Ellington, who turned three a couple of months ago, is a very strong-willed child. Very. When it came to potty training, he was pretty clear that he had zero interest. He would rather lay down and let you change him. We tried everything - bare bottom waist down, a large dinosaur in the bathroom with reward stickers when you potty and bribery with cars and cupcakes and even seeing his new friends at school use the bathroom. He had zero interest. Nothing motivated him to want to go. Lateef ...
Mom Life
Baby Led Weaning Recipes
I always thought I would be one of those moms who pureed all her babies' food way ahead of time and had it labeled and had it perfect in the freezer and ready for my little ones. When I was pregnant with Ellington, my pediatrician told me about baby led weaning ("BLW"). She recommended it and did it with her kids. I read up on BLW and as soon as I heard that there was a food introduction method that cuts down on time slaving over a blender and putting it in small containers, I was sold. I love ...
Keeping it Simple This Holiday Season
I made a promise to myself to keep it simple this holiday season. I honestly have had to keep saying this mantra quietly to myself for the past month. I, and all of us, have a tendency to think we can do it all. I've also been trying to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Being thankful and giving, spending quality time with our families and friends, giving to those in need, creating memories that put awe and a twinkle in our little one's eyes, making time to kiss under the mistletoe. For ...
Favorite Toddler TV Shows
Here's a list of our favorite toddler TV shows. If we're going to let our kids watch TV, we try to make it educational (obviously, there are some exceptions). We generally try to do as little TV as possible - an hour or two a few days a week. Also, we prefer to have a number of days throughout the week when they watch no TV - otherwise Ellington seems to crave it and ask for it all the time. BUT, when the TV is on for the Ellington, this is what he watches. Ellington is a little over 2 1/2 - I ...
Wild Salmon Cake Recipe on a Grateful Thanksgiving Day
The Sarnor family is a blended family. Lateef was married before and he and Sophia had Evan. One of the things I am most thankful for is that our blended family functions so smoothly. This recipe for wild salmon cakes is a recipe Sophia shared with us and it is now in my holiday brunch rotation. One caveat, this recipe does take a bit of time so I would not personally make it if I were also hosting on the same holiday, but this is perfect if you are just bringing a dish or two to someone else's ...
Moms Gone Wild
Apart from all the amazing-ness that is Japan, one thing this trip inadvertently did was allow me to be Hilary Sledge again. Not the mom or the wife, but just me. All those things now define me and I love it, but every now and then, every woman needs the chance just to hang with her friends and let loose a little. And also not to feel guilty about it. It will make me a better mom and wife. Don't get me wrong, I think I was in bed by 11 every night of this trip so it wasn't exactly moms gone ...