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  1. April update

    April 26, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    A quick round up of this month:

    It’s been a time of getting the hang of this whole parenthood lark, Little L meeting all our friends and family (still have a few of her aunts, cousins, an uncle and great aunts to cover) and us coping with the inevitable overstimulation once this has all occured.

    Momentous occasion last night – Little L slept in the big cot in her nursery for the first time. She was in the pram in our room for the first month. I don’t think she noticed. She actually slept better for not whacking her feet/hands against the side of her container, so it was good Zs all round.

    In other news, I’ve managed to find a local non-grading tap class! It’s only taken two years. Looking forward to starting that next week. I understand it’s a good idea to have something regular to get you out of the house when a babby’s born.

    Also, I’ve signed up with an online wedding forum, mainly to start stealing ideas from other brides to be. It’s fascinating for several reasons. The hatred these women have for so many people involved in their big day; some aren’t engaged yet and are already fantasising; the speed at which people flash (the practice of posting a picture on a themed thread, ie wedding venue, rings, shoes etc); the use of ‘STD’ to mean ‘Save The Date cards. So far we’ve come up with silly ideas that won’t be used, which is more fun actually.

    That’s the ho hum update for you – more interesting tales next time (one hopes…)


  2. May I present… Little L!

    April 6, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    Been a while, eh?

    Last time I blogged, our baby was pretty much due. But there was no exciting birth for a good while – after a week of contractions, I was taken into hospital for the big event, waving goodbye to the inflated (and HUGE) birthing pool in the comfort of our living room. Wednesday night on the labour ward floated by on a bed of Epiduralness, followed by one heck of a heave ho on Thursday morning. Two hours, a wealth of contraptions and a fiance’s fully squeezed hand later and Little L was born!

    Little L was born at 10.03am on Thursday 24th March 2011, weighing in at 7lb 4.5oz.

    We were allowed home on the Friday to start life as a new family; The Hansfords.

    It’s taken me this long to blog for obvious reasons – babies are incredibly tiring. They wake for feeds at 2-3 hourly intervals, and while you intend to nap when they nap you often find yourself catching up on chores instead, making you knackered. Additionally, I was pretty poorly after the event and it’s taken me until now to be able to operate as a normal, mobile human being. Alex (my partner) has been looking after Little L and I for the past fortnight – an absolute rock. He is an amazing man and – sorry ladies – he’s mine.

    At two weeks, Little L is getting used to life with her slightly silly parents. Alex’s dad jokes are coming into bloom, as are his gurning skills. I’m enjoying cuddles and building up the bond with Little L that I didn’t quite manage to forge in the early days.

    I will try not to make this blog entirely baby/child-centric. Normal people lead normal lives and have things to talk about. I’ve been encompassed by babyness and little else the past month, so that’s my subject area of knowledge. The more inane and odd topics will resume in due course, I’m sure. But until then…. awwww, ain’t she a cutie?


  3. Tardiness will have to be tolerated

    March 13, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    It’s due day today! But no signs of baby arriving any time soon. I’m changing my due date to 28th March to avoid continually waiting and waiting and waiting…


  4. Ring a ring of roses

    February 26, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    On Thursday night we popped down to our local lovely pub, The Olde Swan for some dinner. They always do gorgeous, gorgeous food and the staff are always great fun. After a top steak and chips followed by scrummy ice cream, I popped away from the table for a few moments.

    When I came back, Alex was twirling a very shiny diamond ring on his little finger, at which point he suggested it didn’t really fit him very well so maybe I should wear it instead.

    So all great happiness this weekend as he proposed and I said yes :o)

    I now have a fiance, and he a fiancee!


  5. World Book Day 2011

    February 16, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    It’s that time again!
    It’s the day to celebrate all that is good and inspiring about books. The day where all the children and teachers dress up as various characters to bring their favourite stories to life.

    Click here to see the last update of the costume inspiration list for World Book Day. Don’t forget to let me know which you did so I can add it to the list for next year!


  6. Other bloggers: WBOACM

    February 7, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    Thanks to the power of Google Reader, I have lots of other blogs and websites that I keep an eye on, mainly for entertainment value. One such blog is Wedding Blog Of A Clueless Man. With Bridezilla, Don’t Tell the Bride and Four Weddings being big pullers on the telly these days, it’s nice to see things naturally bloom with a wedding rather than have it all thrust at you. Plus he has a great style of writing which makes me laugh. Especially the bottom of this post.

    So, go see.


  7. Moodog – to eat or not to eat

    February 6, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    When you’re doing a show run, dinnertime is a slightly fraught issue. Trying to get food down you quick enough before a show is one thing – trying to find somewhere that does fast food where the queue isn’t 100 people deep is another.
    Debs and I tried? a new outlet in Luton’s Arndale shopping centre called ‘Moodog’, focussing around hot dogs, hot drinks, ice-cream and doughnuts. All well and good. Or so you might think.

    The hotdogs themselves – great. The french bread around them, coated in a dried syrup – vile. I can appreciate caramelised onions, but this was like eating a spoonful of pate with a spoonful of honey. Doesn’t work.

    After all that, I couldn’t face the doughnut. I’d already had enough sugar! So instead, the doughnut faced me :o)

    In short, if you’re passing Moodog, grab a doughnut, or a hot dog, but certainly not the two together.


  8. Born to Hand Jive

    January 17, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    While watching the Riverdance show would undoubtedly bore me to tears, I love rhythmic patterns. I also love dance music. I also love people being creative. And so today I bring you two of my favourite videos.

    The first (We No Speak Americano) is nothing short of addictive, with the second (Daft Hands ) being something I like to roll out every now and again. And with over 46 million views, other people seemingly do too.


  9. Costumes: Cocktails

    January 1, 2011 by Amy Hansford

    A theme I’d not given much thought to before was the subject of this year’s NYE Party. First question: do you go as an actual cocktail, or the literal translation of the name? For the pun costumes, you need to pick those which people might actually have heard of.? While there probably is a cocktail representative of a cheerleader, no-one will have heard of it so you’ll lose the punch (if you’ll pardon the pun). So, below is a list of those which we came up with.

    BarbarellaBarbarella
    Black RussianBlack Russian outfit
    Black WidowBlack spider costume
    Bloody MaryBloodied nativity costume with doll baby Jesus
    Blue HawaiianHawaiian outfit in blue
    Bridesmaid Cooler – Bridesmaid wearing sunglasses
    Chocolate SailorSailor outfit with lots of chocolates
    Cockney ChampagnePearly King with a champagne badge
    Eggnog – Noggin the Nog (Viking) with lots of Kinder Eggs or similar
    Fallen AngelEvil angel costume
    Mai Tai – Wear a tie with the label ‘this tie is the property of [your name]’
    Manhattan
    – Man with a hat on
    Mexican ChocolateMexican with lots of chocolate
    Naked Twister – Wear a Twister mat and little else
    Pina Colada – wear a colander with attached penises
    ShandySandy from Grease but pissed
    Shirley TempleShirley Temple
    Strawberry Bandit -Typical burglar costume but in red with a green mask/hat
    Strawberry Flapper – Flapper costume with attached strawberries
    White RussianWhite Russian outfit


  10. Shaken but not stirred

    December 27, 2010 by Amy Hansford

    Alright, last post for the day, I promise. I’m just overexcited at actually having something to write about and the time to do so.
    With 2011 looming, it’s almost time for the New Year’s Eve party. The theme this year is Cocktails.

    In a few days, i.e. once the party has been and gone, I will publish one of those handy ‘costume idea’ lists including pictures for y’all. But until then, I’m remaining tight lipped. Half the fun of costume parties is the mystery of what everyone goes as, and I can’t be giving any clues away on here of course…