Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so p Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so proud of this boy. We are constantly told by others how kind and sweet his is. I mean, we know it too, but it means even more when his character shines through even when mom and dad aren't watching. We love you so much "Puppy!"
More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽ More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽
The start of a new school year has always felt lik The start of a new school year has always felt like more of a “New Years” to me than January 1st ever did. The air starts getting more crisp (thank goodness), the leaves start to change, and the house is quieter (now that the kids are in school, and just during the day, ha). 

Every year around this time I can clearly look back and see how our family has changed. Last year, we had just said goodbye to the boys (our first foster placement) and our family was making sense of the whirlwind that had just happened over the summer. This year, David is way more into soccer, Evy is telling me about the conversations the girls at school are having (she’s a huge people-watcher), and of course Cleo is getting so big! Her first two teeth made their appearance this week and we’re also pretty sure she said “Dada” the other night. 

It really goes by so fast. But little memories like the ones in these photos will last. I remember going apple picking with sweet family friends as a kid and I love doing that for our kids now. 

What traditions have you tried to pass down to your kids?
Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Sinc Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Since she's been a baby, I've been learning that she needs love in a very different way than David does. After school and before bed, she especially needs all the love, attention, and cuddles. 

Today I had a pretty hard day with several hours of intensive Zoom calls. They ended right as the kids got home from school and when I was done, I just felt this deep exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with my kids and never look at a computer again 🤪. 

I realized that's probably how Evy (and David, but mostly Evy) typically feels after a long day. I can tell that it's especially draining for her. So I was reminded to be extra gentle with her emotions, especially on school days when there's just so much going on and it can feel pretty intense, especially at that age. And especially to us introverts 🫠 Anyone else have highly emotional kiddos?
My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling away from dropping the kids at school. A little baby needed a home until his adoptive family could come get him. 

At the time, we didn’t know his name, his gender, or anything about him. We were told he was healthy and we’d get more details later.

And we said yes! We thought it would be longer but his adoptive family is BOOKING it to get here and take him home forever. He will be so loved!!

I love that we get to share moments like these with our kids. I know they’ll remember them for a looong time to come.
Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not ev Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not every moment needs to be filled with productivity. And sometimes I don't need to multitask. Easier said than done for me anyway. But I'm trying to intentionally practice slowing down. How do you try to slow down?

Shoes @naot.northamerica
Dress @shopbohme
Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋 Do Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋

Doing fun hairstyles with Ev has been a new way for us to bond, especially since Cleo's joined us. Would you try this one??
I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I n I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I need to rush while the baby's asleep to get things done to rather bringing them along with me when I can. 

Cleo loves being worn and, for the time being, is super content just watching me unload the dishwasher, make dinner, or tag along to grab Evy and David from the bus. 

And I'm way more at peace when I don't feel like I need to rush or time is running out. We have time and most things we have to do in a day aren't urgent.
Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 What was the first food you gave to your baby?
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Damon Diaries, Dating, Marriage, Relationships · February 12, 2016

Cheap Date Ideas for When You’re Totes Broke

A couple cheap date night ideas if you find yourself in the same situation as us. Or just wanted to try to be frugal, which is cool too.

Hey internet world! So I want to take a minute to try to let you guys get to know us Damon’s a little bit better because my “About” page is not that long… Sorry about that. I’m really not a very private person… I just don’t really think to talk about myself all that much. So if you’re wondering who exactly we are, who I am, this is for you. If you don’t care, then scroll on…

So this week brings us Valentine’s Day. You might be wondering what our plans are? Well as of right now our plans are to not go broke. Not that we don’t have good jobs or anything but, well, I can kind of be a little OCD when it comes to taking care of our monthly bills, and even though some of our bills aren’t due until later in the month, I decided that since we had the money, I could go ahead and pay all of our bills at the beginning of the month. Which includes things like rent, student loans, and gas electric, and all that other fun stuff that adds up to kind of a lot! Safe to say I wasn’t really thinking about a fancy date night at the time. And since both of us get paid next on the 15th and Valentines Day is the 14th I think we’ll be heading to a coffee shop and taking a stroll downtown instead of making reservations at Robin Alexander. Which honestly sounds pretty good to me, anyway. It’s not often that Josh and I get to get out of the house together without baby. When we do, it usually feels like we’re forgetting something. Which is probably a good thing.

So to make this post not entirely about myself I think I’ll jot down a couple cheap date night ideas if you find yourself in the same situation as us. Or just wanted to try to be frugal, which is cool too.

Cheap date ideas:

1 Go to a dollar store, pick up some drawing paper and crayons or colored pencils or paints. Set up somewhere in town or in a park and draw what you see! Take the pictures home and frame them and have a lasting memory… or hide them in a place where you never have to see them again. Whatever makes you happy.

2 Do what we’re planning on doing and take a walk downtown or on a trail in the woods. Walking together, for whatever reason, generates the best conversations. For us, usually hopeful ones about the future. I like those kinds a lot.

3 Make a fort in your living room, put pillows on the ground, make a crap load of popcorn, and watch a funny / romantic / childhood movie you haven’t watched in forever together.

4 Go fishing together. Or if fish and worms gross you out, go to any body of water and skip some rocks. I think being near water does something good for the soul.

5 Bake a love pastry together. What’s Valentine’s day if you don’t eat some sweets? Take a look at this easy peasy pastry recipe I dreamed up last fall.

Sweet. Well there’s some ideas for you guys and now I feel better because this post isn’t totally about me 🙂

In other news…

Another reason why I don’t feel the need to have a particularly fancy Valentine’s Day is because Josh and I are planning a beach vacay sometime in April! I am so. darn. excited. I miss the beach so much! We’ll be bringing lil Davey with us and enjoying a much needed change of scenery together as a family.

And Snapchat

Oh! I also wanted to mention that I’m going to begin sharing my Snapchat with you all (I still refuse to say y’all). So if you’d like to tune in and see “a day in the life” that’d be awesome. I mostly snap cute videos of my toddler. But who wouldn’t want to see those?

Here’s my snapchat name: cheldamon

Well I think that’s all for tonight guys! Thanks for tuning in! Let me know some cheap date ideas in the comments! If I like your ideas better than mine, we might give them a try haha!

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In: Damon Diaries, Dating, Marriage, Relationships · Tagged: broke, cheap, cheap dates, damon diaries, date, dates, dating, fun, inexpensive, marriage, romantic

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Comments

  1. Allie says

    February 12, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    I love these ideas. I recently did a post on my blog about dating on a dime and totally included the fort idea. It’s a definite favorite of ours! Hope you have a happy V-day!

  2. Greta says

    February 12, 2016 at 4:28 pm

    I just quite my job to blog full-time so I’ll definitely be needing these over the next couple of months!

  3. brianna george says

    February 12, 2016 at 4:43 pm

    Cheap dates are the best dates. Often we spend so much on an expensive date that is entertaining, but lacks any time to really focus on one another. These are great ideas!

  4. Robin | CaliGirl Cooking says

    February 12, 2016 at 5:46 pm

    What a great list of ideas! My fiance and I are trying to save up as much money as possible right now (weddings are not cheap!) so I think we are going to be spending Valentine’s Day outside hiking and enjoying the beach in this sunny California weather we’ve been having!

  5. Brittany @ Everyday Thoughts says

    February 12, 2016 at 6:18 pm

    Great date ideas! I need to check out zoful – sounds awesome!

  6. Angela @ Setting My Intention says

    February 12, 2016 at 8:15 pm

    I love the idea of walks out in nature – my hubby and I don’t do that enough but I’d love for us to do that. Since we’re on a budget – cheap date nights are a must! Thanks Chelsea!

  7. Karin Rambo says

    February 12, 2016 at 8:36 pm

    Great list! We’ll be hitting up the local art museum that is free and then doing dinner. Not terribly expensive, but still really fun!!

    Karin | truncationblog.com

  8. Marci Smith says

    February 12, 2016 at 8:53 pm

    Great ideas! I never thought about drawing together, I’m going to try it this week

  9. Rica says

    February 13, 2016 at 4:08 pm

    Great ideas here! One of the best dates I had with my guy happened when the lights went out one night. We lit candles, turned on the iPhone Pandora playlist and played cards at the coffee table. It doesn’t take money to make great memories! Thanks for sharing your list.

  10. Mayara says

    February 13, 2016 at 4:33 pm

    These are awesome ideas Chelsea! For broke college students these sure make the cut for sweet, cute, romantic valentines dates that don’t break the bank! Thanks for sharing!
    xoxo
    May from http://www.mayliving.com

  11. Susannah says

    February 14, 2016 at 12:43 am

    Great ideas! We don’t have a big budget for dates so these are perfect!

  12. Amy Jones says

    February 14, 2016 at 5:16 pm

    Love them all i can definetely see myself doing all of these! They’re all great ideas

  13. Alyssa Arnold says

    April 5, 2016 at 11:07 pm

    I love these! I see so many posts like this with recycled ideas that just aren’t realistic, and these are so perfect! I can totally see my husband and I doing them. So fun. Thank you!!

  14. kim says

    April 18, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    Here’s a few of my fav. cheap dates that we’ve done:
    We hiked around a beautiful island, went on the rocky beach surrounding it to look at the crabs and other creatures and had a picnic supper that I had packed. The only thing it cost us was the gas money to get there.
    Sometimes restaurants have neat deals on like one restaurant had a 60’s day and not only did all the waitresses wear poodle skirts but the prices were the same as they were in the 60’s. I got a cheese burger platter for $3.50. In the city I live in, once a year DQ has an ‘ice cream by donation’ day so you can donate a dollar and get an ice cream. One time we went for a late night drive through the back woods, parked and just looked at the stars and talked and kissed. We also like to try a new recipe for supper (make it together) and then give each other back massages and back scratches while watching a movie. Tubing is also fun. You can rent a tube for 12$ each and tube down a river. For a date with her husband my sister bought 2 kites from the dollar store (they were 3$ each) went to a local park and packed a picnic lunch for a date.

  15. Anna says

    August 16, 2018 at 2:11 am

    I love the idea of the dollar store. I would like me and my love to get as many coloring books or CroSsword puzzles for $1 and go to a nursing home To hand out to the ones that are left there without visits from friends and family!

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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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Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so p Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so proud of this boy. We are constantly told by others how kind and sweet his is. I mean, we know it too, but it means even more when his character shines through even when mom and dad aren't watching. We love you so much "Puppy!"
More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽ More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽
The start of a new school year has always felt lik The start of a new school year has always felt like more of a “New Years” to me than January 1st ever did. The air starts getting more crisp (thank goodness), the leaves start to change, and the house is quieter (now that the kids are in school, and just during the day, ha). 

Every year around this time I can clearly look back and see how our family has changed. Last year, we had just said goodbye to the boys (our first foster placement) and our family was making sense of the whirlwind that had just happened over the summer. This year, David is way more into soccer, Evy is telling me about the conversations the girls at school are having (she’s a huge people-watcher), and of course Cleo is getting so big! Her first two teeth made their appearance this week and we’re also pretty sure she said “Dada” the other night. 

It really goes by so fast. But little memories like the ones in these photos will last. I remember going apple picking with sweet family friends as a kid and I love doing that for our kids now. 

What traditions have you tried to pass down to your kids?
Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Sinc Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Since she's been a baby, I've been learning that she needs love in a very different way than David does. After school and before bed, she especially needs all the love, attention, and cuddles. 

Today I had a pretty hard day with several hours of intensive Zoom calls. They ended right as the kids got home from school and when I was done, I just felt this deep exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with my kids and never look at a computer again 🤪. 

I realized that's probably how Evy (and David, but mostly Evy) typically feels after a long day. I can tell that it's especially draining for her. So I was reminded to be extra gentle with her emotions, especially on school days when there's just so much going on and it can feel pretty intense, especially at that age. And especially to us introverts 🫠 Anyone else have highly emotional kiddos?

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Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so p Happy birthday to our 9 year old goob! We are so proud of this boy. We are constantly told by others how kind and sweet his is. I mean, we know it too, but it means even more when his character shines through even when mom and dad aren't watching. We love you so much "Puppy!"
More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽ More photos from this weekend 🍂🍏⚽
The start of a new school year has always felt lik The start of a new school year has always felt like more of a “New Years” to me than January 1st ever did. The air starts getting more crisp (thank goodness), the leaves start to change, and the house is quieter (now that the kids are in school, and just during the day, ha). 

Every year around this time I can clearly look back and see how our family has changed. Last year, we had just said goodbye to the boys (our first foster placement) and our family was making sense of the whirlwind that had just happened over the summer. This year, David is way more into soccer, Evy is telling me about the conversations the girls at school are having (she’s a huge people-watcher), and of course Cleo is getting so big! Her first two teeth made their appearance this week and we’re also pretty sure she said “Dada” the other night. 

It really goes by so fast. But little memories like the ones in these photos will last. I remember going apple picking with sweet family friends as a kid and I love doing that for our kids now. 

What traditions have you tried to pass down to your kids?
Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Sinc Evy has always been very much a Mommy's girl. Since she's been a baby, I've been learning that she needs love in a very different way than David does. After school and before bed, she especially needs all the love, attention, and cuddles. 

Today I had a pretty hard day with several hours of intensive Zoom calls. They ended right as the kids got home from school and when I was done, I just felt this deep exhaustion and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with my kids and never look at a computer again 🤪. 

I realized that's probably how Evy (and David, but mostly Evy) typically feels after a long day. I can tell that it's especially draining for her. So I was reminded to be extra gentle with her emotions, especially on school days when there's just so much going on and it can feel pretty intense, especially at that age. And especially to us introverts 🫠 Anyone else have highly emotional kiddos?
My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling My phone rang this morning just as we were pulling away from dropping the kids at school. A little baby needed a home until his adoptive family could come get him. 

At the time, we didn’t know his name, his gender, or anything about him. We were told he was healthy and we’d get more details later.

And we said yes! We thought it would be longer but his adoptive family is BOOKING it to get here and take him home forever. He will be so loved!!

I love that we get to share moments like these with our kids. I know they’ll remember them for a looong time to come.
Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not ev Sometimes I just need to remind myself that not every moment needs to be filled with productivity. And sometimes I don't need to multitask. Easier said than done for me anyway. But I'm trying to intentionally practice slowing down. How do you try to slow down?

Shoes @naot.northamerica
Dress @shopbohme
Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋 Do Butterfly hair! It's easier than it looks 🦋

Doing fun hairstyles with Ev has been a new way for us to bond, especially since Cleo's joined us. Would you try this one??
I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I n I'm working to adjust my mindset from thinking I need to rush while the baby's asleep to get things done to rather bringing them along with me when I can. 

Cleo loves being worn and, for the time being, is super content just watching me unload the dishwasher, make dinner, or tag along to grab Evy and David from the bus. 

And I'm way more at peace when I don't feel like I need to rush or time is running out. We have time and most things we have to do in a day aren't urgent.
Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 Baby's first taste of solids: banana edition 🍌 What was the first food you gave to your baby?
Just a Wednesday afternoon and a book 📖 👀 th Just a Wednesday afternoon and a book 📖
👀 the comfiest heels I own by @naot.northamerica 
#naotic

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