Finding The Light

Growing up and living in Kansas my entire life, I have always loved sunflowers. Since Scott & I have been together, he has often given me sunflower bouquets. They are stunningly gorgeous, unique, brilliant in color, and timeless. In part, sunflowers define what I love about Kansas besides its flowing "amber waves of grain," our green, rolling Flint Hills, and the most breathtaking sunsets EVER which so totally -- hands down -- trump all other sunsets on Planet Earth without question. I love that we're known here in Kansas for this striking flower that eternally faces the sun & follows the light each and every day.

Oh yes, I love sunflowers.  And that is why I was so elated when our girls' teacher, Amy, told me that she'd be doing a sunflower project with the girls to celebrate Kansas Day this year. During the end of January, the girls worked hard several Fridays in a row to create their special painting with Amy's help. How awesome it is to have an art emphasis to help our girls learn!  Amy explained to me her plan for this picture and how the girls would use their hand prints and footprints to create sunflowers on a foot-painted sky and grass background. I couldn't see her vision initially, but I am so glad I was able to watch the picture unfold each week because it was magical!

I will always treasure this one-of-a-kind painting because it represents so much for our family.  It is a reminder of my love for Scott, my girls, my favorite flower, & my state. I see this painting and remember how hard the girls worked on this project to achieve this perfect finished result. I am in awe of their progress this year, and seeing their sunflowers is a physical symbol of all of their accomplishments. Most of all, it embodies the way we try to live our lives. No matter how dark life seems, we continue to find our light and keep our faces to the sun. It isn't always easy, but it's always worth it.

"Sunflowers" by Amy, Claire, Lola & Feta  ~  January 28, 2016

(Ignore Mrs. Pocket's attitude -- my girl was hangry!)

"Hey Chucko, that doesn't smell like mud."
(If you don't know what movie this is from, I'm not sure we can still be friends.  LOL)

Claire seemed to enjoy the feel of hand painting & seeing her finished gang signs hand prints!
#WestsideDwarves

Check out those long legs!  Claire is growing so tall!!!
Notice her yellow-fading-to-orange-fading-to-red footprints in the background?  

"Ummmm, are you really gonna stick my foot into that cold paint???  Who do you think I am?!?! Where's my tiara?"
Routine eye roll  ~  #divability

I love the way she is looking at Amy.  So incredible seeing such progress with her vision lately!

Feta could not be excluded... notice the "seeds" in the center of Lola's sunflowers?!
Yep, chicken scratches GALORE.
#VincentVanCock

I see you, Pablo Bokasso!

Look how his little feet are tucked under as he is painting!!!!  I literally can't even.  And I still can't, for the life of me, figure out what the shit that means, but I simply can't.  Even.  Or whatever.  

In its new home!

Lola's flowers are on the left, and Claire's are on the right.  You will notice that the center brown sections of the sunflowers are the girls' hand/fist prints.  The yellow petals are their footprints.  Claire foot-painted the sky, and Lola foot-painted the grass.

What you WON'T see but PLEASE KNOW IT STILL EXISTS (!!!) is a rogue, white paw print located nearly dead center of the picture under a yellow petal.  They say that many great artists hide codes or secret messages in their artwork.  A certain large, white, apparently artsy-fartsy whippet, who had to be part of this project in his own little way, may or may not have galloped across said painting as it was drying after the girls foot-painted the background.  I'm not gonna
name names, but suffice it to say that it rhymes with "brash," "trash," and "gigantic horse's ash."  

Once again, we are SO GRATEFUL to have such awesome teachers & therapists working with our girls!
We could not be luckier to have Amy as part of Team Hooligan!
THANK YOU again, Amy, for one of the most touching gifts we've ever received.

“I don't think there's anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the sunflower.  For me that's because of the reason behind its name.  Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun.  During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky.  A satellite dish for sunshine.  Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it.  And that's such an admirable thing.  And such a lesson in life."

~Helen Mirren, from the movie Calendar Girls

xo

The Perfect Cheer

Back around Christmastime, I had the pleasure of seeing my friend, Danielle (& her family) from high school. One of her daughters -- Mady -- is a cheerleader at a nearby school that Cal's team plays against in basketball. Danielle mentioned that she & Mady would like to make hair bows for both sets of cheerleaders -- Cal's team & Mady's team -- to wear in Claire & Lola's honor. I thought that sounded like THE COOLEST IDEA EVER. We talked a few days before the game, and we set up a time and place to meet. She even texted me a pic as I walked into the gym. I was in complete & total awe at this... 

1.29.16  ~  Rose Hill & Circle cheerleaders with Claire & Lola
(Mady is holding Lola.)
Photo by Danielle Baker

Pre-game photo by Danielle Baker

Getting suited up!  Lola  =  #DivaStatus
Photo by Danielle Baker

Bows designed by Mady & handmade by Danielle and Mady
I am SO digging that Disney princess font -- PERFECTION!!!

Classic move on Claire's part of strategically aligning her head so as to pinpoint gauge Lola's eye out with very little effort on her part whatsoever.  Well played indeed.  Sibling rivalry at its finest -- I would expect nothing less!

The girls are rocking their handmade tutus, also made by Mady!  

Honorary Cheerleaders!

I still get goosies thinking about that night and how perfect it was in every single way. I loved how the two teams came together for a common goal, how both sets of cheerleaders made my girls feel so included, how proud they were to honor Claire & Lola, how others watching wanted bows also, how both teams' parents reached out to Scott, the girls & me telling us how touched they were by this gesture, how I didn't even give a shit who won the damn game because this whole thing felt SO. MUCH. BIGGER.  I love how our Circle cheerleaders still wear the bows many games later & how they smile with such love in their eyes at the girls when they get their fist bumps during the home games as if they are their "little sisters."  I love seeing tweets like this:

Big love to you, Ivory!

I love how, more than anything, it isn't just OUR little town who is embracing differences & seeing the beauty ANYWAY & giving and sharing love because of Claire & Lola. Our girls are changing this WORLD. I cannot tell you how much I love seeing my daughters as tiny messengers of change. I just am *so proud* to be part of the special needs community.

Thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart to Danielle, Mady, the Rose Hill High School Cheerleaders, the Circle High School Cheerleaders, both communities, both teams, and all those who love our girls. You will never know how very much you mean to our family.  We love you guys!!!

xo

CODE YELLOW... THE SAGA CONTINUES!

When we last left you, our cocky companion, Bok, was teetering on the edge of his destiny, unsure of whether to go toward the light or return to Earth with his BFF, Lola.  It was touch & go for awhile in the Hooligan household, and we weren't about to count our chickens before they hatched, so to speak. But our Feta just HAD to live to cluck another day.  SURELY he could pull through!  He's a tough old bird, right?!?!

We were bound & determined to stick our necks out any way possible to save that little guy. Granted, Bok was no spring chicken, but his life still had worth and value, and we would pull out all the stops to help our Feta rule this roost yet again.

We suctioned...

...and we suctioned some more.

[PS -- Guess what?  Chicken butt.]

7?  O.M.G.  His temp is down to SEVEN DEGREES?!?!?  We're losing him!!!
DAMN THAT WASHING MACHINE OF DOOM!

Let's see if a rectal temperature reading is more accurate... Ummmm, no.
Come on, ya dumb cluck!!! Put up a freakin' squawk!

Ohhhhh nooooooooo!!!!!!  Wattle we do?!?!?  (See what I did there?!)

Be brave, Bok.  Come back to your flock.
They say Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can sometimes be effective with near-drownings, so we had to give it a go.
If it was good enough for Michael Jackson, it is good enough for our Feta.

On a wing & a prayer, Scott tried tiny chest/breast compressions on our
fowl friend with hopes that Feta would once again strut his stuff.

When all else failed, Scott tried mouth-to-beak resuscitation...

... and he was sure to listen for any signs of clucking and/or breathing.

There was only one thing left to try... fried chicken.  I mean, shocking our rubbery rooster back to life.

CLEAR!!!

And now it was simply a waiting game.  Would Feta "wake up with the chickens" ever again?  Would he ruffle any more feathers?  Would he ever cross the road?  Would he run around like a chicken with his head cut off?  Would the sky continue falling?  Would he ever choke his own chicken (wait, wrong chicken quote... oopsie!)?  Would he ever again do the "funky chicken" in all his glory?!?!? And furthermore, which DID come first -- Bok or the egg?! So many questions, so few answers. Only time would tell.

I would SO cue the 2004 Grammy Award-winning anthem titled “Shake Ya Tailfeather” by Nelly, P. Diddy (or is it Puff Daddy? Puffy? Diddy? Sean? Sean John? Cluck it, I give up.) & Murphy Lee if I could right now because that Bok OG (Original Gallus, as in Gallus Domesticus, the scientific name of the common chicken. Not to be confused with Common, the rapper.) cock-a-doodle-doo’ed himself right back to life, by gum! 

Feta & his colorful counterpart attempt to coexist with Mrs. Pocket in complete harmony.

Wait, who is this guy?!?!  Imma wring his neck!

Mmmmm...tastes like chicken.

Lola says, "The yolks on you!" by subtly attempting to "Ozzy Osbourne" poor stand-in Feta.
She clearly isn't his "Mother Hen."
(Note:  No chickens or dwarves were harmed during the filming of this dorky melodrama.)

Pocket has never been more cocksure of anything in all her life.  That fake Feta got what he deserved!!! They say poultry maintain a definite pecking order, and that is CLEARLY evident here.  

Nothin' but LOVE

Bok = Cock of the Walk
#rockoutwithyourbokout

xo