On November 26th I had my Oath of Allegiance Ceremony. It was scheduled for 9:15 am. My husband picked up his Mom the night before so she could join us for the ceremony. Our friend Ananth & Gerritt's godfather has also decided to share this special day with us. I thought the ceremony will begin at 9:15 am & be over in about 1 hour - plenty of time to get back home for Gerritt's morning nap. How wrong I was! We stood outside in a long line in freezing cold for about 25 minutes waiting to go through the security check point. Unfortunately, my hubby's Mom was not allowed to go inside since she forgot her ID. Ananth had to take her back to the parking lot so she could wait for us in the car. Once inside we still had to wait for what it seemed like forever. Finally, the ceremony began at 10:45 am. By that time Gerritt was fussy & clingy. I was required to sit in a separate area with other future US citizens, however, once Gerritt saw me there was no way he was staying in the family area with Daddy. So I had to hold him on my lap & watch him while he crawled around between the rows of sitting people. I don't think I've heard the word of the ceremony. I just remember watching a video about the first US immigrants & the Mayflower ship, listening to the introduction speech & then taking the Oath of Allegiance. There must have been over 100 people in the room that day so it took a while for me to receive my Naturalization Certificate. By that time Gerritt was inconsolable, yelling at the drop of a hat. We've decided to take off without me singing the National Anthem & hearing the closing words. All in all the day didn't turn out to be as special as I had hoped. We should have taken Gerritt to his daycare so we could be fully present for the ceremony. Oh, well, no one anticipated it to be so long & drawn-out... On the day after the ceremony both Gerritt & I got a cold that lasted for about a week. Probably a combination of freezing outside & being in a crowded place.
It feels great to be a citizen! I can't explain it - just this wonderful feeling of belonging & being at home. I have never felt like an outsider except in the very beginning of my arrival to the US, but now the last barrier has been removed.
We had Thanksgiving celebration with my hubby's Mom & our friends Ananth & Lan Lan the following day. We grilled cornish game hens & made baked sweet potatoes, steamed brussel sprouts with caramelized onions & bacon bits, stuffing, cranberry sauce & pecan pie. Gerritt had his first taste of the cornish game hen & really enjoyed chewing on a drumstick.
The day after Thanksgiving we went to shop at Ikea & bought a new bedroom set. I got tired of sleeping on the floor & the queen-size bed we used to sleep on was too crowded with baby & a dog (sometimes several dogs when my hubby's Mom visits). Plus it was too high of the floor for Gerritt to get on & off safely. I could just imagine him getting older & sneaking out of his bedroom at night to be closer to us. I really wanted the lowest bed possible, king-size, with a new, more firm, mattress. I had been having constant back & neck aches from our old mattress sagging & not providing enough support. We bought a new bed, a mattress, 2 bedside tables, a dresser & a cuddly soft dog for Gerritt - all for under $1500! We've assembled the bed on the same night - we could hardly wait to try it! The investment has definitely paid off. We both get much better sleep & rest & wake up in the mornings feeling refreshed. There is plenty of room for Spike & 2 kids if they want to join us in bed on the weekends.
A lot has happened over the past month again. Spike got neutered. We paid a little extra for the surgery so his incision was made with a laser rather than a scalpel = less pain & faster recovery. He did have to wear a diaper for 4-5 days afterwords to prevent him from licking his incision constantly. Otherwise his recovery was fast & uneventful.
I worked my last day in Marysville Clinic last Wednesday & had an interview for a nursing position at the Evergreen Medical Center the next day. The interview went well. I was really impressed with the Evergreen's nurse-to-patient ratio, RN scheduling & availability of assistive personnel to make RN job easier. Also the facility is new, beautiful, bright & well-designed ergonomically facilitating more productive patient care. I will hear the final word after my references are checked. The tentative starting date is December 15th & I can hardly wait! Who knew I would miss nursing this much? I had an interview at UW short-stay unit scheduled later on the same day, however, decided to cancel after learning some insider information from a friend. It turns out the shift I was applying for has had problems for a long time & the staff were unhappy - not a good place to work for someone who's pregnant.
I have also finished an online Advanced Pathophysiology course. I was thinking of going back to school for my post-Master's degree in Women's health, so this course was a requirement. I don't know how I did it - somehow I fit my studying in between baby's naps & in the evenings. I will be taking another academic leave for a year though since we can't afford my school right now. We can, but between me working part-time, another baby coming & house remodeling, money is tight.
I will be 18 weeks pregnant in 2 days. The baby has been moving a lot. I have finally started to look pregnant about 2 weeks ago. I am feeling well & so far able to keep up with Gerritt. We will find out the baby's sex in 2 weeks - seems so far away! I can hardly wait!!! It is as special & as much of a surprise as finding out baby's sex during delivery. We are hoping for another boy so he & Gerritt can grow up together, however, I'll be happy no matter what the baby's sex is. I would be shocked to have a girl, I just don't know what to do with little girls. Oh well, I didn't know much about little boys either & learned gradually. I have had no special dreams or intuitions, so have no idea who to expect... I've been craving orange juice, milk (I now have a glass before bedtime), salad greens (especially arugula), pomegranates, & kefir. All in all, I haven't had much time to think about this pregnancy. I haven't even thought about baby names yet.
