This Month I Have Mostly Been Reading-October

This month has been an odd one, some books I loved and some I hated!
I even got hubby to write a review on the book he was reading!
While I really enjoyed some of the books I read, I found on the whole I am not really enjoying reading! I think I am putting too much pressure on myself to read a certain amount of books.
For November I am going to cut my TBR in half and just go with what books strike me to read.

The Nightingale~Kristin Hannah

This was my favourite book of the month! The story is set in France in World War II and it follows two sisters Vianne and Isabelle who to be honest are not very likable at the begin of the book. It took me a few chapters to like either of them. I liked how the POV shifted to either sister in each chapter it was this that made me see into there thoughts and feelings. Isabelle is 18 years old and not going to take this war lying down, she is made of hard stuff and knows she is going to try help the resistance any way she can.

Vianne is much more refined and will keep the peace to keep her daughter safe. Her situation is a nerve wrecking one with her husband off fighting for the French. The occupying Germans see her home as somewhere there men can stay. She is aways trending on water between her loyalty to her friends and family and staying on the Germans good side. 

Isabelle goes to huge lengths to help the allies her physical strength is amazing and yet Vianne mental strength is also to be admired. This book pulls on the heart strings, it sucked in and really made me care about the characters.

While both sisters are very different there are both to be admired for the different ways they helped in the war effort. The end of the book was quite heart breaking and definitely not what I saw coming!

It's a book that will stay with you long after reading

You And Me, Always~Jill Mansell

This was my first Mansell book to read and it will not be my last I loved this light sweet read!

This has a sweet plot about first loves, Hollywood glamour, and beautiful country village.

The plots are slightly predictable but after reading the heartbreaking plot of The Nightingale this was just what I needed!

Lily's mother died when she was just eight years old she left a letter for her daughter for every birthday until her twenty-fifth this is her last letter. This letter changes things and brings up someone from Lily's past. Jill Mansell brings life into great charaters I loved all of the characters and the settling of pretty postcard village Stanton Langley is stunning.

It's defiantly a curl up on the sofa read, while forgetting the worries of the world to get lost in Mansell's funny and heartwarming world. 

The Misbegotten~Katherine Webb
I had this book on my TBR for a while so thought October and Autumn would be a good time to finally read this. I had high hopes for this book, dark secrets set in a rural village in Victoria times it sounded right up my ally. So you can imagination how I felt when I put it down after only 120 pages! I just couldn't get into it, it was so sold paced and the main character Rachel was so unlikable! I didn't want to get into a reading slump so I put it down!

  Divided Loyalites-Patricia Scanlan
I really enjoy Patricia Scanlan books this was like an family saga spanning over years
While its a long read over 700 pages I read it quickly as it was an easy read and really enjoyable
It's mostly about two sisters and there highs and lows over the course of a few years
I liked how the book started at Christmas time and went through all the seasons until it was Christmas again many years later.

What Paul Has Been Reading This Month:

Jurassic Park~Michael Crichton

As  I have taken up more reading again, my wife has asked me to write a review on the book I read each month.
This month I have read Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, most of the newer generation do not realise that everyone's favourite movie about dinosaurs began with a book. Having been a big fan of the films for many years I decided it was time to compare the novel and I wasn't disappointed. The book differs greatly to the original blockbuster to the point that characters that were villains in the movie started out as heroes and vice versa. Characters integral to the story have been completely erased or glazed over. There are so many great scenes that the movie could have added such as the T-Rex hunting the raft with Lex, Tim and Grant in the lagoon.
The obvious character to pick out was Richard Hammond (everyone's favourite granddad) in the novel Richard Hammond is a visionary like his movie counterpart however that is where the similarity ends. This Richard Hammond would have been better played by Jonathon Pryce, he is a capitalist first and refuses to see reason. He is also the reason for the failures in the park, he forces Denis Nedry into the arms of his rivals by under paying him for work on the computer system.
One character that is portrayed as coward in the movie is Gennaro the lawyer. this character is involved in almost every rescue operation in the book and is the reason for the survival of most of the characters.
I really enjoyed this book and I have already ordered the sequel - The Lost World.
Sadly we may never see this version of the book make the big screen but in this case I am a big fan of both book and movie.

What Oisìn has been reading this month

Skip To The Loo, My Darling~Sally Lloyd-Jones
We have been reading this sweet book to Oisìn hoping that he will get back on track
with his potty training! Its a cute little book that shows lots of animals using the potty and then includes a mirror so that you can join them!

So thats our reads this month what's yours?

Slimming World Meal Plan Monday

Monday: Dinner in my Parents (cabbage, potatoes and bacon)

Tuesday: Slimming World Over Baked Meatballs

Wednesday: Slimming World Shepard's Pie

Thursday: Diet Coke Chicken

Friday: Steak, Salad & SW Chips

Saturday: Gammon, Poached Eggs, Tomato & SW Chips

Sunday: Roast Chicken Sunday Lunch

Over The Weekend #53

 This weekend as a household we where all feeling fairly tired and a little rundown

Oisìn has come down with a bad cough at night time which sounds a little like croup

He is fine during the day but night time is awful poor little thing the sound of that barking cough breaks my heart. So we are all more than a little tired during the day and the circles under my eyes have got a little bigger!

My Mam invited us to dinner on Saturday understanding that we where all more than a little shattered. She whipped up a large pot of her Irish Stew and it was just what the doctor order for all of us! Although Paul has also been run down lately trying to shift a lingering viral infection he still smiles and makes our little boy feel better. I found 25 selfies on my phone from these two jokers from when we where in my parents for dinner!

 It was a very restless night for us all Saturday night but before all that Paul and I got into the Halloween spirit and watched one of my favourite scary movies An American Werewolf In London!

After a long night we all need fuel the next morning, so I had a big Slimming World friendly grill up!

Sunday we spent relaxing Oisìn and I did alot of dozing on the sofa!

We got cosy and watched Disney's Aladdin and Oisìn loved it!

So that was our weekend! Hopefully next weekend we will be all feeling a little better! 

Slimming World Meal Plan Monday

I am back in group since last Thursday

I finally said enough is enough! I was feeling horrible in myself and although I know it will be hard to get the weight loss I want while still on meds for my chronic illness and having PCOS but at least now I will be eating well! I am hoping to get a good loss on Thursday fingers crossed!

Breakfasts this week will be porridge with fruit, SW big grill breakfast and egg muffins

Lunches will be butternut squash homemade soup, tuna salads, cream crackers and omelette's

Monday: Left over SW Beef Hot Pot Bake with Brussel Sprouts

Tuesday: Beef Stir Fry with lots of Veg and Dry Wok Noddles

Wednesday: Slimming World Thai Green Curry Ready Meal with Boiled Rice

Thursday: Gammon Steaks, Fried Egg, Bean & SW Chips

Friday: SW Rigatoni With Beef Ragu

Saturday: Using left over Mince to make my favourite fakeaway

Slimming World Taco Fries

Sunday: Roast Chicken, Carrots, Brussel Sprouts, Yorkshire Pud & Oxo Roasties

Song Of The Week

This week has been sponsered by the song.....

Storms-Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac's Tusk album for me is another one that I love to play in the Autumn time

My favourite songs on that album are mostly Stevie Nick's beautiful haunting songs, Angel, Sisters of the Moon, Beautiful Child and this haunting poem Storms are some of my favourite Fleetwood Mac songs ever. 

When I was 15/16 I learn the guitar by ear by playing the guitar over and over again in my bedroom! It got to the stage that my parents bought me a pair of cordless ear phones to plug into my guitar so they didn't have to listen to an awful tuned gutiar, the wrong cords and the caterwauling of my 16 year old self trying to be Stevie!

 This was also for me a song about my first love, over that summer I had my first taste of love he was alot older than then me. By the Autumn the relationship has fizzled out and was over. I poured my heart into learning these songs. Storms and Beautiful Child remind me so much of that time, even now sometimes when I hear them I can remember so clearly how heartbroken I was.

If I was to get the many lyrics I love of Stevie Nick's songs tattooed on me I would be covered!

Yet there something about these lyrics from Storms

"Never ever been a blue calm sea

I have always been a storm'

These lyrics seem to sum me up although I have mellowed a bit. I always seemed to be a bit of a storm!

On The Box This Week

Warning-TV Spoilers Ahead!

I am not sure why but I have found this season of Poldark lacking. I can't put my finger on it but I haven't found this season as enjoyable as last year. One think I really am disliking is the huge time jumps! Like how Ross and Demelza's son Jeremy was born two episodes ago yet we only found out his name in this episode and now he looks around two years old!
The relationship between Ross and Demelza has been very rocky all season but last week we saw them still passionately in love, in quite a racy scene (which I loved) this week they where back at logger heads. Demelza has been set against Ross having any part in smuggling goods, this week that storyline came to ahead. I don't know how Ross gets away with things but after being ambushed by the law, he tells his friends that he is done with the copper mine and that he will now live a quiet life with his wife and son....that is if he gets away with smuggling! Yet with George Warleggan sniffing around the newly widowed Elizabeth I doubt Ross will be happy with a quiet life as we all know Ross Poldark can be a law onto himself!

This series has been called Downton Abbey in Egypt after one episode by the critics!
I didn't see Tutankhamun like that not alot happened in episode one to be honest! It opens in 1905 when Dr Carter gets struck off for punching a French Duke! A few years later Dr Carter played by Max Irons is still on digs in Egypt but yearning for his own big discovery when very rich Lord Carnarvon played by Sam Neil discovers him and asks him to help on his dig.
Most of the current Americans and English are leaving Egypt due to the unrest in Europe, giving Carter his chance to dig for Tutankhamun lost tomb.
There is also the premise for a good love story with American Maggie an Egyptolist from the Met who is clearly mad about Carter but he is more interested in the dead women around him, although she does get her man before she leaves! There is also Carnarvon's daughter Evelyn while nothing is stated about how she feels about Carter it does feels like something might happen there in later episodes.
Just are Dr Carter and Lord Carnarvon's dig is about to begin World War 1 breaks out and the whole thing is put on hold for four year or next week in our case!

Semi-finals and once again it was Mel and Sue who made this show for me. I just love there quirky and sometimes cheesy but always funny delivery. I loved how Selasi was looking for Mary, Mel and Sue's jobs and he might even get them now!! Selasi sass was on point tonight! Andrew didn't seem like he was enjoying himself this week think the stress got to him! Sue towelling down Selasi was the envy of alot of women watching! Candice felted the pressure and took to calling herself CB! Andrew won Star Baker and Selasi was sent home! We will miss him but he was jut outclassed this week. So it's Andrew, Jane and Candice in the finale!

The Bedtime Reading Tag!

A Book That Kept You Up All Night Reading?

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton 

This book had me reading till the early hours of the morning till I finished it!

I remember getting up the next morning with Oisìn very very early an awful lot of caffeine was consumed that day! I only read it earlier this year but the book and author have become my favourites

A Book That Made You Scared To Go Asleep?

The Witches by Roald Dahl

I was a huge fan of Roald Dahl as a child I made my way through his books with speed!

I came to this book just after I saw the movie version (which also made me too scared to sleep)

It sat in my bedroom book shelf for a long time before I had the nerve to read in! In the end I asked my Dad to read in with me a bit each night like what we had done with The BFG. It still scared me as after reading it each night images of  Anjelica Huston revealing her witch form flooded my mind!

A Book That Made You Go Asleep?

The Misbegotten by Katherine Webb

One that comes to mind straight away is a book I tried to read this month

I do say try because after 100 pages of struggling to keep myself awake I put it down before finishing it. I was so disappointed because it sounded like something I would really enjoy but the pacing was so slow and all the characters unlikeable.

A Book That Made You Toss and Turn In Excitement For It's Release?

A Song Of War by Kate Quinn and other authors

I love most of Kate Quinn books she really knows how to tell a epic historical tale with a good twist.
Her books have love, war, friends, and bitter enemies! This one promises to have it all princes, slavers, lovers, the rich and poor. Along with Kate Quinn there is six other authors joining her to tell this epic tale.

A Book That Has Your Dream Boyfriend?

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Jamie Fraser of course!!

What's not to love about a hunky, Scottish red head!
Insert picture here to see what I mean!!

A Book That Would Be Your Worst Nightmare To Live In?

It By Stephen King

I have read this book but never actually seen the movie the book was enough for me!

Killer clowns, horrible abusive families and childhoods. It terrified me and I can never look at clowns the same way since!

A Book Cover That Reminds You Of Nighttime?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
While I haven't read this book yet its on my Autumn TBR
For the cover reminds me of night time with the black and white with hints of red

A Book That Has A Nightmarish Cliffhanger?

Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon
I think I have gone on about this book in almost every book tag I have done!
Following on from Outlander this book just had me hooked from the very first page
Then that huge cliffhanger at the end of the book! I just loved it and am looking forward to reading the fourth book in the series in November!

A Book That You Actually Dreamt About?

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
As a huge Phantom fan since I was 12! I have had various dreams about this story,
some about the musical, some about the novel, and some scary ones after watching a horror movie version!

A Book Monster That You Would Not Want To Find Under Your Bed?

Penny Wise-IT by Stephen King
This little weirdo again! I think I would pee my pants and sleep with the lights on forever if I ever found this clown/alien/thing under my bed!
I off to think off happy things before bed!

Dealing or Not Dealing with Potty Training Regression

After spending most of August getting Oisìn potty trained the last thing I thought about was potty training regression! He was doing so well and took to using a toddler toilet seat instead of a potty.

I think he had a set back when in creche he moved to the larger toddler room with two new childcare assistants. Although he loves the room and most of his friends moved with him, I don't think he felt comfortable asking to go to the the toilet. I don't blame creche or anything like that these things happen. I do think at home I went about it all wrong! I panicked, stressed out and thought I was doing something wrong! 

Then I started to google everything about toilet regression! I tried EVERYTHING! 

I made a song up to sing when he needed the toilet-it didn't work he wet himself while singing it!

I used stickers as a reward-didn't work stickers where everywhere and so was the puddles of pee!

I told him he was a big boy and he needed to wee in the potty or toilet-didn't work the lip came out and he burst into tears....major Mammy guilt

I used one jelly sweet as a reward-didn't work he sat on the toilet pretending to go and then had a tantrum if he didn't get a sweet!

So I stopped and remembered that this clever little chatter box isn't even three yet! I was stressing out, putting so much pressure on this little boy who although picks up many things quickly was just had a set back with potty training.

 He can have a full conversation with me, sing songs, dress himself, tell stories, feed himself but yet he still isn't three years old. Sometimes I need to remind myself of that! 

I remembered my own words in my own post regarding potty training that every child is different and to have patience.

Why was I putting so much pressure on his little head?!
I was guilty of comparing him to other children in his creche and his friends. Nervous that he was behind other children in his age group. I stopped and gave myself a serious wake up call!!
I took a step back and looked at how upset, unhappy and even slightly scared he looked when I brought him to the toilet or when he had wet himself.

I took the stress and pressure off him and put the pull ups back on. He goes the poo in the toilet and will always tell me when he needs to go to the toilet for that. Now that I have took the pressure off him he tells me more now when he needs a pee. Of course he goes in his pull up alot of the time but he is now much more vocal when he needs to go.

The advice I would give other parents is don't stress about it. I put way to much pressure on myself and on my son, it will happen but it will do so when he is ready.

Halloween Movies For Children

At the moment Oisìn is slightly too young to watch all the Halloween movies aimed at children

so I have divided this post into toddler friendly Halloween movies and then some for older children.

Spookley The Square Pumpkin (2005) Cert U

We watched this over the weekend and Oisìn really enjoyed this story of Spookley

the pumpkin who is square instead of round and feels very lonely because he is different.

His friends the bats, spiders and a Scarecrow show him how special he is and it's okay to be different. It's not scary at all but a nice seasonal tale

Monsters Inc (2001) Cert U

This is one of Oisìn's favourite movies he loves Pixar and this is a go to movie for when he is feeling poorly. This about the world of Monsters and to fuel there world Monsters must harvest the screams of the children they scare at bedtime. It sounds very scary when put like that but this is Disney/Pixar so it is a funny gentle lovely tale. Oisìn's favourites are Sully and Boo but I find Billy Crystal as Mike very funny! 

Scooby Doo (2002) Cert PG

This is one of the hubby's favourites and he recently introduced Oisìn to it, while the little guy liked most of it we did need to fast forward some of the more scary scenes at the end of the movie. He loves the new cartoons of Scooby Doo and while most of this movie held his attention I think it might have just been a bit long for a toddler.
The gang are brought to a strange island to solve the weird things happening. While the mystery isn't much of a mystery I do really like the casting of this movie.

Casper (1995) Cert PG
Now this brings back memories of my childhood I went to see this in the cinema with my family when I was around 10! I loved it and had a huge crush on Devon Sawa who played Casper towards the end of the movie!! Kat and her Father move into a huge mansion when her Father is hired to get rid of the ghosts that haunt there by a heiress. Kat soon becomes friends with Casper the young friendly ghost who lives there, he falls in love with Kat, but she is struggling to fit in at her new school. In the end it's up to Kat and her Father to help the ghosts move on to the other side.
I haven't watched this yet with Oisìn but I think he will enjoy it but we might have to fast forward some of the scarier scenes!

Hocus Pocus (1993) Cert PG
We watched this over the weekend Oisìn didn't bother with it much to be honest
but he did dance around to the party scene when Bette Milder sings I'll Put A Spell On You
we had to rewind that scene four times for Oisìn to sing and dance too!
Other than that he didn't seem to care about the movie he like the talking cat, but I think this movie is for older children but not to scary to have on while younger children are in the room.
I love this movie it's a Sunday afternoon movie from my childhood! The Sanderson sisters are some of the most evil witches on film! Yet even as a young child I could tell how cool they actually where!

Monster House (2006) Cert PG
Oisìn was quite scared of this when I showed it to him the other day
So I turned it off although it's PG I would say it's for older kids around 6 upwards
It's about three early teens who discover the house in there neighbourhood is a real
monster!

Now here is my list for older children

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1995) Cert PG
While this is one of my favourite Halloween and Christmas movies Oisìn is just too young to watch it with me yet. I know its far too creepy and scary for him to enjoy yet without him having serious nightmares! I first watched this on a Christmas Eve night with my brother I think I was around 11 or 12 and I loved it! The whole premise of the Jack The Pumpkin King who was bored of the same old thing, found Christmas land and decided to take it for himself with disastrous results! The score, the songs and the creepy Tim Burton animation I adored it!
In a few years time I look forward to sharing it with Oisìn

The Witches (1990) Cert PG
Now this was one that gave me nightmares! This Roald Dahl book turned movie scared the living daylights out of me when I was a kid. This was another one I remember watching on a Sunday afternoon its about a somewhat spoiled young boy Luke who is staying with his Grandmother in a fancy old hotel when he stumbles across a witches convention. He watches as the leader (Anjelica Huston) reveals her true witch like self. I think that stayed with me my whole childhood!! That scene itself makes this movie for older kids! Luke must try stop the witches go through with there plan to rid England of all children!

The Adams Family (1991) Cert PG
This is a Halloween family classic. A new take on the classic 1960's show a con artist tells the family he is there long lost eccentric Uncle. The cast in this movie is what makes it for me Anjelica Huston as Mortica, Raul Juila as Gomez, Christopher Lloyd as Fester and Christina Ricci as Wednesday.

The Monster Squad (1987) Cert PG-13

I have spoke of myself and hubby's love for this movie on this blog before, hubby watched this as a young child and it stayed with him ever since. I finally managed to get a copy on DVD for him one Christmas and I watched it and totally fell in love with it too! It's very like The Goonies but with classic monsters Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, The Mummy and Gill-man. It has 80's music montages, a cute little girl who becomes friends with Frankenstein and of course a group of kids who have to stop this monster squad.
It is definitely one for the older kids there is violent, sexual innuendos and a very intense Dracula who choke holds one of the young hero's! Look past all the cheese and it's a Halloween classic!

So that's our list of Halloween movies to watch with your kids
Would you add any?