One of the major news since my last posting is that I successfully completed my US citizenship interview today. I have applied last March & after 2 sets of fingerprints I was finally invited for an interview on November 17th. It was set for 7:20 am so I was up at 5 am - just in time to feed Gerritt, change his diaper, have breakfast & review my US civics & history lesson book. The interview didn't take very long - about 25 minutes. The written English test consisted of me writing one sentence in English "I am too busy to talk to you." The conversational English was assessed during the interview itself since no test was administered. Lastly I was tested on the US history & civics: What do stripes on the flag mean? What were the original 13 colonies of the US? Who said "Give me liberty, or give me death?", What was the 1st holiday the pilgrims celebrated? What is the highest judicial institution in the US? How many times can a senator be re-elected?" The woman who interviewed me was very nice. I was waiting for this moment for so many years & it was over all too quickly. After making copies of my hubby's passport & naturalization certificate, I was free to go. I was told to return for the Oath of Allegiance ceremony on November 26th at 9:15 am. I can't believe I am going to be a US citizen in less than 2 weeks! The US citizenship is an unattainable goal for so many people in the world, it almost seems like a dream. It too bad I have to wait another 4 years to vote for a president. I wish I could have participated in this historic election when the 1st African American, Barack Obama, was selected to be the next president of the US.
These past few weeks have been busy again. I gave my 1-month notice to resign at Planned Parenthood in Marysville with my last day there being December 3rd. The commute from Bellevue has been too long & occasionally dangerous (in times of heavy rain). I can't even imagine what would happen if the roads were icy or it was snowing. I've been looking for a new job for a while now & it hasn't been easy. Most of the Nurse Practitioner jobs are full time & everyone wants experience. I have almost a year under my belt but it's in women's health. Ideally, I would love to work 3 days a week in rheumatology or dermatology practice. I haven't left PP completely, however, and will be working in the U-District on Saturdays (only 4 hours in the morning). I have worked there a few months ago & really enjoyed it. All in all it's a great place to work with the exception of anti-abortion protesters standing outside pretty much every Saturday. Good news is that they don't know whether I work as a massage therapist, acupuncturist or real estate agent since there are so many other offices in this building. I never wear my white coat or have a stethoscope around my neck while outside so I can remain anonymous.
I even thought of going back to floor nursing while I look for a good NP job. I had an interview at Overlake Medical Center last week for what I thought was a short-stay/outpatient procedure unit (3 days a week). Since I am pregnant & will only get bigger from now on, I have no desire to do heavy lifting & be on my feet all day long. It turned out the position involved regular general medical-surgical patient care (meaning I may have to take care of a 500-pound gastric bypass patient, a quadriplegic, or an elderly patient with uncontrollable diarrhea). No, thanks! Plus, Overlake is not as advanced as UWMC. Most of the patient charting is still done on paper. When I asked the manager what strategies are in place to prevent back injuries for nurses, he stumbled & had to call one of the charge nurses to ask. In contrast, UWMC has a lift team available for getting heavy patients in & out of bed & transfers. So I am back to looking... I've applied for a per diem nurse position on a short-stay/outpatient unit at UWMC. I used to float there in my other professional life, so I know the patient population well. I have also applied for a public health NP position. The recruiter called me & told me they had to eliminate some of their NP positions due to economy/lack of funding, so she wasn't sure what positions would be available in a month or two. She said she'll keep my resume on file for the next 6 months & let me know if anything part-time becomes available.
My belly is getting bigger by the day. I haven't gained much weight though since I am so busy chasing Gerritt & some days I don't eat as often as I should. I felt the baby move last week so he or she is growing. I will be 15 weeks pregnant this week. I am planning on asking my midwife Sally for another ultrasound referral to determine the sex of the baby around December 10th or a little after when I'll be around 18 weeks along. I can't wait to find out! I will be holding my breath & my heart will be beating fast during the ultrasound. For me it's just as special to find out the baby's sex early as it is during the delivery.
Gerritt has been busy, busy, busy! He is cruising around the house (walking while holding on to furniture), opening the kitchen & bathroom cabinets & getting everything out every chance he gets. One of his favorite drawers is full of tupperware that he likes to bang & if it's large enough to put on his head. He also loves the dishwasher & can easily spend 30-40 minutes reorganizing the dishes & the silverware. I have to watch him carefully since once in a while he attempts to climb in it. We also have one empty kitchen cabinet that Gerritt loves to climb into & play peak-a-boo with one of us. Gerritt enjoys feeding our toy poodle Spike & throws dry dog food all over the kitchen floor during Spike's dinner time. Gerritt is fascinated with water & loves to dump dog's water dish every chance he gets. He is now tall enough to reach for things on our kitchen table so we have to be on constant alert for hot liquids/foods or heavy/sharp items. I am still Gerritt's favorite person, so when I take a shower, he finds me in the bathroom & peaks his head from behind the shower curtain to check on me. Usually he is busy emptying one of the bathroom drawers so I have a few minutes to relax. Gerritt likes to bathe except washing his hair. Water got into his eyes a couple of times in the past so he screams loudly if I put even a drop of water on his head. So I wash his hair once every 2 weeks now & it's a 2-person effort.
My husband & I have been sleeping on the mattress on the floor ever since our move so Gerritt loves to climb on top of it & throw himself back onto fluffy down pillows & blanket. He has so much fun, he squeals with excitement. He is such a smart boy because he came up with a way to get off the mattress safely after falling off & hurting himself a couple of times. When it's time to get off, Gerritt lays on his tummy with feet pointing toward the floor. He slowly & gently lowers one, then the other foot until they are both firmly on the ground. It is so funny to watch! For this reason I try not to be too protective & allow him to get hurt sometimes. As a result, he learns how to do a task better next time.
Gerritt still naps twice a day for the most part (between 10 am and 12 pm and 3 and 4:30-5 pm). Lately, he has been refusing to nap until he is absolutely exhausted. There is just too much stuff for him to do & to see, he doesn't want to loose even 1 hour. He is on his best behavior in the mornings so all of my errands & doctor's appointments are usually scheduled before noon.
