flaring, loudly drawn out NOOOOO! I hate making the decisions of what to permanently adhere to the walls and what ridiculously expensive fixtures to put with it. If I had the money I would hire a designer to do it all for me, not ask me anything other than “this is what I want to do, do you like it” with my answer being “looks great, get it done while I’m on vacation, can’t wait to see the finished product when I get back”.

But I digress…

So, the ‘tile guys’ were here today and they are doing a great job, however, when I was checking in on how things were going I noticed that the cuts for the tile were not what I wanted in two areas of the shower. At first I didn’t say anything. I felt bad, they were working so hard and they are going to be so annoyed if I make them take it off and redo it. Crap, what do I do? Admittedly, if my husband was home I would have made him be the bad guy and do my dirty work—I mean who’s going to get mad at a guy who’s 6’6” and 270 pounds telling them they need to redo their work. But me? I felt like a nagging, pregnant lady. Then I thought, well that’s just stupid, it’s my bathroom and I am the one that is supposed to be happy with it. So I went back upstairs and apologetically (but firmly) told them what I wanted changed. They said “sure, no problem”. I was stunned at how easy that was. I was having a harder time getting my son to eat his lunch than I was getting the tile guys to pull off an area of freshly cut and mortared tile.

And while I’m sure they were cursing me in Spanish the moment I left the room, I felt good about myself. I didn’t back down (not that they put up any kind of a fight) but I was proud of myself for not being overwhelmed and making a big deal of it. I stated what I wanted changed and that was that. I didn’t call my husband to consult him, I didn’t pine over what to say and how to say it, I just made the decision and took action. This is one of those little moments where I can say “I Rock”.

What situations were you in lately that made you feel like a Rock Star Parent? Let us know on Twitter or on our Facebook page!

Family Megan Stremick

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Enter our Nice Job Mom: We Rock Contest and get a free download from Sara Bareilles!

A lot of you know by now that we here at 8th Continent Soymilk think the true rock stars are the parents! That is why we extended the entry deadline to our contest Nice Job Mom: We Rock where you can win a VIP trip to see Sara Bareilles live in concert AND the top 5 winners will have $10,000 donated to a school of their choice’s music program on their behalf.

We wanted to make sure you had some music to rock out to- so we decided to give 50 people a free download to Sara Bareilles’s new hit song: Uncharted!

All you have to do is:

Go to our Nice Job Mom: We Rock Contest, register, and enter your tip.

Copy and paste your tip from the contest in the comments section below and we will email you with a link and download code to your very own copy of Uncharted.

Keep in mind you do NOT have to be a mother to enter this contest. You can be a dad, an aunt, a babysitter or you can even enter in a tip your parents used to raise you! Make sure to include your email address when you post the comment so we can email you your download link and code!

We do not share this information with anyone else. First 50 people to comment with their Rock Star Parenting Tip win the download!
Ready.

Set.

Rock on!

(You must be a resident of the U.S. for this download to work)

Read the details of the contest prizes here.

About 8th Continent Soymilk Contests

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Why I Rock Today: “Oh, we still have a dog?”

Article by: Megan Stremick

Before we were married my now husband, then boyfriend, and I got a dog together. Mikey, an adorable beagle, was our special little guy. We gave him all the attention we had, took him with us wherever we went, and spoiled him with toys and expensive dog food and treats. It was like this for the next four years through our wedding and moving into our first home. Then came the baby and life as we all knew it changed dramatically. Not long after Charlie was born it seemed that Mikey soon became the dog who ‘needs’ to be taken for a walk, and the one whose shedding drives me crazy, whose poop needs to be picked up before the baby steps in it (or god forbid picks it up and plays with it) and the one who just seems to get left behind every time we left the house.

Now our son is two years old and I am pregnant with our second child and things are only going to get busier around our house. So today while Charlie was napping and I had a long list of To-Do’s awaiting me, I looked at Mikey as he lay in his dog bed staring at me with solemn eyes and I put everything else on hold and gave him a little TLC. I waddled out into the yard and played fetch with him, then raked his coat, gave him a bath, dried him, gave him his favorite treat (a can of tuna) in his dog food, and when Charlie got up from a nap we took Mikey for a long walk through the neighborhood. He was in 7^th heaven and I was happy to give him some much needed attention.

I tried to imagine I was him and what my days would be like with my family walking around busy all the time and not paying much attention to me, it made me so sad. I have to remind myself that Mikey was truly the first addition to our family and that he needs to be treated as an important member of our now expanding family. But the shedding still annoys me like nothing else!

What have you done recently that made you realize you were a Rock Star Mom? Share with us on Facebook and Twitter and also make sure to enter our Nice Job Mom: We Rock contest for a chance to see Sara Bareilles in a live VIP concert experience!

Family Megan Stremick

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Father’s Day- Nice Job Dad: You Rock!

Article by: Megan Stremick

Though the days preceding Mother’s Day were leading me to believe that it was not going to prove to be much of a special day (if you missed my Mother’s Day blog click here to catch up) it did turn out to be just perfect. Now Father’s Day is approaching this Sunday and I’ve been stumped as to the perfect day for my husband. We’re on a tight budget so a big gift is out of the question. After thinking a while I figured he would want a day to do a few of his favorite activities and have some time just to relax. I was going to have him plan on surfing in the morning with a buddy and grabbing breakfast afterwards followed by a mid morning nap, some early afternoon mountain biking, and a late afternoon massage (I found this killer deal online from a company that does in-home massages and they were running a special for Father’s Day—sweet!) When I told my husband of my plan his response was surprisingly a little disappointed. He said that he was going to plan on a really early morning bike ride and then he wanted to come home and spend the rest of the day with me and Charlie.

Not that it was a big shock—he is such a wonderful dad and husband but I thought he was going to want a day to himself. Instead he wants to spend it with us. I was so happy to hear it—that’s really what it’s all about, not gifts and cards (though those things are nice too), it’s about spending time with the people you love the most.

It’s no big secret that Mom’s rock because of all that we do for our families but dad’s, you’re not too shabby either. Thanks for all that you do—we truly appreciate it! How are you celebrating Father’s Day? Let us know on Facebook or on Twitter!

Family Megan Stremick

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Why Music Education Rocks!

Music education in schools doesn’t just benefit the musically inclined students – it helps all students perform better in other subjects. And even though this school year is over, parents remain concerned because music education programs in schools nationwide are continuing to fall victim to sweeping budget cuts and are being crowded out by an ever-growing list of federal and state mandates.

Studies have shown that:

Schools that are producing the highest academic achievement in the United States are spending 20 to 30 percent of the day on the arts, with special emphasis on music. (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IAEEA) Test)
Music enhances the process of learning and nourishes students’ integrated sensory, attention, cognitive, emotional and motor capacities– factors that are shown to be the driving forces behind all other learning. (Konrad, R.R., “Empathy, Arts and Social Studies”)
Students of lower socioeconomic status who had music lessons in grades 8-12 increased their math scores significantly as compared to non-music students. But just as important, reading, history, geography and even social skills soared by 40 percent. (Gardiner, Fox, Jeffrey and Knowles, Nature)

This is why we here at 8^th Continent Soymilk are SO proud to be donating $50,000 to schools’ music programs on your behalf as part of the prize for being one of the five winners of our Nice Job Mom: We Rock Contest!

The “Nice Job, Mom: We Rock” program invites you to share, in 50 words or less, the tips and tricks that go along with being a rock star parent. This will place you in the running to win a truly rockin’ experience with acclaimed singer and songwriter (and soy milk enthusiast) Sara Bareilles.

Remember: You don’t have to be a mom to enter! You can even enter tips and tricks your parents used in raising you. Or maybe you are a babysitter or have a niece or nephew and you have discovered a great trick, make sure to post it as well. For example, Sara Bareilles isn’t a mom and check out her awesome tips!

” My mom has always instilled in me a wonderful attitude of “follow your heart and do what makes you happy”. I have never once felt judged for my choices, even when we disagreed. My mom has always given me nothing but the most amazing platform to jump off off- feeling that even if I mess up, she’ll be there to help me pick up the pieces. I am so grateful for that, and someday I hope to teach my children the same thing.”

-Sara Bareilles

” I think it’s important to encourage kids to be competent in the kitchen. It’s a fantastic way to also build their self esteem and teach them to eat well at the same time. A great way to get kids involved is to choose one night a week where the kids get to cook! Have them choose a simple, healthy, yummy meal, and then let them throw on an apron and take over. (Under supervision of course.) One idea is a food kids generally love: Tacos. This is a really simple meal, and can be made in a healthy way so easily. Chop up fresh lettuce, tomato, cilantro and onion, and maybe have a lime wedge handy as well. You can buy a package seasoning that makes getting the flavor of the taco filling a snap, and ready made shells if you don’t want to make your own. Or there are always soft-tacos, as well. You can even substitute turkey or soy meat if you’re looking to cut down on your calories and fat. Definitely one of my go-to meals for quick, simple dinner that kids love.”

-Sara Bareilles

“Music has always been a refuge for me in my life. When I went through a very difficult time as an adolescent, I turned to music as a source of comfort and confidence. As I’ve grown this love has deepened and strengthened over time. I am so lucky that I had access to music growing up and in my schools. I don’t know where I would be now if I hadn’t had it back then. I’d like to encourage moms to enter the 8th continent contest to potentially to win $10,000 for a school that needs it, and keep music alive in the schools. But contest aside, I want to encourage moms out there to support their kids in their musical endeavors. It might not just be a “passing phase” or a “fad” if your little one is into the drums, or guitar, or the flute or sings in the shower. It might be a true passion that needs nurturing and encouragement. This contest is just one of the many ways you can support your kids in wonderful ways.”

-Sara Bareilles

So make sure to head over to Nice Job Mom: We Rock to enter your tip now and do your part to support your school’s music programs! You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook to stay updated with the best tips, recipes and crafts that we supply daily!

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Create Something Saturday- Earrings Frame

Article by: Sara Lopez

If you wear any sort of earrings, you probably recognize how much of a challenge it is to keep them organized. The long dangely ones get all twisted in the drawers whereas the studs end up miss their pair like a lonely sock on laundry day. So I decided to come up with a solution- The Earring Frame! This DIY craft is super easy and lets you put your jewelry out on display like works of art!

Supplies:

Frame (I got mine from a thrift store for two bucks!)
screen
Popsicle stick
scissors
hot glue gun

Directions:

If you bought your frame from a thrift store, make sure to wipe it down and clean it up.

If you don’t like the color of the frame you bought, now is the tome to spray paint it.

Once the frame is the desired color, measure ir and cut out a square piece of the screen material.

Don’t worry if the square is a bit larger than the frame, you can always trim it down!

Next place the screen on the back part of the frame and apply hot glue.

Use your popsicle stick to press the screen into the glue and allow it to dry to the frame.

Next step- pick out which earrings to display and attach them to the screen! Super easy and you will never lose or tangle your earrings again!

Did you make an Earring Frame? Tell us about it on Facebook or on Twitter!

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Easter Bunny Basket made from 8th Continent Soymilk Carton

So we have been brainstorming on how to celebrate Earth Day and the upcoming Easter in one craft and we are pretty sure we hit the nail right on the head! Check out this Bunny Easter Basket made out of an 8th Continent Soymilk Carton!

Materials:

Directions:

First make sure to rinse out your carton fully and let dry.

Using the craft knife or scissors, cut out the spout from the 8^th Continent Carton and toss it away. Don’t worry if your hole doesn’t look pristine- this part will be covered by construction paper.

Next, cut out one side of the carton and save this panel to use later as the handle.

Taking your construction paper, cut it to the appropriate width of the remaining sides of the carton and adhere with your glue stick. If you are using an 8.5”x11” piece of paper, you can get both sides covered and glue the back flaps over each other.

Next cut your bunny ears from another sheet of construction paper and cut out almond shaped white pieces to glue in the middle of each bunny ear. If your construction paper is a bit flimsy (like mine was), glue two pieces of the pink construction paper together before cutting the outlines of your ears so they will stay erect once you attached them to the body of your bunny basket.

Once you have completed the ears, glue the base to the inside of the gap between the body of the carton and the top.

Now you can punch a hole through the crest of the carton to insert the pipe cleaners to serve as whiskers.

Take your two buttons and glue them to either sides of the crest of the carton to serve as the bunny’s eyes.

Remember the side panel you cut out and set aside? Trim it down till it is about ¾ inches in width and staple the ends of it to either side of the basket.

If you decided to add a White pom-pom cottontail to your bunny, glue that on the end of the carton.

Now fill your Easter Bunny Basket with grass, (you can also shred magazines to serve as the grass), and add some sweets for the lucky person who will be receiving this adorable basket!

Did you like this craft? Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for crafts like this weekly! Let us know how you celebrate Easter!

Also, have you entered our Nice Job Mom: We Rock Contest yet? You get a chance to see Sara Bareilles live in a VIP concert experience and we will be donating $50,000 towards a school’s music program of your choice! Make sure to read here for more details.

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Egg-Free Easter Craft!

Article by: Sara Lopez

If you didn’t already know, 8th Continent Soymilk is %100 vegan, and proud of it! We are also kosher, lactose-free, dairy-free and gluten-free!

We had posed a question a couple times throughout the last month to vegans, asking them if they do or don’t color eggs for Easter. The response was an overwhelming NO! It makes perfect sense, but that got us to thinking what other crafts you can do with your kids besides dying Easter eggs! We think we may have hit this nail on the head!

This is a super simple DIY plastic Easter Egg Garland. You have your kids help you decorate and paint the eggs, put candy in the and display them for your Easter decorations!

Materials:

Plastic Easter Eggs
Acrylic Paint or squeezable puff paints
One long piece of yarn
Buttons, glitter, sequins, etc. (optional)

Directions:

Decide what colors you want to paint your plastic eggs and put them out on a stack of old newspaper or even a magazine.

Open your eggs so that you can hold on to the egg while you paint it with the other hand.

Once you have finished painting, leave the egg opened and place on a newspaper to dry. (this way none of the paint will smudge off)

You can also mix it up and put sequins on your eggs, glitter, glue buttons on, etc! Let your kids express themselves and make their egg their very own style.

Once the eggs have dried, take the long piece of yarn, position it in between the two halves and close the egg.

Space the eggs out however you want and make the Plastic Egg Garland as long as you want.

You can hang it up for decoration and you can also include a piece of candy in them or unclip them and hide them for Easter Egg Hunt time!

Are you vegan or egg-free? How do you celebrate Easter? Let us know on Twitter and on Facebook!

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Junk Mail Seed Paper- Just in Time for Spring!

Article by: Sara Lopez

Trying to live a life that follows the reduce, reuse and recycle motto can be difficult at times. You recycle your bottles, you switch to a reusable water bottle, you pay your bills online, but every single week you open your mailbox and what’s there? Junk mail!

Here is an adorable craft on how to put that junk mail to good use by making junk mail recycled seed paper!

Materials:

A stack of unwanted junkmail (Make sure to remove plastic, fake credit cards, or any other material that is not paper.)
8 popsicle sticks
screen material (you can get this from a hardware store or hobby shop)
hot glue gun
pack of wildflower seeds
cinnamon
warm water
blender
shallow wide pan
cookie sheet
stamp pad
fun stamps

Instructions:

First you are going to want to make your screen. Take four of your popsicle sticks and hot glue the ends to one another.

Place the screen on top of the popsicle sticks and hot glue the remaining for popsicle sticks on the other side, gluing the screen between the two frames.

Trim the screen down and cover the popsicle sticks and frame with electrical tape.

You have now created your screen frame!

Next you are going to make your paper!

Rip your junk mail into about ½-1 inch squares.

Put all of your ripped up junk mail into your blender and add warm water just so that it reaches the top of the paper.

Blend up until the consistency looks something like grist or oatmeal.

Take your big shallow pan and add warm water.

You want to scoop the shredded junk mail into the pan with warm water and mix in until it is a soupy thickness.

You can now add a few dashes of cinnamon and also add your wildflower seeds.

Holding your screen frame about the pan, scoop on the mixed up junk mail concoction until you have filled the square, making sure there are no huge gaps between the paper particles so it will make one sheet that will not crumble.

Carefully and quickly flip your screen frame onto a towel and before you remove your frame, dab the extra water off with a hand towel or washcloth.

Let your wet paper sit for a few minutes and then carefully fold the towel onto your hand, leaving the wet paper in your palm. (If you mess up and the paper rips, don’t worry! Just toss it back in the pan with warm water and screen it again!)

Set your wet paper onto a cookie sheet and let dry over night.

In the morning your seed paper should be all dried!

You can now cut your seed paper into pieces, or, like I did, rip it into pieces to keep the organic looking rough edges.

Take your favorite stamps and decorate your seed paper.

I sent my seed paper to my friends all over the U.S. and told them they could use them as bookmarks, artwork, etc. But when they are all finished with the seed paper, rip it into pieces and plant into the ground 2-4 inches apart and they have just planted wildflowers!

Speaking of rocking my world… have you entered our Nice Job Mom: We Rock Contest yet? You get a chance to see Sara Bareilles live in a VIP concert experience and we will be donating $50,000 towards a school’s music program of your choice! Make sure to read here for more details.

Also follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook! We have weekly giveaways and contests!

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Blog Home

Nice Job Mom: We Rock- The Winners Announced!

Why I Rock Today: Shower Tiles

Enter our Nice Job Mom: We Rock Contest and get a free download from Sara Bareilles!

Why I Rock Today: “Oh, we still have a dog?”

Father’s Day- Nice Job Dad: You Rock!

Why Music Education Rocks!

Create Something Saturday- Earrings Frame

Easter Bunny Basket made from 8th Continent Soymilk Carton

Egg-Free Easter Craft!

Junk Mail Seed Paper- Just in Time for Spring!