Swing Set

Guess what, folks!? This past weekend, for only $30 on craigslist, I purchased one of the keys to a mother's sanity, and I am thrilllllllled with my new purchase! Those who own one already know what I'm talking about. And those who can read the title of this post can probably guess, as well. That's right, it's a .... swing set!

It may be an older model, the kind that squeaks and squawks a little bit from time to time. But it has all the swing set essentials -- slide, swings, see-saw and even a glider (remember those?). It's sturdy, it's safe, it's purple (imagine Sam's delight) and best of all, it's assembled in our back yard. yay!

So, as of 4 p.m. this afternoon (approximate time we completed assembly), I have been able to make a delicious custard dessert, prepare dinner in peaceful silence, and even clean the kitchen with no little people "uncleaning" everything I just cleaned. Is that not a measure of sanity worth appreciating?!

Yeah, I know it's just the "newness glow", and that soon enough our swing set will be just another piece of outdoor furniture that sits in the back yard, seldom used -- just like everyone else's. But for now, it is the new best thing, and we are loving it! Yay for swing sets.

(special acknowledgement of appreciation goes out to my father-in-law, who helped me disassemble and reassemble the set, he's a real handyman!)

Late night ramblings

I have been having trouble sleeping this week. I think it would probably help a little bit if I closed the computer and turned off the light, no? But in the meantime, I will also say, part of my problem is a pain in my arm. Usually Brian hears me out on all the aches and pain of this getting-older body of mine. But tonight, for lack of a listening Brian, I share just a small ouchy with my bloggers.

I have a pain in my shoulder. It hurts worst when I sleep, especially when I'm on my side and it's the shoulder on top. So weird. But it's not in the rotater cuff (I surmised from all I've read and studied about rotator cuffs in the past few weeks). It's also not any of the other problems I've read about as I've tried to figure out what's hurting. My brother told me it may be a torn muscle, and he very well could be right. He also told me the cure for a torn muscle is to not use it and let it heal up.

If that's all true, then I will continue to have a sore shoulder until Spencer learns to climb in and out his bed, car seat, and high chair by himself, and also prefers never to be held again. He is one hefty little guy these days. And I AM hefting him soooo much, it seems. I notice it even more for the ache in my shoulder. Sigh.

Samantha was saying her prayers tonight and she prayed specifically that I would go to the doctor and get my shoulder fixed. Whoah. I guess I've been whining to HER about it a bit more than I thought, huh? So yeah, I'm going to call a doctor. But I just wonder what kind of doctor to call on something like a weird shoulder pain that is not the rotater cuff? I can already invision my GP giving me a "never heard of that" look. A chiropractor wouldn't do much good on this one, I think, because it really does seem muscular. But I already did go to a massage therapist, and he just rubbed it until I wanted to scream, and I don't think that was the right "fix." So, maybe I need an orthopedic specialist or something? I know the first step in the insurance game is probably the GP, and he'll guide me on from there, right? Don'tcha sometimes hate the insurance game, though? Wouldn't it be nicer (and more timely, cost effective, and helpful) to just go to the person who can fix it right the first time around?

In other late night rambling news... I am camera hunting again. I mentioned that we lost our fourth camera, right? Now looking for number five. Yep, we've been married five years, and we're now averaging one digital camera per year. Nice average, I think. I've gone to a few stores, scoping out the scene. We really liked our last one -- a Canon Elph model something or other. (And I bet whoever helped us "lose" it is also quite liking it now, with its cute little red carrying case to boot!!) Anyway, I'm curious what other people think about their cameras. The time to toot your cameras' horns is now, folks. Only, if it's really pricey, keep in mind our "average" mentioned above -- the lifespan of a camera in our Bishop family is pretty short. Leave a comment and tell me some good camera options, if you please. I'm really keen on cameras that get the lighting right, and have a quick turn-around time after a picture is taken. Any suggestions?

What else? Something less interesting... I bought a bunch of cheap old VHS movies at a thrift store this week. Just a dollar apiece, I thought they'd be fun little "rentals" for sometime. Well, halfway through my first viewing of the first movie, my VCR stopped working. Actually, I had stopped my movie to put in one for Sam. The VCR ate it -- Barney (ha!), which was very disappointing to Sammie. But how sad that I have all these movies, and now no VCR to watch them. And all of you are thinking, yeah, that's why people use DVDs, right? Point well taken, I suppose. But I was really disappointed. I guess I'll have to go spend another $3 at the thrift store (which is how much I paid for the current non-working one) and buy another VCR to watch my $1 movies, huh. Not much worse off than renting from Red Box, I suppose.

Okay, folks, this is really rambly, really late. I just felt like my pepper salsa post had been up there way too long and I had to write SOMETHING. But alas, maybe sometimes nothing really IS better than something? Well, goodnight then.

HOT Chili Pepper Salsa

Okay, so I've been canning again. Not sure if I mentioned I was canning before, but I did quite a bit a few weeks ago -- corn, peas, pickles, beans, relish, peaches, and a few tomatoes. I kind of got "canned out" so I took a break for a bit. Then yesterday, I decided to get with the program and do some more canning. (How domestic of me, no?!)

Well, Brian's mom has this great salsa recipe, and conveniently, our family garden produces everything it takes to make some delicious salsa. So, I picked a bunch of tomatoes and peppers a couple of days ago, and spent most of yesterday morning and afternoon chopping tomatoes and getting things ready for the actual "canning" process. After the kids went to bed, I started chopping the peppers and onions. 14 anaheim peppers! Wow! That's a lot of peppers, but anaheims are mild and sweet, right?

And, they also look somewhat similar to habanero peppers.
My mistake.

I was in the middle of chopping what I thought was an anaheim pepper, and all of a sudden I started sneezing and coughing, sensing the air was getting hot. I picked up the pepper and tasted a tiniest bite, only to go running to the sink, coughing and sputtering as I sucked water straight from the tap as fast as I could. hot, hot, hot, hot!!! I think it was a habanero, or something similar in heat! whew! I was on the phone with Brian, who was laughing at my dramatics. ha!

Luckily, only a little of that fiery piece of pepper ended up in my salsa! I was able to put the rest in the trash, and spent the next few minutes carefully cleaning my knife, cutting board and counter top. (I've heard the juice and oil from peppers can leave a residue.) I then washed my hands thoroughly, three times over. All set, and back to chopping anaheims and bells.

Fast forward half an hour. My hands were SCALDING, BURNING. ON FIRE! Unless I was running cold water over them, they felt like someone was holding a blow torch over them. Oh my goodness! I kept doing the salsa, hoping the hands would calm down after a while. Two hours later, I was in even MORE pain, as it seemed like that pepper was somehow living inside my palms and fingers, under my fingernails, in every little crevice of my knuckles. ouch!

I'll tell you now, folks, that really, really hurt! My hands were hot enough that I was picking up pints of salsa fresh out of the canner kettle, and moving them to a cloth -- with my BARE HANDS! I couldn't even tell if the jars were hot or not, because my HANDS were so hot! I admit, I was sort of crying by that point. But only sort of. Just a little bit. Mainly just really whining.

What did I do? Well, I decided it would be too painful to try to sleep, so I stayed up and kept doing salsa. Canned 22 pints and 3 quarts (ran out of pint jars). Once my last batch was processing, it was about 1:30 a.m. and I decided to look online for a remedy.

Here's the list of possible remedies for pepper burns, in case anyone is remotely interested...
-- soak in a milk bath, or drink milk
-- rub yogurt all over it
-- wash in lemon juice
-- wash in vinegar
-- wash in bleach
-- wash in orange juice
-- wash in rubbing alcohol
-- ice it, then pour table salt on it
-- dip it in sugar
-- get drunk so you forget about it
-- put a baking soda paste on it

Okay, so I didn't try all of those fixes, but I tried most of them. (No, Mom, I didn't get drunk.) And sadly, most of them did not work. The rubbing alcohol offered temporary relief, 2 - 3 mins max. The lemon juice stung like nothing else. The bleach still smells lovely today, of course.

Wanna know what worked? Probably not really, huh? Yeah, I know it's silly, and probably anyone who isn't suffering from a serious pepper burn really cares about this. But, in the event that you may one day be forgetful enough to cut a pepper without gloves, I'm going to tell you ... the baking soda paste really did work. In fact, it worked well enough that I smeared it all over my hands, then wrapped my hands in ziplock baggies, covered the bags with socks and went to bed.
At 2:30 a.m.
Happy to be out of pain.

Yes, I now have baking soda all over my bed and swollen, chappy, bleachy hands. But at least I don't hurt. And at least I didn't ruin that lovely salsa.

Did you catch that I did 22 pints? And 3 quarts besides? Not too shabby for one evening of agony, eh?

Preschool

Today was Samantha's first day of preschool. Actually, she was supposed to start last week, but because we were gone, she started today. She was VERY excited to go, and LOVED every minute of it. We decided to put her into a Spanish preschool program. I was amazed at how inquisitive she was about "what does that mean in Spanish?" All afternoon she was asking me "Spanish" questions, wondering how to say certain things. We covered all the family member words, please and thank you, a few colors, etc. Day 1 -- a success!

I was really nervous for her, and kept debating whether we should try preschool right now. But so far, so good. I wish we had a camera to post some pictures of how cute she looked this morning. She put on her new school pants that are still just a little long on her. And then she sat sooooooo still as I did her hair. That's a first, and one I'm ready to repeat on many more school mornings! ha!

One funny thing, I spent so much time getting her ready this morning, I just kind of fluffed up my hair and put on one of my work-out shirts so I could run her to school. She took one look at me and said, in a very matter-of-fact tone: "Um, is that the shirt you were thinking of wearing?"

I looked at it, then at her little incredulous face. I paused before asking, "Did you think maybe I should wear something different?"

"Yes, please."

I was laughing to myself as I rummaged through my closet to find an appropriate shirt -- one that wouldn't embarrass my daughter. She finally gave her approval when I pulled out a nice button-up blouse. Wow. Am I really already a possible "Embarrasing Mom" candidate?!

Babysitting

I now value adult conversation a little bit more than I did before this week. I'm babysitting my brother's four kids, with my two as well. We're staying at their house so their kids can go to school, etc. Brian is at home, working on stuff, so I'm solo here for now. For the weekend, we went to my parents' house. Then came home to the kids' house last night.

Today is Day #3. Looong day. I feel like a bad mom, and a bad aunt. I don't like being the "enforcer." Who knew it's such hard work to get kids to do their homework? or eat a few bites at dinner? or do their hair before school? or most everything "the mom" is supposed to do as far as "enforcing the rules/schedule"? I seriously feel like the bad guy, no matter what I do. I keep reminding myself my job is to keep them safe, and happy. (I write as one one-year-old is bawling, one three-year-old [sammie] is trying to rollerskate up the stairs, the other one-year-old is attached to my knees [spence], one five-year-old is mad at me for life because I asked her to eat two bites besides her chicken nuggets at dinner, and one seven-year-old is depressed because Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles is over. I think the other 3-year-old is currently okay, but he's upstairs so who knows??)

Ah, well, this is all very interesting. An experience, as Brian would say. Oh no, they all escaped to upstairs, unsupervised. I better go. And to think, I used to be set on having 6 kids! Dream fulfilled...
xx

Prelim Results

Hey y'all. Thanks for all the feedback on my photos. I really appreciate everyones' comments. I ended up submitting seven different pictures... The water spout one, the red tulip field (my personal favorite), the lavendar field, Sam on the phone, Alhambra palace, Egyptian temple columns, and another one that I forgot to post -- a cathedral in Guatemala. I also had the volcanic lake picture ready, but it got something on it at the last minute, so I couldn't submit it. Rats! oh, and I blew up the Harvard Yard picture, too, but I need to go back and find the negative, because it was an old one, and the scan was a little blurry as an 11x14.

Anyway, it was fun to put it together, and do something exciting with my little hobby for a change. When I went to turn them in, I got a little bashful, seeing everyone else's VERY professional-looking works. I started biting my nails (always a bad sign) and got really impatient in the line -- almost left, even. Weird, huh? I heard three other people in front of me tell the volunteer picture people (the ones who were accepting the photos and organizing them for display) that it was their first time. Lots and lots and LOTS of photos in this little fair competition, it seems. I don't expect to win anything, but I'm excited to get to see the display. How fun to see my work on the wall, eh?! I'll keep you posted if I DO by-chance win anything.

Photo votes

Okay, this is totally random. Just for fun, I've decided to enter some of my amateur photography at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. For those unaware, the Eastern Idaho State Fair is THE place to be the first week of September. Actually, it's the place I used to be every September all my growing-up years. Maybe that's because it's headquarters are right in good ol' Blackfoot, Idaho.

But also, it's where the biggest, fluffiest tiger ears in the world are made, not to mention the BEST homemade ice cream cones stacked three and four scoops high. It's where my best friend Amber actually touched Randy Travis' hand at a concert when she was 16. It's where I first encountered the fabulous turn-your-stomach carnival ride called The Zipper. It's where I entered -- and modeled!-- my own sewing project at age 12, a peach jumper with matching peach and white tee-shirt. Ahh... the memories.

So, anyway, I'm choosing this famous world-class state fair as the place to enter my very first photos... cash prizes for the winners, can you imagine?! Anyway, I need some help choosing from some of my favorites, so I'm putting it up for a vote. Below, you will find some of my very own artsy pictures, each with a title and a number. I'm welcoming comments and even criticism, if you're tactful, of course! Mainly, I want to know the top three photos I should enter at the fair. There are several different categories, so my "themes" vary. Ready? Here we go, in no particular order (and no laughing at my cheesy names!)...

1. Green Leaf Cover

2. From the Spout

3. Fringe on Top

4. Fringe on Display

5. Fire and Ice

6. Pleasant Perch

7. Pineapple Topper


8. Paradise Lookalikes

9. Lavenders Blue

10. Ice Box Bandit

11. Rubber Leaves

12. Red Deliciousness

13. Zebrafly

14. Wall of Mums

15. Harvard Yard
16. Temple Columns
17. Volcanic Lake
18. La Alhambra
19. Chichi
20. Personal Call
21. Hello, Grandma?
22. Redhead Bedhead
23. BT1
24. BT2

Mini Triathlon

So, as I mentioned earlier, my friend and I decided to run a mini triathlon, just for fun. (And to help us stick with our running goals!) We trained for about a month and a half. And last Thursday, we had our race. Yay for us!!

I thought I'd show some pictures, and a few details as I go along. So, here's my little fan club. It was raining throughout the race. And I think Sammie was more interested in her princess umbrella than she was in the race, who can blame her?!
Me in the water. I forgot to put on my goggles until about 3/4 the way through. By then they were so foggy I didn't really use them anyway. I was worried the water would be really cold, especially with the rain. But it was actually a really nice temperature and not too dirty, either.

Coming out of the water, I was still smiling. I was one of the last to finish the swimming. I just can't swim with my head under the water, so I was pretty slow. Plus, I pulled something in my shoulder a few weeks before the race, and it was (and is) still bothering me. Oh well.
Biking was a nice relief after swimming. It was a little chilly, but not too bad. Lots of the men from the division that started just after me passed during the bike section. They all had road bikes and were spppppeeeeding along. I was on a mountain bike, and was not about to take a spill on one of the corners, especially with the rain!
Running was good, though my legs were pretty shaky after the bike ride. I was able to pass several people from my division while biking and running, which was nice. I remembered Scott Buchanan's advice of picking out a person in front of me and working hard to pass them. My nemisis was Braid Girl, who I passed, then she passed me while I was messing with my time chip for a second. I worked really hard to pass her again, and finally did.

Across finish line, and feeling good about it! Yay, I'm the winner. ha!

My friend, Angela, after she finished. Funny thing, we registered separately and ended up in separate divisions. So, she started and ended 20 minutes before me. Oh well. It was better because she actually went faster than I did and didn't have to feel bad about ditching me. ha!

It was a short race, as far as triathlons go... 1/4 mile swim, 6 mile bike ride, 2 mile run. It was a good first race for me. I've always wanted to run in a race, and now I have achieved that little goal. It took me 1 hour, 13 minutes. Not a great time, as far as racers know. But it was good enough for me!

Cute Conversation

We were driving home late last night from a birthday party for one of Samantha's cousins. In the car, I was prepping Sam on the quick-quick bedtime routine, to minimize difficulty once we reached the house. We had the following conversation...

Kam: Okay, Sammie. When we get home, we need to get to bed really quickly tonight. (She was already in pajamas.) So, right when we get out of the car, you need to go in, go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, say your prayers, and get straight into bed. Okay?

Sam, giving no affirmative response whatsoever: And maybe have one quick little story.

Kam: Well, first you need to go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, say your prayers, and get straight into bed. Okay?

Sam: (pause) And a quick little story??

No response from Kam. (I was having that mental mother's debate about whether to fight over the story, seeing how late we were already getting home.)

Sam, more sweetly: I just want one quick little story.

Kam, knowing how she thrives on repetitive lists : Well, if you can use the bathroom, brush teeth, say prayers, and get into bed really quickly, then maybe we'll do a quick story. But if it takes too long to go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, and say prayers, we might not have time for a story.

No response from Samantha.

Brian, seeking an affirmative response: Does that sound good?

Sam, slightly disgruntled, after a long sigh: Not if there's no story!!

It sounded just like a spoiled teenager who just learned there might not be cable at the hotel. It made me laugh so hard the rest of the way home.

Some fun pictures

I'm realizing now that there's noooo way I'm going to sit down and properly blog about all the fun things we've done over the past months. So, in no real order (because I don't want to take time to put them in REAL order), I'm uploading a bunch of pictures from our "outings" and "trips." Maybe some other time I'll get to write about them, but for now, just the picts....

Lavendar festival... This is one of my new favorite pictures I've ever taken. I want to see what it looks like blown up....

This festival was amazing! 1800 lavendar plants, and people are invited to come pick their own bunches and buy all the fancy stuff from the vendors as well.

There was lavendar lemondade, lavendar cookies, and lavendar ice cream. All of them tasted a little flowery, but kind of refreshingm, in a lavendar way??
The All-Horses Parade, opening the Snake River Stampede week of the famous Rodeo (see last year for real rodeo pictures!)..
Samantha loved the ones with flowers or braided tails...

Spectators, Madison (who LOVES horses), Sammie, and Zachary...

We shelled thousands of peas this summer. It was A LOT of work. It makes me want to tour a pea factory and see how it is that they can sell what took me 5-6 hours to pick, shell, wash and freeze in a 10 oz. bag for a DOLLAR!? Five to six HOURS of work, for a dollar's worth of peas?
The long-awaited Phelps Family reunion (we're all sitting for the traditional "family program," that lasted traditionally long, ha!)
At the reunion, Sam got to make her own hat and baton, and got her face painted to walk in the kids' parade. She was less impressed with the parade, mainly because we didn't bring her scooter. Oh well.
She even rode a horse! So brave and so exciting!

A country pioneer home, in Oakley Idaho, a long way from anywhere, on one of our long country drives...

View from the top of a mountain, on a back-road drive...
The road less traveled... (literally, it was pretty rough, but gorgeous!)
Sam and her wildflower bouquet, posing perfectly like a princess...
Sam's 4th of July hair-do, thanks to Lisa LaPierre for the gorgeous patriotic bow!

Perfect fire for hotdogs and smores. And yes, I made Sammie get her sandals on after this picture!
A perfect camping spot...
We put Spencer in the little tent in his pack-n-play. It was the perfect solution... we all slept ALL night long!
Experimenting with some more new Sammie hair do's.
In trouble, again. For eating the plant, AGAIN!
Cousins on the stairs! Why is it stairs seem to be a constant source of entertainment?!
My grumpy girl, doesn't want to go home after a fun swimming outing...

Sneaky Ava got allll wet!
I see London, I see France... I see Sammie's underpants!
But Brie started it!
How many hundreds of pictures do we have of Spence, just sitting in his stroller, sucking his finger? But he's so cute....

Brie said, "We get to take a bath in Kamber's big ol' tub!" Sam corrected her, "No, it's not old. It's still pretty new."
Oh