Anyone see our other kids lately?? 😜 You know, Anyone see our other kids lately?? 😜 You know, it's so funny how some parts of the newborn phase have been like muscle memory and others have been like we've had our first born all over again. 

We were worried about how David and Evy would feel with this new family member but they have been so sweet that it brings tears to my eyes to put it into words. I was especially worried about Ev being supplanted as the youngest but, honestly, being the big sister suits her SO well and I think she's been loving it, too. 

I've also loved getting to experience this again with Josh. The way you band together during the newborn phase especially is very bonding. You rely on each other deeply and it's not always cute or pretty. 

Super grateful 💗
To the best big brother and sister. Cleo is going To the best big brother and sister. Cleo is going to think she has the coolest, smartest, bravest big siblings in the world, and she's not wrong 😉
She's here 🌷 Cleo Renée was born 2 weeks early She's here 🌷 Cleo Renée was born 2 weeks early on Saturday March 11 at 1:52 in the morning. 

Josh and I just had a feeling about that day (Friday), so we kept the kids out of school, went out to breakfast, and just spent our last day together as a family of four. 

My contractions started right after my 38 week appointment that morning and progressed throughout the day until around 4pm when I thought, "Mmk, I'm starting to really need to breathe through these. Better go in."

I was so convinced they were going to turn us away that it really didn't hit me that we were actually going to meet our girl that night until we'd been there for a few hours already. 

Baby girl ended up being 7lbs 15oz and 20in long!

We are all so in love. David and Evy are OBSESSED. A few times their friends have come to the door to ask them to play and they've said they'd rather stay home with the baby 😄

We are so blessed and thankful for this little girl ❤️
How to use a French hair pin. I love these things How to use a French hair pin. I love these things because they can hold up even my thick and chunky hair and I don't have a large clip sticking off the back of my head (don't get me wrong, I love a good hair clip, too)! Have you tried one yet??
This season of waiting has been weird. But I’m s This season of waiting has been weird. But I’m so grateful for it.

On the one hand, there’s so much to do to get ready for little one to join us—it’s been a while since we’ve had a newborn! I’m spending most of my free time writing and nesting, nesting and writing. 

And then on the other hand, I’m feeling pretty ready to have my body back. And by that, I mean just to be done literally sharing it with another being. You start to miss things after a while like being able to breathe when you lay on your back or not getting indigestion for eating a few grapes. 

Overall, there’s so much to be thankful for. Each little inconvenience is a blessing and I’m happy they’re there. I’ll also be happy when they’re over. For now, I’m just savoring being a mom of “older kids” (8 and going on 6) that can grab their own snacks from time to time and put on their own shoes. We’re going to be heading back to square one in a couple months and I’m sure there’s a lot we’ve forgotten!
Naturally, when we see a need, we rush in to fill Naturally, when we see a need, we rush in to fill it and fix it. On top of this, it’s hard for us to ask for help because we don’t want to be a burden to others. 

But in the process of meeting everyone else’s needs and neglecting our own (especially our need for rest), we often become bitter towards the ones we’re helping.

Instead, one of the best things we can do as a wife or mother is to assess our own needs and make sure to leave space to meet them ourself or to ask for what we need. 

It might be time to rest, help with the next meal, time alone to pray and meditate on God’s word, or allowing yourself to leave a task un-done so you can “selfishly” enjoy a hobby of yours like the rest of your family gets to do. 

In the end, making room to find joy each day may be one of the best things you do for your relationships.
30 weeks and counting down the days til we meet yo 30 weeks and counting down the days til we meet you. We *think* we've finally settled on a first name after non-stop back-and-forth and brainstorming. Any guesses?? Or.. what are your favorite baby girl names right now??
Saturday highlights 🖤 We've been trying to be s Saturday highlights 🖤 We've been trying to be super intentional with the time we spend with David and Evy recently, knowing that big changes are just around the corner! We pray with them, ask them what questions they have, take the time to explain things. I'm hoping they'll be set up pretty well for the transition of little sis coming in March but most of the work will happen after she gets here! How did you help littles prepare for baby?
Merry Christmas from the Damons! ❤️ Merry Christmas from the Damons! ❤️
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Family, Motherhood, Sponsored · October 27, 2017

How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Kids + My MIL’s Cold & Flu Tea Recipe!

Hey mama, I know as well as you do that when sickness strikes, we don’t get a day off. Is a runny nose going to make the baby change herself or make the toddler his lunch? I don’t think so. I don’t know about you but I get a serious cold about once a year, with a couple cases of the sniffles here or there- I mean, how can you not with kids in the house?? We’re coming up on the one year anniversary of the last time I was pretty sick and I’m wearing a large wooden crucifix as we speak to keep the next cold away.

Jk.

But seriously though. Did you know that about 20% of Americans will get the flu this year? 20%! (ie. the odds are not in our favor). And as common as the flu might be, it sure as heck is debilitating. Bodily fluids everywhere. You might as well sleep in the bathroom. But you can’t. Because you’re a mom. So what’s a mama to do?

Prepare and anticipate.

This isn’t your first flu season. And this year, you’ll be ready. Here are a few tips you can (literally) save for a rainy day and pull them out when a cold or the flu comes knocking on your door.

1 | Get a daily vitamin

No need to go crazy here and take 4000% times the amount of vitamin C recommended in a day. A simple multivitamin can really help to take the edge off when it feels like a cold is coming on. These are especially important to take if you plan on traveling! I always begin to feel a cold coming on after we fly but a daily multivitamin really helps to make the cold-coming-on feeling disappear.

2 | Get some sleep!

And a lot of it! Or at least as much as the kids will allow. This might mean putting the dishes off until bedtime when you’d be up anyway and using naptime to take a nap yourself. Whatever you do, don’t stay up late catching up on your new Netflix addiction. 24 hours later, you will feel something coming on and the only one you’ll have to blame is yourself. Unless the baby woke up 3 different times to nurse in the night, then you can blame her, no matter how late you were up anyway.

3 | Drink water

You know what makes drinking water throughout the day the easiest? Getting a ridiculously large water bottle with a straw. The straw is the important part here. Without one, you’ll have to put effort into unscrewing the lid or flipping it open, depending on your water bottle and honestly, we, as human beings, are so lazy. If it takes even the littlest effort to drink water, we won’t drink nearly as much as we would if all we had to do is slurp. This is true for me and it’s probably true for you too. Therefore, get yourself a huge water bottle (so you don’t have to make your lazy self refill it every hour) and slurp away!

5 | Make my mother-in-law’s amazingly strong cold & flu tea!

Here’s the recipe:

Grab a saucepan

5 cups water

4 herbal lemon tea bags

2 (ish) Tbs lemon juice

3 Tbs grated ginger root

Simmer everything in the saucepan on low with the lid on for about 15 minutes. Strain out the chunky stuff, let cool until drinkable, then consume.

Alas, if a cold or the flu does come to you or a member of your family, it’s always good to be prepared. Starting this Sunday (10/29), you can save up to $5 on medicine cabinet essentials just in time for cold and flu season when you shop at Walmart. On this date, look in the P&G brandSAVER in your local Sunday newspaper or at PGeveryday.com to find coupons for $0.50 off Puffs and $1-$3 off Vicks products including DayQuil, NyQuil, Sinex and VapoRub. This arsenal of cold and flu symptom relievers will get you and your family back to business in no time!

How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Kids + My MIL’s Cold & Flu Tea Recipe!How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Kids + My MIL’s Cold & Flu Tea Recipe!
How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Kids + My MIL’s Cold & Flu Tea Recipe!How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Kids + My MIL’s Cold & Flu Tea Recipe!
How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Kids + My MIL’s Cold & Flu Tea Recipe!How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Kids + My MIL’s Cold & Flu Tea Recipe!
How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Kids + My MIL’s Cold & Flu Tea Recipe!How to Survive Cold and Flu Season with Kids + My MIL’s Cold & Flu Tea Recipe!
This conversation is sponsored by Puffs and Vicks available at Walmart. All opinions are my own.
   

In: Family, Motherhood, Sponsored · Tagged: avoid, babies, bathroom, cold, dayquil, diarrhea, flue, gross, kids, mama, mom, mother, motherhood, noads, nyquil, p&g, recipe, runny nose, shop, sick, sinex, sleep, sponsored, survive, symptoms, tea, throwing up, tissues, to-do, toddlers, treat, vaporub, vicks, vitamin, vomit, vomiting, walmart, water

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Comments

  1. Jessica Joachim says

    October 27, 2017 at 10:08 am

    Flu and cold season is the worst. It is great to be prepared though. That recipe of your MIL’s sounds great, I will give it a try next time one of us gets sick.

  2. Katrina says

    October 27, 2017 at 11:35 am

    I’ve only just started taking multivitamins, i didn’t realise how much they can benefit you.as for the tea, i’m gonna have to save the recipe for cold & flu season!

  3. Kayla Uimari says

    October 27, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    I for sure need to try this tea! Your other tips are really great too, i always forget that sleep helps your immune system!

  4. Karen Morse says

    October 27, 2017 at 1:47 pm

    It pays to be healthy especially during the cold season. I make sure that I get enough sleep aside from taking vitamins everyday. I think these are awesome tips. Curious about that tea!

  5. AnnMarie John says

    October 27, 2017 at 1:49 pm

    Loving these tips! Prevention is always better than cure, even with common colds ANd flu. I would love to try that tea recipe.

  6. Jamie says

    October 28, 2017 at 1:46 pm

    LEMON ginger tea is so GREAT, I’ll have to try this recipe. I like to add some MAnuka honey to!

  7. Terri Steffes says

    October 28, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    I keep nyquil very close at hand. The stuff is so good. I can manage to sleep and feel somewhat rested in the morning.

  8. Cindy Ingalls says

    October 28, 2017 at 11:35 pm

    I always try to up my vitamin intake when cold and flu season rolls around. There is nothing worse than missing out because you are sick. That tea sounds heavenly. Lemon and Ginger really help ease cold and flu symptoms.

  9. Cassie Tucker says

    October 28, 2017 at 11:38 pm

    I hate cold and flu season! I can never convince people that sleep is one of the most important factors to staying healthy this time of year.

  10. Jeanine says

    October 29, 2017 at 1:21 pm

    This post is exactly what I need right now. It’s major cold and flu season up here and it seems my kids are getting some form of a cold, or bug every week!

  11. Angela Ricardo Bethea says

    October 29, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    During flu season, one cannot be without Vicks products, Thanks for the tips and I’d love to try that tea recipe.

  12. Lily Ashley says

    October 30, 2017 at 8:55 am

    That’s a great tea recipe. Maybe I can try doing that for my mom. Thanks for sharing.

  13. Heather says

    October 30, 2017 at 2:52 pm

    When your kids are sick it’s so hard. but when YOU are sick it’s just miserable. This looks like a great combo to make you feel better!

  14. jennifer says

    October 30, 2017 at 8:51 pm

    Nyquil is always on our medicine shelf during the winter months. I am definitely going to have to try your mil’s recipe!

  15. Susie P says

    November 4, 2017 at 11:34 pm

    Hello, Chelsea.

    I usually catch flu every year. I don’t get enough sleep every day because of the nature of my work. I never tried any flu tea in the past but I really want to try one.

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Hi! I'm Chelsea and we're the Damon's. We spent the last two years in WA state paying off student loans and just bought our first house in SC! I love a smooth black coffee, Josh's first love is the Seattle Sounders. Our kids are huge dorks and constantly make us laugh and we all love spending as much time outside as possible.

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Anyone see our other kids lately?? 😜 You know, Anyone see our other kids lately?? 😜 You know, it's so funny how some parts of the newborn phase have been like muscle memory and others have been like we've had our first born all over again. 

We were worried about how David and Evy would feel with this new family member but they have been so sweet that it brings tears to my eyes to put it into words. I was especially worried about Ev being supplanted as the youngest but, honestly, being the big sister suits her SO well and I think she's been loving it, too. 

I've also loved getting to experience this again with Josh. The way you band together during the newborn phase especially is very bonding. You rely on each other deeply and it's not always cute or pretty. 

Super grateful 💗
To the best big brother and sister. Cleo is going To the best big brother and sister. Cleo is going to think she has the coolest, smartest, bravest big siblings in the world, and she's not wrong 😉
She's here 🌷 Cleo Renée was born 2 weeks early She's here 🌷 Cleo Renée was born 2 weeks early on Saturday March 11 at 1:52 in the morning. 

Josh and I just had a feeling about that day (Friday), so we kept the kids out of school, went out to breakfast, and just spent our last day together as a family of four. 

My contractions started right after my 38 week appointment that morning and progressed throughout the day until around 4pm when I thought, "Mmk, I'm starting to really need to breathe through these. Better go in."

I was so convinced they were going to turn us away that it really didn't hit me that we were actually going to meet our girl that night until we'd been there for a few hours already. 

Baby girl ended up being 7lbs 15oz and 20in long!

We are all so in love. David and Evy are OBSESSED. A few times their friends have come to the door to ask them to play and they've said they'd rather stay home with the baby 😄

We are so blessed and thankful for this little girl ❤️
How to use a French hair pin. I love these things How to use a French hair pin. I love these things because they can hold up even my thick and chunky hair and I don't have a large clip sticking off the back of my head (don't get me wrong, I love a good hair clip, too)! Have you tried one yet??

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  • So I know the title of this post says, “What men want most in a wife,” but to be more realistic, this is about what men need most in a wife. Like men, there are a lot of things that we (women) would really like in a husband. Like, it’d be a huge plus if he looked like Chris Hemsworth. But that’s not really what we need in order to have a positive relationship with our spouse. If we married him, we probably think he’s pretty cute, anyway. Take a look at these 5 things a man really needs in a wife, and if you can think of anything else, share your thoughts in the comments below! 5 Things men want most in a wife
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Anyone see our other kids lately?? 😜 You know, Anyone see our other kids lately?? 😜 You know, it's so funny how some parts of the newborn phase have been like muscle memory and others have been like we've had our first born all over again. 

We were worried about how David and Evy would feel with this new family member but they have been so sweet that it brings tears to my eyes to put it into words. I was especially worried about Ev being supplanted as the youngest but, honestly, being the big sister suits her SO well and I think she's been loving it, too. 

I've also loved getting to experience this again with Josh. The way you band together during the newborn phase especially is very bonding. You rely on each other deeply and it's not always cute or pretty. 

Super grateful 💗
To the best big brother and sister. Cleo is going To the best big brother and sister. Cleo is going to think she has the coolest, smartest, bravest big siblings in the world, and she's not wrong 😉
She's here 🌷 Cleo Renée was born 2 weeks early She's here 🌷 Cleo Renée was born 2 weeks early on Saturday March 11 at 1:52 in the morning. 

Josh and I just had a feeling about that day (Friday), so we kept the kids out of school, went out to breakfast, and just spent our last day together as a family of four. 

My contractions started right after my 38 week appointment that morning and progressed throughout the day until around 4pm when I thought, "Mmk, I'm starting to really need to breathe through these. Better go in."

I was so convinced they were going to turn us away that it really didn't hit me that we were actually going to meet our girl that night until we'd been there for a few hours already. 

Baby girl ended up being 7lbs 15oz and 20in long!

We are all so in love. David and Evy are OBSESSED. A few times their friends have come to the door to ask them to play and they've said they'd rather stay home with the baby 😄

We are so blessed and thankful for this little girl ❤️
How to use a French hair pin. I love these things How to use a French hair pin. I love these things because they can hold up even my thick and chunky hair and I don't have a large clip sticking off the back of my head (don't get me wrong, I love a good hair clip, too)! Have you tried one yet??
This season of waiting has been weird. But I’m s This season of waiting has been weird. But I’m so grateful for it.

On the one hand, there’s so much to do to get ready for little one to join us—it’s been a while since we’ve had a newborn! I’m spending most of my free time writing and nesting, nesting and writing. 

And then on the other hand, I’m feeling pretty ready to have my body back. And by that, I mean just to be done literally sharing it with another being. You start to miss things after a while like being able to breathe when you lay on your back or not getting indigestion for eating a few grapes. 

Overall, there’s so much to be thankful for. Each little inconvenience is a blessing and I’m happy they’re there. I’ll also be happy when they’re over. For now, I’m just savoring being a mom of “older kids” (8 and going on 6) that can grab their own snacks from time to time and put on their own shoes. We’re going to be heading back to square one in a couple months and I’m sure there’s a lot we’ve forgotten!
Naturally, when we see a need, we rush in to fill Naturally, when we see a need, we rush in to fill it and fix it. On top of this, it’s hard for us to ask for help because we don’t want to be a burden to others. 

But in the process of meeting everyone else’s needs and neglecting our own (especially our need for rest), we often become bitter towards the ones we’re helping.

Instead, one of the best things we can do as a wife or mother is to assess our own needs and make sure to leave space to meet them ourself or to ask for what we need. 

It might be time to rest, help with the next meal, time alone to pray and meditate on God’s word, or allowing yourself to leave a task un-done so you can “selfishly” enjoy a hobby of yours like the rest of your family gets to do. 

In the end, making room to find joy each day may be one of the best things you do for your relationships.
30 weeks and counting down the days til we meet yo 30 weeks and counting down the days til we meet you. We *think* we've finally settled on a first name after non-stop back-and-forth and brainstorming. Any guesses?? Or.. what are your favorite baby girl names right now??
Saturday highlights 🖤 We've been trying to be s Saturday highlights 🖤 We've been trying to be super intentional with the time we spend with David and Evy recently, knowing that big changes are just around the corner! We pray with them, ask them what questions they have, take the time to explain things. I'm hoping they'll be set up pretty well for the transition of little sis coming in March but most of the work will happen after she gets here! How did you help littles prepare for baby?
Merry Christmas from the Damons! ❤️ Merry Christmas from the Damons! ❤️
The 12+ hour drive is worth it 😊 The 12+ hour drive is worth it 😊

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