Sept. 23

I wrote this on 9/23 and it has taken me this long to post it:

9/23
It has been so long since I posted to this blog. Bad Natalie! Bad Mama! as my kids often say to me... usually earning themselves a timeout or an evil X on their responsibility chart.

Anyway, it is late September in Portland, Oregon. Brady is back at Madison H.S. again for his last of three years as an instructional coach. Eliot is 4.5 is in the Pumas classroom at Escuela Viva, his last year of preschool. Silas is 2.5 and started at Escuela Viva in the Tortuguitas class in early September. They both seem to enjoy school, but maybe Silas enjoys it more than Eliot. He is certainly more willing to admit it. And I am not working. I was laid off from The Nature Conservancy at end of May. My last day was June 7. I spent the summer visiting family with Brady and boys (Arizona and California, and my brother and his family came to Portland). We went camping a couple times at Oxbow Park. We went to Yachats for 5 days with Amy and did the beach, went hiking, and saw a whale rising right outside our rental house. I exercised more. I collected unemployment. And I applied for jobs and began the daunting task of networking, which has been far more enjoyable than I expected. I am continuing to do all those things as fall rolls in, except for the traveling and camping.

Eliot learned to ride a pedal bike in July. Silas learned to ride his balance bike the same month. We went to the outdoor pool as much as possible to enjoy the way sun, summer and sunblock smell so sweet when mixed with chlorine. Eliot took a soccer camp, and now both boys have started an indoor soccer class for fall.

And as I write this, I am on a bus headed back from Eugene where I attended orientation today for a master's degree program in strategic communications. It is a nights and weekends program, so I continue to look for work, either in communications, grants, or writing/editing.

I lost our camera in August, so I can't find some of our recent pictures. ... Update: found camera and will post photos soon, or go to flickr.