Catching the Magic

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

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Alice

Back to school blues

October 11, 2010October 11, 2010 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

Howling southerlies and hail do not make for a very welcome start to Term 4, not that the girls were particularly disconcerted. They chucked on their rain-coats (at my suggestion – they would have been happy to run out in bare feet!) and dashed out side to touch the hail and check on their ‘Happy […]

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Day 2 of the hols – chilling out

September 29, 2010September 30, 2010 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Garden, School hols

Day 2 of the school hols was all about chilling out and embracing the p-jays. So nice not to have to rush out the door. The girls creativity is coming out in bounds and they’ve completely taken over the garage with cardboard boxes, glue, glitter, tissue paper… the car is officially parked on the drive-way […]

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What a difference

September 23, 2010September 23, 2010 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Alice, Sarah, Sophie

It’s been two weeks since I visited the doctor and sought help for mild-depression. The medication made me feel really tired and fuzzy headed at first and I haven’t been running as a result. On the up side I haven’t been weepy or felt tense and angry. And today, for the first time, I felt […]

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Alice: Miss 7 months

September 20, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Alice, Life in action - Videos

Alice, you are 7 months old already and so desperate to MOVE! You get onto your tummy, after unhooking your leg, and then grunt in frustration as the toy you so eagerly wish to mouth gets further and further away as you move… backwards! You are working so hard to get that lovely, tummy off […]

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Loving, Not Loving: Yo-Yo Weather

September 12, 2010September 12, 2010 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Loving & Not Loving, Sophie

The weather, like my mind, is unpredictable at the moment. It is Spring after all. Some days we run barefoot in the waves, remembering what summer feels like and getting excited at its approach (LOVE). And I think of the daily collection of sand we’ll bring home in clothes and shoes (NOT LOVING). The need […]

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Who needs face paint…

August 31, 2010 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Alice, Baby

when you have food! Alice really has a taste for pasta bolognaise! She just needs a sombrero and she’d pass as a Mexican with this smattering of sauce all over her chops 🙂

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Mama!

August 28, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Alice, Life in action - Videos

What a perfect age our Little Miss Alice is at. She is happy to sit where placed and play with some well chosen, safe toys within her grasp. She observes family life with a keen twinkle in her eye and the occasional chuckle. She cannot yet move, but occasionally lurches from sitting onto her tummy […]

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It starts over breakfast…

August 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Alice, Art, Charlotte, Sophie

The mess. It starts over breakfast, after the first round of washing has already been mysteriously whipped into the washing machine. Alice enjoys baby cereal off a spoon – but she hasn’t quite got that you hold the spoon by the handle – preferring to get stuck right into the action on the tip of […]

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Loving, Not Loving lately…

August 24, 2010 BritMumInNZ 12 Comments Alice, Loving & Not Loving

Whoop! Whoop! Spring is sooooo ready to spring (1 September officially in New Zealand). Strawberries are in the supermarket (all be it Australian ones), daffodils are blooming in the garden and filling our vases, the buds on the silver birch tree in the garden (one of our few deciduous trees, marker of the seasons and […]

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Running away with the circus…

August 15, 2010August 15, 2010 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

‘I can’t wait to go to circus school! Only one more year till I am 8,’ Charlotte enthused to the man supporting her as she balanced on the cog wheel. We were at the Petone Winter Carnival and the Wellington Circus Trust was there giving children and adults an opportunity to run away with the […]

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Carrying my baby in natural style

August 13, 2010 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Alice

I ordered a beautiful Mei-Tai from Oyako last week, having read about them on Juggling Motherhood’s ‘5 great finds‘. I already have a ‘front-pack’, but it’s heavy, bulky and doesn’t fold up easily in a bag. I love carrying my little ones for naps and trailing around after my older girls. When I saw the […]

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Sunshine Sunday Surprise

August 8, 2010August 8, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Life in action - Videos, Sophie

Sunday morning and Charlotte had a mock jazz exam. By the time it had finished there was an unexpected colour in the sky – BLUE! Sophie hadn’t been pony riding for a while so we piled in the car to the wonderful Country Club Riding Academy in Ohariu Valley. Sophie ran in to greet the […]

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‘Beaut bike ride home. Wellington is the best city. Ever.’

August 4, 2010 BritMumInNZ 8 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

This was Dan’s tweet on Twitter on his bike ride home last night. He said he just had to stop and take a photograph as it was so awesome. Wellington is great at throwing us days like this to keep us going through the winter. Days that make you stop in your tracks and feel […]

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Food, food, glorious food!

August 4, 2010August 4, 2010 Alice 4 Comments Alice, Life in action - Videos

I’m sitting up well, have two pearly whites ready for action and have been reaching out for everyone’s food for a few weeks now. Breast-milk is no longer enough (though I’m still having plenty – especially at night, tee hee). So, at nearly 6 month’s of age I have joined the rest of the family […]

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Recent Posts

  • WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024! February 20, 2025
  • Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well. February 6, 2025
  • Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024 January 6, 2025
  • ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024 January 2, 2025
  • Race Tekapo 50km September 29, 2024
  • Running the stunning Motatapu Trail Marathon May 30, 2024
  • 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra! May 21, 2024
  • Six month catch up! March 9, 2024
  • Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. August 8, 2023
  • Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday Celebration August 7, 2023
  • A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon! May 10, 2023
  • Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles! April 4, 2023

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