March Madness

There's really nothing to say, but blogging about Beatrice reminds me that she really exists and makes me feel like there's at least something I can do. Today marks Day 51 since acknowledgment came from the US embassy, and that letter stated that "most cases will be processed within 60 days." Of course, in times when it goes beyond, they conveniently tell people that they meant 60 WORKING days, which doesn't come for us until, gulp, April 15th. No cases in her province have gone more than 60 days in ages and none have ever been denied, so we have no idea what the holdup is. Our agency has contacted the USCIS office in DC and they're supposedly looking into it, so we'll see what, if anything, next week brings. Beatrice is nearing ten months old. What we've missed in her life could fill several books and reduce me to tears if given more than two seconds pondering; instead, I'm trying to focus on the benefits of bringing home an older infant/near-toddler. Here's the list...

-shortened bottle cleaning time
-less formula expense
-less diaper expense
-better sleeping habits (in theory)
-less big equipment (swing, jumperoo, plastic tub, etc.)
-less teething time (?)
-stronger immune system (?)

My quest to stay positive is more successful some days/moments than others.