Phew!

Where have I been, you ask?

Here is where I have been:

The application has been so time consuming, I keep forgetting that I still actually have to take an exam to get licensed here. But, after a painstaking number of things I definitely did not have to do for my Illinois bar exam (fingerprints, DMV records, and about a million trips to the notary, etc.), it's postmarked 3/14, one day before the deadline of 3/15. Hopefully it's complete enough that I do not have to shell out the extra $550 in late fees.

Meanwhile, a few other things happened.

1) The Curve Hotel Palm Springs handled the whole Beg Bug Situation quite poorly, denying any possibility that her bite marks were from their hotel, despite Mia having slept nowhere else where she could possibly of gotten them. Daycare inspected their mattresses, we inspected our mattresses, and nobody at either location has gotten any more bites. So don't stay there. Even if you don't use their cribs, if you do end up having any kind of problem, they'll probably do an awful job handling it. Go to Palm Springs, it's beautiful. But stay somewhere else.

2) Mia was declared ready for the 2 year old room at Daycare. The night after they told us that, I actually cried. I honestly can't believe how quickly she's growing and learning and all that mushy stuff. They've been transitioning her from the 1 year old room to the two year old room for the past few days, with her spending a few hours in there a day. I was concerned because she had formed such a bit attachment to her 1 year old teacher, but it looks like that has significantly subsided. Also, she has a "best friend" in the one year old room whose name she repeats and repeats throughout the evenings and weekends. I actually crossed paths with Best Friend's father at pick up, and he informed me that Mia's name was often repeated as his house as well, so thankfully the feeling is mutual. We've been assured that said best friend will be following into the two year old room in a few weeks. The only thing with the upgrade to the 2 year old room leads to...

3) Potty Training. They have a little potty in there for the two year olds, and part of normal practice is to start putting them on there as soon as they move up to that classroom. So, for the sake of consistency, we are getting one too. I hadn't thought about it yet, honestly, assuming we'd wait until she was over 2 to start. Mia's very verbal, but I'm not sure about how ready her bladder is for this kind of thing. I think for now, we'll just start sitting her bare butt on that plastic little toilet and see how it goes.

It's been a tough couple of weeks. The Bar Exam is looming, and my baby is a child. Look: