Catching the Magic

Two Brits in Aotearoa bringing up three little 'Kiwis'. Our children: Our future. Haere Mai!

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birth

Prose for Thought – After the Longest Night

June 27, 2013July 11, 2013 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Charlotte, Sarah, Writing

Ten years ago I was labouring long and hard to bring my first born daughter into the world. This is a poem I wrote a couple of years ago, remembering her arrival into the world. ________________________________________________

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Our third born daughter turns three – what will she have in store for us?!

February 15, 2013February 15, 2013 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Special Days

Today is the eve of our third daughters, third, Birthday! She’s been an absolute blessing from the moment she corkscrewed out into the world, au natural, to be caught in my hands. I got lucky third time round, with the birth of my dreams, and the beautiful experience has definitely made for a very contented […]

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Solstice – New life after the longest night: Lyrical Sunday

June 26, 2011June 26, 2011 BritMumInNZ 8 Comments Charlotte, Lyrical Sunday, Writing

The longest night, many moons ago, Was bitter cold, with snow on distant ranges. I wrapped my arms around my swollen middle, Overly expectant. I gazed up at the blanket sky, Dazzled with star light, Wondering when my new life would begin. Stirring deep within my womb, Full of life against the winter gloom. As […]

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The day Alice arrived

April 22, 2010February 15, 2013 BritMumInNZ 10 Comments Alice, Special Days

11pm: ‘I think we should go now,’ I said, not really wanting to leave the comfort of my bed. The hospital was only a short distance away but I didn’t want to be in the car when the contractions got to the crawling on the floor stage. They had been coming all day. Not painful, […]

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Baby has arrived!

February 16, 2010August 29, 2010 BritMumInNZ 22 Comments Baby

Alice Rose was born this morning at 5.35am! All very well, weighing 7 pounds 12 or 3.4kg, and it was a natural birth (finally!). So nice to be drug free and I caught her as she cork-screwed out (after a lot of pushing!). She is so peaceful and has just fed, slept and looked around. […]

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Come on baby…

February 15, 2010 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments Baby, Random Musings

Woke up this morning after spending half the night up and down like a jack-in-a-box (if only I was THAT fast!) to visit the toilet. Mild contractions which have continued ALL DAY! Every 10 minutes they’ve washed over me, teasing me into thinking that baby would come today. Dan stayed home from work and did […]

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Hello World

December 27, 2005July 28, 2010 Sophie Leave a comment Sophie, Special Days

Well, I’m here. After 9 months of preparation, I thought it was time to make a spectacular entrance.

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Birth Story: The Arrival of Sophie Jade

December 26, 2005February 15, 2013 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Sarah, Sophie, Special Days

The arrival of Sophie Jade…

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Birth Story

June 28, 2003February 15, 2013 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Charlotte, Sarah, Special Days

As told by my Mummy…

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Welcome to the ramblings & photographs of a British expat Mum living mostly in Wellington (aka *coffee capital of the world*), New Zealand, since 1997.

This blog is a way to preserve sanity whilst raising children, capture the magic in the chaos, and share tales with family, friends, fellow parents and expats.

Along with my British born husband we have been bringing up our three Kiwi born daughters in the land of sheep, kiwi fruit and fine wine, since 2003 (with a brief 16 months living in Santa Barbara, California - where we home educated our daughters). We both first landed on New Zealand soil in 1996 (hubby) and 1997 (myself) - as fresh graduates from the UK wanting to live and work overseas... our 'OE' turned into something a lot longer and more life changing than we could ever have first anticipated!

Thank you for stopping by (if you would like to know more visit the 'About' page!).
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Recent Posts

  • Walking the Paekākāriki Escarpment Track February 1, 2021
  • Patuna Chasm | A river walk like no other! January 24, 2021
  • One week into 2021 January 10, 2021
  • Festive greetings from Aotearoa! December 23, 2020
  • Term 4 and winding down to the last days of school for 2020 December 1, 2020
  • ‘HELLO’ November 24, 2020
  • A spring holiday in Wanaka and Queenstown’s outdoor playgrounds! November 1, 2020
  • End of Term 3! October 2, 2020
  • Before the pandemic! ‘Six’ the musical in Sydney September 26, 2020
  • I miss her, Mum, even though she’s not gone. July 23, 2020
  • Our ‘bubble’ of 5 million has done it! June 9, 2020
  • Reflections on coming out of seven weeks of lockdown in New Zealand May 13, 2020

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Sarah Lee's books

The Toll
it was amazing
The Toll
by Neal Shusterman
Dear Evan Hansen
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Dear Evan Hansen
by Val Emmich
A Map of Days
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A Map of Days
by Ransom Riggs
The Absolute Book
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The Absolute Book
by Elizabeth Knox
The Furthest Station
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The Furthest Station
by Ben Aaronovitch

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