Kate Dyer-Seeley  

My feature story on Richard Jones appears in this month’s issue of Climbing magazine.  Which is nearly to the day one year after I sent my editor at Climbing my original query letter.  This particular feature is a classic case study in the process of writing.  Writing takes times.  And, I mean all writing.  My monthly column, freelance features in magazines and writing [...]

Batter Up to Battle Alzheimer\’s Luke had a jammed-packed celebrity schedule last week.  It began with his KGW debut and ended with throwing out the first pitch at PGE Park on Friday night.  Not an average week for a five-year-old and now I’m beginning to wonder if it might be going to his head.  In fairness [...]

I can’t say that prior to having Luke I frequented parades.  That’s not to say I don’t enjoy a good parade every so often–I am a full fledged America after all.  My toes will tap to the beat of brass band booming by.  It’s simply that having a preschooler lends itself to more parade viewing.   Last year Luke [...]

Apparently the new trend in preschool pranks is to have a leapin’ Leprechaun visit the classroom.  This crafty green guy from the Emerald Isle wrecks havoc on the room while the kiddos are distracted outside or in the gym.  In Luke’s classroom this week the Leprechaun expertly evaded the traps  set out–made skillfully of shoe-boxes and baited [...]

The holiday classic, The Polar Express, chugged into town last night (well technically Hood River but that doesn’t sound as festive).  At a time when holiday traditions are lost in a sea of big box stores and tech savvy kids who email annotated wish lists to Santa, our bumpy ride over rusted tracks just might [...]

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  This video cements the position I took in my last post.  My apologies to Duck fans and poets everywhere.

All right parents it’s time for a wake-up call, ditch the flashcards, the text books, grab your kids and get your silly on!  America is losing ground in the global market in everything from the value of our dollar to advances in technology, but now even our preschoolers are lagging behind.  Why?  Experts in early childhood education cite lack of play.  [...]

Ugh-so I noticed that my last couple posts have been lengthy and chocked full of medical research and terminology.  I was downloading photos of Luke’s field trip to a local pumpkin patch this evening and found this gem.  I thought it only fitting to lighten the load and share. There is a back story to this photo, [...]

The mantra this week in our house has been, “I’m not getting a work job.” A perfectly timed declaration as Luke heads back to preschool.  “You see Mommy,” he said while packing his action figures into a Ziploc baggie, “I don’t need a work job because I’m just gonna live with you forever.”  Such sentiments must be cataloged and documented now as surely they’ll slip away [...]

How did I miss this? The winners of this years Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest were just released. The contest is sponsored by San Jose State’s English Department and encourages writers to come up with the most ghastly opening line for a fictional novel. You can read all about the origin of the contest here.  I’m stamping [...]