And we're off!

Tomorrow morning we are hoping to leave bright and early so that we have plenty of time to enjoy Mystic Seaport, CT before we continue on the last two hours of our journey to Cape Cod. Here's to hoping for minimal crying on the part of Oliver during our seven hour road trip. The van is pretty much packed. One suitcase is still in our bedroom because Paul hasn't packed his stuff yet. It's 8:15 pm, and he isn't home yet (even though he leaves around 3:30 am for work). The house is pretty clean (I really like to come home to a clean house), we got our school work done, and I packed food for our breakfasts and lunches during our vacation. We'll just need to buy things like milk and fruit once we arrive in MA. We usually eat dinner out, have breakfast in our unit, and either eat lunch in our unit or pack a lunch if we'll be out and about to save money. Oliver and I did some shopping while the other two played soccer during gym class. Nadia and I also got hair cuts today. I get one every 3-4 months, and it had been 3 months since my last one. Nadia usually gets one haircut a year, but she had gone 15 months since her last professional cut (although my sister gave her a trim last month). She had asked me a couple of weeks ago for it to be cut shorter, and I finally got around to scheduling the appointment. She cannot stand to have her hair brushed or put up in a pony tail or anything like that so she finally decided that shorter hair would be better. The hairdresser suggested cutting it as long as her bangs so now her hair is truly all one length. I think it looks cute! The only downside I can see is that it's going to need to be cut a lot more often. They only charge $8 for her haircut, but still that will add up over time. Maybe I can learn to cut it. I already cut Paul, Ian, and Oliver's hair every month or so. I just cut Paul's last night.

Of course the first thing I thought was, I want to show my mom a pic of Nadia's hair cut, but then I remembered nope that isn't going to happen. The same thing happened yesterday with Nadia playing the piano. She really took off this week and learned multiple songs in one week. She is very proud that she can now play the "Happy Birthday" song for example. Over the last two years I used to call my mom regularly to let her hear Nadia play a song on the piano. I miss all these little things. I am grateful she did hear Nadia play the piano some, and my mom was able to give my helpful tips with teaching Nadia to play the piano. I wish she had heard Ian play the piano, but that is never going to happen. Sigh. It's tough losing your mom. Well here's to hoping and praying for safety as we travel and for an enjoyable vacation. I am very glad I will not have to answer the question "Where's Daddy?" over the next eight days.