We are a family that adore Halloween. Yes I know it's early, but there's less than 35 days until Halloween! We love nothing better than going Trick or Treating, getting some goodies and then settling down watching the Addams Family (I definitely have a bit of Wednesday in me!). Of course the biggest part of Halloween is dressing up. We go all out with makeup and hair and this seems to have rubbed off on Max. There isn't a week that goes by when he doesn't dress up in one outfit or another.

This year though we are looking at either making a costume ourself of looking at buying a shop bought one. After browsing websites relentlessly, George at Asda turned out to have one of the best selections and price ranges. So here are our Halloween top picks!

So this past week we headed over to Bognor to go on a mini break before we move. We decided that because we had already been once this year that we would try the Just For Tots break this time. When we were ambassadors we absolutely loved the time we had and were also slightly jealous about the line up for Just For Tots that we jumped on the chance to book a deal for the family.

I've outlined the majority of a Butlin's holiday in my previous posts so thought in this one I would talk about some of the differences you get on a Just For Tots week.

• Wall-E Funko Pop Vinyl: We collect these and this is a perfect addition as Wall-E is Scott's favourite Disney movie! Max picked this one out for him.
  
• Writing and Selling Thrillers: Our good friend Lucy Hay write this book and Scott has been banging on about it since the release so I thought I may as well add another screenwriting book to his pile! Hopefully I'll get my money back soon haha.
  
• Skulduggery Pleasant: This book is actually signed by the author as he came to my work a few weeks back. He used to be a screenwriter so left a very apt message to get writing inside the book! It's a series of novellas rather than part of the proper Skulduggery collection so this is a great starting point.
  
• Pukka Pad: This is Scott's favourite pads for writing on. And he's always writing! So thankfully these are really cheap and are a great add on gift.
  
• Seven Year Pen: I got one of these for my mum last year and it's still surviving so I thought it was good enough to get my other obsessive writer in the family!
  
• Smartphone Projector: Scott has already got this gift, I got too impatient and couldn't wait to give it to him. He loves it and it works really well. It comes flat packed and you have to make it yourself which gave him hours of fun.

It seems like I took an impromptu bit of time out from blogging. I honestly can't pinpoint why but with the summer holidays, moving house, holidays and everything else it seemed the last thing on my mind. That's fine though as it somehow helped me rekindle my love for photography and writing. So here's a bit of a breakdown with what's been going on.

• Reading and Spelling: Max has somehow started to work out spellings for the most important things like his name, Mcfly and Fireman Sam. It baffles me how well his language is forming and I can't wait for my him to be reading properly with me and Scott.
  
• Packing: We have been packing like crazy. At the end of the month we get the keys to our new flat. To say I'm excited is an understatement. It feels like we have been waiting ages since putting the holding fee down. Roll on the 29th!
  
• Holidays!: After a whirlwind summer holidays of splash parks, soft plays and forest visits we managed to book a cheeky week break to Butlins for their Just For Tots week. It's a shame we weren't ambassadors this year but we had such a great time that we can't wait to go back.
  
• Crafting: I've been making Max's weight in felt crowns to sell and give away to friends and family. I'm also planning a series of Christmas crafts for the blog and for presents so I can't wait to furnish everything and everyone with homemade goodies!
  
• Growing: I think as a family this past year has taken a bit of a toll on us. We've learnt to grow and love what we have. 

Here it is, folks. Can you smell it? It's the weekend!

For some, it's a day out and a day off work. For others it's the shift that we will gladly take to get a day off during the week. For me, Saturday is work day (and beer night) and Sunday is family day.

Any who, last week I promised a vamped up new look to Fri-Dad. I don't do fancy fonts or design, heck it's not even my damn blog. I decided to switch it up to give me plenty to think about to make for a little more bite sized reading. Consider it a bathroom break read (if you poo or piss kinda quick) or a cheeky read whilst on long drives (DISCLAIMER: DO NOT DO THIS! YOU MAY DIE!)

So here it is, feed back Laura for all thoughts and suggestions.

Topic - Ashya King

For anyone following the papers, some will have read abut the boy from Portsmouth (my hometown) suffering from a tumour who was taken from hospital by his parents who were desperate to provide the best treatment for his condition.

The parents left an assuring video discussing their situation, the treatment they received from the hospital and staff and a plea for police to call off their search so they can help their son.

I took the time to re watch the video and consider the situation. It's certainly something out of a TV drama series or film. What I was left with was..."you know what? Go get 'em".

Understanding that the father was ready to sell the house and pay for the desired treatment abroad is fine. If you feel that strongly about your own child and know that you would go through hell and high water to help your child (that's pretty much what you signed up for) then go for it,

Of course be aware you are subject to abduction, because the child has just had surgery and selling your house would not make it easy for you to provide for all your family after the treatment was paid for. You are taking a grave risk, but, sometimes you have to take it, you want to take it.

Parents do put themselves through stress and struggle, just to give their children every opportunity possible to know that one day, it'll all be worth it.

After their recent release from prison, I hope their wish I answered. Ashya receives the treatment, they remain a family after the treat of having Ashya taken from them and they can proceed as the loving family they've shown they are.

Off-topic - Smart TV

Some of you lucky ones, who are as fortunate or more than me have the pleasure of Smart TV. Some have it built into your TV, use a smart box (e.g. Now TV, Roku, Chromecast etc.) or simply plug the laptop into the TV. Those who don't, I'm going to let you in on what you can enjoy.

With access to things such as catch up TV, Netflix and YouTube to keep on top of all the viewing I demand. Up to date series, events, trends...it's something I'm glad I could do at little cost.

Being a dad and wanting to be a writer, I find it pretty hard to make time, so it's been a saviour staying on top of things and even having research material at my fingertips.
It offers a vast range of things to watch as a family and saves things I might have missed while busy.

The biggest downside I've found with it is it's lack of use. Netflix is a saviour, it's what I reach for for entertainment, but with it used so infrequently, the same as the television and the Xbox it's worth considering how much you will use it.

If you're thinking of doing this, please let me suggest a few things:

Pick the right smart tv - if you do choose to have a smart tv, be sure it offers all the functions you desire (same with smart boxes). They can be more expensive than regular tv's so do plenty of research.

Pick the right box - Now TV offers catch up tv, but only sky services which can be monthly payments. Roku offer pretty much the whole lot, just make sure they work best with whatever tv you're plugging it into (some work best for smaller tvs).

Chromecast - A great cheap alternative to a box. Only catch is you cast from a phone. Tablet or laptop. Also it works for a few apps. BBC, Netflix and YouTube mainly. If you think you'll use them a lot, I surely recommend this.

Can't afford a box? Try your laptop - A laptop is always another great option for those feeling the pinch and want to enjoy things on a bigger screen. The world can be your oyster...depending on the connection. Laptops require either HDMI (preferred) or a VGA and an audio lead. Macs require specific leads which can be hard to source (depending on if you can make it to an Apple shop or not). Doing this can offer so much, the only pain being navigating it all from your laptop.

Top Tip - Zip lock bags

Laura showed me something I found quite impressive to avoid a certain struggle we have as parents,

Max loves puzzles and can lose parts or get them mixed up quite easily. Rather than keep struggling to find the right pieces for the right boxes, she developed a scheme to keep things convenient and avoid marking the pieces,

By putting the pieces in a zip lock bag (you know the ones people used to wrap their sandwiches because they were too cool for cling film) we could keep on top of pieces.

It made for less mess, stress and avoided losing pieces. Max can access each bag with ease, put them away comfortably and give us time to do chores while he works on puzzles one by one.

Wonderful!

Quote from Max

"When we was little dad, we used to like Fireman Sam as well". I didn't see you there kid, but if you must know, I watched Thomas the Tank Engine, Thunderbirds and Noddy before Pokemon came along, I thought you knew me kid!

Well that was it, leave your comments and thoughts with Laura or you can hit me up on Twitter: @SJCastle_. I'll shake it up a little for next week, maybe even add a few more. I've got plenty to play with now with my new plan.

Have a great weekend!