Hockey Cupcakes

I found these in my drafts too.  I made these for Max's high school hockey team.

Print out a copy of the school logo

Put waxed paper over the logo

Melt some chocolate melts in your team color, pour melted chocolate into a squeeze bottle that you get at Michael's (think ketchup bottle at a restaurant) and squirt chocolate to cover the logo.  Chill, peel gently and stick onto cupcake before serving.  Don't put these in until you're ready to serve or they can melt and break.

How I got the striped look with icing?  Take a throw away piping bag that has a star tip on the end.  Take a wooden skewer and run food coloring up the side of the bag in a line.  Three lines around the bag.  Fill with frosting.

Start squeezing frosting on cupcake in a clockwise pattern finishing in the center.  Top with chocolate logo.  Impress your friends:)

Hockey Cupcakes times two

Alanna's son plays association hockey so I made these tie-dye Orange, Purple and White cake topped with purple frosting and orange sticks.  To make tie dye, check it out here.  The boys LOVED them.  Much more fun to work with three colors AND bake them for boys who still thinks stuff like this is FUN.

To make the sticks, check it out here. 

Hockey Cupcakes

How can hockey be done?!  I seriously feel a tad cheated this year.  With cold/snow cancellations and it being a high school sanctioned sport, we only had 20 games!!  Twenty, as in TWO ZERO!  Stop the madness, last year we had 51!  I'm one of those weird hockey Mom's who actually like the game and watching the kids play. 

 

So this season left me feeling a little empty even though Max finished as the 3rd leading scorer on the team.  That was a pretty big thing because he is a defensive player. 

 

He played all his shifts as a Varsity player, another big thing because he's only a sophomore. 

 

He broke 3 sticks, big thing for his parents because the cost of those kind of suck:(  The day after he broke the first stick, a friend of his came up and said, "hey, I sat by your Mom last night at the game.  Max wrinkled his face and said, "okkkkk.  "Yeah, I knew it was her because when your stick broke she swore."  Probably not the nicest thing to be known for, but at least I keep it real and I didn't say the naughtiest of words;)

 

But today's post isn't really about hockey.  It's about the cupcakes that were served at one of the team dinners.  I got a little funky with it and colored half the batter green since their colors are green and white.

 

I bought some green melts from Michael's and made hockey sticks on waxed paper.  My little tutorial is found here on how to do that.

 

I piped the number of every player on the cupcakes and stood the sticks up in the middle.  My favorite #3 is Gluten-free so he got special brownies:)

Traditions Matter

I'm used to hockey tryouts.  I've been living through them for the past 6 years.  This year was just different.  Parents weren't involved.  Max started the process afterschool on a Monday.  They were also different in the respect that results weren't posted.  Everyday they were told when/where to show up the next day.  One rink meant you were still in the Varsity pool, the other Junior Varsity.  It ended with a scrimmage on the following Saturday. 

The scrimmage I'm used to, that's how tryouts end.  The only difference is that he had two scrimmages to play.  I went.  I watched.  I bought him lunch in between.  I was proud of him. 

Later that night we were sitting on the couch together and Max looked over at me and said, "hey you didn't take photos today".

I gave him the "huh" face.

"It was my FIRST varsity game. You always take photos of my first everything". 

I told the truth and said that I didn't think about it because it was tryouts.

"Well it was still my first time playing Varsity". 

He was right. I have been capturing his "first" everything since he was born.  First sunglasses, first birthday party, first smile, first time sitting up or walking and every first game.  Simply put, I dropped the ball.  And, very unlike me...I'm not beating myself up about it.  It's time to let my kids know that I'm human.  I make mistakes, I forget things, I drop the ball on occasion and it doesn't mean I love them any less.  But it was a good reminder that even when they seem like they've outgrown you or the traditions you've created, they still matter.  He accepted my apology and I'll be sure to get some photos of his first game because HE MADE THE VARSITY TEAM and I couldn't be prouder!

So, true to my word, I remembered my camera for the first official game this weekend.  He had an assist and the game ended with a 3-3 tie. 

Even though this one is blurry, I liked it.  Kind of reminded me of both how fast the years have gone and how fast the game has become.  Blurred fits my mood well tonight.

Hockey Souvenir

I wanted to give the boys something to remember their season. I ended up giving them something that reminded them of several years, something they can use and isn't too big.

You see, I have made chocolate chip cookies for every league win since Max was a Squirt.  That's 7 years of cookies!!  He played with a lot of the same boys over the years and they knew at the practice following the win that they would receive a snack size bag of cookies.  I also made them to kick off the season, end the season and a couple of "just because" times too.  Sadly, that tradition has come to an end.

So, I decided to give them hockey pucks.  Hockey pucks with their name and number on one side and the recipe for my cookies laminated on the back.  They also each received a dozen cookies wrapped in team colors.  They loved it.

Bantam Award

Every year our association has an awards ceremony.  Every year we have missed it for one reason or another.  On Tuesday Max opted to miss it because of baseball practice, homework and his friends not going. 

Alanna was texting me updates of kids from our team who were nominated or received awards, most of which were not in attendance either.

And, then this text came..."The Bantam Award....Max Kjome". 

CRAP!!  He wasn't there to receive it.  We weren't even really sure what "it" was. 

Alanna was kind enough to bring it over. 

The Bantam Award is a traveling trophy that started in 2000  He will bring it back next year.  We recognized a few names that were engraved from past years, one being Jack Jablonski, that made his smile a little bigger.

The Bantam Award is presented annually to the Bantam hockey player who, in the estimation of the awards committee, has shown; a) Sportsmanship; b) Willingness to learn; c) Clean mind and body; d) Positve attitude toward coach and players, on the bench and on the ice; e) Reliability and dependability; and f) Improvement in personal hockey skills.

I am SO very proud of him.

Growing Up

Our final year of association hockey is coming to a close this weekend.  It's been a crazy ride with 5 tournaments and over 50 games just this season.  After 11 years it really is a bittersweet milestone.  On to high school where it's a whole new game, a faster game and although I have no doubt that Max is up for the challenge, he is also saying goodbye to friends he has skated with for a long time. Splitting off to different schools, they'll never skate together as teammates again. 

And, I will be saying good bye to parents that I care about. Parents that I have laughed with, screamed with, vented to...well, it's all a little overwhelming.

I am also having a hard time wrapping my brain around not being at a hockey rink from 8:30-10 p.m. almost every night.  Next year, Max will be able to drive himself to afterschool practice and they only play about 20 games.  What the heck am I going to do with my life?

The last thing I had to do for this team was hand over some photos of Max's hockey career for the team video.  I went through his scrapbook and gave them to his Dad who scanned and sent them back to me.  But he added one.  This one.

I opened it and immediately had tears blur my vision.  This wasn't a game or a practice. It was just a Saturday and I remember this skate vividly.  We surprised him with getting to skate on the Minnesota Wild ice and he was beYOND excited.  We went out to eat after and he told us that one day he would be an NHL player but he would save the Wild to be his last team so he could be close to home when he was done playing.  You see he had his career planned out; Chicago, New Jersey and the Wild would all have Max for a few seasons after he was a MN Gopher.  Why was he going to move around?  DUH...Because he liked their jerseys and he wanted one of each with his name.  I remember listening to his explanation and thinking that it was so far away, we had plenty of time but how cute it was that he had a thought out "plan".

 

So when I look at that smile, the same smile he has now but on a much older face and I canNOT believe I have only a little over 3 years left before he leaves for college?!  Excuse me please, I have to go lay down. I'm feeling a bit dizzy.

1st Place

 

Have ya missed me?!?!?  I haven't been able to post any photos for the past month.  It was driving me CRAZY!  But I tried again today and TA DA, it worked!!  So, I'll have some new recipes up next week.

 

Today, I needed to post about hockey.  This photo is from 4 years ago when our boys took 1st place in New Ulm.  This is the Jake McCoy year.  The best year of hockey in my opinion.  It's when two associations merged and a bunch of boys got to get to know each other and embraced what it was to be on a hard working team, under a great coach.  It was a bonus that we won a couple of tournaments and districts that year.

Flash forward and here are some of the very same boys on another hard working team, under a bunch of coaches (6) who care about them and are helping them get ready for high school next year while playing just a few games.  50 games by the season end to be exact.  8 games in 9 days last week. 

This was the highlight.  We won 1st place at the Eveleth Tournament.  It was especially sweet because of a REALLY bad call that tied it up with 3 minutes left in the game.  But our boys didn't give up, they fought back and SCORED to win it 4-3!!  What a finish! 

Chicago

Max got to be part of something pretty amazing this past weekend.  He played in the WORLD's largest hockey tournament in Chicago.  562 teams from 30+ states, 7 provinces and 8 different countries.

I will admit that I wasn't as excited as Max.  It was an expensive tournament that involved a road trip...on a bus...with 30 other people.  Road trips are not my favorite, might go back to 6th grade when we did a family "driving" vacation.  We were driving across the desert, the air conditioning had broke the day before, it was over 100 degrees and my brother was laying over the top of the seat (this was before we wore seat belts) moaning in my face, "I need Agua.  I need AGUA", over and over again.  Good lord, give the kid a glass of water already because I still hear his voice clearly 35 years later when I get in a car!

Did I mention that I also "sometimes" get car sick (yes, it happened and it sucked)?  And, although I knew to some extent, it quickly became abundantly clear that I am someone who should be part of the planning and not just following the pack OR I need to get a prescription for Xanax if I don't. 

But this is Max's last year of association hockey.  I have a small panic attack whenever I think of that because it means that his childhood is coming to an end.  YES, I know he's 15 but he started association hockey when he was 4 so in my "head" it is still part of his childhood.  It is another milestone and I want to be there for every second of it.

So, we boarded a bus last Thursday morning for three days of hockey.  We played New York, California, Toronto and Michigan.  They did a lot of homework on the bus, a little sight seeing around town, ate some Chicago Deep Dish (my personal fav Giordano's Spinach!!  If you go to Chicago it is a MUST eat.) and most importantly became a team in every sense of the word.

Because we were on a bus and together pretty much the entire time, I had a LOT of time to observe.  The coolest thing I noticed was that boys weren't attached to one person or clique, they all worked the room basically.  They were supportive and respectful of each other AND they used their manners.  I heard please and thank you without prompting and saw doors being held without a second thought.  I saw a bunch of boys who showed heart on and off the ice and it made me proud to be a hockey Mom.

I also got to see what our coaches were made of and I was completely impressed.  They had a system in place for the weekend.  They helped the boys with their homework, knew when to be a friend and when to be a coach and admitted when they made mistakes.  During some tough games they taught the boys how to dig deep and see what they were made of.  They held them accountable without the boys even realizing it.  No easy task with a bunch of hormone driven teenagers.  My hat is off to them.

At the end of the weekend, we found ourselves tied for first in pool play but didn't advance because of tournament tie-breaker rules.  We were ONE goal away from moving on to the championship round!!  If you want to read the full story, we were featured here.

If this first tournament was a taste of what the season has in store, I think it might be something special.

                                 Boarding the bus

                                 Michigan Avenue

                        Billy Goat's for a Cheezeborger!!

 

Max

I simply had to post this photo because it is CLASSIC Max. It's from their first district play off game. He is with his buddy Matthew who he has played hockey with since he was 4 years old. When they started, they were a fierce combo on the offensive squad, scoring many a hat trick between the two of them. This year, they played defense together the last half of the year.

End of the season

Six hockey games and three dance performances in less than a week. OH and my mid-term, put a fork in me..I'm close to done:)

Max's season finished up on Tuesday night. We didn't make it out of district play offs this year but they played hard and won 11 of their last 15 games.

I watched Dylan finish his high school Varsity career on Thursday night with tears in my eyes. He played a great game and I am SO proud of him!

And, tonight we'll go and cheer TJ on at his last scrimmage of the season.

So, no new recipe for today. Tonight we're going out to dinner because this hockey Mom needs to recharge her batteries.

Sunday begins competition dance season for Claire. Time to put on my Dance Mom hat:) GO CLAIRE!!

Senior Night

I know I've said this before, but seriously, where has the time gone??

I remember Craig taking Dylan to the local ice rink when he was 2 years old to teach him to skate. They would bring a folding chair and Dylan would push it across the ice, hop on and Craig would twirl him around the ice back to where he started and he would do it all over again. OVER and OVER again. He loved skating and he loved his Uncle Craig.

I think he was 6 when we signed him up for his first team and he was the best skater out there. Since that time, he hasn't stopped playing. He is an awesome offensive defensemen who is solid on his feet. A bunch of different teams, camps, his favorite one was a camp in Tampa with his favorite team Tampa Bay Lightening and many other memories he has stored of his days on the ice.

But tonight was his last home game and senior night for the Varsity Novas. They won 6-2 and Dylan played his solid defense. I've been teary in the weeks leading up to today but Tina and I had our "game" faces on and celebrated him. Another milestone but one that is bittersweet because I won't get to cheer him on at his games anymore. He's headed to college in September and his plans to play are strictly recreational and not competitive.

Here is his senior photo with one of his early photos on the left.

Tina, Craig, Alivia and I on the ice sharing his special moment.

I am SO proud of you Dylan!!

2nd place

There are a few things that bring me to tears immediately. Hugging my son and sending him away without me is one of them. This was only the 2nd tournament I've missed in the 10 years that Max has played hockey and it was tough for me. I'm used to being at EVERYthing but Claire needed a parent at home and since it involved dance, I won.

However, I was proud of myself because I shed less tears. His Dad was sure to text with play by plays every few minutes so I didn't have to make threats of bodily harm like last time;) And, Max texted instead of calling which for me was easier because I didn't have to hear his voice but could still have a conversation with him.

They traveled to East Grand Forks. Yep, 7 hours on a bus, the last weekend in January. Max scored a few goals while playing defense, including this shot that was deemed, "NO goal because they said he was in the crease".

This falls into the catagory that sometimes a questionable call is made but you continue to play your game because it happens.

They won their first three games and headed into the championship against the home team of East Grand Forks. Final score 4-2, 2nd place for Storm Orange!! I'm told they all had a great time.

Jack's Pledge

Our hockey association is hoping to make a difference. They are trying to minimize the violence and enhance the safety of hockey by instituting Jack's Pledge in honor of Jack Jablonski. Here is more information for your team or association if you are interested in participating. I could think of nothing better than to show up a tournament and see one of the above stickers on every single helmet with playerss who are living up to the pledge.

Jack Jablonski

I received an email on Sunday afternoon about an older brother of Max's teammate from last year that was checked from behind and was in the ICU. He can't feel anything from the waist down and minimal feeling in his hands. Tears sprung to my eyes, my stomach turned, my heart hurts.

As a hockey parent, one that has a child who is now checking, it's my worst nightmare. Max and I have an understanding. If he gets checked and goes down, he is to move his legs immediately for me to see from the stands. I have watched for those legs and I canNOT imagine if they didn't move. Just as I have watched a line drive flying at my son on the pitching mound and life stops for a second while I wait for him to get out of the way.

I know what a lot of you are thinking. Why would you allow your child to play a sport that could have a life changing injury? The answer is simply that I believe that everything you do in life comes with a risk. I truly believe that you should live each day to the fullest because tomorrow is not guaranteed. I don't want to come to the end of my life and say, "I should have..." and I raise my children to embrace the same. I further realize that I could "protect" my children with every ounce of my being and they could still have a life changing accident without the life experiences.

With all of that said, what brings me to today's post is Jack. Jack Jablonski. He has a CaringBridge site that has over 10,000 hits in a couple of days. His Facebook wall is filled with well wishes and prayers. But what I found the most touching was reading the almost 500 guestbook entries. Sure, there were a lot from friends and family but there were also posts from hockey players and parents from all over that heard the news...complete strangers. Complete strangers who are united by a sport and are sending prayers and positive thoughts. So, this is me...spreading the word because I believe there is force in numbers and sending support, positive thoughts and energy to Jack and his family, Leslie, Mike and Max.

Bantam B1 Orange

Max's hockey poster turned out really cute this year.

GO STORM!!

Another hockey season...

is done. We didn't make it the state play offs this year, but we gave it a good run for the money. Max has finished his career as a Pee Wee. Which means he'll be a Bantam next year. Faster game, more checking, last 2 years of youth hockey..that's what Bantams are all about.

It seems strange to me that I have started book marking my children's life by what level they are in sports. "Oh, that was when he was a Squirt", like that should mean anything to the majority of the population. But, say that to a hockey parent and they say, "first or second year"?

Wasn't it only yesterday that Max hit the ice as a mini mite and he was 4 years old? SO excited that he was finally old enough to follow into a game that Dylan played. His favorite thing was doing Supermans...they would skate hard and when they got to the blue line, they would fling themselves forward Superman style onto their stomachs and see how far they could get.

I don't know that he has a favorite thing anymore, he loves most of it. We had a coach his final year of Squirts that shaped him into the player he is today. Max had made the A team and everyone knew this coach. He played in the Olympics, he had coached youth hockey for the past 40 years. He was old school, he was tough, he made the kids accountable on and off the ice, he accepted no excuses and he had them at the rink 6 days a week. Max loved his line, "I can do anything you can do except take a knee because I'm old".

And, I will never forget what he said at our first parent meeting. "This is the year that your boys will figure out if hockey is for them. I will work them to the point of exhaustion but yet they'll be excited to get back to the rink the next day. If your child doesn't feel that way, maybe you should find a new sport". It was that year that I decided, Hockey is more than a sport, it's a lifestyle.

This year I:
Put approximately 1800 miles on my car driving to and from games and practices
Spent approximately $3000 on everything from gear to hotel rooms to fees to skate sharpening
Max consumed approximately 108 bottles of Gatorade, not counting the G1s he had before games
AND, I made over 60 dozen cookies for our celebrations!

Highlights of the year:

Being named one of the captains.

The Outdoor Classic and beating the rival Highland!
Beating the number 1 ranked team in the state.

No injuries!!

2nd Place!

We just played in our final tournament of the year. We were playing for 1st place and were down 1-0 with 59 seconds left on the clock. Scramble, Scramble...puck goes in...NO GOAL. The referee had blown the whistle by mistake, yes mistake, he apologized after the game. It's the second time this year that we ended up losing a game because of a bad call.

I have taught my kids that the referee is the one who calls the game. They are human and mistakes happen. Sometimes you're on the receiving end of that bad call and it is what it is. Sucky lesson but a lesson none the less.

I am proud of them for going hard and not giving up. Here they are, very tired with their 2nd place trophy. Congratulations boys!!

Team Party

I let Max host a team party a couple of years ago. Fifteen boys descended on my house for an afternoon of street hockey, knee hockey, Playstation and eating. Max has done nothing but talk about the next one since. Last year, he played in a different suburb and it was difficult to coordinate but this year, he was playing close to home so I said yes.

"Have you lost your mind"? "Are you sure you want to do this"? I heard from more than one person. I'm from a big family so I don't sweat the chaos and I'm pretty good at tuning out the noise.

So, eleven teammates hit our house at 3 p.m. on a sunny Sunday afternoon. They played street hockey, knee hockey and then I fed them a pasta dinner. A fun time was had by all. I highly recommend it if you have the chance.

17.5" of SNOW

Yes, you read that correctly, 17.5 inches of snow fell between Friday at midnight and Saturday. I live in Minnesota, born and raised here. I expect snow but even for us, 17.5 all at once, is not what we're used to.

I bet you wonder if it was the blowing snow causing snow drifts taller than Claire or the temps below zero or the unplowed streets that I hate the most. Could it be the city buses that stopped running or the airport that closed? No, the answer would be HOCKEY TOURNAMENT.

We were in a local tournament, lost our first game because of a couple bad calls on Thursday night and my son was ready to redeem himself on Saturday. And, then the snow came and it kept coming. We checked the websites continually waiting for a cancellation and none came. Max was not taking no for an answer. He was not going to let his team down. So, Alanna came to pick us up in her 4 wheel drive since our own car wouldn't have made it out of the driveway and off we started on the road to the tournament. A very snow packed, car windows covered with sleet road. We made it about 2 miles in 20 minutes and then a miracle...Our coaches decided to forfeit the games for safety (and from talking to other teams that couldn't get there to play us anyway).

I was so relieved and happy until I looked back to the puppy dog face in the back seat, stick in his hand, shaking his head. "Will we play tomorrow"? He asked hopefully.

"Nope, that's it for the weekend".

"That completely sucks".

So, we had a weekend without hockey during hockey season and we survived!

Claire LOVING it!

Max in his hockey jacket helping me clear our driveway!