This clean beauty blogger is raising three beautiful boys in the heart of Wine Country.

Take a glance at Natassja Ward’s Instagram feed and you’ll quickly see that she loves a clean, modern aesthetic. It’s in how she styles her photos, how she decorates her home — and when she became a parent, she found that it played a big role in how she shopped for her boys.

“I would say I am very drawn to a minimal but practical home when it comes to the kid products we own,” Natassja said. “I like very modern-looking kid gear, as well as timeless wooden toys.”

Natassja lives in Sonoma, California with her husband and their sons Dehz (5), Kian (3) and Zayn (2). A stay-at-home mom with a passion for clean beauty and minimizing waste, she shares her “sustainable-ish” finds and favorites on her blog, Purely Natassja. 

Minimalism is part of Natassja’s design aesthetic, but it’s also something of a necessity, since her family of five lives in a small house with one shared living space. As her brood of boys started to grow, she realized she had a need for home items that could do double duty — safe and durable enough for her little ones to play on without sacrificing the stylish aesthetic of her living space. Non-toxic material was also an important consideration for this clean beauty blogger, especially since her then-baby would be spending time on it.

“I found Ruggish in my search of finding a modern, neutral-style play mat,” Natassja said. “I needed something that was wipeable, would not get ruined right away and had to last with three kids under three at the time.”

Natassja chose the Romy play rug to anchor a kid-friendly area in her family’s shared living/playroom.

“I loved this pattern because it fit in well with our living room rug, and when it’s turned over to the play rug, it does not throw off the aesthetic of the modern living space we have,” Natassja said. 

Check out more of Natassja’s favorite products for kids on her blog, and follow her on Instagram @purelynatassja for daily clean beauty inspiration!

Want to help your kids learn mindfulness, concentration, and healthy habits? Yoga is the perfect activity — and you can get started right in the comfort of your own home! Here are some of our favorite resources for a kid-focused home yoga practice.

There’s a reason yoga has become so popular: It’s an accessible activity that can be enjoyed by people of any fitness level — and any age! Yoga is a great way to help kids start learning healthy habits, connect with their bodies, and learn to calm themselves when faced with challenging situations. 

More and more yoga studios are starting to offer kids’ classes, but you don’t need to leave the house to introduce your little yoginis to their first poses. Take it from real-life Ruggish mom Natassja Ward. She and her three boys love to gather on their Romy play rug for a fun, kid-friendly flow.

“One of our favorite activities on our Ruggish mat is turning on Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube and doing yoga all together!” Natassja said. “It’s the perfect way to get kids active, it’s fun, and everyone can fit on the mat together.”

Ready to get started? We rounded up some online resources to help you easily introduce your little ones to yoga!

• Cosmic Kids Yoga: This free YouTube channel is Natassja’s favorite, featuring fun, playful yoga and mindfulness adventures in magical worlds.
• Gaia: If you have a subscription to the streaming yoga service ($11.99/month), be sure to check out the kids’ section, with more than a dozen fanciful practices for little yogis.
• Poses For Kids: Your yoga session doesn’t have to be a video. Check out this guide to good introductory poses for children from Yoga Journal.
• Kids Yoga Stories: This site features printables, games, and other resources for introducing your family to yoga.
• Yoga With Adriene: You’ve probably done some of her YouTube yoga videos — here’s one made just for young yogis!

Did you know that October was Down Syndrome Awareness Month?

Each year, about 6,000 babies in the U.S. are born with this common chromosomal condition. Welcoming a baby with Down syndrome into the family can feel overwhelming, but in reality, parents of children with Down syndrome face many of the same challenges all new parents encounter — including how to make a home that’s comfortable and safe for their children without sacrificing style!

For Michelle Coleman’s family of four (plus one rambunctious dog), Ruggish provides a defined play area in the living room where the family spends much of their time together.

“It’s where both my kids did tummy time, where they learned to roll, and where my older one now roughhouses with his dad (and dog),” said Michelle. “I host playdates at the house where the kids have a picnic lunch on the Ruggish — I would NOT allow that on a regular rug.”

Since the birth of Michelle’s second son earlier this year, Ruggish has also provided a safe and comfortable space for his weekly physical and occupational therapy sessions.

“Our son Patrick has one extra chromosome (or are we all missing one?), so he was diagnosed with Down syndrome three days after he was born,” said Michelle, who shares snaps from Patrick’s life on Instagram. “Since Patrick was a month old, we’ve been using it on a weekly basis as an inviting space to have the physical therapist sit comfortably and work with Pat.” 

Like Michelle, Krista Robbins has two sons, and her almost-three-year-old, Easton, has Down syndrome. She tells her family’s story on her blog and on Instagram, where she and Michelle connected.

“I share so much of our life because I want people to get used to differences so they can see they aren’t scary,” Krista says. 

Being a mom of two small boys doesn’t mean Krista has lost her sense of style. When she’s shopping for the family home, she leans toward neutral colors and tones, so Ruggish is a great fit.

“I love how beautiful and simple the design is,” Krista says. “It would fit basically in every room in my home.”