What's up with the Gangls?

Officially a hockey family

2011-10-19T12:45:00.000-05:00

Well Darrin, Max, and I have successfully (?) made it through our first hockey practice. Well, officially Greenway refers to this as its Fall Hockey Clinic, but it was a practice to us. The day started off with Max and I heading to Duluth for his dentist appointment. Yay, no cavities!

Back at home, Max and I got his mouth guards fitted and his bag packed. I didn't yet purchase a hockey bag and didn't get one from Greenway, because the ones left to use were way too big for the few pieces of equipment Max is using during his first season. I neatly packed a couple of towels, shin guards, elbow guards, skates, and a helmet into a spare bag I had around the house. Did it really matter that it was a cute polka dot bag, I thought to myself. Nah!

I was wrong! Darrin refused to carry the bag into practice and griped at me at how ridiculous it was. Ok, I was wrong...it did make a difference!

So, with Max proudly carrying his stick, Darrin carrying the camera, and me carrying the previously mentioned bag of equipment we attempted to make our way around the maze of locker rooms in the basement of the arena. We finally ran into Nick, the teenage son of Max's preschool teacher and FoM (friend of Max). Nick led us to the pod of locker rooms that the little kids are supposed to use. Alright, now we can get to the business of suiting our little hockey player up!

We join the cadre of parents in the locker room preparing their sweet little kids for battle on the ice or with the ice. Even with the limited amount of equipment that Max is using his first year (so can learn to skate less encumbered) Darrin and I were at a loss as to what to do with the shin pads. Inside the skate, outside the skate? So, I took the bull by the horns and asked to all parents in the locker room, "Do the shin pads go inside or outside of the skates?" We got a couple of puzzled looks, and finally an answer from one of Max's daycare "moms"..."it's skater's preference."

Darrin and I looked at each other, looked at Max, and back at each other. Then that kind of mind meld that occurs between parents happened, we both mentally thought, it's not about preference...it's about getting these damn skates laced up. If it's with the shin pads on the outside or inside, who cares, as long as the skates are laced and he's ready to get on the ice. And right now, I couldn't tell you how those shin pads ended up. I guess I'll run through that again at practice tonight.

Finally, all equipment is on and Max has his stick in hand. Our little warrior is ready to take the ice. And take the ice he did. He stepped onto the ice with all his might, took several slow steps, quickened his steps and was moving almost like a gazelle; until he tripped over the blue line on his way to join his teammates at center ice. The coach instructed his players on how to put their stick on the ice and asked them to hit the ice with their sticks. Max raises his stick up and hits the ice with the blade...and his butt quickly joins his blade on the ice.

Next up was skating from one end of the rink to the other. Oh, Max was all over this until he was distracted by the pucks on the ice. All he has wanted to do since we got him skates and a hockey stick is to hit a puck on the ice. And that's all he wanted to do. Forget skating from end to end, he was going to follow his puck or any puck around. And nearly every time he hit or attempted to hit the puck, his little butt ended up on the ice. So, he ended up pushing a chair around for most of the practice. And even with the chair, he was still trying to chase pucks.

He was still extremely wore out by the practice (yay!) and said he had an awesome time and is excited to go back. On the way to daycare this morning Max said to me, "I think I need to focus on skating and not the puck at practice tonight, mom." I think that's a great idea.

p.s. Yes, following practice we headed to the store and purchased a more appropriate bag to carry our son's hockey equipment.

Check us out at http://thegangls.blogspot.com/

Momma Lover

2011-08-11T12:28:00.002-05:00

Getting ready this morning, Max says to me, "When I get older I'm going to change my name to Momma Lover, because I loooooooooooooooooooove my momma!"

Me: "Oh, that's nice. I loooooooooooove my boy!"

Max: "Or you could still just call me Max, if you wish."

It's amazing how big his vocabulary is getting and how frequently he use uses it correctly.

Check us out at http://thegangls.blogspot.com/

Max races his go cart at Hibbing Raceway on June 26, 2010

2010-06-27T09:21:00.003-05:00

Each year Hibbing Raceway has a kids go cart race at intermission during one race. Well, that race was last night. We asked Max if he wanted to race his go cart earlier in the week, he said yes, then he said no, then he said yes. He also asked if we would be getting him a racecar truck and a racecar trailer to haul his go cart to the races. Darrin told him the minivan would be fine. Max then asked us if we were going to get him a pit crew in case he "popped a tire or something out there." I told him that daddy would be his pit crew.

We needed to be sure that Max could handle racing on a track, because he's so used to just cruising around the yard. So, we turned our driveway into a racetrack. More posts and videos to come on the practice. Grandpa Ralph and Uncle Steve came over to watch Max practice a few times. I'm not sure what they enjoyed more...watching Max or Darrin.

Darrin and Max (when he could pay attention) worked on the go cart and Darrin took one of our spare car seats and modified it to become a safety seat in Max's cart. Max liked it and it was much more comfortable for him.

The night of the big race
As you can see from the video Max had an interesting first lap of the race. He was too busy checking out the people in the stands and missed the of the green flag, so he decided he was going to catch up with the rest of the kids by cutting the corner and turning in front of them.

After that, he did pretty good and didn't want to stop after the checkered flag was thrown. I don't know that we could say he won, but he was the first to the checkered flag.

It was a fun night and I'm not sure how long the smiles will remain on Max's grandpa's faces. I think auntie Tricia had fun too; it was her first time going to the races.

Check us out at http://thegangls.blogspot.com/

Bump...what was that?

2010-04-13T15:59:00.001-05:00

If you want to hear a good story, give Max a call and ask him about hitting a deer the other night. :) In the meantime, here’s the mom’s version…

Of course the story starts with mom and dad saying something like dammit, shit, move you bastard…something along those lines. Then there’s the slight swerve because we have a trailer behind us and don't want to flip the trailer or lose its contents.

The deer glances off of the van and gets annihilated by the trailer (Ralph’s old truck box trailer). And there’s a noise and a bump, Max asks “What was thaaaaat?” So we told him that a deer ran out and we hit it. The conversation continues as follows.

Max: “Is the deer dead?”

Darrin: “Probably.”

Max: “How come it ran out at us?

Darrin/Traci: “Deer just do those things.”

Traci (attempting an educational opportunity): “You know, that deer didn’t look before coming out into the road. Now, do you understand why mom and dad don’t want you on the road?”

Max: “Yesssss mom! I’m trying to get the story straight here so I can tell grandma.”

More jabbering about the “incident”

Max: “That deer’s mom and dad should have helped him cross the road!”

Darrin/Traci: “Deer aren’t the smartest animal, bud. They run out in front of cars all the time.”

Max: “Hmmm.”

I want what I have.

I Want What I Have

2010-04-12T22:36:00.001-05:00

I was paging through the April 2010 issue of Shape magazine and came across their Mantra of the Month. It really struck me and I thought I would share it.

I want what I have.

It's perfectly natural to want more-more clothes, more friends, more money; it's only human. But obsessing over things you're lacking can make you feel dissatisfied. This month take a moment to acknowledge what you do have--anything from your healthy body, which can carry you through a six-mile run, to your best friend, who's more like a sister. Remember that, while life can always get better, it's fulfilling to appreciate where you are now.

The quote/mantra comes from Jared Matthew Weiss.

How simple is that? How perfect is that?

A Time & Money Saver for Busy People!!!

2009-11-29T16:38:00.003-06:00

E-MEALZ Easy Meals for Busy and Frugal Families

I came across this site and it's saved me time and money, so I thought I would share it with others.

You choose the store and E-MEALZ provides the plan! Each week you will receive a brand new plan AND a complete, aisle-by-aisle grocery list for the store(s) you've selected.

23 E-MEALZ Menu Plans to choose from! Each meal plan is only $1.25 per week and represents many hours of recipe and menu planning, price shopping, and recipe testing. All of these plans are designed with your whole family in mind, even the specialty plans created for weight management... and they also have plans for just two people!

Sunday Fun at the Gangls...with videos to prove it.

2009-11-18T15:18:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday, Darrin, Max and I were playing outside enjoying what is most likely one of the last few beautiful fall days. Max wanted to race his go cart.

I actually rode on the four-wheeler, with Darrin driving(!), and filmed Max racing us. It was a fun day for us!

Oh yeah, we also flew a kite, but got annoyed with that after it got caught in the trees a couple of times.

Halloween!

2009-11-04T22:10:00.001-06:00

This year was the first year Max really got excited about Halloween, so we decided to take him to the Halloween party in Nashwauk for the first time before visits to grandparents and local aunts and uncles.

Our Doll-mation
1st Place winner in 3 year old boy category

Nashwauk puts on a great party for the kids. A big bag o' candy, games and a costume contest. Max enjoyed playing the games and also picking out candy prizes afterwards.

Playing a game

After we were done, it was time for family visits...and more candy.

http://thegangls.blogspot.com/

Scaring Hunger Away

2009-09-28T18:17:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, September 26, Tricia, Max and I went to Bloomers Garden Center to make scarecrows for a fundraising event for the Second Harvest North Central Food Bank of MN.

Tricia and I enjoyed making the scarecrows. While Max helped a bit, he enjoyed jumping in the straw piles and raking them back up more. Tricia made a female scarecrow and Max and I made a male. The names Max chose for them are Miss Sally (from Cars) and Dingo (not really sure where that came from). Miss Sally and Dingo were carefully placed in the back of Tricia's van for transport home...after a couple more stops.

Dingo

Miss Sally

The Gang

Scarecrow making can really make you hungry, so off to McDonalds we went. Even with an arm in a cast, Max climbed, crawled and slid around the Play Place. A couple of heads turned to watch the little guy in a cast run around like, well, like a three year-old boy. Cast or not, Max has got some energy to burn off.

Our royal McPrince

It was a very fun day and we plan on doing it again next year. We already have a couple of other friends and family members that want to go too. It was a fun way to support an important local agency.

See, he does rest!

3 years, 1 month, 1 week, 1 day

2009-09-10T11:00:00.004-05:00

That's how long it took for Max to get his first broken bone. On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, Max was tooling around the yard in his go cart. Then, as he was turning, a wheel broke and the go cart tipped over (tipped out as Max says). As a natural reaction, Max put his arm out and the go cart cage landed on his arm.

Darrin and Uncle Steve made their way to the Hibbing ER with Max and made a call to me. Of course, I was soon on my way to Hibbing! Max broke both bones in his left arm, a few inches above the wrist. To reset this type of injury on a boy Max's age, they like to use general anesthesia to avoid traumatic memories for the child. I was OK with this, because I still have traumatic memories of my leg being reset when I was five!

The only problem was that the orthopedic doctor in Hibbing had just begun a two week vacation. So, we had to go to Duluth to get his arm reset. Off we go on our 90 minute drive to Duluth. Wait in the ER waiting room. Wait in the ER. More waiting in the ER. Ok, we're ready to take him upstairs. Some more waiting. Then we were able to go into the post-op room and sit with him for a bit before we were all moved to a regular room in the Peds wing.

Max was a trooper throughout the whole ordeal. No pain meds while we were waiting or for the drive to Duluth. The only crying and whining we got was because he was thirsty and we couldn't give him anything to drink.

While waiting in the peds room, the nurse brought Max a popsicle. He turns to us and says, "This popsicle isn't going to make my boo boo better, you know." Yes Max, we are fully aware of that fact!

Other Max-isms:
*Dad, you need to put window nets in my go carts. Racecars are supposed to have them you know.

*When asked if he wanted to get rid of the go cart, "NO! I just need some window nets!"

*In front of the anesthesiologist and female nurse... As he's peeking under the blankets and his gown, "Dad, my penis is growing!" Darrin, the nurse and I snicker. The anesthesiologist has a smirk on his face and says, "Well, that's interesting."

The pictures here were taken while Max was snoozing in the Hibbing ER.

Huge mommy guilt!

2009-08-14T21:45:00.001-05:00

Just talked to Max and he was screaming "I want you mommy! I want my
mommy!"

I know he's in great hands, but that just ripped my heart out of my
chest.

The Trip to Bristol Has Begun!

2009-08-14T20:13:00.001-05:00

We left our tired little boy at his grandpa and grandma's house. He bravely waved as we drove away...and we bravely waved back.

Our first stop will be Kopellah Speedway to watch Dale race. Then we'll drive a few more hours and stop somewhere for the night.

I'm attempting to blog updates with my iPhone, which should also send a post to Facebook.

A happy traveler & sad mommy

Help us save for Max's education!

2009-07-08T09:19:00.001-05:00

Upromise Guest Shopping for Traci

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Max, almost 3, doing donuts on his dirt bike - 6 01 2009

2009-06-02T22:54:00.002-05:00

Here's a video of Max's newest trick on his dirt bike. We may need to put concrete on the entire driveway if we want to have any left. But, he does do a good job of missing Darrin's junkers and other misc. cars waiting to be fixed.

More videos of Max on his snowmobile and dirt bike (and general Gangl craziness)

Max at 2-3/4 years old taking his motorcycle for a ride

2009-04-16T12:11:00.001-05:00

Here's our little leader of the pack taking his "motorcycle" for a spin. He was getting mad that he couldn't ride his snowmobile anymore, so he helped daddy put some training wheels on the motorcycle. Gentleman, start your engines!

Cute two-year old does donuts on his snowmobile

2009-02-19T11:08:00.001-06:00

With about six weeks of riding experience under his belt, Max decides to try some donuts. A few days of rain made our riding surface a bit slick; and he enjoyed it.

My non-resolution

2009-01-05T13:50:00.002-06:00

One of my non-resolutions this year is to create at least two posts on here each week. With the holidays, I allowed myself to become quite lazy about posting and I know there are relatives and friends far and near who enjoying reading about what's going on in our world.

This past weekend, it was "Gangl Christmas!" Always a fun get together of the the Gangl clan. We had the pre-party at our place. This pre-party consisted of some fun, if not not somewhat redneck, outdoor activities. I will post some photos and videos later.

After the pre-party we all headed over to Gram & Gramps' place to continue celebrating, open the kids' gifts, eat way too much and play "quarters."

Ride, Maxwell, Ride

2008-12-28T01:09:00.003-06:00

Enjoy this video of Max taking a ride on his Santa present.

A very disco Christmas

2008-12-18T12:43:00.004-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Max is joined by his mom, dad, auntie Tricia and uncle Matt for this Christmas disco number. Where is Denny Terio? We could be the next Solid Gold Dancers!

Doin' a little Christmas dance

2008-12-18T11:46:00.003-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Max and his great Grumpy doing a little Christmas jig.

Max's tree

2008-11-30T18:38:00.004-06:00

Christy and Erin came to visit today and Chris snapped this piture of Max with his Christmas tree. He's very proud of his tree.

We also put a few decorations outside today. After I finally got the decorations assembled, they were ready to be put outside. I got all the decorations placed where I thought we should put them and out came Darrin with a drill so we could put the anchors into the ground. Note to self...next year try to do this before the ground freezes. :)

The holiday season officially begins

2008-11-29T20:52:00.004-06:00

Darrin and I took Max to see Santa today. Thankfully, he is not afraid of Santa and doesn't have a meltdown when asked to take a picture with Santa. He just walks up and takes the picture. I felt sorry for some of the parents.

Tricia and I were up early yesterday and hit the sales in Rapids. I got the majority of my shopping done and, of course, picked up a couple of good deals for myself. I also got a small artificial tree and some Cars decorations for Max. We decorated his tree last night and he loves it. He's very proud of his new tree and tries to hold the phone up to the tree so whomever he's talking to can see it.

Tony's last race in the Home Depot car

2008-11-17T21:57:00.004-06:00

Sunday, November 16

Up semi-early again...had to catch the charter bus to the racetrack! We arrived safely at the track and immediately headed for pit road. I was on the lookout for Tony Stewart, because I was sure he wouldn't stand me up two days in a row!

Terri and I walked around pit road. Terri wanted to get some photos of Jeff Gordon's pit and car for her grandson and I, of course, was looking for big orange, The Home Depot #20.

Orange County Choppers had some of their bikes there. I took some photos of some of them and of Jason Pohl and Rick Petko of OCC. Paul Sr. and Mikey were there later, but I didn't know that until I went to the OCC site to check the spelling of Jason and Rick's last names. Damn!

We walked on the track for a bit, took some more pictures and then realized we hadn't had anything to eat, so headed off of pit road to eat. We then watched some of the SPEED Race Day Show live and some live interviews on the Coca-Cola stage with Elliot Sadler (a very handsome man) and the 2008 Nationwide Series Champion Clint Bowyer.

Pre-race activities, driver intros, card stunt, invocation, anthem, flyover, gentleman start your engines!!!! Woo-hoo, it's finally race time!!!

It's Homestead, of course you're going to see the Rousch cars up front, but wait, I see big orange making his way through traffic. Here kitty, kitty, kitty! The kitty's name was Matt Kenseth, and big orange went by...he's in the lead, I'm pumped. YES! Tony is finally going to win a race I'm at...and how cool that it's his last race in the Home Depot car for Joe Gibbs Racing. I quickly turn the scanner back to Smoke's team channel only to hear Zippy (Tony's crew chief) tell him that they'll be 15 laps short on fuel. My heart sunk and I was praying for another caution.

I was thinking to myself, can someone go find Kurt Busch and see if he wouldn't mind hitting the wall again? I also tried to keep an eye out for Juan Pablo Montoya, surely he'd be taking someone out! Nope, no such luck for me or the #20. An 9th place finish.

Tony and I weren't able to connect this weekend. Maybe his cell phone was broke. :) I guess we'll meet up in Vegas.

And yes, I'll be posting some pictures!

Nationwide-Lap 89

2008-11-17T21:48:00.002-06:00

Saturday, November 15

I was up shortly after 3 a.m. after not sleeping well in the first place worried I'd sleep through my alarm and not make my flight. I was washed, make-up'd, packed and ready to go shortly after 5 a.m. and Terri would be arriving around 5:30 to begin our journey to Miami.

We made it through the Hibbing/Chisholm security and were allowed to get on the plane to Minneapolis. Arrived at Minneapolis, had lunch, got back on a plane. At least this time the plane was heading to a warmer destination.

Shortly after 3 p.m. we arrived in Fort Lauderdale and were ready to head south to Homestead-Miami Speedway to watch the Nationwide race. After finally getting our rental car (we decided to upgrade to a convertible--out of our own pockets, the Foundation isn't paying for the upgrade!) we were on the road to the racetrack! We finally arrived at lap 89.

It was a good race with a great finish! I've got some good pictures I'll be posting of "cousin" Carl Edwards' victory back flip.

Tony Stewart and I must have messed up our communication, because we didn't meet up with each other. Dang it! Oh well, I would surely meet up with him the next day.

Feeling guilty...

2008-11-11T17:06:00.004-06:00

Darrin and Max left for the Cities yesterday, so I had the evening to myself. I was almost giddy on my way home, because I don't think I've had much time to myself since Max was born...I know, a common issue once you become a mom.

I was so happy to clean out the bathroom cabinets without some little hands digging into everything I was trying to organize. I also did a couple of loads of laundry and folded them without my little darling throwing my nicely folded items across the living room. I was actually making progress on things without another area of the house being torn apart. A major feat in my world.

When I finally started to get myself ready for some well earned sleep, I felt guilty about enjoying time to myself without my husband and son. I KNOW there's nothing to feel guilty about, but that doesn't stop me.

Oh, and how sick is it that I'm excited to get home and do some more organizing and cleaning tonight? Pretty sad, huh?