
The saying ‘the days are long but the years go fast’ never felt so true as it did this past weekend. We are so grateful to have had this little one’s smile for the last year – she’s the sweetest.
Shout-outs!
Mi familia. It really does take a village and I couldn’t continue to create and live and contribute in all the ways I want without them. This includes my chosen family – my friends are equally a life raft.
ETSY!! Love supporting small businesses and the creators on here exemplify this spirit. Such incredible finds, such as these organic, personalized lip balms we got made for all the kids. This creator went above and beyond to create skin tones for shades of brown that were either non- existent or hard to find. It’s 2018 and yes, we are often still only finding black and white. (ps. pre-order my children’s book now to find more brown!)
Anyone who works with children! From teachers, admin, coaches, party planners, etc etc – it is a gift to work with our purest, but also SO hard. Your patience, love, and true dedication is inspiring. We are so grateful to all who are trying to put little gems into the world.
Anyone who is brave enough to share their opinion. In honor of Maven’s 1st birthday, we started a fundraiser for Equality Now. I had posted a pic of Maven in an Equality Now bib that said ‘FeMINIst’. I had a few interesting responses. One exchange was as follows:
*redacted*: Bringing your kids into politics is super manipulative and gross
Sheetal: I engage my kids in age appropriate ways with all that’s going on in the world. Always and no matter how hard the discussion is. Don’t know any other way to live and hope for a better tomorrow.
*redacted*: Just seems really creepy to dress a kid up in your ideology before they even know what it means
Sheetal: Equality for all is creepy?! 

*redacted: No, the ideology of feminism is when children are used to advance it
Sheetal: I certainly hope my kids make the world better! I take my responsibly as a parent seriously and feel it’s my job to raise kids with values that treat everyone w respect and dignity. 
I share this as I know so many feel this way and our lives will only strengthen with respectful discourse. Thank you for always speaking your minds; I learn so much. In this case, I hope we can at least agree that dignity and equality for all is a great place to start.
The link to our fundraiser: https://www.crowdr ise.com/o/en/campaign/miss- mavens-mela
Much love, S.
ps. You can see more pix and other exclusive content on my app!