One Direction, The Oscars and Monday Mornings.

I hate the first day back to school after the holidays.  Freddy is not an early riser and during the holidays he loves to lie in until he naturally awakens to the sounds of his sisters and wakes up happy and full of beans.  This morning he was unceremoniously yanked from his slumber and wore the saddest frown that broke my heart.  He has been poorly too with a lingering cough that has refused to shift.  Dropping him off at nursery gave me a heavy heart as his sad little face watched me leave and implored me to take him with me.  It took every fibre of my being not to scoop him up and bring him home for another day of doing nothing together, just enjoying each others' company.  But with the prospect of school beckoning in just 7 short months, I have to get him back into the swing of things.  Monday mornings are never easy.

To make me feel better about leaving my baby boy, I settled down to watch The Oscars that I had recorded on my Sky planner the night before.  It is my annual thing.  Recording it to watch while the kids are at school, noting down the bits I think the kids will enjoy so they can watch my specially chosen highlights later.  My eldest sister used to love the Oscars, staying up all night to watch them live.  I am not that hardcore but this is my yearly homage to my big sister's passion. However, just to compound my shitty morning, I discovered that I had actually recorded one of the pre-Oscar shows, failing completely to record the main event.  Searching through the listings in hope that the ceremony was repeated in full proved utterly fruitless.  There is a highlight show at 10pm tonight.  It just isn't the same and I feel genuinely sad about it.  By then I will know most of the results and the spark of excitement will be much fainter.  The Oscars always makes me feel close to my sister as I remember her famous Oscar parties and her zest for life.  I feel like I've lost my annual Oscar related opportunity to emulate the one person in the world that I miss everyday.  Sorry Carol.

As ever, when things don't go to plan I resort to carbs.  Half a Bakewell Tart, half a loaf of bread and half a dozen profiteroles later, I am wondering will I ever learn that a cake binge is never the answer?

On a much more positive note, I have had so much fun this week with my girls.  Kizzy's love of One Direction has taken itself to a whole new level after seeing them perform on The Brits.  We made the journey to Sainsbury's to buy the CD and stocked up on other Comic Relief merchandise which was fun.  I have heard the new 1D single at least 300 times in the past few days and mostly jump up to rock out with Kizzy to the One Way or Another/Teenage Kicks mash up.  How thoughtful of them to cover two old school songs so us mums can impress our kids by knowing all the words!

We've also watched some great films making the most out of our TV which was such a great investment.  We loved Looper.  It was a great watch and had a very cute kid and Bruce Willis in it.  What is not to love?  Taken 2 was pretty good for a silly action film, but Liam Neeson is just so cool.  Madagascar 3 in 3D was an unexpected triumph of feel good, eye-popping cartooniness.  While Paranorman was such a brave movie venturing into a brilliantly dark storyline, which left me moved and in tears. The long awaited return of Dexter to Fox last night was brilliant and lived up to my hopes for one of my favourite TV shows ever.  So it's not all bad.

Ian has what we hope is his final consultation with the surgeon that we hope will be doing his operation on Wednesday.  It has been such a long drawn out and complicated process.  The private health insurance route has been so difficult, but the NHS won't do the operation that he needs to be 'cured' of his problem.  They will only do another quick fix that will inevitably fail after another 12 months.  I just want this over with so we can get on with our lives.

I'm off now to go and pick up my son and I hope he will be happy to see me so I can bring him home for an afternoon of snuggles and Cbeebies.  I'm sure tomorrow will be better!

Madagascar 3: The Video Game

Madagascar 3 Europe's Most Wanted

Fans of Gloria, Melman, Alex, Marty, King Julien and the Penguins are in for a real treat with the release of the new Dreamworks Madagascar 3 video game due for release in October.  Available for the Wii, 3DS, DS, XBox 360 and PS3, you can enjoy this new game whatever your preferred platform.

Based on the new upcoming animated film, Madagascar 3: The Video Game puts players in the role of their favourite characters in a new and original adventure.  The gang travel through Europe with a travelling circus, trying to make their way back to New York by putting on the show of their lives!

The game has a Story Mode and a Circus Mode with mini games.  The Circus Mode has become a big favourite with us because all the family can join in.  There are games based on the jaw-droppingly skillful acrobatic acts of the big top as well as games based on jobs like ticket sales and selling snacks.  There are laughs a plenty as Mason and Phil the monkeys throw fruit at the audience, and seeing Gloria on the tightrope  is also very entertaining.  The mini games are mostly very easy to control (except the trapeze game which none of us can yet master) and are quick so it's easy to take turns, keeping all the children happy.  You also don't lose your life if you get it wrong so it isn't frustrating to younger kids ... if you get something wrong your character will get splatted with bananas or King Julien will make a comment, but you get to continue the game.  I like that aspect of this mode.  The games really are fun and the circus theme is very appealing.

The Story Mode involves carrying out a series of missions in a drop-in two person action multiplayer game.  The two player mode is in split screen.   Playing as your favourite character and using their special abilities, you are set free in the city.  You can jump, roar, kick, smash and sprint your way across Europe on a brand new adventure, performing publicity stunts on famous landmarks in a bid to get back to New York while avoiding animal control.  We did find this mode a bit tricky at first and quite frustrating in parts.  I'm sure that experienced gamers would have no trouble navigating the maps and using the right character to achieve certain objectives, but playing with a 3 year old and a 9 year old proved quite difficult. On our first try Gloria jumped into a well and we spent the next half an hour swimming around in circles unable to get out.  However the close up of her Hippo bottom on the screen caused much hilarity!  It may take us some time to complete the story but at least the game has longevity!!  On screen prompts do help work out what needs to be done.

My children do enjoy games based on film characters and this is no exception.  The use of the animals' voices adds an element of  fun with their funny soundbites. They love taking control of Melman on the tightrope or Vitaly as he jumps through flaming hoops.  They are also working out how to navigate the story mode and which skills the animals have in order to solve problems. The game is colourful and fast paced.  The graphics are good and the controls work well.

It is a definite must have for Madagascar fans, and everyone will enjoy the fun of the circus theme.

It is released on October 12th and is available to pre-order now from Amazon and other video game retailers.