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

I Never Thought I’d…

July 17, 2013

…pick my child’s nose. Catch throw-up in my hand. Get intimately familiar with someone else’s bowel movements. When it comes to gross things I never thought I’d do, the list is endless. But becoming a parent changes all that. For instance, I used to pass out at the mere THOUGHT of blood. Squeamish to the […]

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Grown-Up Fairy Tales

July 15, 2013

Every once in awhile I’ll read a couple of books and see some movies that on the surface don’t seem to be related, but when I think about it, all have a common theme. The theme today is “grown-up fairy tales.” I’m at the age where people I know are getting divorced. Some have been […]

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Why I Can’t Work at Coffee Shops

July 12, 2013

As a freelance writer, I can technically work from anywhere I have a computer. I know lots of people who regularly set up shop in Starbucks to work. I am not one of them. I wish I were. This week my kids are in half-day camp at a place outside of my usual 5-mile radius. […]

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Why Not Turn the Whole World Upside Down?

July 10, 2013

Grownups. We’re so dense sometimes. And we take ourselves sooo seriously. We’re all, “Let’s try approaching our problems from another direction.” Or, “I read this fascinating article in Yoga Journal about how inversions are really beneficial for your cardiovascular and lymphatic systems.” Meanwhile, our kids are doing this: Eating upside down Reading upside down Even […]

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India.Arie, Spiritual Awakenings, and Braised Kale

July 8, 2013

Multiplatinum singer/songwriter India.Arie actually played a key role in my life, believe it or not. I’ll explain in a minute, but when I was flipping through my DVR the other night looking for something to watch and I saw she had appeared on Oprah’s “Super Soul Sunday,” I immediately pressed play. If you haven’t seen […]

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Holiday Celebrations, Post-Kids

July 3, 2013

I distinctly remember the Fourth of July when I sat home with my new baby watching a made-for-TV movie starring Winona Ryder while the rest of my family was out enjoying the fireworks display. Well, someone had to. As you probably have realized, celebrating takes on a slightly different slant once you have kids. It’s […]

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When Did July Happen, and Some Publishing News

July 1, 2013

Whoa! I looked up and it’s JULY. How did that happen?! We’re in the full throes of summer here, with all the kids’ activities, heat, mosquitoes, and abbreviated writing time that this season involves for us work-at-home moms. It’s OK, though. I may not be writing as much, but I am editing and polishing and […]

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Good Parenting Humor, Bad Drawings

June 28, 2013

I was going to do a reading roundup today but my in-laws are arriving in a few hours and you know what that means: less blogging, more cleaning. So I decided to focus on just one book today. It’s a fun book. A short book. My very favorite kind of book: parenting humor! And it’s […]

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My Love/Hate Relationship with the Pool

June 26, 2013

Ah, the pool. That liquid turquoise mistress for whom I have such complicated feelings. On the one hand, I love her cool embrace on a hot summer day. What else are you going to do when it’s 94 degrees out and humid enough to make your eyebrows frizz? On the other hand, a date with […]

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The Delicate Balance Between Motherhood and Writing

June 24, 2013

It was one of those nights when I was waiting at the door with my running shoes on for my husband to get home from work. One of those nights when I feel as though every last drop of patience has been wrung out of me like a sponge by small, sticky, surprisingly strong fists. […]