John Deere Toy Giveaway TIME IS UP!

As you have probably seen from many pictures posted on this blog, it's impossible to walk through any room in my house without stepping on a toy with Ertl stamped on the bottom. Moms, you know the Ertl brand, I guarantee it. Pick up most any John Deere, Bob the Builder, or Thomas toy and you will see the Ertl or Learning Curve (all under the same RC2 company) name.

You can imagine my excitement when the generous folks at Ertl offered some of their amazing products to us! Yes, I said us. You and me!

Are you sitting down?

One lucky reader will win this:


That would be a NEW remote control John Deere XUV Gator or as my son calls it, "The most awesome Gator ever!"

The Gator features:

• Full function radio control
• Includes 9.6V rechargeable
  battery with charger
• Two frequencies available
• Super fast speed
• All terrain tires
• Monster vehicle styling

We have had a blast playing with our Gator. (And by "we" I mean my husband and son.) It is flying past me as I type! The Gator has monster tread tires so it rides over rough terrain. We have definitely tested its limits. It has been in the house, on grass, a rocky driveway, piles of hay, down concrete steps...it's unstoppable! My son has played with this Gator every waking moment since we received it. It isn't like a regular toy that he plays with once, then he's done. This Gator will be a favorite for a long time.

The Gator is available at your local John Deere dealership but if you would like one for free, keep reading!

To enter to win:

*Go to this website and watch the short video of the Gator in action. Come back here and leave me a comment telling my why you want this Gator. This is your first entry; it's a MUST before the bonus chances!

Bonus Entries (all separate comments):

*Follow or subscribe to this blog. (If you already do, that counts too!)
*Blog about this giveaway and link back to me.
*Tweet about this giveaway and leave your Twitter link in your comment.
*Follow me on Twitter.

Fine Print: (insert really fast reader guy here)
*Winners are chosen by Random.Org. If you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!
*Winner will be contacted by email; be sure to include your email if it's not enabled
*Contest ends Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. EDT
*Open to US addresses only
*Rules for each entry must be followed to be valid

Weekend Recap

There was LOTS of this. Cole playing with his new remote control Gator.
(Interested? Tune in on Wednesday for more details!)

There was weed pulling, grass cutting, and dirt hauling.

Dinner cooked itself all day, making the kitchen smell wonderful!

At one point, Little Miss was completely nekkid in the backyard. Thank goodness we don't have neighbors.

Strawberry shortcake. Yum.

The tractors (and the men in them) were hard at work today, planting for the first time this season.

The cows were busy too. Mostly busy giving me dirty looks.

This was very much an "I'm pouting and not going to look at you right now" kind of shot.

The breezy, warm 80 degree weather made it perfect for hanging clothes on the line. I love the smell of fresh laundry.

Don't worry. Smoky wasn't brutally stabbed to death. He merely collapsed in a food coma near the spilled paint.

You'd be surprised at how long one little girl can play with the water hose. Granted, it was warm today...but I froze just watching her!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, too.

I'm officially a soccer mom

It's true. Somehow I've turned into a 32 year old, SUV-driving, bottled water packing, soccer mom.

I signed the kids up for the Little Kickers program at our local YMCA. They learn basic soccer skills and it's a good introduction to semi-organized sports (read: chaos.)

Both kids were SO excited all week about going to soccer. We bought new, manure-free tennis shoes. I packed snacks and bottled water. We made it to the field on time. And then Claire grabbed my leg, stuck her finger in her mouth, and hid.

Cole was a little timid for about 2 minutes, then he ran to the field, grabbed his soccer ball, and started practicing.

The coaches introduced all the kids and did their best to get Claire involved, but she was still busy doing this.

Meanwhile, Cole was doing stretches, dribbling, baby kicks, running, and loving every minute of it.

Doesn't he look like the leader of a little soccer gang?


There was also some grass-picking.

And ball handling.

And yes, even more of this.

I was so proud of Cole for going out and participating. He's not the most social child. I honestly expected him to be hiding behind me and Claire out kicking the ball. But that would have made sense. And leave it to kids to keep you guessing.

Do you know what's NOT awesome?

When Jose secretly poops on the floor. Only to then have my son unknowingly step on it and walk around the living room carpet for awhile. Then when he notices the poopy, smeared carpet, he tries to scrape the poop off his shoe onto the rocking chair leg. When that doesn't work, he decides to walk through the entire house with the poop on his shoe, only to nonchalantly tell me, "I stepped in poop."

Yeah, that's not awesome.

Awesome

My reader? Caught up. Empty. Done. Awesome.

When I got home from school yesterday, I found a package on the grill on the patio. Weird place, I know. I slapped a popsicle in each kid's mouth to have some peace and quiet, raced in the house, and tore into it. Yay! My prize from Nikki!! A couple weeks ago, I won a magnet from Nikki's giveaway. (BTW, have you seen her prize giveaway wheel? It is an engineering wonder.)

This is the magnet I won. Is it not the cutest darn thing you've ever seen?! I think Nikki got it here. Awesome.



Imagine my delight when I found this in the box, too! Awesome.


Did I mention the mailman put the box on the grill? The black grill? On a 75 degree sunny day? Yeah. I thought the candy bar felt a little soft. You know that didn't stop me from eating it though. I licked the darn thing clean. Awesome.


She also sent this plastic key chain that doubles as a weapon. You slip your fingers through the cat eyes and use the ears to seriously injure someone. Awesome.


And then I pulled this out. And I have to admit I got a little teary eyed. Nikki, the over-achiever, got all crafty and made this cutest plaque ever. So sweet she is. Awesome.


I did this today all by myself. This was a barren, overgrown area. I weeded, planted (seeds and a couple of plants) and mulched. Granted, I can barely move and have lost the ability to bend over. But it's definitely awesome.


I have been working with a lady at Ertl/Learning Curve planning some John Deere toy giveaways and product reviews. Stay tuned! So exciting and very awesome!



We caught the mouse! No thanks to any of the animals around here, but still...awesome.


The weather? Beautiful. 75 degrees, sunny, blue sky. A perfect day to spend outside eating popsicles, spreading manure, and working in the yard. Awesome.

WTH?

I have had 345 visitors to my post about John Deere Fruit Snacks just today. What in the hello kitty is going on with the fruit snacks?!

Tweet Tweet

I started an account on Twitter. I really have no idea what I am doing there, exactly. But it's kinda fun and easy to use. Some lady had already taken johndeeremom as a user name. I know-THE NERVE! So if you want to find me, you'll have to look for johndeeremom1. I haven't quite figured out how to find all my favorite people (read: you) so I have a simple request. If you're of the Twittering persuasion, leave me a comment with your username so I can follow you!

Mouse Hunt

While we were in the bathroom yesterday doing this,

I heard strange noises coming from the family room. I immediately grabbed my camera (as any self-respecting blogger would do) and went to investigate, leaving two nekkid kids coloring eggs in the tub.

Hmmm. This looks rather suspicious. These two don't normally get within several feet of each other.

Notice how far Jose is leaning. He is too chicken to get any closer. But Noodles is right in there after something.

ACK! She has a mouse! Eek! Kill it, kitty. Sink your fangs in.
Whatever you do, Noodles, don't drop the mouse! (Notice how Jose is oblivious to what has just happened. He is still expecting the mouse to saunter out through the barn doors.)
NO KITTY! You dropped it. BAD KITTY! Get it! Get it!

(Jose, for the love of pete...quit staring at the barn doors! Mousie has moved on!)

Now they've got it cornered behind the tractor. There's no way one little mouse can escape two savage beasts, right? (At this point, I am standing on the top of the couch holding my breath.)

(Warning: The video you are about to watch contains an embarrassing amount of grunting and squealing, as well as an appearance by two nekkid egg colorers. But surprisingly, no cursing.)

So the mouse is still at large and Jose and Noodles are living with the shame of letting it escape. Actually, they couldn't care less. But I am walking around on tiptoes knowing the stupid mouse is in this house somewhere. *sigh* The joys of country living...

Of Easter Past

I played my Bad Mommy card yesterday and took the kids to daycare while I had the day off from school. Some of you are probably thinking how awful I am. Others are probably jealous. In my defense, I had a million things to do and most of them involved running errands and preparing Easter baskets. Once my children see their loot, they will quickly forget that I needlessly abandoned them.

Speaking of Easter, I found some old Easter pics while I was wasting time on the computer doing important work.

This has become our standard way of coloring eggs...nekkid in the bathtub. I know it looks ridiculous, but I take no chances when dye is involved.

One thing about Easter in Indiana...you NEVER know what the weather will be. Apparently it was warm in 2006. Violets are edible, right?

The warm weather apparently produced some big freaking Easter eggs that year, too!This was Little Miss's first Easter. She must have been about 6 1/2 months or so. Oh, I can't believe she was ever that little!
We decided to recycle her Easter dress. Do you see it?

Yep! It's the lamp shade! My crafty momma turned the skirt into an adorable lampshade. Cute and sentimental at the same time!

These are some of my all time favorite pictures of Cole. He was about 5 months old and my mom was still watching (and humiliating!) him. Just look at that pathetic little look!

"What are you lookin at, Bunny Boy?"

We tried to do similar humiliating adorable pictures with Claire during her first Easter but sadly...her big ol' head wouldn't fit through the egg!

I hope you all have a wonderful, restful Easter weekend full of family, friends, love, and chocolate bunnies.