Kate Dyer-Seeley  

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 [...]

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.  [...]

In an homage to Luke’s favorite book (of the moment) Mr. Putter and Tabby Pick the Pears, we spent the afternoon picking pears in Hood River’s organic orchards.  The Fruit Loop tour winds through 36 fruit stands, farms, and orchards.  It’s like a wine tour for kids.  Since this is harvest season the orchards were ripe with peaches, apples, squash and [...]

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 [...]

 Ah the infamous summer lemonade stand.  As pictured here Luke and my niece, Elisa, two surly budding entrepreneurs spent a morning setting up shop on a highly visible corner.  I remember grand dreams as a child of lemonade sales that would ensure a summer stockpile of cash.  Forget stuffing pennies into a piggy bank or [...]

Before Luke turned two he was featured in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times.  You’d think I’d be accustomed to recieving instant messages and sketches sent via iPhone from my preschooler, but it takes me by surprise every time.  I wonder how access to technology will frame Luke’s world.  Don’t get me wrong I’m not a techno-phob.  My latest obsession is [...]

 I never envisioned being part of a two-dog family, and yet here I am fully immersed in puppy-hood.  I blame the boys.  I caved, succumbed to their relentless pressure, and of course our new edition’s soulful eyes didn’t help.  So here’s the story, we have a wonderful dog, Sophie, who is going on nine but still acts like puppy.  We adopted her long before we [...]

  Voting is open for the 2008 Children’s Choice Book Awards.  Kids get to vote for their favorites online.  The only drawback is the nominees are pulled from bestseller lists, which in our family meant that Luke demanded to know why Flat Stanley (his current favorite) wasn’t on the list.   

Admit it, all of us have fantasized at one point or another about seeing our name in lights. Here’s the question of the day: have you dreamed about your name in Peanut Butter and Jelly? Luke’s best buddy, Nate the Great, sent us a picture of his lunch last week which was Luke’s name cutout [...]

President Bush is up to his old antics, slashing funding, this time to Reading is Fundamental (RIF). I’m sure I’m on a list, or maybe multiple lists with how much I’ve been emailing and phoning my congressional representatives as of late. Usually I’m urging them to act on issues related to Alzheimer’s disease, but today [...]