Abby Off the Record — The scoop on life, writing & raising kids

The Toughest Week of the Summer

July 29, 2014

It’s mid-summer. The pool is strangely uncrowded. The parks are almost deserted. Every other car that drives by is laden with bikes and kayaks. You know what that means… vacation time. No, not for us. We already went on our vacation. For our babysitter. Each year when it rolls around, a mild panic sets in, […]

Read the full article →

Field of Dreams

July 21, 2014

The hubs and I had dinner with some old friends of his recently. The guy is retired from the military and involved in all sorts of exciting pursuits, from going back to school to taking cooking classes, which he enthusiastically told us all about. His wife seemed so supportive and thrilled for him. I don’t […]

Read the full article →

On Dinosaurs and Talking to Kids About Death

July 15, 2014

I will never forget the night my older son, who was maybe 5 or 6 at the time, appeared in the living room doorway long after we thought he was asleep, sobbing. His narrow shoulders were shaking and his hand was pressed to his lips. “What’s wrong, sweetie?” we asked him, bewildered. “D-d-does extinct mean […]

Read the full article →

My YouTube Debut, and Other Things On My Bucket List

July 9, 2014

My bucket list, if you could call it that, all started with the Milestone Birthday I recently celebrated. Leading up to it, I felt the urge to try some new things, put myself out there, take some risks. I decided to start with public speaking. Because why not tackle the one thing most people fear […]

Read the full article →

Fun with Photo Apps

July 7, 2014

I’m back from vacation but not really “back” yet, if you know what I mean. All I want to do is leave the unpacking and laundry for later and go through all my photos. So today I thought I’d share a couple of fun photo apps, under the guise of imparting some useful information while […]

Read the full article →

Scenes from a Summer Vacation

July 2, 2014

This post from a couple of years ago is one of my favorite vacation-related posts. Kids and their questions. And poop jokes. Originally posted Aug. 2012: Some scenes from our annual family vacation at the lake: On a walk with 3 kids, ages 6, 5, and 3 “Guys, see that flower? It’s called Queen Anne’s […]

Read the full article →

The Evolution of a Family Vacation

June 30, 2014

When you have a baby or very small children, your summer vacation is drastically altered. It usually goes like this. Remember that sleep-deprived summer when my youngest was 5 mos. old when I considered bailing out of our family vacation at 4:30am? I stayed, but only because I couldn’t take out the car seats by […]

Read the full article →

A Lazy Summer Morning

June 27, 2014

“Mama? Can we go downstairs yet?” I crack one eye open and squint at the clock: 5:56 a.m. Are you kidding me?! “No, not yet, buddy. It’s way too early. Come lie down with me.” Shuffle, shuffle, kick to the kidneys, swipes the covers. Oh, what’s the point? No one’s getting any more sleep this […]

Read the full article →

Wise Words (and Wall Décor) from Dr. Seuss

June 23, 2014

We are big fans of wall decals in our house. When my kids were little, I got some shaped like blocks, which we made into houses and boats. As they got older, we swapped those out for life-sized Batman and Spiderman decals. (Although my older son admitted it was slightly alarming to wake up and […]

Read the full article →

Fun Friday: 3 Things I Like

June 20, 2014

Happy Friday! Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Have I got suggestions for YOU! First of all, you must go see this movie, Chef. Watch the trailer here. I love, love, loved it! It touches on all my favorite themes – parenthood, social media, doing work you love. Plus, the cute kid in […]