REVIEW: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

A friend recommended Case Histories to me awhile back. She first asked me if I liked crime fiction and when I said 'no' she said she'd still recommend this book to me. I wasn't sure about it at all and not having read anything by Kate Atkinson before, or indeed anything else recommended to me by this friend, I wasn't very convinced. I thought I'd give it a go during my holiday, and I wasn't disappointed. I will definately look out for more by her, including the sequel, When Will There Be Good News?

Case Histories isn't light reading though. It went straight into three case histories involving a missing little girl, a man who witnesses the violent death of his beloved daughter, a woman suffering from post-partum depression reaching for an axe. All three cases are picked up by an ex-policeman turned private investigator, Jackson Brodie and during the course of the novel the three cases overlap and converge. Whilst it is crime that is being investigated, I'd say that it was less a detective novel and more an in-depth look at personal tragedy and loss. Each character is really developed and unique, each suffering a great deal and handles their own private grief in such different ways.

I loved the bits of humour and irony throughout this book, Kate Atkinson has a great voice and a great eye for detail. She has written such wonderful characters and I thought the layered narrative really worked, going back and forth in time over certain events to see what happened from a different perspective. Highly recommended.

Have you read this book or anything else by Kate Atkinson?

York, Part One

Yes, we went to York on holiday, home of the National Railway Museum, the largest railway museum in the world. It houses the only bullet train outside of Japan, the fastest steam locomotive in the world, the Mallard and so much more. Oldest adored the place. He kept talking about going back to the train museum every day that we were in York.



While we were there, we met up with my sister in law and her family for the day. It was nice to see them, and catch up a little bit. We took a lot of silly pictures, even tried to get the three boys to sit together nicely for a photo but we didn't quite manage a good one. Oldest helped out during storytime by waving a flag and blowing his whistle at the station. It was cute.



When we were finished, he said to his cousin, C, 'you can come back to York tomorrow, OK?' and was disappointed when we told them that C was going back home. He loves his little cousin. He kept giving him hugs and kisses and holding his hand. It makes me sad that they live far enough away for us to not see them regularly. Luckily, they're here for the bank holiday weekend coming up.



This is York Railway station. We went there to sit down and have a drink and N took Oldest to see the trains that came in and out of the station. Oldest adored it all. He kept making train noises and tooting. He still is, actually. Everywhere we go he pretends to be a train and chugga-chuggas along.

Imagine his excitement when Oldest realised that the B&B we'd booked was close enough to the train tracks that he could see trains whooshing past by looking out of the window next to his bed? He stayed up late every night waving to those trains with that same excited look on his face.

Today's To-Do List

1. Hoover the upstairs
2. Phone for prospectuses (prospecti?) of local primary schools for Oldest
3. Sweep hallway
4. Charge the drill
5. Start work on assignment before tutorial tonight
6. Answer emails (particularly to B)
7. Toddler group (to give out month-old thank you notes from Littlest's birthday)
8. Put Littlest's outgrown clothes in loft plus bags from holiday
9. Organise rest of week in terms of Doing Things Differently
10. Bag all of the spare clothes that the nursery has been sending Oldest home in to send back finally
11. Fill charity bag before tomorrow morning
12. Send out giveaway books (horribly late!)
13. Remove Eeyores from windowsill in computer room to make room for new curtains
14. Tidy kitchen counter
15. Laundry, at least three loads

All this still to do. And more. I have 6 blog posts half-started that I can't seem to finish. Three of them are book reviews (I'm continually updating my Books Read in 2009 list there in the sidebar, has anyone noticed?), one is sort of sad, one is about Joshua, the other is the answer to where we went on holiday (it wasn't France).

I keep waiting to hear from my dad to find out how he got on finding another place to live in northern California and also to hear about his visit with my brother, but nothing. He left more than a month ago.

I have a new project that I'm still in the process of organising that I'd like to do with Oldest. I'm excited, but I also think it will be too much.

Apart from today, I haven't yet come up with any ideas for the rest of the week to end my Doing Things Differently project. My enthusiasm has waned about the whole idea, but I'm not giving up just yet. Not with three days to go.

My nephew is coming down for a visit this weekend and I'm quite excited.

What are you doing today?

I'm back!

But I'm guessing you didn't realise I'd gone? I was terribly organised before I left last weekend and scheduled all the posts this week. The family and I went on our first holiday in three years, which, really, is our first holiday since Oldest was born :) It wonderful, I had a great time. I'm sure I'll tell you all about it, but first, there are so many other things I need to catch up on.

I leave with this photo - first person to guess where I was gets a (virtual) gold star! Be back soon!

REVIEW: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

When I started this book I thought to myself 'there's no way I'm going to finish this' because I thought the writing was a bit cringe-worthy. The thing at the beginning? When she compares some boy's blue hair to the tentacles of an octopus? Oh god, not a good start.

And then I don't know what happened, I was so drawn into the story and the characters that I didn't care so much about the bad similes. And I finished the book in just over a day. I can't stop thinking about this book, thinking about reading the next two books. I want to know what happens. And I want to know now!

So for me, it's very reminiscent of Twilight. Obviously not written brilliantly, but the storyline is interesting enough to propel a reader through the worst of it. I applaud Cassandra Clare for her romantic scenes and for the fact that there is definately enough action scenes to balance out the mush.

Clary Fray and her best friend, Simon witness a murder at a nightclub and from there they uncover this secret world where she meets Jace, Isabelle and Alec, Shadowhunters who live in this uneasy balance with demons and faeries, werewolves, vampires. Then Clary's mother disappears and with the help of her new friends, Clary goes in search of answers and a Mortal Cup to save her mother and to stop the bad guy.

It was a fun read, definately. Bring on the sequels.

DTD, Day 13: Easter Trail at Virginia Water

Days like these are the reason that I started this Doing Things Differently project. We went somewhere different, we did something as a family and we had a lot of fun doing it. I really wanted to do something with Oldest for Easter this year. Last year, Littlest was born the Thursday before the Easter weekend and we were so busy with newborn chaos that we weren't able to take Oldest out for an Easter hunt like we planned. And we didn't this year either!

It rained the Saturday and the Sunday so we decided to stay indoors. But Monday rolled around bright and dry, so we took the boys (and N and our best friend, A) to Virginia Water for an 'Easter Trail.' Oldest was too young for it though, and N and A answered most of the questions that we were looking for as we walked around the lake. But it didn't matter. Oldest loved stomping his feet through mud puddles and running about in the trees. He even made a 'snow angel' as he was laying on the grass surrounded by flower petals. He had so much energy running around for most of the afternoon. And how was he rewarded? With a big bag of chocolates. Just what he needed :)

It really was a beautiful day.

REVIEW: After The Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, And Flew Away by Joyce Carol Oates

I picked this book up on a whim. If I hadn't been stranded in a library for two hours with a restless 3 year old, I might never have glanced at it. As it turned out, I really related to this book.

Jenna Abbott leads a fairly normal life with her mother until a car accident changes everything. Her mother dies, Jenna is seriously injured. Her life completely changes after this and she's left reeling with the guilt that she might have been to blame for the accident, guilty for surviving when her mother didn't. She moves in with her aunt and uncle and struggles with the person she was before the accident and the person that she has become. She involves herself in a lot of self-destructive behaviour including skipping school, drugs, alcohol, theft. She has no one to talk to, no one to confide in until she meets mysterious, older Crow who has problems of his own.

I really did relate to this story. I've never been in a car accident and my mother is still alive and well, but I can understand her feelings of poor self-worth and the attraction of self-destructive behaviours. That feeling of being alone in our problems is one that most teenagers feel, and I think that Joyce Carol Oates handles the anguish and isolation of it all very well. It isn't an easy book to read but it's one that I'm glad I did read.

DTD, Day 9: Wellington Country Park

Despite my depression post of last week, I am still taking part in this project. I'm just not pressuring myself to post my results in a timely fashion anymore and I'm not posting about every single day. Just the fun stuff. For this, Day 9, I decided to check out Wellington Country Park. I didn't know very much about it before we went. Just that they had a circus act for the children Easter weekend and that the park was somewhere on the route that I take to get to my university tutorials in Basingstoke. To step things up just a little bit, I decided to invite a friend and her daughter along. This is something I never do. I chickened out just a little bit and emailed her, but whatever. She came. It was great to catch up with her.



We arrived just as the circus show was starting. I'm sorry now that I didn't take any photos, but seating was limited and I ended up sitting away from Oldest with Littlest in my lap. Littlest was a bit restless and I had my hands full. When we got outside, he was much happier, and so was I.



There was so much to do! Apart from having a beautiful lake and well-kept grounds on which to run around, there were a load of little play areas along the path - a tractor to sit on, climbing equipment, a massive tyre, sand pits, slides, and Oldest's favourite - a train.



It really was a wonderful day. To think all of this is only a short drive from where I live.Oldest asked to come back the next day. There was face painting in the lobby as well as pottery painting. But it was the hills that he loved the most. He loved climbing them and running down the other side. It was fun to watch him giggle and trip his way down. Fun was had by all, and just maybe I'll be less afraid to give a friend a call from now on, make a day of it with us and the children. Somewhere local and outdoors. Why not?


Doing Things Differently in the month of April

REVIEW: Audrey, Wait by Robin Benway

Did I mentioned already that I squealed out loud when I saw this book on the library shelf a few weeks back? I'd heard good things about it and knew I had to read it. It didn't disappoint at all.

It's the story of Audrey, a normal teenage girl who breaks up with her self-centred boyfriend, Evan. The thing is, Evan is in a local band who suddenly gets very famous after he writes a song about his break-up with Audrey. Audrey, Wait! becomes a huge song that everyone's talking about and forces Audrey into the spotlight. She now has to deal with rumours and fans, fake people and the paparazzi.

The thing that's so great about this book are the characters. Especially Audrey. She's so fun and funny and sarcastic and very relateable. Her relationship with her parents, her best friend Victoria, her new love-interest James are all very believeable and oh god, put up with me here - fun. I didn't want to put this book down. I was rooting for Audrey from the very first page and I loved being in her head. More from Robin Benway, please!

Sunday Salon: YA overload

I'm in such a YA kick at the moment. I've been reading teen books one after another this week. Normally a reading phase like this won't last as long as this. I almost did pick up something more adult to read the other day, but I was too tempted by another book... about faeries! (I actually clapped my hands after writing that!)

I'm currently reading Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. (Isn't that a fab cover?) I'm only 70 or so pages into it, but I adore it already. Luckily I have Ink Exchange waiting for me when I'm finished. Hopefully it won't be too long before I find a copy of Fragile Eternity. Now that I'm reading this series, my eyes have been opened to the amount of people discussing this series of books on blogs that I read. How did I miss them before?

This week has been trying for me - I try to stay away from a series of books if I don't think I'll be able to finish the series in a short period of time. I'm so impatient to know how things turn out! But I couldn't resist this series and it came just after starting a different series of books - I've just finished City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I might have to start buying books again so I'm not left hanging!

But definately after Wicked Lovely, I will be turning away from the YA. I love you, YA, but I can only handle so much of you at one time.

How about you? How do you balance out your adult book/children's book reading? What're you reading at the moment?

Compare the meerkat advert

There's this advert on the telly that I love. I giggle everytime I watch it and everytime I see it I think what a brilliant advert it really is. N was saying the other day he'd love to have been involved in that process where someone somewhere thought 'hmm, car insurance, car insurance. What can we do to advertise car insurance? I know! Let's make an advert about a Russian meerkat!' Absolutely genius. I almost used 'simples!' in a conversation the other day, that's how much this advert has affected my life. I love it. I had to share it.

(and comparethemeerkat.com is an actual website! with meerkats!)

REVIEW: Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

I really liked Someone Like You. I didn't expect that. I've heard rave reviews about Sarah Dessen but I didn't really believe all that was said about her until I read this book, especially as I hate the cover. It's too pink and horrible for me, but I did enjoy this book very much.

It's the story of two best friends, Scarlett and Halley. Scarlett's boyfriend dies in a motorcycle accident and she later finds out that she is pregnant with his child. Meanwhile, Halley is dealing with her own issues with an overbearing mother and a new relationship.

It's books like these where I really mourn the fact that I've never had a best friend. That special someone that I'm open and honest with, who I share my secrets with and who I would turn to in times of need. I wish I had a Scarlett to my Halley.

I very much liked the friendship between the two girls, the quirkiness of some of the characters (Vlad and Marion), even the struggle between Halley and her mom, which is surprising. I don't normally like the mother-daughter aspect of most books. I thought that Sarah Dessen did a great job of harnessing her inner teenage girl and everything felt right. All in all, this was a surprisingly good read. I will definately look out for more of Sarah Dessen's work.

Bump in the road

I've completely lost my momentum with this whole Doing Things Differently thing. Easter weekend ended up being my downfall. I had plans and the rain prevented me from carrying them out. I didn't have any backups. It turns out everything on my list that needed some sort of organisational skills or planning has now been crossed off my list. And since I didn't have any great ideas to fall back on, I did tiny, little things (like re-pierce my ears) instead of what I had planned. And I don't feel happy about it.

That unhappiness is now affecting the rest of the month in terms of (lack of) enthusiasm for the project. Or at least that's the story. The thing is, when I started this project, it was because I was feeling depressed. I wanted to start something that I could throw myself into and distract myself out of these low feelings and I'd get back to my 'normal' self. But it just doesn't work that way, does it?

I've suffered from a mild (moderate? I'm not sure) case of depression off and on for years. I've always told myself 'it's just this period of my life, once things change, things will get better' or if I just got out of the house, tried making new friends just got on with things or do things differently, then I will feel better. And I get great short-term results. I do. But it's not enough.

I feel like it's time to seek some sort of treatment, but I can't bring myself to do it - I think that will take more courage than I currently have. I feel as I though I'm letting the people I love down by admitting to depression. That it's an admission of weakness, or that it just confirms this long held belief of mine that I'm not good enough. And I know how ridiculous it sounds and that I shouldn't feel guilty. But this is how I feel.

I feel absolutely racked with guilt for not being stronger, for not being able to get past things. It's not everyday, in fact it's infrequent enough that I can ignore the few days where I eat very little, where I don't want to leave the house, or change out of my clothes, that I'm snappy and irritable and have no interest in doing the things that I love. But it's not right and it's not fair.

If only I could snap myself out of it, eat properly, fake it until it happens, be a stronger person for my kids, for my husband but first for myself. I may not seek treatment today, or even tomorrow, not next month or next year. Maybe never. That's up to me. I just needed to write all of that out, get it out of my system and go from here.

This really isn't how I thought this post would turn out to be.

Did I mention?

That Joshua is now walking? He's very pleased with himself too! I said it'd be soon, I just didn't think it'd be this soon...

(haven't been able to take a good walking photo as yet - this one'll have to do. He's very puppyish in this one)

DTD, Day 7: Choc brownie muffins

For Day 7, I decided to bake. I always mean to do more baking than I do, and if it does ever happen then I always revert back to the same thing again and again. So on this day, I scoured through my recipe books and found this. Choc Brownie muffins. If you're a calorie counter or on a diet in some way, look away now. As for me, I'm glad that I'm not that girl. Apart from knowing that I am overweight, I don't pay much attention to the number. I like my desserts too much to ever really be thin.



Oldest loved my idea of muffins. He's this wonderful mix of me and N. Where I adore sweet things and N adores spicy things.



Littlest hasn't been very well these past few days. Off his food, hardly sleeping, very clingy. Luckily, we had about an hour to ourselves as Littlest had a much needed nap. Oldest likes having his mommy-time. So do I. And he's such a help around the kitchen. He told everyone that day that he made muffins with Mama.



And oh, they were delicious. Very chocolatey. The nuts were perfect in them, added that needed crunch to all that chocolate. I tell you, those muffins did not last long.



Oldest's verdict? Thumbs up. A recipe to definately keep and make for special occasions. And I will bake more. I've decided that just this minute. I've already gone through a few different cookbooks and highlighted the recipes I want to try out. I might stick to muffins for awhile though, they're just so easy to make! More to come, I promise.



Choc Brownie Muffins

2 cups or 300g self-raising flour
35g cocoa powder
75g caster sugar
60g butter, melted
95g choc bits (I used choc chips)
75g pistashios, chopped coarsely (I used walnuts)
165g Nutella
1 egg, lightly beaten
180ml milk
120g sour cream

1. Preheat oven to moderately hot. Grease 12-hole muffin pan.

2. Sift dry ingredients into large bowl, stir in remaining ingredients.

3. Divide mixture among holes of prepared pan.

4. Bake muffins in moderately hot oven about 20 minutes. Stand muffins in pan for few minutes before turning onto wire rack. Dust with sifted extra cocoa, if desired.

TSS: Judging a book by its cover...

I'm a member of the library in three different counties. One where I used to live (two years ago), one where I used to work (more than three years ago), and one where I currently live. Obviously I don't often visit the other two, but every once in awhile, I'll go back and visit where I used to work because I'll sometimes visit N and we'll have lunch together. As part of my Doing Something Different, I was able to do just that. And I was also able to check out a load of books that my own local library doesn't have. One of them being Savvy by Ingrid Law.

Just look at these covers. The UK cover...

The American cover...



It's no contest which is the nicer of the two. That American cover screams to be picked up, it's so pretty and magical, while the British version is so ho-hum in comparison. If I hadn't already read some great reviews of this book I would have never picked up this book. Not with the cover it has. Is that really shallow? I don't really care if it is. I think good cover art is important.

Here's another one. This is the book I'm currently reading: Audrey, Wait by Robin Benway. I hope to finish it today. This is the American paperback cover...



And the British version.




Which book would you have picked up based on the cover?

Musical memories... Tracy Chapman

I may have mentioned this before, but I like to have music playing in the backround all the time. I'll usually just settle for whatever is on the radio. Occasionally, and only occasionally will I feel in the mood for a particular artist or song, and when I do, it's usually just a handful of bands or artists. One of my favourite singers, that I go back to again and again is Tracy Chapman.

When I was in eighth grade, one of my favourite teachers told us about a song competition that Tracy Chapman. I can't find any information about it, but from what I remember, one lucky winner would have her sing the winning .. oh, I really don't remember. It doesn't really matter, does it? I only mention it because that was my introduction to her. I did write a poem about my parent's divorce, and I believe that my teacher submitted it to the competition (though that wasn't my intention). Regardless, my poem was rubbish. I cringe to think of it. It was the first poem I had ever attempted and I still hate that I wasn't the only one to read that stupid thing.

Still, horrible middle-school poetry aside, I was left with this longtime love affair with Tracy Chapman's music. I have all of her albums. I love her lyrics and the honesty in her singing. I love that she's maintained a sort of musical integrity. Let me share one of my favourite songs of hers... Baby Can I Hold You Tonight.

I love the word 'intensely'

Your rainbow is intensely shaded red, white, and violet.

What is says about you: You are a passionate person. You appreciate quiet moments. People depend on you to make them feel secure. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

I saw this over at You Can Never Have Too Many Books awhile back and it felt right. What is it about these type of quizzes that fascinates me?

More of the boys..

I know it's been a bit heavy on the posts involving the boys lately, but you'll have to put up with one more today, especially as I have been doing zero reading lately. I did, however, go to the library today so things are looking up. But first, here are two photos that were taken at a birthday party last weekend.



It's not a great photo, but look at Littlest standing so confidently. He'll be walking soon. I've been saying that for about 4 weeks, but he will. It will be soon. I have mixed feelings about it all. Obviously, it's a good thing for him, it'll be a lot less strain on my back from not lugging him around anymore, but it's also his baby days gone. Oh I will miss the cuddly baby days.



Here's Oldest. I hate to see him like this. He's usually so sure of himself and not shy with strangers, but only with some preparation. He likes to be told things in advance so he knows what to expect. For some reason, that didn't happen this day. The birthday party was sort of sprung on him at the last minute and here's Oldest indulging in a little hiding-behind-Mama's-legs. He's never been what you'd call a Mama's Boy, but he's been turning into one lately. AND he's taken to actually calling me 'Mama' which makes my heart melt just a little bit each time I hear it.

Doing Something Different: Days 4, 5 and 6

Hopefully I'll never get this far behind again! I've been playing catch-up in so many areas of my life. This blog, the laundry and cleaning of the house, uploading photos for family members. Once I've caught up with my blog reading, all will be well. Maybe. Well, I hope so.

Day Three - N has been trying to sort out a dinner with some friends for ages. Let me give you some perspective here. One particular couple that came to the dinner was engaged the last time we met up with them. Now, they're married and have a 7 month old baby. That's how long it's been. We really needed a night out to catch up with friends and eat some good food. We left the boys with N's mother and went to a Thai place in Reading and it was wonderful. Good company, wonderful pad thai!

Day Four - This day was wonderful. We spent the morning doing some much needed gardening for our back yard. It's really coming together out there. I'm going to love it when it's all finished and child-friendly. Then we spent the afternoon at one of Oldest' closest friend's birthday party. Fun was had by all. But I don't count the gardening as something different as N and I started doing the garden up before April, and we always go to birthday parties. So I decided to have a movie night with N. It didn't exactly go as planned.

First, there was no popcorn. Second, N fell asleep and I watched the movie on my own. Be Kind Rewind with Jack Black. It was OK. Movie night did not go exactly how I pictured it in my head, but again, I tried. It'd be nice to make it a regular thing. When the kids go to sleep, we usually watch TV programmes - when I'm not reading, studying or using the computer to update my blog! And we have so many new movies that we haven't seen yet... we need to make more time for this.



Day Five - (finally something I can take a photo of!) We went to another local park, this time California Country Park. There's a large playground here as well as a lake to walk around. We stayed mostly in the playground on the slides with a picnic blanket. We were meant to be meeting up with a large group of people for the weekly NCT coffee afternoon, but it ended up being just us and one other woman and her two children. That was OK. Oldestjust wanted to run around somewhere new and occasionally kick his football around. We got quite a few photos of him being silly but they came out blurry :( When we left, Oldest said 'can we come back here tomorrow, I had lots of fun!' That, folks, is why I'm doing this project.



Oh, what will the rest of the month have in store for us...?

Doing Something Different: Days 2 and 3

It's been a rough few days trying to work on my latest assignment for university. The time I had to write two essays, the first on the general formation of identities and the second on how race and ethnicity impact the formation of identities. I'm not feeling as confident with these two essays as my last. Wish me luck, both essays will be sent off to my tutor tonight.

Back to Doing Something Different. If you missed it, here is my account of Day One.



For day two, I really needed to stay close to home. Oldest had an Easter party at toddler group that morning which led to me rushing home to force food into his mouth for lunch before pre-school in the afternoon. It left very little time for even my rainy day activities (baking or arts and crafts) so yet again I took the easy option and went for cooking my boys a hot breakfast.

We're very much a cereal-for-breakfast family. Breakfast options are usually limited to cheerios or rice krispies. An apple or a banana. Milk or juice. Special occasions involved toast with jam. Very exciting stuff. I always mean to spend a little more time over breakfast, but it's usually a pretty stressful event, getting things prepared for the day, getting everyone dressed and washed and everything. Plus, for awhile there, Oldest was very resistant to change. I remember I spent a great deal of time making muesli on day and letting it soak through overnight to find that Oldest insisted on corn flakes and only corn flakes the next morning.

But I thought I'd persevere and went with French toast. Very simple and easy to make. I'd heard suggestions of cutting the bread into shapes with cookie cutters beforehand but I couldn't find my cookie cutters that morning. Oldest and Littlest adored them. Seeing Oldest finish his in record time and ask for me just made me feel incredibly guilty that I hadn't made it before. We're turning the French toast/hot breakfast into a weekly routine. It has to be done.



Day Three was a bit of a disaster. I had good intentions. I decided to take the boys to a local softplay area called Monkey Mates. I thought it would be especially good seeing as how Littlest has taken to climbing onto the sofa on his own. Oldest has been on a few occasions, but not in the last year. He loves slides and Monkey Mates claim to fame is having this tremendous big slide in the middle of their climbing frames. We've only ever been on the weekend when N was with us, so I was a bit nervous looking after the both of them. Oh boy. Things were not good.

Oldest enjoyed himself at first, but kept rushing off to climb different bits and I was left behind with Littlest trying to keep him happy and keep an eye on Oldest at the same time. First thing that was terrible, was that the place was filled with childminders all grouped together gossiping while the kids they were meant to be watching were running wild. I'm all for a good chat with friends but not at the expense of any kids getting knocked over or allowing MY child to push or throw balls at the younger children. I was not happy with that.



The second thing that made the day not the greatest was that somehow Oldest has managed to acquire a fear of heights. When did that happen? With Littlest to look after, I couldn't take the time to coax Oldest into doing the things he was afraid of. He wouldn't go near the larger slides. Poor child. Littlest enjoyed himself climbing around, but everything was a bit too advanced for him. He didn't like being kept in the babyish area and wanted to explore other areas and I just couldn't let him with the wild children on the loose and things were just a bit too high.

Oldest and Littlest both enjoyed parts of the morning, as did I. I'm not sure but I'll make a return trip to Monkey Mates soon. I did think it would be fun but can't win them all.

TSS: Books loved as a child

Combining Weekly Geeks and The Sunday Salon, today I thought that I would post this list of books that I loved as a child that has been sitting in my drafts folder for months now. I keep meaning to split this list into parts and delve a bit deeper into it, but it feels like too great of a task so I'm leaving it in a list format. I've left it in three parts.

The first, books I loved as a small child.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
the Babysitter Club series by Ann M Martin
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Ramona Quimby by Beverley Cleary
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
The Poky Little Puppy a Little Golden Book
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary

The second part, classic children's books.

Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Charlotte's Web by EB White
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Anne of Green Gables series by LM Montgomery
anything by Roald Dahl
Old Yeller by Frank Gipson
Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
anything by Judy Blume

The third, books that were required reading for school or that I associate with school so much I can't remember if everyone read it or if it was just me.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Green
Pigman by Paul Zindel
The Outsiders by SE Hinton
The Hatchet by Gary Paulson
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Taken as a whole, this books represent my childhood. I look back at all of them fondly. I wouldn't be the person that I am today without them.

REVIEW: Looking For Alaska by John Green (plus my first giveaway)

“But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating. So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”

Looking For Alaska is a wonderful read. Honestly, I'd like to go back and read it again even though it's been a week since I finished it. It's one of those books. It started off a bit slow, but then it got to a certain point in the book and I thought 'even though not much is happening, I love these characters and the relationships that they have with each other' and realised that I wouldn't put this book down before finishing it for anything. I thought that John Green is clearly still in touch with how a teenage boy acts, feels and thinks. About sex and friends, loneliness, loyalty, love, life.

It's the story of Miles who apart from memorising the last words of famous people, leads a boring, friendless life in Florida, so he convinces his parents to send him to a boarding school in Alabama in order for Miles to seek the 'Great Perhaps.'

Once there, his roommate ironically nicknames him 'Pudge' and he falls into a set of friends. His roommate and about-to-be-best-friend, 'The Colonel,' the troubled, intelligent, beautiful and sassy Alaska Young, Takumi, Lara. From them he learns about friendship, love, loss, grief.

I adored Miles as a character and the insights into his brain was a highlight for me in reading this book. Also the dialogue between Pudge and The Colonel is quite fun as well as believeable. My favourite parts was all the information about the famous last words, I think it was a great quirk. Thankfully John Green puts in an afterword and discusses it in a little more detail. I'm intrigued.

The story is split into two parts, Before and After. The first half begins a little slowly with all of the introductions. The move to school, the mischief that Pudge and his friends get into with the smoking, the drinking and the pranks they pull. Pudge finds himself drawn to Alaska (as do most of the characters) and her impulsiveness, but she's moody and unpredictable.

Some may find the drinking and the references to sex a little much, but I didn't. Everything seemed really authentic. I've never been to Alabama, I've never been to boarding school, but I found myself relating to all of these characters and the experiences that they go through.

I don't want to spoil the major event that 'Before' leads up to. I'll just say that 'After' deals with some tougher issues. Forgiveness, understanding. Identity and belief systems. Friendship.

This is definately one to read. I've been thinking lately that my life is horribly boring. That nothing new happens, so I've decided to go in search for the 'Great Perhaps' in my own way. That is, Doing Something Different. I love that I'm still inspired by books, by the reading that I'm able to do. I want to pass that on.

I've come across so many wonderful (better) reviews of Looking For Alaska that I feel like a lot of you have already read this book (well done to you!) but if you haven't, and you live in the UK, then here is your chance. I'm giving away my gently used copy of this book. Just leave me a comment with an email address between now and the 10th of April. If there's more than one person interested (please god, let there be more than one person interested), I'll use random.org to pick a winner.

Sorry for all of you non-UK readers, I'll have an international giveaway another time, promise.

Books read in March 2009

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
2. The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan
3. Rumour Has It by Jill Mansell
4. Goodnight, Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson
5. The Eye In The Door by Pat Barker
6. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
7. Looking For Alaska by John Green

Seven books this month. Not bad considering the hectic few weeks that I've had. And I've been trying to review more of the books that I read as you can see, even if they are mini-reviews! Look for a review of Looking For Alaska coming soon. I've mentioned it already, it's partially the inspiration behind my Doing Something Different Project.

It's been an OK month for reading, but I'm hoping for better in April. In March it always felt like I wanted to be reading but had no time for it so I always felt a bit surprised that I had finished a book. Plus, while reading one book I always felt like there was a different book that I wanted to read more or that I thought I would enjoy more than my current book. I'd like to say that won't be the case for April, but already I've started reading Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro but desperately want to put it down and read Marshmallows for Breakfast by Dorothy Koomson instead. Oops!

My favourite book of the month? American Gods or Looking For Alaska. What was yours?

Doing Things Differently, Day One

Today is the first day of my month long project to Do Things Differently. I wanted to ease myself into the project, so I've stayed a little within my comfort zone for today. I took the boys to Dinton Pastures, a local park that features lakes, rivers, woodland and ducks and things. There's a few different nature trails you can choose and I let Oldest take control, both of the direction we were headed in as well as setting the pace. We stopped when he wanted, we moved on when he decided. It was really nice to slow down, take things as they come and not be so impatient to get somewhere or finish something.



It really is a beautiful park to go to and wander around in. I've been meaning to take the boys during the week for ages. I have this daydream in my head of the three of us (and if I'm honest, a dog) strolling around the lake first thing in the morning. It would be so lovely to wake up to the views at Dinton Pastures. This little daydream of mine is why I've included a trip to Dinton Pastures in my project. I'm really hoping that our trips to Dinton become a more regular feature into our routine.



Oldest isn't 100% better following a stomach bug over the weekend, so I also thought some fresh air would do him good. He seemed happy enough to run around a bit. We didn't see many ducks or swans like we normally see, but Oldest enjoyed picking up twigs and stones and he filled up Littlest' pushchair basket with them.



I was surprised that there weren't as many people there when we went. It was a beautiful day, perfect for taking a nice leisurely walk around the lake. Everyone we saw smiled and said 'good morning' to us. Oldest wouldn't say anything until after the people had passed us and then shout 'That was a big dog, wasn't it, Mommy?' and I heard more than a few people laugh. I asked Oldest if he'd like a dog sometime, and he said yes, he would. What colour dog would you like? RED, he says. After I told him it might be difficult to find him a red dog he said, 'that's OK, Mommy, I'd also like a black dog' That might be an easier wish to grant, my child...



Part of the reason that I'm doing this project is to be more present when I'm spending time with Oldest and Littlest. And I found myself loving this peaceful conversation that I had with Oldest. He is such a fun little boy to be around. He's seemed to have gotten over his camera-shy phase and now he's into this wonderful playful stage with taking photographs. He's always winking or sticking out his tongue, throwing his arms out wide, or something just SILLY.


He's just fantastic. It was a great morning. We're off to a good start. Without this challenge, I might not have left the house, Oldest might have watched cartoons, I might have tried to finish more housework instead of spend time with the boys, Oldest and I would never have had the conversation about the red dog and I wouldn't have been able to hear Oldest call the park 'Dinton Passengers' And that would have been a shame.

Oldest says...

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
'Go to sleep' and 'night night'

2. What makes mommy happy?
When I give cards (it was Mother's Day here in England recently)

3. What makes mommy sad?
Running away from you

4. How does your mommy make you laugh?
When she gives toys to me

5. What did your mommy like to do when she was a child?
Get a wheelbarrow and water the school garden

6. How old is your mommy ?
I don't know (take a guess?) 3!

7. How tall is your mommy ?
That tall (he raises his arms over his head)

8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?
Watch Cars! Mommy, can I watch Cars now?

9. What does your mommy do when you're not around?
Play with my toys

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Playing with the windows (eh?)

11. What is your mommy really good at?
At playing

12. What is your mommy not very good at?
At not writing numbers (?)

13. What does your mommy do for her job?
You take your keys and car and drive to Reading (really? and what sort of work do I do in Reading?) WORK! (Right, of course)

14. What is your mommy 's favorite food?
Pasta

15. What makes you proud of your mommy?
Eating your food up

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Lightning McQueen!

17. What do you and your mommy do together?
Play with the wheelbarrow

18. How are you and your mommy the same?
We both have our pyjamas

19. How are you and your mommy different?
I think you're silly (no, I think you're silly) No, YOU'RE SILLY! (lots of giggling)

20. How do you know your mommy loves you?
You love me in so many ways

21. What does your mommy like most about your daddy?
He goes to work and what you like most is he comes home

22. Where is your mommy 's favorite place to go?
Reading