Candyfloss & Dreams

Author: Kat Candyfloss

  • Lost Boy By Christina Henry 3/52

    A few years ago I read a book by author Christina Henry called Alice. It was brilliant. Lost Boy is another such book, an interesting interpretation of the original story of Captain Hook. I really enjoyed reading it and managed to finish it in about two days. It’s the sort of book I would recommend to those that enjoy fantasy books, particularly twisted tale style books and that don’t mind a bit of gore. The books are firmly for adults with some of the language used and content described despite being about a group of children.

    I like Henry’s writing style. It’s really easy to read, interesting and makes you think a lot about these fairytale worlds we’ve been transported into and made into fluffy adaptations by Disney. It’s really fun to read a different type of tale from what we know, or think we know, with classic fairy tales and stories from our childhood. The speed in which I read the book speaks volumes I think as I couldn’t be distracted from it, except for my kids, and did not want to put it down.

    Lost Boy is told from the perspective of Jamie, one of the original Lost Boys and what Peter Pan is really like. It’s full of fights with pirates, the threat of the Many Eyed and what happens when the dynamic of a group changes completely. It’s quite surprising in places actually and Jamie is a really likeable character. It’s always very strange reading the original hero as a type of villian actually and that’s why I really like her books. They just change and alter that perspective and make you think “what if” a little bit more. I always like reading books that challenge our original thoughts and ideas of what we think we know.

    Lost Boy is available to buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link Below)

    One of my goals for 2020 is to read 52 books or around one a week. Some might be new, some are ones I’ve had for a while or been meaning to read, some I haven’t quite finished yet and some will be recommendations from others. You can see all the books I’ve read so far on my Good Reads 2020 Reading Challenge.

  • I Can’t Help Feeling Disappointed with Kingdom Hearts 3

    Kingdom Hearts was a game I loved during my teenage years. It was a fun mix of Final Fantasy favourites and Disney characters which was something I personally hadn’t seen before. The first two games were available on the Playstation 2 and there have since been prequels, mid-games and extras to fill out the story line into something that’s actually quite complex to get around if you haven’t played them all. Kingdom Hearts 3 has been a long anticipated game in the making and now I’ve finished the main story line I can’t help but feel disappointed.

    What’s Good?

    I tried to avoid spoilers on Kingdom Hearts 3 for a long time so that I could enjoy more of the game and so there were a few things I was pleasantly surprised with. Firstly I really like the addition of The Bistro which features Remy the Rat from Ratatouille. You can make stat boosting meals which is a fun little mini game, earn stars for The Bistro with the more recipes you make and it gives you an edge during game play for around 30 minutes. It’s similar to the cooking skill in Final Fantasy 15 which was really helpful.

    The controls are simple and most of the attacks are button mashing so it’s quite simple for younger players to play. The characters are all quite lovely, maybe a bit too much, so the language is very fluffy, again, catering to a younger audience. In particular, fans of Frozen will probably really enjoy the game as it has a whole sequence featuring Let It Go in all it’s glory.

    At first I liked the addition of the special attack Attractions in Kingdom Hearts 3 which mimic popular games at the Disney theme parks. They’re again easy to control and make fighting easier. Levelling up happens pretty quickly, you can access a shortcut menu and you can circle through three keyblade weapons at a time which helps to vary the combat a little bit.

    In Kingdom Hearts 3 we see the return of the Gummi Ship for navigating the space between worlds which I quite enjoyed. It was a bit more open and there were treasures to seek and mini battles. You are however a bit more limited in building your own ship for quite a while.

    What I Didn’t Like

    Pretty much everything else. Kingdom Hearts 3 has been long anticipated and has been in development for a really, really long time but it still felt incredibly rushed. The cut scenes were frequent and lengthy which often made it feel more of an interactive movie than a video game and from about a third of the way through I began skipping them as I just didn’t want to sit through another ten minutes of cinematic.

    I genuinely like cut scenes in games but this just had so many with the Kingdom Hearts 3 characters going on and on and on about hearts – which is the main point of the game, I know – but it felt repetitive. As I haven’t fully played the other games I didn’t really know much about the other characters and had to watch a plot line explainer video to catch me up to speed.

    Kingdom Hearts 3 main story line is too short, I mean the cut scenes drag it out a lot but the actual game play feels minimal in comparison. I think that’s what I was really disappointed with to be honest. I’m used to these games clocking up a good 45-50 hours of my time to get through the main story but on standard mode it was cut to about 30 hours. I actually think if I didn’t have kids and didn’t have to keep pressing pause and skipped all the cut scenes I could easily complete the game in a day, especially on beginner mode, probably on standard mode and maybe a little longer on the harder difficulty. For a £50 game on the day of release (£55 on the PSN store which I majorly regret purchasing as I now can’t sell it on) it almost feels like a bit of a waste of money.

    The treasures and collectables in Kingdom Hearts 3 aren’t interesting enough. The maps are so big, hard to navigate without an expanding map and actually makes for quite frustrating game play. The addition of the camera is fine to hunt for the hidden Mickey lucky emblems but again I just felt it was something they took from Final Fantasy 15. Speaking of which, there are no Final Fantasy characters throughout the game that I’ve found which is what drew me to the series in the first place. I also haven’t found the usual arena competitions if there are any.

    Overall the game just feels rushed, over too quickly and disappointing which is a real shame as I was so looking forward to playing it.

  • Valentines Day As Parents

    How are you spending Valentines Day this year? Do you celebrate it? It’s much less a thing when you’ve been with someone for a fair few years and have children at home. This is our first Valentines Day as new and equal parents but really would we be doing anything different if Felix wasn’t here yet? No, probably not!

    In fact this year Valentines Day will mostly be spent with us apart. Adam finishes his pattern of night shifts Thursday morning and then has two lectures at University in the afternoon. I imagine by the time he gets home around 6.30pm he will be exhausted from almost 24 hours awake. Felix and I will be spending the day together, doing the school run and repeating sleep, change, eat, play every three hours from 5am until 8pm when I will probably crash out myself. I think we will be lucky if we even have dinner together – probably something I’ll pop in the slow cooker early in the morning to save time.

    We may choose to be a little bit more together Friday evening after another early start for us all and Adam again at University. Perhaps we will finally have the lamb wellingtons in the freezer with a glass of wine of which I’ll probably only manage half. Valentines Day as parents is not particularly glamorous but it is and will be still full of love. Love for each other, for our children and the family life we have. Although I am getting him some beer and I think he’s giving me some makeup money because any excuse for presents really. We are going to London in a couple of weeks time for The Baby Show actually which I’m pretty excited about. With Felix reaching more milestones it’s going to be a great chance to meet brands more suitable for his age, find a decent high chair for him and get lots of information on weaning.

  • Filter Free Book Review 2/52

    Filter Free by Lauren Derrett celebrates and shares real life stories of real women and their struggles, trials and accomplishments. I’ve felt all the emotions whilst reading this collection of experiences and it’s really inspiring to read so many amazing and personal accounts from these women, many of which I could relate to. It was my secret santa present this year and it took me just a few hours to absorb.

    Amazon Affiliate Link – https://amzn.to/2Dqm9Bp

    We need more stories like this, we need to share these accounts of lives of women who have experienced real hard hitting decisions. Who struggle but cope with their mental health. Who reach out and are passionate about sharing their struggles so other women can relate and actually look at themselves and think I’m so glad to read that it’s not just me.

    That’s what I love about blogging really, I’ve been able to share personal accounts which I hope have helped others and I hope I continue to do so. Blogging also bought me the gift as I know my book was from a fellow blogger, I think I know who…

    I urge every woman to read Filter Free as there is guaranteed to be a story you can relate to. The more we share, particularly the hard times where we feel we hit rock bottom, the more we can be open about just how hard it can be to make certain life changing decisions but actually knowing that it’s not just us and that we’re not alone, well, it certainly made me feel better.

    Filter Free is available to buy on Amazon. The below link is an affiliate link.

    One of my goals for 2020 is to read 52 books or around one a week. Some might be new, some are ones I’ve had for a while or been meaning to read, some I haven’t quite finished yet and some will be recommendations from others. You can see all the books I’ve read so far on my Good Reads 2020 Reading Challenge.

  • Felix at 4 Months

    Felix at 4 Months

    My baby is four months old already and he seems to be changing and growing all the time. I can’t quite believe we are four months post birth and my second c-section to be honest. He is absolutely more like a baby, or an infant, I suppose than a newborn in that he’s very interactive with us all and is surprising us often.

    Socially he seems to be quite a happy little baby. He is very vocal when he’s not so happy and as most babies wants that instant gratification. He babbles and shouts at us a lot, he grumbles when he is displeased and reserves his best smiles and giggles for Evangeline. He’s very curious when it comes to new faces and gives off a great death stare if he doesn’t quite recognise you but he’s also very quick to smile if you give him a bit of a ruffle. He likes getting undressed and often has a lot to laugh at when it comes to rolling around and getting vests off.

    Physically we haven’t had him weighed or measured since his 6 week check as I just haven’t managed to get to the one place that offers it on the other side of the town we live in. However, he is starting to stretch out the 3-6 month babygrows so I have a feeling we will be going up a size in those in the next few weeks. He has chins for days and you can really feel he’s getting heavier. His feet are almost completely touching the floor in his jumperoo and some of his tops are a bit of a squeeze getting over the head.

    He has rolled from back to front and front to back a couple of times but prefers to get on his side and rotate his way around to see what he wants to see. He can push off on his feet on a hard surface and his kicks are really strong. He does the worm from time to time, particularly as a sort of wake up ritual which really makes me laugh. His neck muscles seem really strong and he wants to be sitting up on you now so he can see around. When he’s on his tummy his head is fully elevated from the floor and he can turn and look from left to right.

    At four months he is showing great hand eye co-ordination and can get most toys with a good grasp which of course go straight to the mouth. He can sit fairly well with plenty of support but we try to minimalise that as it’s still better for him to be on his back laid flat. He is still in the basinet of the pram although whether he will be in it until six months I’m not sure as he’s very long and may not fit laying flat for much longer.

    Teething is very apparent and he seems to have a few really bad days but most of the time good days. He dribbles a lot and blows bubbles so I am constantly wiping him up to prevent him getting sore. His most common teething sign is the flushed red cheeks and fighting sleep.

    He seemed to be teething and having a growth spurt at the same time recently as well as, perhaps, a bit of that four month sleep regression as he started waking at 2am & 4am through the night, ready to start his day at 6am. For the most part he sleeps pretty well at night, usually going off between 6-8pm and waking between 4-6am. He can have a few restless periods throughout but doesn’t seem to fully wake up. He usually has a three hour routine of change, feed, sit up (because, reflux) change, play, nap and repeat throughout the day. His naps are usually 30-45 minutes with the few almost two hour naps every few days or so. I’m really happy with his routine but I do wish I had a bit more time during the day to get things done. 45 minute intervals just isn’t quite enough!

    The hard days are the days where Adam is either at University or spending most of the day sleeping to recover from his night shift. I do struggle a bit as I’m still trying to find my feet but it’s become easier since we moved Evie into a different school which is much closer (and, so far, better) I am trying to take some of the pressure off myself though and have to remind myself that it’s not up to me to do everything all the time.