These days parents are more conscious of how they dress their kids. Even in these tough economic times, we still want our kids looking cute and fashionable. Gone are the days of faded sweats and bummy t-shirts and here are the days of cardigans, mary janes, bootleg designer jeans, screen-printed tees, etc. You name it, there’s a market for it.

Now if you’re anything like me, you’ll soon realize that one niche market that hasn’t been saturated yet is eco-friendly or a green alternative to cool clothes. It seems like you either give up coolness for organic or vice versa. I hated all the beige and natural colored organic clothing and yet I loved all the trendy designs but hated that none of them were eco-friendly. Next thing you know, a lightbulb quickly went off in my head and BAM… Rattle Me was born.

The concept behind Rattle Me baby clothes was to design hip clothes for the trendy baby of today but in an eco-friendly way. All our baby clothes are made of organic cotton, grown and sewn in the USA. I’m proud of our current collection and am thrilled by the reception we received when we introduced it to the world.

We love all of our designs, but here are a few of our customer favorites:

• Hip Baby Onesies – Pink Medallion or Blue Medallion. The design is cool enough to put on an adult shirt.
• Hip Baby Hats – Black Love or White Love. It’s sweet and sentimental but still cool.
• Hip Toddler Shirts – Gray Royalty or Pink Royalty Shirt. This shirt says it all!
• Baby Shower Gifts – Take your pick! Our customers love the White Forever Gift Set and the Pink Skull Gift Set for not only the matching onesie and baby hat, but for the cool gift box.

Everyone has their own taste, so check out all our baby clothes!

We’re in the process of cleaning out the kid’s playroom. Words cannot describe what a mess it is in there right now, but if I had to choose, I would say “disaster-zone” comes close. For those that know me, I like to keep things very tidy and clean, but when it comes to the playroom, it’s hard to keep up with the mess the kids make! Especially because they have SOOO many toys!

So my goal this weekend (with the help of all the boys) is to clean it up and donate all the toys we no longer want/need. Knowng the boys LOVE all their toys and will probably have a hard time letting them go, I’ve already prepped them by saying we’re going to give their toys away to other little boys and girls that don’t have as many toys as we do. They were actually quite excited about it, with Aiden pointing out all the toys he could do without and those (of course) that he couldn’t possible do without. So I’m over that big hurdle and on to the next.

Finding a charity… we usually donate to a Goodwill Store or something, but because our toys are in such great shape, I wanted to donate to a charity that will directly GIVE to someone in need as opposed to selling it. So how do you find a good one? Well, I started scouring the web for charitites and ran into a great site called Charity Navigator. It helps you find a charity you can trust for both donations and monetary donations. So take a look and hopefully you’ll find a great charity to donate to!

If you have questions, email me at info@rattleme.com.

Do you ever feel like you didn’t even get a weekend? Like your week just goes from Friday to Monday?

That’s the feeling I get every Monday, with today being no exception. It’s like by the time you’re done with parties, classes, obligations, etc. it’s Monday again! Your house is still a mess, you still have laundry to do and you’re already filling up your calendar for next weekend!

Don’t get me wrong, I can’t complain. I don’t remember what life was like before kids. I’m sure it wasn’t as fun and exciting (oh, and hectic) as it is now. I mean, who wouldn’t trade bars, clubs and a nightlife for birthday cupcakes, poopy diapers and wet, slobbering kisses?

This weekend was action packed and full of different activies that kept us busy. In addition to the beautiful weather, it was a perfect weekend to be running around outdoors all day!

Saturday started off quiet with errands to run, the we had a preschool graduation at my son’s school where they performed five songs! Too bad my son was the ONLY one that wouldn’t sing! He knew the songs… he was singing them all day, then all of a sudden he got hit with stage fright! It’s alright, you’ll hit those notes next time, Aiden!

Sunday we participated in Ryan’s Ride. This was so much fun for all of us! Although at 6 months pregnant, the 90 degree weather wasn’t very comforting. There were kids there from 6 months to 12 years old riding for the Ryan Phua Memorial Fund. After the ride, all the kids got medals, goody bags and most importantly, ice cream! The best part was, we all raised a ton of money for local cancer foundations!

After the event, we all packed into the car and ran more errands (never ending!). We ended up at the mall where the avid shopper that I am, discovered Nordstrom Personal Shopping for the FIRST TIME! They had a pre-sale to the Anniversary Sale (which starts on July 17) and we were able to see the clothes on sale for pre-purchase, which of course, I took full advantage of. Shopping at Nordie’s will never be the same again! =) (Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE my Rattle Me baby clothes for the kids, but I needed shoes!)

Okay, so the hectic weekend left me with aches and pains I didn’t want. Last night was full of Braxton Hicks contractions and downing huge glasses of water to keep them away. Which then, of course, led to the getting up every 10 minutes to empty the tiny bladder…

From this day forward I promise to TAKE IT EASY! It’s easy to forget about yourself when you’re chasing two small children around all day. But take it from me, pregger women out there… you and your baby need to be first priority! So if you see me carrying my little one around while carrying a handful of groceries with my older one in tow, remind me to knock it off!

Yes, it’s been quite awhile since we’ve thrown up a post on here, but sometimes that’s a good sign! It means that even through this tough economy, Rattle Me is doing well and standing strong! We want to thank all of you for your continued support. Without you all, Rattle Me wouldn’t be as successful as we are!

With that said, we’d like to thank Arizona Parenting magazine. Rattle Me was recently featured in their January ‘09 edition under the “Products We Love” section. You can see the awesome review here.

Here’s to a successful and prosperous year to all of us! And a quick end to these dreary economic times!

Best wishes,

Your friends at Rattle Me

PS – We promise to blog more frequently! =)

I’m still writing about my favorite things in LA and I can’t help but take another post to rant about Disneyland’s holiday celebration. Today’s topic? The fireworks!

The show was mesmerizing and along with Sleeping Beauty’s castle lit up with lights and snow, it was completely magical. The show was on every night we were there and even though the show was identical every time, it was just as spectacular as watching it for the first time.

No one can bring on the nostalgia of being a kid like Disney can.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had your fillings of turkey, ham and all that good stuff. If you’re anything like me, you’ve burned most of it off during the Black Friday shopping frenzy. And if you’re really anything like me, you’re not even halfway done yet!

As I stood in line at the Disney Store this morning among the other crazy shoppers, I realized that as bad as the economy is… everyone is still shopping! Of course shoppers are much more aware of how much their spending and people are holding tighter to their wallets, but I got to say, the number of anxious shoppers just waiting to get into the store isn’t much less than last year. And by the looks of the parking lots this morning, I’m pretty certain this phenomenon is not limited to the Disney Store.

With all this said, come back on Cyber Monday (this Monday, December 1) to Rattle Me for some smokin’ hot deals! We know how valuable your dollar is so stock up on hip and trendy organic apparel for your little ones or for holiday gifts during the first ever Rattle Me sale!

Happy 1st birthday, little man!

I cannot believe my baby is a year old today. This time last year, I was laying in a hospital bed in excrutiating pain flipping through a baby book looking for a name for the little guy. Then before you know it, out comes this little angel full of innocence and beauty who completely changed our lives. He taught us that big things really do come in small packages and that every child is different but you can love them just the same.

We love you, Aaron… From the tip of your pudgy toes to the top of your still slightly-dented head…you’re absolutely perfect in our eyes and we are so blessed to have you and your brother.

As I said in my previous post, Vancouver was gorgeous… We had great weather the entire time. We headed to Seattle next and could you believe it… We were blessed with fantastic weather there too! Who would have ever thought I could get sunburned in Seattle!

This was our first visit to Seattle and we fell in love. For those who haven’t been, think San Francisco meets Vancouver… Or untouched beauty and clean streets meets urbanized area. Cuz really that’s what it was. You have great shopping, friendly people, the best coffee in the world and the biggest lobster tails we’ve ever seen!

Our favorite spot? Pike Place Market for sure. The seafood was super fresh, flower bouquets were absolutely stunning and the street musicians were probably the most talented we’ve seen. We did a ton of walking, but were quickly re-energized by coffee shops at almost every street corner (Seattle’s Best was my fave).

So if you heed my advice and head up to Vancouver, make sure you stop in Seattle. It’s only 2 1/2 hours away and well worth the trip.

San Francisco is fabulous (that’s where Rattle Me is based), but the Rattle Me family is currently visiting Vancouver (to see other family) and we can’t begin to tell you how gorgeous it is up here!

By far San Francisco wins in shopping and things to see and do, but if you’re looking for a beautiful place to relax, get away and be surrounded by clean, green streets, then Vancouver is the place to go.

You’re surrounded by beautiful greenery and landscapes and when you’re in the midst of the crowds, you’re surrounded by clean streets and oh so friendly people. Who knew complete strangers could be so nice!

Based on this trip I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not that San Franciscans are not friendly… It’s just based on our fast-paced lifestyle. The more people that live in your city, the faster the pace is, therefore people don’t have time to be nice and friendly. So take a second to smile at the person walking towards you or sitting on the train next to you… Or maybe do something even crazier and say, “Hi”… You may be surprised by a friendly response back!

We love you, beautiful Vancouver (and all our family, of course)! We can’t wait to come back for another visit!

We’re back from Vegas and well rested. .. Kinda. The Kidshow went okay… Turnout was less than expected, but we had a FABULOUS time regardless! We met some fantastic new friends and got closer to a few old ones so overall the trip was well worth it. Quick shout out to New Skool and our new homegirl, Eden! Much love to our new Uncle/Cousin Art from You Gotta Have Heart and our new friends and our kid’s new buddies, Laughing Out Loud. The kids had a blast with you guys… Especially at your pool!

We picked up a few accounts at the show so you’ll be seeing us in good ‘ol Mississippi and Missouri soon… Woo hoo!

If you’re a store owner and would like to wholesale with us, please contact us at info@rattleme.com. Have a great day!