Catching the Magic

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

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weather

One wet summer Saturday

January 17, 2010May 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Art, School hols

What to do on a wet and windy summer Saturday? Get out the paints and get messy! We spent two hour’s on Saturday morning stepping in plates of paint and then soaking our feet in buckets of warm, soapy water to create a huge ‘Welcome’ banner for Grandma and Granddad’s arrival from the UK tomorrow […]

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Manic madness

January 15, 2010January 17, 2010 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Baby, School hols

The sun greeted Wellington for a change yesterday morning and pre-made plans to meet some girl-friends at the pool were laid to one side as the sun was just too good to miss. Just as well we grabbed the chance to enjoy it, since today is like a throw back to winter. As I write […]

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Less than perfect weather for the school hols

October 10, 2009 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Random Musings

My geographers roots always have me studying the weather, amongst other things, and with the recent cold snaps hitting the country I thought I’d take a look at some statistics. Just when we were being lulled into a false sense of security that spring was really here, a wintry blast has seen us reach for […]

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On the WILD side!

May 25, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Sarah

The wind and rain hasn’t let up in days, but we’re now laughing in the face of it and finding comfort in all the good stuff of winter (even though it isn’t officially winter till 1 June!). So… the cooker is a baking like crazy (whilst Dan braved 140 km/per hr winds to play soccer […]

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Getting in the flow

May 21, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Random Musings

Okay, I’ve accepted it, finally! Always takes me a while to get into the swing of the change of seasons. The toy box of board games has an open-lid once more. The books are steadily streaming off the shelves for the girls and I faster than I can put them back. The indoor retreats of […]

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Mary Poppins!

May 18, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Charlotte, Sophie

Poor Charli had a Mary Poppins moment this morning – with a very bumpy landing! Lets just say windy Wellington + a child + umbrella = DISASTER! She got lifted up in a gust of wind and flew the length of a car before landing with a big bump. Her teachers were fantastic in comforting […]

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The House Shook – and it was no earthquake

May 6, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Sarah

I woke like a thunder bolt, darting a glance at the clock, which read 5.46am. The house was shaking. A deafening rumbling sound filled my ears. The roof was being heavily pelted with hail. Tin roofs are not conducive to a good night’s sleep when the heavens empty buckets of stones on us little folk […]

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Seasonally Unpredictable

August 17, 2008August 24, 2008 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

I’m no meteorologist and if I was then I could explain the seasonally unpredictable weather we’ve been experiencing lately. Wellington, in particular, goes crazy in the Spring – and it’s approaching – with signs from ‘Mother Nature’ and changes in the fashion outlets window displays. I came across a fascinating read on the Met Service […]

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Bad luck comes in threes?

July 7, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Charlotte

Well, we’ve had four lots of it and are hoping the tide turns soon! Simba still isn’t in the all clear and things seem to be getting worse. Poor boy isn’t eating now and blood tests have indicated a liver problem. He’s still at the vets and we’re missing him. The other week the dishwasher […]

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Such a tragedy: Nature can be so cruel

April 17, 2008November 28, 2009 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Sarah

I feel cold to the core when I think of the tragic death of the beautiful young people and their heroic teacher in the flash flood in Tongariro National Park this week. These amazing people, united through their love of nature, felt the cruel hand it can also deal. My heart goes out to the […]

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Vibrant colours after the rain

March 30, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Sarah

Long awaited rain finally blessed the ground with its presence this weekend. It’s been so long since we’ve had rain that it was welcomed with the unfurled embrace of every leaf, flower and blade of grass. The birds are lively and chirpy; our cats are relieving their thirst by licking the rain drops as they […]

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A Blogging Break: Tons to Report!

January 16, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

Chez Lee has enjoyed a blogging break due to good weather, no Kindi, the arrival of our beloved pianos (resulting in lots of late night jamming sessions!) and making the most of the light evenings. It’s so brilliant not having to be out the door by a predetermined time and family harmony is so much […]

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Open 2 View: Wet Weather Dreaming

October 13, 2007November 28, 2009 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Sarah

There’s been a few grumpy faces around Wellington these past few weeks (and not just because of the All Blacks loss at The World Cup). Miserable wet and windy weather has driven a few folk to surf the Internet and consider a move. I’ve bumped into the same faces repeatedly at Te Papa and other […]

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Four Seasons in One Day

October 2, 2007November 28, 2009 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Sarah

The infamous Crowded House song, ‘Four Seasons in One Day,’ certainly rang true in Wellington today! Helen Leggatt in Canterbury, New Zealand, regularly posts to an online forum about life in New Zealand, which has a weather thread, and people from all over New Zealand post their daily observations. Her San Diego Reader article sums […]

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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

  • 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
  • Reminiscing on the second half of 2019 and our summer highlights April 19, 2020
  • Visits to my folks in England, Sept. 2019 & March 2020 – with plentiful National Trust visits! April 15, 2020

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Sarah Lee's books

The Toll
it was amazing
The Toll
by Neal Shusterman
Dear Evan Hansen
really liked it
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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