If it ain't Scottish...

Ava and I brace ourselves for a week of solo flying as Joe heads to Scotland for a conference. Very exciting that he was invited to speak overseas - his first time there - but jealous that I couldn't go with him. Before Ava was born, we toyed with the idea of me joining him for a few days at the end of the conference . . . with baby. People fly with infants all the time, right? And it's only a 7 hour flight. No biggie. Um, yeah. That plan changed quickly to the "see you in week, dear, and have a good time" when we realized just how much crap I would have to pack in order to have any kind of normal time with the baby and just how much I'd have to unload through security at the airport. All by myself. No thanks. So, Joe's off drinking in Scotland (let's not fool ourselves on that one!) and I'm home with the baby. Drinking.

Seriously. The first thing I did after Ava went to bed was reach for a glass of red wine (Pinot Noir, my new favorite kind) and the brownies. Granted, they're black bean brownies and not nearly as decadent as the triple fudge box brownies we usually love, but hey, they have fiber, so they can't be all bad!

Most of this afternoon was good - first I went to a birthday party for a friend but was only to stay for an hour as Joe and I had lunch plans for he flew out. Then Ava took a short nap (I've decided to stop wishing for her to take long naps - that'll come with time; for now I'm just happy if she has a good nap - I always ask her "Did you have a good nap?" and I assume from the smile, that she did indeed). After some milk and a little playtime, she and I ate some dinner (me spaghetti, her peas) and then went outside to water my plants. Then inside for tubby time and story time and bedtime. Then wine and brownies. And while it is later now than I'm used to, I think a bubble bath is in order - I lugged Ava around in the baby bjorn and boy is my back killing me. I'd go for more wine but the bottle is empty (after several days of being open - don't get the wrong idea!).

Plans for the week: babysitting a friend's daughter one morning, a baby playdate with Ava's friends one afternoon, meeting with another friend to discuss a photo shoot for her portfolio and getting ready for Grandma and Grandpa who come to visit this weekend and keep me company while Joe is gone.

I think we can manage!