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

My Morning Ritual

September 23, 2015

Every morning, after the whirl of breakfast and teeth-brushing and where-did-I-put-my-keys ends with a slammed door and the boys are finally off to school with their dad, I put on my sneakers and take the dog for a walk. Her ears perk up the minute she hears the rustle of the plastic poop bag I […]

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Happy Moms’ New Year!

September 1, 2015

School is back in session! Otherwise known as Moms’ New Year. Once again, I am positively giddy with freedom and possibility. But it’s not because summer was long and exhausting as, let’s face it, some of our past summers have been. We did get off to a very rocky start when my husband was hospitalized […]

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Things I’ve Learned About Happiness

August 16, 2015

As I wrote in my last post, I’ve started a new project as a way to put into practice some of the things I’ve been wanting to do, like be happier. Happiness is one of those concepts that can easily become vague and elusive. Ask anyone what they want out of life, what they want […]

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My New Project

August 9, 2015

There are 2 kinds of people in the world: those who talk about doing things, and those who actually do the things. My biggest fear is being one of the talkers who never quite gets around to the doing. For a while now, my friend Angie and I have talked about doing some kind of […]

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A Weekend to Myself

July 27, 2015

What would you do if you had a whole weekend to yourself? No one to cook for, care for, or pay attention to except yourself. Nowhere you had to be, nothing you had to do. If you’re like me, you might be confused by the question at first. Wait… 2 days all to myself? I […]

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And Then There Were 3

July 21, 2015

Three is not the magic number. There’s a reason that being the “third wheel” is not a good thing. Three people means there’s always an odd man out, nothing is ever even or equal. And yet that’s my two boys and me all summer: the 3 Musketeers. Only with fewer mustaches and squirt guns instead […]

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Cork Boats and Bad Blogger Jokes

July 10, 2015

My son’s third-grade homework assignment: present a “how to” project. He was supposed to come up with an idea for something he knew how to do and share it with his class — say, how to make chocolate chip cookies or how to make an origami frog. Fun, right? After a lengthy brainstorming session that […]

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Happy to Help

July 7, 2015

I’m still digging out from our family health emergency. SO many emails, phone calls, texts to return, thank-you’s to write. The experience gave me a totally new perspective on needing and accepting help, let me tell you. I’ve always liked to think of myself as someone who is generous in offering help, but who doesn’t […]

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When You Live Far Away from Family

June 22, 2015

What a week. A health crisis hit our house, not life-threatening but life-altering while we’re in the midst of it. Also, school let out. And more than ever before, I felt the impact of not living near family. Our wonderful neighbors and friends rushed in to help, and my intrepid sisters-in-law and mother-in-law came to […]

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How to Not Get in Trouble, by Riley, age 6

June 15, 2015

So, I came home from my blog conference all fired up to get on a regular posting schedule again and put together an editorial calendar and refine my themes and messaging and do all this other stuff I learned about. But then life intervened the way it does. Unexpected dramas and crises converged with birthday […]