Happy 6th birthday to the OG sister! There's no be Happy 6th birthday to the OG sister! There's no better feeling than getting to know the wonderful person she is growing into. We're so proud of this girl!! 6 is going to be a great year 💕
I'd want to sleep all day, too, if I were up every I'd want to sleep all day, too, if I were up every hour last night 🙃🙃 

Outfit @honest 🦋
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??
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Life & Finances, Motherhood, Work · January 19, 2016

10 Ways to Get Ready Faster in the Morning

As the queens of multitasking, we as woman can really try to pack a lot into our mornings. No wonder my husband laughs at me when I say I'll be ready in 5. Here are some tips for you, the woman who has way too much to do each morning!

As the queens of multitasking, we woman can really try to pack a lot into our mornings. No wonder my husband laughs at me when I say I’ll be ready in 5. Here are some tips for you, the woman who has way too much to do each morning!


Shower less

Up until I became a mom, I used to think it was gross to not shower daily. So I did. Whether at night or in the morning, I always got my shower in and got squeaky clean for the day. Then I became a mom and everything changed. After having to go multiple days without stepping in a shower (because new mommyhood is no joke a FULL time job) and having to utilize a bunch of the tips to come in this post, I realized that there really is no need to shower every day!  And for someone like me with “combination skin” I found I was actually doing my skin a disservice by stripping it of its natural oils and over washing my skin and hair. My hair will actually become less oily over time now it is washed less often and I can clearly see that my skin is more hydrated. Woohoo! I just make sure to use a daily gentle face wash like this one (love the smell btw) and exfoliating cloth a lot like this one.

Shower at night

This is kind of a no brainer, especially if you can find a way to rock the messy hair look in the morning. But even if you can’t, blow drying and/or straightening at night will usually keep the crazy to a minimum in the morning. Plus it’s an awesome feeling to get in bed all warm and clean.

Dry shampoo

My fav dry shampoo as so far been Not Your Mother’s but when that runs out I revert to the trusty baby powder (we pretty much have it on tap at our house). Seriously though, this stuff is a life saver. Not to mention it gives my hair great volume. A+ in my book.

Find cute ways to wear your hair up

I had pretty short hair for years and the biggest problem was never being to just pull it up in a time crunch. I’ve finally gotten to the long bob (or lob as the kids say (; ) stage and I am so happy that I can wear my hair up, especially when things don’t always go as planned in the mornings (as they often do with a rowdy 15-month-old). Check out this awesome post of Top 10 Super Easy 5-Minute Hairstyles For Busy Ladies! Seriously loved this one. Wearing your hair up is an awesome way to forgo washing your hair for another day (or two).

Less eye makeup, more lipstick

Eye makeup is so much more of an exact science than lipstick, so if you’re running low on time in the morning try keeping the eyemakeup to a minimum and spice up the look with cute tinted lip. Besides as a rule of thumb, I generally tend to focus my makeup on either the eyes OR the lips in order to avoid wearing a “night time” look during the day. Even on a Saturday morning when the hair is in a bun and I’m wearing my boots that are really my slippers to the grocery store, I’ll dab a little color on my lips in the driveway before I head out.

Pre-make coffee

I know that 50% of people reading this (or more) will probably have a Keurig at home, but for those of you who don’t, pre-making coffee at night is a really easy way to shave a couple minutes of prep time in the morning. Or avoid the chance of having to skip the morning cup because you’re too short on time.

Pre pack your lunch

Besides being a huge timesaver in the morning, packing a lunch is a super way to ALSO save money and keep the weight off! Buying lunches every day might save you time in the morning but it’s certainly not going to do your wallet or your waistline any favors! Pack what you can the night before and for what needs to be made the day of, just have a plan for what you will make and make sure everything is easily accessible.

Lay out outfit

I am so freakin’ thankful that I have a really casual and laid back job working for my church right now! Such a huge blessing there. But even so, I can find myself running around the room trying on every shirt I own and loading a huge pile of reject outfits on my bed before I actually come up with an outfit half decent. SO instead of making (usually poor) last minute outfit decisions, I just hang up the next day’s outfit in the bathroom and have it ready to grab as I’m brushing and lotioning up for the day. This seriously can cut out 10-15 minutes of prep time in my morning routine and every minute counts!

Put everything in your purse/bookbag the night before

This is awesome for someone like me who has probably had two swigs of their morning coffee and is scatter-brainedly fumbling around trying to look and get put together before walking out the door. I am way less likely to forget something in the morning if I put it in my bag the night before. Not to mention the added bonus of just being able to grab my bag and go without having to spend 5 minutes grabbing my papers, laptop, etc.

Ask for help

This is a big one for me as a mama. Until David (our lil boy) was about a year old, I would always be the first one up in the morning to get him changed, fed, and occupied up until the moment I left for work. It’s not easy to do your mascara while a baby is climbing up your leg. About a year of this later, I realized, “Huh… Josh doesn’t work the same days I work… I’m always leaving late… HE can take the baby in the morning!” I know, huge epiphany there. Since I’ve asked Josh to help out more in the mornings, he’s naturally become much more of a morning person (woohoo!) and I get out the door waaaay faster than I ever did before. It makes for a happier baby too.
But this doesn’t apply only if you have kids. If you’re running late, ask your partner help you get out the door by getting your lunch together, making your coffee, putting what you need in your bag. Anything helps!

How do you get ready in the a.m. when time is against you! Share your own tips in the comments below! If you found this helpful, share with your pals!

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In: Life & Finances, Motherhood, Work · Tagged: baby, busy, coffee, combination skin, dry shampoo, help, kids, mom, mom life, morning, morning routine, mornings, routine, sahm, shower less, stay at home mom, Work, working mom

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Comments

  1. Mattie says

    January 19, 2016 at 5:45 pm

    Love these tips! (and your super cute blog) I am a HUGE advocate of dry shampoo. haha It’s pretty much my best friend. I also love getting all my stuff ready at night so that you have less to worry about in the morning and less chance that you’ll forget anything you need!
    ~Mattie
    http://www.mattiesmakings.com

  2. Chrissy says

    January 19, 2016 at 6:17 pm

    These are really great tips! I do a lot of them, because it can get a little stressful getting a family ready for school and work. Thank you!

  3. Susannah says

    January 19, 2016 at 6:25 pm

    I love these tips… Minus the less eye makeup. The bags under my eyes need to be covered up! 😉

  4. Brooklyn Jolley says

    January 19, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    I love these ideas! I always shower at night so I can blow dry my hair and either flat iron or curl it then it’s super easy to fix in the morning.

  5. Candy says

    January 19, 2016 at 7:08 pm

    Great ideas

  6. Linda Luke says

    January 19, 2016 at 7:39 pm

    My favorite is less makeup, more lipstick. I started doing that when running errands and no one noticed the difference so I do it almost all the time now.

  7. Michelle says

    January 19, 2016 at 10:48 pm

    Yeah, go without coffee… Never gonna happen. Lol. All great tips, but the best is to be prepared the night before with clothes, lunches, and backpacks.

  8. Megan Weaver says

    January 19, 2016 at 10:55 pm

    I need to do so many of these things for my mornings! Especially laying out my outfits – that takes the longest for me. Thanks for sharing!

  9. Katie @thebrooksielife says

    January 20, 2016 at 12:28 am

    Love these tips!!! I couldn’t agree more with the not needing to shower every day. I do shower to wash off but I only wash my hair every few days! I use to shower at night too and that really helped! But my schedule changed! And yes…meal prepping and packing. So helpful

  10. Jenny says

    January 20, 2016 at 2:23 am

    I always shower at night and have mastered my work makeup routine and now it only takes 5 minutes haha.
    I like to sleep as much as possible so I basically had to.

    xoxo, Jenny

  11. Megan @ Hello Megan O! says

    January 20, 2016 at 6:41 am

    Dry shampoo is an actual lifesaver, and the Not Your Mothers is my favourite too! My biggest regret about it is that I travel a lot and can’t take the full size aerosol on the plane, but this weekend I found a travel size version at CVS!!

  12. Emma @ The Happy Journal says

    January 20, 2016 at 1:00 pm

    Dry shampoo is a god send! I have majorly thick hair so sometimes I can’t even wash it the night before let alone the morning of!

  13. Victoria Stacey says

    January 20, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    These are great idea! I need to incorporate more of these into my life.

  14. Donnica says

    January 20, 2016 at 6:52 pm

    I need to get better at deciding on an outfit the night before. I always end up with reject outfits thrown all over my bed and have to rush to find matching shoes right before I run out the door. Great tips!!

  15. Lisa Sharp says

    January 20, 2016 at 8:36 pm

    Great tips. I’m not a morning person so I can use all the help I can get! 🙂

  16. Ashley Fox says

    February 10, 2016 at 7:22 pm

    I love “Not Your Mother’s” dry shampoo! Saves me so much time, and now I only wash my hair 3X per week. I’ve also used the Dove deodorant spray all over my body to freshen up if needed.

    • Lauren says

      March 30, 2016 at 4:03 am

      Good idea for the Dove spray!

  17. Beverly says

    March 31, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    The real question is now how to make your night-time routine faster after a long day. Its so hard when I’m tired!

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I picked my first husband, God picked my second husband

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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Happy 6th birthday to the OG sister! There's no be Happy 6th birthday to the OG sister! There's no better feeling than getting to know the wonderful person she is growing into. We're so proud of this girl!! 6 is going to be a great year 💕
I'd want to sleep all day, too, if I were up every I'd want to sleep all day, too, if I were up every hour last night 🙃🙃 

Outfit @honest 🦋
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 😉

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Happy 6th birthday to the OG sister! There's no be Happy 6th birthday to the OG sister! There's no better feeling than getting to know the wonderful person she is growing into. We're so proud of this girl!! 6 is going to be a great year 💕
I'd want to sleep all day, too, if I were up every I'd want to sleep all day, too, if I were up every hour last night 🙃🙃 

Outfit @honest 🦋
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?

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