21 hours in vegas

i spent most of yesterday in las vegas for a client photo shoot. when you add in travel time, i was gone for just over 24 hours -- but it was the first 24 hours i've ever been away from the jackal.

in the planning phases, this was fine. it seemed like a perfect set up: my mom has been in town all week to keep me and jack company while b was at a conference, so she knew our schedule and jack had tooootally warmed up to her. plus he could stay in his own home. i'd leave after he went to bed one night and get home after he went to sleep the next night. piece of cake.

until the day of, of course. i started freaking out, imagining all sorts of horrible things that might happen to him or me or all of us while we were apart. but i had a flight to catch and i knew he was in good hands, so i left for the airport. [i was already emo, obviously, and then the night got even worse when i went through security and they made me throw away the jars of washington wildflower honey that i was bringing as gifts -- honey is a liquid?!? -- i would be lying if i said i didn't shed a few hormonal tears right there in the carry-on line. stupid terrorists ruining my life.]

ironically i spent both flights sitting next to tween girls traveling alone for the first time ever. they were cute and we became friends. shared starbursts and pretzels and did sudoku together. practically a slumber party at 10,000 feet.

the shoot went well, all things considered, and before i knew it i was going BACK to the airport. and you know the weird thing? i missed that boy a tonnn every time i thought of him...but for a few minutes throughout the day i almost forgot i was a mama. it's like i time traveled back to my old pre-kid life where i could do whatever i wanted at any time and not be covered in juice or yogurt. pretty fun for just a day.

i was SO excited to come home and see my boy and my mom. jack was happy to see me as usual but didn't act like anything out of the ordinary had happened -- guess that's a testament to my mom's good babysitting skills. then, six hours after i got home, we left for the airport AGAIN but this time to drop off my sidekick-mom who has been here for almost two weeks. between the business trip and a departing mom and a traveling husband and a whiny baby [teething?] ... let's just say i'm self medicating tonight with unlimited rice pudding, yoga and my google reader. what a week!