"Um, Bryce, what're you doing?"

"I'm making my bike have two wheels."

Where he found the wrench, I have no idea. How he figured out how to use it--again, clueless. Apparently, along with several other issues we seem to have inherited, mechanical ability is genetic. In my case, it skipped a generation. Too bad Bryce isn't tall enough to reach the van's engine. I could be saving myself some money right now.

With the training wheels successfully off his way-too-small bike, Bryce is ready to learn to ride without the "baby wheels." His project inspired two other would-be-mechanics. Brady actually got one nut off his scooter. Bryan gave up on his bike. [However, he is doing all "3 P's" in the toilet now (well, 2 of the 3 since thankfully he's not dealing with a stomach virus right now), so Bryan's experiencing success in another extremely important big boy area.]

Sydney has not attempted to use any tools today. But I'm including a picture of her and Courtney singing and dancing to a Hannah Montana song at their Girl Scout dinner earlier this month. They had fun, and we were proud of Syd for overcoming her stage fright.

(BTW, the wet patio and mud are the result of the wash down Bryce's bike received earlier today. I did stop Bryan & Brady from having a mud fight. Barely.)

Daddy's Home!

I don't know if this is true for all airports, but at ELP, family of service members are allowed access to the boarding gates. Barry didn't know this, so we surprised him by meeting him at the gate instead of at baggage claim. The kids were incredibly excited to go through the metal detector (weird, I know) and couldn't wait to see the planes through the windows. We got through security just in time to see Barry's plane on the runway. He was overwhelmed (in a good way) by having all 4 kids run to him as he walked through the gate.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for a safe flight!


The boys wanted to know why they couldn't ride this plane.


"That's Daddy's plane!"


The kids almost tackled Barry. Bryan's there--look for the red fire truck shoes. (Sorry it's blurry!)

Another Bryan Quote

We're waiting "patiently" for the time to meet Barry's plane. Bryan & I were just talking about who's coming home for a visit, then I kissed his cheek. He said, "Mommy kisses don't have germs in them."

Thanks, Bryan. I'm going to save this quote for the future as I'm sure your opinion is bound to change over time.

When Mom Can't Reach...

...just kiss the booboo yourself. This is a re-enactment since the original self-booboo-kiss happened in the van. Brady had fallen on the sidewalk while running to the van (because 2-1/2-yr-old boys DO NOT walk ANYWHERE) and decided it needed a kiss to feel better. I couldn't reach, so he took care of it himself. But he did ask me to blow a kiss to it from the front seat, which I did.

He said something to me about it, but I couldn't quite understand. I'm sure it was funny, though. If I ever figure out the translation, I'll pass it along.

The Merry Month of May

The last few weeks have been busy. May started with a headache--migraine, to be exact. While I caught the actual migraine early and drugged myself fairly well, my head hurt for 5 days after. That was absolutely wonderful.

Mother's Day was fun. My friend Mary H came over with her 2 kids. Her husband's in Korea, too, so we get together a few times a week. She helped me rearrange furniture, put down new carpet (remember, our floors are school-grade tile), hang new blinds (the old ones were a mess thanks to my ADHD yellow lab), and assemble new patio furniture. In return, I made BBQ brisket. YUM! Sydney & Lauren made a spa for us and spent their day chasing the 4 boys out of the spa room. I don't have any pictures of that because it's hard to be a spa client and photographer at the same time. But it was very thoughtful and fun. And the girls had a blast using their new High School Musical nail polish and lip gloss on us.

Bryan has been especially hysterical lately. We have officially entered the I'm-almost-4-and-I-will-talk-to-you-on-your-level stage. Allow me to share some Bryanisms:

Me (to Bryan while he was acting particularly ornery): Who do you think you are?

Bryan: Spiderman.

***

Bryan walks into Mary's kitchen, hand on hip, head cocked, finger tapping lip.

Mary: What's wrong, Bryan?

Bryan (sighs, heaves shoulders, spins on heel): Nothing.

***

Bryan was trying to get my attention, and I was busy. So Mary stepped in to help.

Mary: Bryan, what do you need?

Bryan: I'm not talking to you! I'm talking to my mom!

(Yeah, that one got a tongue spanking.)

***

Bryan (immediately after waking up and walking into the kitchen): I can't take this any more! I'm going back to bed!

And he did.

***



Bryce & Bryan love the new bistro & bench. I decided on the small set because they're made of iron and don't move during 60 mph wind gusts.




Bryan & Brady love cymbals. No noses were harmed during their concert.




Sydney's on the table next to her friend Courtney. Bryan & Bryce are closer to the front. These are the pre-k to 5th graders I work with at PWOC. Bryan, although not technically old enough to be in the pre-k class, graduated early because he was bored to death with the 3 yr olds. He loves the older room and does very well. Except when he & Bryce get mad--then Michael (Mary's boy) joins in because he might as well be their brother...I'm sure you get the idea.

I'd Like To Thank the Academy...

Yeah, so when I received the engraved invitation to the volunteers' reception last month, I figured it was no big deal. I'm a registered volunteer on post, have been for a few years now. I thought this was a randomly generated invite. The RSVP deadline was approaching, but to find someone to watch the kids, wow. So I wasn't going to RSVP. Then Barbara called me. "Amy, did you get the invitation in the mail?" I couldn't deny it, and since she was at the planning meeting, I had to tell her on the spot that I'd be coming.

My friend Jenny agreed to keep the kids so Mary H could go with me. A few days later, Barbara called me again. "Security's going to be tight because our guest speaker is the Secretary of Defense's wife. All of the awardees have to be early, so make sure you're there by 12:30." That was my first real clue that I was receiving some kind of an award. Honestly. I kinda suspected it because Barbara had pressed me for an RSVP, but I wasn't sure.

So today was the reception. I didn't know what to expect, but I was excited. Honored, really. LTC (CH) Ahl (who wrote my recommendation for seminary) and his wife, Jane (PWOC president and my friend), were there, too. Jane said she only came to support me. Thanks, Jane! Secretary Gates was there with his wife--who kept her remarks minimal. (Thank you, Mrs. Gates!) One hundred sxity-two volunteers were recognized by the post commanding general, Major General Howard Bromberg. COL Rossi, Mrs. Bromberg, and Mrs. Rodgers (the command sergeant major's wife) shook our hands and gave us our certificates and coins.

I had to apologize to Barbara for not realizing how 'big a deal' this really was. I think tonight we'll celebrate with something that can be delivered.


Barbara Cotton, the Protestant Director of Religious Education, nominated me for the Helping Hands award. Barbara helps me with PWOC, but she's in charge of Sunday school and VBS for all of post. So she's kind of my boss, too.




The certificate reads, " Celebrate Volunteers Certificate of Appreciation is presented to Amy Crossman, Helping Hand Service Award, Religious Actitivies--In recognition of your unwavering devotion and outstanding service to the community from April 2007 to March 2008. Your selfless service has improved the quality of life for the Soldiers and Family members of Team Bliss. The commitment and dedication that you exemplify is a proud tradition of the United States Army." General Bromberg signed it! The coin reads, "U.S. Army Volunteer Corps A Tradition of Service" on one side and "Fort Bliss Army Volunteer Corps Serving the Nation" on the other.

"Beathing Teatments" Help Bryan's Cough Box

In honor of Grandma Buck, I share this short but cute Bryan story. Grandma always wanted to know when my kids said cute things. Had she been computer savvy, she'd have loved what I've shared on this blog.

Anyway...

Bryan has bronchitis--again. Our weather has been extremely dry and incredibly windy. And the 80+ degree temps during the day that give to the 40-degree temps at night aren't helping. Of course Bryan desperately needed a breathing treatment during our only power outage so far this year. Once the power came back on, though, I gave him one which immediately calmed him down and let him breathe well enough to sleep. Perhaps the Benadryl helped with that, too.

When he woke up from his nap, he said, "Beathing teatments are awesome! I feel better now. My cough box is fixed." The cough box, for those of you not familiar with anatomy from the perspective of a 3-1/2 year old, is located in your mouth. Bryan's cough box kept him up all night last night and made his tummy hurt this morning.

So for the next few days, we'll be doing the breathing treatments every 4-6 hours as needed. We have to keep that cough box fixed!