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

Goldilocks and the Quest for the Perfect Shorts

May 24, 2013

For a couple of summers now, I’ve been shorts-deficient. Short on the short pants. Coming up short on… You get the picture. I have running shorts for the gym. I even have swim shorts for the pool. (Much sportier than a swim skirt!) But I have not been able to find any regular old everyday […]

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Fun Places to Take Little Ones (And Some to Avoid)

May 22, 2013

The outdoor summer concert series in my town kicked off last weekend. When it first started, I was a new mom desperate to get out of the house and mingle with other adults. This was perfect. It was one of the few places my husband and I could go without a sitter or second-hand smoke. […]

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When You Give a Kid a Camera

May 20, 2013

Some relatives from California came to visit us last week, their first trip to Baltimore since I’ve had kids. This gave us a great excuse to play tourist in our own city. We visited the prettiest parks and best sandwich shops, went to the zoo and the Inner Harbor, rode the water taxi and enjoyed […]

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Our First Boy-Girl Playdate

May 17, 2013

Last year, an unprecedented event happened in our house: my then-5yo son had a playdate … with a GIRL. This is huge for a couple of reasons. First, whatever your feelings on gender stereotyping and all that, it’s an undeniable fact that when you have a house full of boys, testosterone takes over. Our house […]

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Facebook Ruined My Mother’s Day

May 15, 2013

Even though I love blogs and social media for the most part, I am not a huge fan of Facebook. This is mainly because every time I go on it, I end up feeling bad about myself. Mother’s Day was no exception. I came downstairs already a little grumpy because it’s not exactly “sleeping in” […]

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Happy Mother’s Day to Me

May 10, 2013

Because most things in my life are so complicated, whether I think they’re going to be or not, I really, REALLY appreciate when something is simple. When something just works out exactly the way I hoped, with minimal effort and stress on my part? Heaven! And that’s exactly what happened with my porch makeover. That’s […]

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My Latest Weird Health Issue

May 8, 2013

I’ve told you all before about how in the rare instances I’ve had a health issue, it’s always something weird like a thumb tumor, right? Well, this time around it was unexplained dizziness. I almost keeled over in yoga doing a forward bend, which was not only embarrassing but somewhat alarming to my yoga teacher. […]

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Why Kids Should Have iPhones

May 3, 2013

My son’s first grade class is learning about fact versus opinion, and how to craft a compelling written argument. I would like to share with you his impassioned essay titled, “Kids Having iPhones”: Personally, I don’t find his argument that persuasive. I mean, why is he worried about learning to drive a car at age […]

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The 5 Most Common Types of Moms

May 1, 2013

I feel lucky that I have a wide array of mom friends, no two alike. From Type-A to laid back, from by-the-book to by-the-seat-of-their-yoga pants. Whatever their parenting style, they all provide useful insights. For instance, one mom I know can identify a rash at a single glance. Another always reassures me that my child […]

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4 Reasons I Haven’t Been Blogging as Much

April 29, 2013

An email from my mom: funny pics from the Internet, an interesting link, motivational quotes, some motherly concern: “when you don’t post a couple of times in a row, I worry that your life has gotten unexpectedly complicated.” Ha! I love my mom. Remember when I was all “woe is me,” wondering why I keep […]