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Our August donation was a special one for us as Rachel’s family and a friend were able to fly down to Nicaragua to help lay a floor for a young family who live in the small, rural community of El Valle.  The Palacios family have lived in homes with dirt floors their entire lives, and while donating a cement floor may not seem like much when there are so many other practical needs around, it can greatly improve the quality of living for a family- especially a family like the Palacios who have two young children in their home.  We have witnessed first hand the health risks that living with dirt floors can pose for young children and knew that this could be a significant change in the quality of life for this family as their two year old boy was constantly battling sicknesses related to living in a home without proper flooring.

Apart from the fact that a cement floor allows for more comfortable living, it also significantly reduces the health risks caused by living with a dirt floor.  Children who live in homes with dirt floors are more susceptible to sicknesses like parasites, anemia, and diarrhea and are more likely to have cognitive delays because they are constantly sick.  In Mexico, a UC Berkeley and World Bank study showed that replacing a dirt floor with a cement floor reduced incidence of diarrhea by 49% and parasitic infections by 78%- that’s huge!  Yet 45% families in Nicaragua still live in homes with dirt floors, and installing a cement floor is financially out of reach for them.  That means 45% of families in Nicaragua live daily in a home that poses a risk to their own health and the health of their children.

As mamas, we can not imagine what this must be like and we are so thankful that we were able to make a difference in the life of at least one of these families with your help, and we hope to do so for many more!

Mr. Palacios taking the first steps across his new cement floor.

We forced some of the hard workers to pause for a picture.

Thank you all again for your support- it really means the world to us and to these families!

xX, Allison & Rachel

The holidays are upon us and we wanted to share a little round up of our absolute favourite mama and baby gifts. We both own these items, love them and think they would make the perfect gifts for any mama or little one!

Fawn Design Bag - These beautiful bags were designed by Jenny Wrecker, a mama in her 20's who has 2, sweet little girls. She started her company in 2014 and originally sewed each bag by hand! With a design this amazing and the demand so high, her husband soon joined the business and they started having them manufactured. If you were ever to be inspired by a small shop owner, she would be at the top of your list!Features we love:

• They are 100% faux leather making them SO easy to clean (even inside the pockets!)
• There is a backpack option, which is great all the time but absolutely necessary when you are baby wearing
• They are the perfect size (big but not TOO big)
• They don't look like a diaper bag! I've gone on vacation without my kids and this is still my go-to carry on bag

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Gathre - Mare & Jess started their company a couple years ago and make bonded leather mats in various sizes that fit all of your needs! Whether it's for changing a diaper on the go, wanting a mat under your high chair to catch all the food your little throws off their plate (or is it only my kids ;)?), or a mat for the park, beach, picnic, etc. Gathre's mats have you covered!

Features we love:

• They fold up SO small- even the bigger styles fold and fit in your bag so nicely
• They wipe clean with ease... from explosive diapers, to dirty sand or spilled dinner, you don't worry about having to throw them in the wash- just wipe them down and they are good to go!
• Again, they are an item that doesn't scream baby. We love our kids, but we don't necessarily want to be overrun with graphic tees and disney characters on everything we own 

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Semilla Handmade - Ashley, a friend of ours from Vancouver started this company a couple years ago and every picture she posts of her dolls has us swooning! She makes each one by hand and adds so many beautiful details like amazing knit hair, one of a kind outfits, floral crowns, and flower pressed wings (made from flowers her kids collect during their walks together).

Features we love:

• Although they not recommended for children under 3, they make gorgeous nursery decor in the meantime
• They are a beautiful keepsake to pass down through the generations
• Each one is unique and you can even order a custom made doll with your choice of hair, fabric, clothing, etc.
• Basically you won't find a more beautiful doll in the entire world - so need I say more?!

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Tnee's Tpees - There is not much I love more in my house than kid's toys that look more like decor than a toy! Courtney's kids were building forts out of blankets and chairs and taking them down all the time - so she designed a teepee that her kids could play in and would be pretty enough to leave up at all times!

Features we love:

• They are beautiful and add to our house decor
• They are easy to set up and take down if necessary
• Our kids absolutely LOVE playing in them
• I'm a neutral girl so I love this one pictured above, but Courtney has so many beautiful patterns and colors on her site to chose from!

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Adelisa & Co. - We started our shop in 2016 and our macrame swings go along perfectly with our love of neutrals and beautiful items for kids. They are the perfect addition to any nursery, living room, kitchen, porch, back yard, etc. Our swings can be used by babies from the time they can support their own weight and they hold up to 55lbs.

Features we love:

• They are handmade by talented artisans in Nicaragua
• They are a beautiful cream, cotton macrame
• Babies and littles of all ages can enjoy them! From the time they can support their own necks up to 55lbs. My 18 month old and 3 year old both LOVE using our swing!
• Indoor swing option? yes please!

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Wildbird -  I first heard about ring slings when my second girl was 4 months old and I've been hooked ever since. Tayler started Wildbird after her first baby was born to provide mamas with affordable and beautiful ring slings.

Features we love:

• They are so easy to put on and take off (especially handy when you don't have anyone to help you buckle up!)
• They are 100% linen
• They hold up to 35lbs
• They are small enough to fit in diaper bags with ease
• Again, as with everything above, they don't look like they are only for babies. We love having functional baby items that fit our style and Tayler is always coming out with new colors that always have us wanting more!

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This is not a sponsored post. We truly love each of these items and their makers, use everything in our daily lives and really just wanted to share our top gift ideas with you!

Please show these small shops some love this Christmas season! They are all super hard working mamas and by shopping small you are supporting their families directly. 

This month we teamed up with a small organization called NicaChild that helps families in need on a monthly basis.  Recently, the Rojas family’s 5-month-old baby Japheth joined the program.  After both parents contracted dengue earlier this year, their wish was to install a false ceiling in their home.  This would not only protect them and baby Japheth from the heat, but also help create a safer environment, providing them protection from harmful mosquitoes that carry diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and zika.The vast majority of people here live in homes simply built with discarded materials, dirt floors, and share one room with several family members.  We are committed to making lasting and meaningful donations that will have long-term benefits in the lives of the people here and are looking forward to making more donations that improve living conditions for young children and families living in poverty.

 While the needs in this beautiful country can sometimes be overwhelming, we know that making a difference in the quality of life of even one person is so worth it. Building this for Japheth’s family would not have been possible without all of your support, so thank you so much to everyone who contributed to this donation by making a purchase during the months of February until May.  We are so excited to see other lives touched by working together with all of you.  Thank you so much for helping this young family!

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”

― Charles Dickens

xX, Rachel & Allison