Catching the Magic

Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!

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Month: March 2011

Seasons: Shhhh! It’s Autumn!

March 15, 2011March 15, 2011 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Garden

Officially we are in the season of Autumn in New Zealand. But it rarely feels like Autumn until the clocks change at the beginning of April. We have noticed the evenings creeping in, but we still have plenty of daylight hours to play after school. Earlier nightfall makes for fractionally earlier bedtimes and a chance […]

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Theme for Week 11 of Lyrical Sunday: Colours

March 14, 2011March 16, 2011 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Lyrical Sunday

The theme for Week 11 of Lyrical Sunday is ‘COLOURS‘. Either choose one colour or many. Sophie and Charlotte came up with the theme and have already written their poems, which they would like me to share with you in this post. Here’s some links that may help inspire… A Hint of Poetry: ‘The Use […]

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Silent Sunday: Fun in the Laundry Basket

March 13, 2011 BritMumInNZ 14 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Silent Sunday

Joining in with this week’s Silent Sunday 🙂

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Earth Poems: Lyrical Sunday – Week 10

March 13, 2011April 3, 2011 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Lyrical Sunday

Welcome to Week 10 of Lyrical Sunday! This week’s theme is EARTH. Charlotte was inspired by Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’. My offering is below and I can’t wait to read your poems. The linky will be open all week. _________________________________________________ EARTH by Sarah Spinning on its axis in space, I gaze upon the hues of rainbow lace. […]

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An old couple find a great retirement home…

March 12, 2011March 12, 2011 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Sarah

After a lazy Saturday morning and a Skype call to the UK with Charlotte trying to teach her Grandparents ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ in Maori, we headed out for some exercise at Zealandia. We were delighted to see this handsome ‘ole chap showing off his feathers.  His lady friend was no where to be […]

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Things I’m Loving!

March 11, 2011March 11, 2011 BritMumInNZ 12 Comments Loving & Not Loving

SUNSHINE! Yes, Autumn it is, but the sun is still smiling and the mean ‘ole Southerly has yet to throw its brutish force up the valley at school drop off and pick up time. JOGGING! Yes! Alice is at home in her buggy these days and actually climbs into it when she wants to go […]

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Running with Passion

March 10, 2011March 10, 2011 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

Memories of school day athletics for many are ones best left in the recess of the brain.  But for our local school I think there will be quite a few happy memories stored away. The weather was perfect and the children came onto the field with a spring of excitement.  They’ve been practicing their cross […]

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The Gallery – One Word – BEACH!

March 9, 2011 BritMumInNZ 10 Comments Special Days

How lucky are these children?! They have NO IDEA! The WHOLE school spent the day at the BEACH today! There were sandcastle competitions between ‘Whanau’ groups, boogie boarding (classes taking it in turns to avoid total mayhem in the surf!) & picnics with obligatory sand in sandwiches. We all had a blast! Little Alice got […]

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The Loveliness of Nature to Nurture

March 7, 2011 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

As I strolled through Zealandia with Alice this morning, I reminisced on the pre-school days when I used to bring Charlotte and Sophie to explore.  I watched their little sister noticing words for the first time and so eager to learn in nature’s beautiful surrounds. Nature really is the best place to nurture. And as […]

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Theme for Lyrical Sunday (Week 10): Earth

March 6, 2011March 14, 2011 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Lyrical Sunday

The theme for Lyrical Sunday this week is ‘Earth‘. Charlotte was inspired by the ‘Earth Song‘ by Michael Jackson. She was listening to it at the time when I asked her what the theme should be. Charlotte has already written her poem and would like me to share it now. Please click to link up […]

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Things I’m Loving

March 4, 2011 BritMumInNZ 17 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Life in action - Videos, Loving & Not Loving, Sarah, Sophie

This week I’ve LOVED being able to open our home to a dear friend of my sister’s – Pam, when she needed a rest from the traumatic Christchurch earthquake and continuing aftershocks. I’ve loved feeling the love of my sister through her and seeing my own children light up in her presence knowing she’s connected […]

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Simple Pleasures: The Gallery

March 2, 2011March 4, 2011 BritMumInNZ 19 Comments Alice, Sarah

I feel a lot of the time I am giving at the moment – to my children, to the house work, to my husband (not nearly enough). I am trying to keep all the minds and bodies of my home happy, with clean clothes, a tidy, healthy home, good food, stimulating activities for mind and […]

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Two minutes silence for Christchurch today

March 1, 2011 BritMumInNZ 8 Comments Life in action - Videos

On this first day of Autumn in New Zealand the nation stopped in silence, exactly one week after the dreadful earthquake shattered Christchurch. I was feeding Alice at the time, and flicked on the news to watch the scenes from around the country. We are all very much in shock, but everyone is doing so […]

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