What 10 Looks Like...

I asked Brady last week on his birthday if I could take a few pictures of him in the backyard.

Of course, he said,"sure."  He's nice like that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, how I love being Brady's mom.

These past 10 yrs. have truly been the best years of my life.

 

 

I have learned so much from him as I continue to work at being the best mom he needs

and could ever hope for.

Things are not always perfect around here...but we sure do love each other.

 

My hope for the next 10 years is that they will not go by as quickly as the first 10 years have gone!

 

 

A Suprise Tennis Party!

Brady turned 10 on Tuesday....I still can't believe it!
(Thankfully it's been a crazy busy week...and so I haven't had time to be depressed about this little fact.)
 

We gave Brady a few suggestions for his birthday this year since it's a big one.

A friend party?  Laser tag?  Overnight at the indoor water park?  Pizza and a movie with a couple of friends? 
Brady wasn't really interested.  He said he didn't want a party.  He said he would really like to play tennis on his birthday.  (You know, since he never gets to!)  Eric's team had a match after school on Tuesday...so we knew Brady wasn't going to get to play on his birthday.  He was okay with that...he was excited to watch the team's first match of the season.  Plus, he has his manager duties and all. ;)

 

 So.... Eric and I decided we would suprise  Brady with a tennis party.
 

Brady has a weekly tennis lesson on Sunday and so we set the party up for after his lesson.
 

 

 

We rented a couple of courts at the tennis club for Brady and five of his tennis friends for a couple of hours. 

Brady's friend J.T. arrived first just as Brady was finishing up his lesson.

J.T. lives and trains in Hershey.  Brady was suprised to see him and said, "Hey J.T!  Are you taking lessons here now?"   J.T. said, "no, I came to play tennis with a friend."  So cute.

 

 

 

Once all the boys arrived and Brady realized what was going on...he immediately came over and gave Eric and I a hug and thanked us.  It was so genuine and just melted my heart.  Just as we had hoped...he couldn't have been any happier.
 

Excuse the bad pictures...I'm not sure I'll ever get the tennis lighting figured out.

 

 

 

 

 

The boys only stopped playing for a bit to get some pizza.

Who do you think was the first one back out on the court?!

 

 

We kept it simple.  Although my husband would probably say otherwise. :)

 

We had pizza, chips, cupcakes, gatorade and water.

 

The yellow tubs are from the Dollar Tree.

I ordered the grass tablecloth from Women's Tennis World.

A lady I work with made Brady the napkin holder.

Each boy took home a can of tennis balls and a bag of tennis ball gum.
I ordered the gum from Maria Sharapova's new candy line.

The cupcakes were simple.  I used a chocolate mold for the tennis racquets and added a gumball.

The boys had a blast.

There was lots of laughing, competition and FUN.

Brady said on the way home from his party that he is the luckiest boy ever.

Mission accomplished. :)

~Kerri~

 



A Little Something For St. Patrick's Day



 

I made this little tag and put these together in about 5 minutes before school this morning. I also made one for Brady that said I'm LUCKY you're my son.  So quick and easy.

 

I got the idea on Pinterest.  Although, the labels on there were much cuter...for some reason they were printing too big and so I had to make my own.  

 

You can download the rainbow labels HERE at Lil' Luna's.

 

 

Hope everyone has a FUN weekend!

Kerri





His First Tennis Award

 

When I look at this picture...I see such a proud boy. 

 

Two weeks ago Brady attended a United States Tennis Association luncheon in our state for finishing 2012 ranked #3 in boys 12 and under.  He was the youngest person to receive an award and the youngest ranked player...and probably the most excited!   What an honor it was for him to be there among so many people that love the game of tennis.   Many awards were given at this banquet: high school coach of the year, organization of the year, teaching pro of the year, volunteer of the year, etc.  When Brady's name was announced, he walked very confidently to the front of the room before 250 people to receive his award.   So many emotions swept over me...why isn't he nervous...he's so little...does anyone know how hard he works...look how handsome he is....boy he's awfully thin...but mostly, I was so thrilled for him to get this much deserved moment...one that I know he will always remember.

 

 Last year at this time, Brady wasn't even ranked in the top 30 in our division.  He had to beat a lot of (older) boys to get to #3.  I wish he was able to pat himself on the back and enjoy where he's at right now...but he doesn't do much of that.  He puts a lot of pressure on himself and is always looking forward and striving to improve.  His goal is to be ranked #1 in the next year or two. 

 

 I'm learning anything is possible when you believe in yourself.

 

 

Kerri

 

 

 

 

 



Ten On Ten: March 2013



 







Ten pictures on the tenth of the month trying to capture the beauty in our everyday moments.

 

Here's a little peek into our day....

 

 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see more ten on tens you can visit A Bit Of Sunshine!

 

Happy tenth everyone!

 

9 more days until my baby turns double digits!

Kerri



Hot Corn Dip

 

I made this earlier in the week and we loved it!

They only thing I would add next time is jalapenos for a little extra heat.

 

Quick, easy and so good....I might need to make it again this weekend!

(Of course, spring is around the corner and my capris might not fit...but I will worry about that another day!

 

Kerri

 * Blog is under construction!  Maybe I will get it all figured out by 2014!  Header is still blurry and for some reason I can't change the background color? 

 



Our Snow Day

We were excited to have a SNOW DAY yesterday!

 

It was kind of strange that school was being cancelled yesterday morning because we didn't have any snow on the ground.  But, the weatherman was sure we were going to get a large amount of snow all day long and so the schools all across the county made the decision to close for the day.

 

Do you Facebook?  I usually don't post anything on there except an occasional picture.  I'm not really a fan...although I do try and check it at least once a day...so I don't miss anything! ;) Anyway, I read a lot of negative things on there about school being cancelled.  And so, I felt the need to say something.  I told Brady there would probably be some people not very happy with me!  This was my post:

 

I cannot believe how many facebook friends are complaining about the snow day today. I always think it's better to be safe than sorry. If the kids went to school and we ended up having an early dismissal and had to get the kids home safely...there would also be complaining. I guess you can't please everybody. Anyway, I'm enjoying the snow day in my pajamas hanging out with my son...if we end up getting some snow...that will be an added bonus. :)

 

 

We never did get any snow. :)

 

 

Brady and I played Monopoly Deal.  It's much quicker than real Monopoly.  Games take  about 15 or 20 minutes.  We played a few games while having lunch...I love playing games with him...we laugh a lot.

 

Brady did a fair share of lounging on the couch and he may have played a few too many games on his ipod...but I was getting too much done around the house...so I let it go.

 

 

I taught Brady how to make lasagna...one of his favorites.

He did all of the work.  I think if we made it together one more time he would be able to do it all on his own the next time.  I would love if he spent more time with me in the kitchen and learned to enjoy cooking.  It's not something he asks to do very often...so I will have to be the one to keep bugging him! 

 

 

Eric has slept on the couch the last two nights because of his annoying cough.  I sure hope he starts to feel better....Brady and I are excited to celebrate his birthday on Saturday!

 

 

Have a great weekend friends!

Kerri



This Week

*I'm not sure why my header is blurry?  I changed it a few times yesterday and even tried using an old header I used before...but it continues to be blurry.  I've already spent too much time trying to figure it out...so, I'm done.  I also can't figure out how to get my instagram pics onto my blog.  I have an android, which I really like...but, I may need to switch to an iphone just for blogging purposes!  I'm sure there's a way, I'm just not smart enough to figure it all out!    Any suggestions on my header and my android instagram pics would be greatly appreciated!

 

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I met my good friend Toni one evening this week for dinner.  That girl and I could talk for hours and hours...and we do!   We both went back to work full time this year after ten years...and we are both tired...this whole working thing is hard trying to keep up.  I love my job...but I'm having trouble keeping up with everyday life.  Not the big things....just little things.  The things that only I really notice.  Anyway...

Toni brought me a little somethin' somethin' for my birthday that was earlier in the month....

such cute things....I love it all!
Thanks Toni!



We got in our van one morning this week for school and the check tire light was on.  I quickly got out to check and the bottom part of the tire was laying on the garage floor!  I am a freak about being on time..and I started to freak out.  Brady quickly got out his bike pump and within 5 minutes had it all pumped up.  He's such a little man sometimes.  It was half flat when we came out after school...but we got it pumped up and then went to the gas station for air...and it's been fine ever since.  Weird.

 

 



Do you like my new Nook case?!   I ordered it from Etsy...and it finally came this week.  It's hard to tell the actual color from my picture...but it's the prettiest shade of orange.  My favorite color. :)

 

 

And, BIG news this weekend.  Brady won his first match ever in a sectional tournament!  He's only played in one other sectional tournament.  It's a much higher level than just playing tournaments in our area.  Brady likes to see where he's at now compared to where he needs to be in the next 2 or 3 years.  There were 32 boys in this tournament from Pennsylavania, New Jersey and Maryland.  You have to have a high ranking to enter and they only take the top 32.  The boy Brady played looked to be 11 or 12..which is usually the case.  I was nervous during the warm up because the other boy was  bigger and stronger and hit the ball really hard.  I was just hoping Brady would go out and play his best...and he did.  He won 6-1, 6-1.    I was so happy for him.  He lost in the second round...but played really well.  My favorite moment of the tournament was watching Brady and his partner Dylan play in the doubles tournament.   The first team to 8 wins.  Brady and Dylan lost 2-8.  Brady was so excited to win those 2 games...and walking off the court afterwards you would have thought Brady and Dylan won.  Brady had fun...and those are the moments that make me so proud of him.

 

 

We only go to school 3 1/2 days this week.  I'm looking forward to the long weekend already!

Eric's first day of the boys season starts tomorrow.  He and Brady will be busy after school everyday with practice.  I'm looking forward to getting some things done around the house this week!

 

Have a great week!

Kerri