Proverbs 31: A Virtuous Woman – Blessed & Praised!

Happy Friyay! I am excited to share what I have learned about being a virtuous woman from Proverbs 31: 28-29. I found so many good thoughts just from reading those verses and looking at Bible commentaries.

From these verses I learned:

Little Eyes are watching you.

Your Husband wants to praise your excellence.

Be Jesus to your family.

Isn’t this verse just goals for motherhood and being a wife.

In the Benson Commentary it says: “Her children arise up – Whose testimony is the more considerable, because they have been constant eye witnesses of her whole conduct and therefore, must have seen her misdemeanors, if there had been any, as well as her virtues.”

Our children are our CONSTANT eye witnesses.

We can put on a show for the church ladies, but our kids see us when we are on the phone and they just knocked their plate on the floor while karate kicking their brother. 😉

They SEE how we react, either with godly correction spirit or “momma is about to lose it” spirit.

Her husband praises her.

Just like our children, our husbands see the true us.

And just like with our children – when we are repeating ourselves for the 16th time to our husband. We SHOULD say it with kindness. 😉

It is our small actions that we do everyday that we will be remembered by with our children and husband.

“The words of praise which the husband in Proverbs 31:28 is supposed to have addressed to the ideal wife.” -Barnes Notes on the Bible

The ESV Bible says – “many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”

The NIV Bible says – “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

Notice her husband praises her… the world doesn’t praise her…. the church doesn’t praise her…. her friends do not praise her… Whose praise are we living for?

In her husband’s eyes, she surpasses them all. As a wife and mother we are to serve Christ first, then our husband and children.

There is no grading agenda for what level of excellence you are at as a wife. Each family has different needs and seasons they go through.

A virtuous woman serves her family as Jesus would. We have to be Jesus to our family before we can truly be Jesus to anyone else.

So remember:

Little eyes are watching you.

Your husband wants to praise your excellence.

Be Jesus to your family.

~Gracefully Fashionable Britt

December 4, 2020December 3, 2020

Books, Routines, Education Toys, and How I Share Jesus with my Toddler.

My 17 month old and I try to read books daily, follow a routine, and try to learn skills like scribbling almost every day. But most importantly, I try to share Jesus with my toddler through books, music, and loving him as the gift from God he is.

I have a middle school teaching degree, but I don’t think you have to have an educational degree to teach a toddler. It is kind of funny how I get a little excited planning what we will do for the day. It’s almost like lesson planning… but the lesson can easily be destroyed depending on his mood. 😉 Bless toddler teachers. 😉

So today, I wanted to share with you things we do, toys we use, and songs we sing.

Click here to watch video!

In the morning:

TV Time

Normally after breakfast, I will let Milo watch 15-20 minutes of television. I use this time to get a few chores done around the house or any other important thing that needs to get done.

Milo loves the shows Patch’s Number Forest and Cal’s Sound Yard.

I highly recommend these shows. Milo has learned his numbers 1-4 and letters like A, E, C, and H from these shows.

Whenever Milo has been a good boy, feeling sick, or I am having to unload the groceries, I let him watch this Baby Einstein video for fun. He loves this show.

****AFFILIATED LINKS **** -DISCLOSURE- PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT SOME OF THE LINKS IN THIS POST ARE AFFILIATED LINKS AND IF YOU GO THROUGH THEM TO MAKE A PURCHASE I WILL EARN A COMMISSION. KEEP IN MIND THAT I LINK THESE COMPANIES AND THEIR PRODUCTS BECAUSE OF THEIR QUALITY AND NOT BECAUSE OF THE COMMISSION I RECEIVE FROM YOUR PURCHASES.

Books

In the morning we read 4-5 books. Here are my recommendations:

Pop-up peekaboo! Farm (This is a great book to incorporate stuffed animals as well as animal noises.

Pop-up peekaboo! Under the Sea

Eric Carle’s A B C ( I sing the ABC song after reading this book.)

If You’re Happy and You Know It – Little Words Matter. (Milo learned how to say “Amen” from this book!)

In the After Noon

Education Toys

Milo loves these Magnet letters. He is even learning to match them, like big S to small S.

He also enjoys playing with these magnetic dinosaurs.

I found this toy at Target. I will try to link it here! He enjoys pushing the shapes through the hole and turning it over.

I try to let Milo learn how to scribble with jumbo crayons and a notebook. He still doesn’t seem very interested in learning about scribbling. He does however love to put crayons in a small hole on his shoebox. Click here to watch! I think this is a great hand eye coordination skill he has learned.

As long as I am not busy, I never turn down books when Milo wants to read.

Here are some of his afternoon books:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You see?

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox

Trucks – Priddy Books (These book has flaps he loves to lift!)

Dr. Suess Books – Hand, Hand, Fingers Thumb (I try to also sing the song, “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” with books about the body.)

Poke-a-dot First Words ( Milo played with this for 10 minutes straight when he first got it!)

Night time

At night we spend family time together. Milo often plays with his toys and daddy. We always read books before bed.

Books for Bedtime

Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton ( Milo’s favorite bedtime book. I can read this book without even looking at the words 😉 )

Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton

Big Trucks Getting the Job Done Together (Milo learned how to say “Beep Beep” from this book!)

Pigs in a Blanket by Hans Wilhelm

How I share Jesus with my toddler

Sharing my faith with my son is one of the most important things I can do as a mother. I try to make time each day to read Christian books with him. I also try to sing with him every day the song, “Jesus loves me.” Each time we sing the song, I do the hand motions that I learned as a child with the song.

I recommend the iTunes album “The Best of Kid’s Bible Songs.” Whenever Milo seems fussy, this album seems to help and also great to play in the car.

Christian Books

God Created Everything illustrated by Pan Georgiou ( I could not find this online.)

Peek a Flap – Noah

Little Bible Heroes Storybook (This also has video links in the book to go with each story. Milo loves this book!)

Baby First Bible Story.

I also pray with Milo before each meal and at bedtime. He will even say “Amen” as soon as I start praying, because he knows food comes right after. 😉

I hope all these books and toy ideas can be helpful, especially with the Christmas holiday coming up.

I pray from all these activities Milo learns to love learning, reading, and Jesus.

~ Gracefully Fashionable Britt

November 20, 2020November 19, 2020

Day in my Life: 5 minute makeup routine, and a meatless meatloaf recipe!

Hey guys! Happy Friyay!

I am excited to share this post with you. I absolutely love the recipe I share – Meatless Meatloaf! I thought what better way to share this recipe then in a vlog with my cute little 17 month old.

I also share my 5 minute makeup routine while chasing a toddler, and special little moments throughout my day.

CLICK HERE to watch my vlog!

So let me share the recipe. 🙂

What you need:

3 eggs

1 stick of butter

2 packages of George Washington Broth. ( I bought mine off amazon – Click here!)

1 package of gluten free meatloaf seasoning. (You can check amazon or your grocery store for McCormicks gluten free or I get Victoria Taylor’s Seasoning Classic Meatloaf from Meijer!)

1 tub of cottage cheese -1% small curds

Rice Crispy cereal (I get the Kroger brand)

Recipe:

Melt your butter
Break and whisk your eggs
Mix eggs, butter, cottage cheese
Stir in the broth and seasoning
Add 2 tubs (use your cottage cheese tub) of rice crispy cereal
Mix!
Put in 9×13 pan (I have used other sizes as well!)
Bake on 375 for 50 minutes or until golden brown

This recipe is delicious! I wanted to share the recipe in time to share with your families over the Thanksgiving holiday.

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law. It can also be called a Special K Loaf.

Follow me on Pinterest as I try to share more gluten free vegetarian options!

Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Gracefully Fashionable Britt

April 10, 2020

DIML – 9 Month Old – schedule, exclusively pumping, & quarantine!

Hey guys! Happy Friyay! First, I hope everyone reading this is healthy and having a good day at home. I can’t believe my baby is 9 months! I wanted to share with y’all my 9 month old schedule (which is all over the place! LOL), my exclusively pumping journey at 9 months, and what it’s like being with a 9 month old in quarantine. I hope this blog post (AND video included!) can provide some entertainment for you and if you have any questions or tips, please leave them below!

Click here to watch the video!

schedule –

My baby, Milo’s schedule has changed more than ever. I feel like from newborn to 3 months there really wasn’t much of a nap change. The same with 3 to 6 months. But holy cow, 6 to 9 months is a HUGE change.

His naps have been all over the place. One day he only napped in 30 minute increments!

However, as I’m typing this, he’s currently taking his second nap in his crib!! So this phase will pass momma’s, I promise!

My only real tips for this is don’t cling so close to having a schedule. When your baby starts to yawn lay them down or rock them to sleep. That has been working great for me, and he’s kind of started creating a schedule all on his own!

Exclusively Pumping

Never did I think I would become so passionate about this topic. I have made multiple videos about my personal journey, I will leave linked down below.

Click here for my pump journey!

Click here for DIML with 6 month old!

Click here for DIML with 3 month old – Exclusively Pumping!

I currently pump 3 times a day.

5:30 am

1:30 pm

9:00 or 9:30 pm

I am pumping about 27 ounces a day and Milo is eating 20-27 ounces. I do have close to 400 ounces of breast milk frozen in the freezer. He is drinking one of them a day.

I currently have a count down on my phone for my days left of pumping. I plan on stopping on his birthday – June 19th, 2020!

Quarantine

Quarantine over all isn’t much different for me than normal every day. I am a working at home / stay at home mommy. So our schedule hasn’t changed much.

However, I do miss running errands with him, I’m worried how he will react next time we go to church (since it will be months since his normal church routine), I miss being able to go and visit my family in Tennessee.

Let me stop and take a moment… If you are reading this and currently serving in a job that is helping our community – thank you! Sincerely, thank you!

New things that I have been trying to add to our schedule since being on quarantine are : more Facetime talks with the grandparents, going on a walk, sitting on the porch, going on a drive, moving from room to room more for different activities.

We’d both go stir crazy if we just stayed in the living room. 😉

There are several other things I go over in the video: his favorite toys, cosleeping, and more! Scroll up and watch the video if you want to see more of our quarantine day. Or click here! 😉

I hope this blog post and video can give you some encourage and ideas for dealing with this time we are currently going through.

I am so excited for Milo as he is learning new things. I am also a little worried about the world he is going to grow up in. I guess that’s all a part of being a momma! ;).

Again, I hope you have a happy fri-yay! And thanks again to those serving us in our community!

~Gracefully Fashionable Britt