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

If You Give a Mom a Minute

June 21, 2013

If you give a mom a minute, she’ll probably unload the dishwasher. Or throw in a load of laundry, or sweep up the dried Play-Doh crumbs under the table. When she goes to dump out the dustpan in the bathroom wastebasket, she will notice the wet towels on the floor and waterlogged bath toys in […]

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Survey Says…

June 19, 2013

The results of my super-scientific blog survey are IN! Are you on the edge of your seats wondering whether readers are turned off by previously published posts from your archives? Good news! Nearly 80% of respondents say it doesn’t bother them at all, and over 70% say they read these posts anyway. As an apt […]

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Marriage Advice from a First-Grader

June 17, 2013

My son’s first-grade teacher is getting married this summer. At the end of the year, a group of parents who are much more on the ball than I am decided it would be fun to compile a book of marriage advice from her students. So they sent around a little sheet for the kids to […]

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Why I Feel Bad for Dads Sometimes

June 14, 2013

I feel bad for dads sometimes. I mean, mostly I’m like, “I WISH I could go to a nice, quiet, air-conditioned office all day and talk to other adults and enjoy free deli platters in the conference room and then come home and play with the kids for 20 min. before bed and grab all […]

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What Do You Think When a Blogger Does This?

June 12, 2013

Help me settle something, people, will you? I was having a discussion with a fellow blogger recently. People who’ve been blogging for years and years like we have like to talk about nitty-gritty details like traffic, platforms, plug-ins and widgets, keywords and analytics, that sort of scintillating stuff. But often, it comes down to: when […]

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Seven Is…

June 10, 2013

Seven is… Pokémon and comic books. … first grade and missing teeth. … best friends and “worst favorite” foods. … shaggy hair and skinny arms. … teddy bears and video games. … drawing comics and reading books. … knock-knock jokes and potty humor. … buffalo wings and mint chocolate chip ice cream. … fighting some […]

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Baby Keepsakes: What’s Cute and What’s Creepy?

June 6, 2013

I keep a lock of my son’s hair from his first haircut in a Ziploc baggie in my desk drawer. I can’t decide if that’s sweet or creepy. And then there’s the question of what am I going to do with it? I’m a blogger, not a scrapbooker! Over the years, I’ve had a tough […]

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Why You Should Never Take Your Kids on a Bike Ride

June 3, 2013

Over Memorial Day weekend we were hanging out with some of our neighbors. One woman is from Colorado and very outdoorsy. Unlike those of us who drive our big ol’ gas-guzzling SUVs to the corner store for milk, she walks and bikes everywhere she can, and drives her hybrid wherever she can’t. And yet somehow […]

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Deep Thoughts About Sunglasses

May 31, 2013

I bought myself a new pair of sunglasses. See? They were a total impulse buy at Anthropologie, one of my favorite stores ever. They cost more than I’d usually spend on a pair of sunglasses – I’m a “cheap pair in every purse” kind of gal – but I loved the colors and the shape […]

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Who’s Really the Boss in Your House?

May 29, 2013

It starts at birth: new parents will do whatever it takes to keep their baby happy, even if it means rocking them around the clock, never sitting down while holding them, or bouncing on an exercise ball for hours trying to burp them. And it continues into toddlerhood, when little Miss or Mister Bossypants tells […]