Thursday updates

• Kerri is having a birthday party this Saturday at a party place that specializes in her age group. Her entire Kindergarten class is invited. There will be one hour of craziness on the play structures, and then another hour of food and entertainment in a private room, followed by another half hour of arcade machines, ticket counting and picking out goodies. Kerri has selected a "Batman" birthday cake. The only thing her Daddy and I have to do is take pictures!
• I ended up in the hospital because of the back pain that has kept me in bed the last three weeks. My discs are arthritic and one is worn but they are not the cause of the painful Sciatica. So I am awaiting my October 5th appointment with a specialist. In the meantime, I remain on medication. I am normally loopy, so no one is the wiser, but you can tell when I walk that there is something wrong.
• My Mom fell and is now in Hospice. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. I so want to get on a plane and go there, but right now that is impossible in my current state of health.
• Thanks to our good friends Candy and Shari, we now know how to Skype! Hubby had his final interview via Skype and now we are awaiting patiently to hear the outcome. So we still don't know if we are moving to Paris or staying here. Hubby said using Skype was unnerving, since he had to look into the camera and could not see the person(s) reactions or expressions. I told him now he knows how an actor feels!
• Kerri is doing well in school, and has a new best friend, Vanessa. And the class already calls me by my new name, "Kerri's Mom". I think I remember my real name, but no matter where we go, I am "Kerri's Mommy". Parents call me to RSVP for the birthday party and ask, "is this Kerri's Mom?". So the next time I have to fill out a form that asks for my first name, I think I will write "Kerri's Mom". And I am proud of it, too.
• Speaking of RSVPs, I always get the awkward question regarding what Kerri wants as a gift for her party. And of course, I always answer that a gift is not necessary, only to be interrupted by Kerri who starts to yell out "I like Batman!". That usually breaks the ice, but boy, do I hate that question.
• Kerri is now into creating bug food. She says that "somebody has to feed the bugs." So we now have plastic containers on our front doorstep that contain mixtures of flour, rice, hand soap, crumbled paper and whatever else catches her fancy. It is disgusting!
• Fall appeared out of nowhere, while I was still waiting for summer to happen. It is now in the 60s and we are using sweaters in the mornings. The trees' leaves are turning orange and red, and some leaves have started to fall. Kerri has started a leaf collection.
• Kerri has decided that we no longer can pick out her clothing. Which means that yesterday she left the house with one purple feathered sock and one turquoise cotton sock. And striped pants with a flowery top that does not match. Topped off with a bright yellow jacket that totally stood out. Since her Daddy is taking her to school in the morning (because of my back), I get to be surprised every day when I pick her up. And then realize that she is the best dressed kid in her class! I am glad we are not the only ones who have a fashionista and creative dressing kid. As my friend Tammie likes to remind me, "if it doesn't kill you just let it go."

Life with Kerri is a kaleidoscope of love!