13 February 2006

(we just get down)



I've got a weird thing where I occasionally (randomly) feel I must break into cheer. something in my bones that I have no control over, something held over from my long ago days as a cheerleader. and it's not so much the cheering that I feel compelled to do but the syncopated rhythms of the clapping and stomping. our wood floors are perfect for this and nothing could be more satisfying to me than the deep boom of my stomping feet. it's a startling event that my family is finally starting to get used to-- ward tolerates it (as he does so many of my quirks) but I am secretly training ava and ezra to love my ways. when the stomping echoes through the house, ezra comes running as fast as his little legs will carry him. he doesn't have the rhythm down yet, but he can really work those feet, baby. and ava jumps right in without skipping a beat. my girl is starting to come at it with her own angle too (flapper girl slash cheerleader). nothing pleases me more than to see that fringe swinging and those arms flying. not that I want her to become a cheerleader or anything. I just dig her interpretation.

and speaking of randomness-- the other day, ava asked me what clouds taste like. my answer was not scientific but more in the vein of fantasy. yo if I can't give her the facts than you can bet I'm going to teach her to work that imagination.

monday morning speculation: what do clouds taste like?

21 comments:

  1. I think clouds taste like cotton candy, definitely. I love your cheerleading ways and Ava's costume is perfect for swirling and stomping in that way only cheerleaders can do.

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  2. i always imagine that clouds taste the way rain smells

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  3. i don't know what clouds taste like
    but i do have my own version of
    your cheerleading...
    only its just that i get this
    unbearable urge to clap...
    i don't know why...
    i just do...
    my family pretends they don't see me doing it, except for that time at christmas when my daughter told everyone at my inlaws christmas eve party about how i took the cookies out of the oven
    and clapped my hands forcefully
    while muttering..."pretty cookies" in a high pitched voice...

    heheh...
    really, i'm not as strange as i sound...by my standards anyway...

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  4. clapping, stomping, swirling and squealing are in all of us is such hilarious ways! i clap at work, when i've balanced a whole bunch of moolah. i clap and stomp in the shower just to hear the nice echo. i cheer when people blow out bday candles and open presents. and my dad just looks at me with astonishment, with no knowledge of where i came from. hey A. i'm up for another pc swaporama! what about a theme?

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  5. hmm, the taste of clouds? i would guess they taste a bit like chamomile with the texture of cotton candy. at least i hope that is what they would taste like. oh how i love the curiosity of kids.

    melanie

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  6. They taste a little like chicken.

    ;-)

    That's funny about your cheerleading. I love the image of Ezra running top speed toward the cheer beacon. And the picture is so fun!

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  7. OH! I was just going to say cotton candy. A few have said it too so it must be true. ;)

    I love this pic! You and your family are the cutest. xo

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  8. The whole idea that there is an incredible, un-hold-back-able urge to clap CRACKS ME UP. uh, it's so funny. gkgirl - you too.

    I do this weird, nervous and fast Two Clap Thing followed by my hands frozen in a pose, one hand pointing up, one hand pointing to the right. Often -- as I'm clapping twice -- I say, "Let's go!" I do this when I'm trying to get something done, or when I'm nervous.

    Andrea, let's plan to be neighbors soon. Because between our two households we could create a dance squad.

    get down, girl, go 'head it down.

    Clouds taste like chicken - HAHAHAHAHA.

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  9. Clouds taste like that white candy you get at christmas...Divinity, I think its called.

    Lovely entry as usual Andrea.

    Sincerely,
    Thing 2 (aka andrea)

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  10. so very cute :) They need to catch you on video when you think no one is watching ;) I think of opening my mouth in a steam room!

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  11. clouds taste like the way a pillow smells after someone you love has slepton it a long long time.
    i uncontrollably clap and shout "yay!" even when the situation is stuffy and it is frowned upon, it is instinctual, i don't even realize that i do it. i am a therapist, and at a stuffy meeting the big boss clinical director announced that the paperwork load will be reduced by a few pages per client and i uncontrollably shouted "YAY!" and clapped wildly, looking around to see everyone tsking, unamused. i have decided to tell my next place of employment that i have tourette's to cover all of the bases!ps your blog is really evocative, i really love it. thank you for doing it and for writing and sharing so much of yourself and your kiddos and your life.

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  12. yes - very cute! what a fun mom! i would so dig that as a kid!

    i'm sure it doesn't take much to twist their arms to join in - would love to see ezra's interpretation!

    what was YOUR answer to what clouds taste like? i asked noah - he said they taste very cold.

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  13. loving the thought of random cheers and stomping on wood floors. :)
    clouds to me taste like cotton candy but more fluffy and more airy.

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  14. what do clouds taste like? i have no idea.... somehow i want to say marshmallows?

    love the photo... and the idea of ezra running as fast as he can to participate in the stomping!

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  15. I'm thinking that your family needs to join my family for a major break it down dance party! We could work up a real sweat with all these party animals!
    I'm pretty sure clouds taste like marshmallow fluff and when you get them on your fingers or lips, or chin--it's really hard to get them off.

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  16. What a fun household to be raised in. Your kids are blessed! And what a priceless photo of sweet Ava!

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  17. work the cheerleading thing! woo whoo! I encourage my fitness class to, but they're afraid to exit "the safety box" hect, I'm old and I was a cheerleader for Halloween and I love spirit fingers! Bring It On! On that note, spirit fingers to the therapist who yells "Yay" that's something I'd do! Bring your own style into everything you do, right?

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  18. I think clouds taste like air, and around here, we break out the funk - and oh my goodness you should see leiden dancing to "low rider". (i was never a cheerleader :D)

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  19. My living room walls in my Nashville house (which I'm renting to someone while I live in Denver) are the same color as yours! My heart leapt when I saw your photo. My color is called Euphorbia. Glorious.

    I was never a cheerleader but I loved to stomp, clap and jump in the kitchen while looking at my reflection in the sliding glass door. Oh, the cool things we can do with our bodies.

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  20. it depends on the cloud. the wispy one --cirrus, they're called, i think-- taste like fresh rosemary, and the nasty, non-committal ones that can't make up their mind to rain or go away taste like fart and brussel sprout. thunder clouds taste like pennies or like biting into tin foil, and the happy puffy ones taste like an egg cream.

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  21. According to The Flaming Lips, clouds taste metallic.

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