Catching the Magic

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

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Charlotte

Every day has its highs and lows…

May 3, 2010May 6, 2010 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Random Musings, Sophie

but when the lows are met with humour and acceptance, rather than resistance and annoyance, they are much easier to deal with and quickly forgotten. I have a saying that is frequently used in our home, ‘It’s in the past, put it behind you and move on’. I use this a lot when the children […]

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Sophie’s Super Energy Charged Car Cookies

April 29, 2010May 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Baking, Charlotte, Sophie

She loves to bake does our Sophie (as much as she likes to eat!). On Sunday she whipped up some ANZAC biscuits and today, after only 8 hour’s sleep (see below!), she made these car cookies… So, little Miss Sophie, despite not being ‘A1’ was up chattering till 9pm last night and was awake before […]

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Who wears the pants in your house?

April 28, 2010April 28, 2010 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Alice, Charlotte

In our house this week…. This is what happens when I leave Charlotte, Alice, my iPhone and the laundry basket alone for 5 minutes!

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The way we sleep

April 28, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

Winter’s approaching, though you’d barely notice. Sophie was out in the paddling pool on Tuesday morning, helping me to clean all the bath toys that had found their way outside during summer and stayed there gathering dirt and cobwebs. She was home from Kindi with a little virus that reared its head Monday night with […]

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First week of term 2

April 24, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

It’s been a great first week of term 2. I’m always sad on the first day of the new term, as I really do love having the girls home over the holidays. However, it doesn’t take long (all of a day!) for me to quickly get used to having my morning’s quiet with Alice. The […]

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Back to the ‘ole routines

April 19, 2010April 19, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

I sat at Oriental Parade enjoying the warm Autumn sunshine with Alice snuggled up in the sling fast asleep thinking, ‘It’s way too quiet, I want my big girls here with me!’. They went back to school and kindy this morning and I really did miss them. They were both happy to be back, but […]

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Those boots were made for walking…

April 17, 2010April 17, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sophie

The girls got new boots for winter yesterday and I was green with envy! I can still remember the annual excitement of getting new shoes before heading back to school. But in ‘my day’ (I’m SO old!) we had to wear black shoes and didn’t have nearly as much choice as they do now. The […]

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The Shocking, Annoying, Crazy, Stupid, Disgusting, Tricking Test

April 15, 2010 Charlotte 2 Comments Charlotte

Charlotte, aged 6 and three quarters, here and I am loving Andy Griffiths books at the moment, illustrated by Terry Denton… these are the tests on the back of the book to find out if this is the right book for you! It took me a long time to type them all in (3 hours!). […]

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Charlotte’s Day at the Waterfront

April 11, 2010April 14, 2010 Charlotte 13 Comments Charlotte

Charlotte’s first blog post: On Saturday the 10th of April I went kayaking with my Dad. We saw lots of fishes in schools but best of all we saw a Giant Ray. The Ray was about as long as the paddle. We found it under the wharf near Te Papa. It was amazing. I was […]

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Swinging clip folk and clocks

April 10, 2010May 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Art, Charlotte, Life in action - Videos, School hols, Sophie

Charlotte has been busy creating fun swinging clip folk and clocks this week. My favourite is the robot she made for me, which I’ve pinned in the kitchen. In my dreams the robot comes to life and performs the tasks Charlotte has set for it to do: ‘Do all the housework’, ‘Make breakfast’, ‘Tidy up’ […]

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Marzipan Toadstools

April 6, 2010May 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Art, Baking, Charlotte, Sophie

Marzipan, food colouring and a dash of inspiration…

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Punga Fern Easter Art

March 31, 2010August 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Art, Charlotte, Sophie

The Maori people identify the unfurling Punga fern frond or ” Koru” design, with values of youth, strength and vitality, life unfolding, the family or Whānau, its care and protection. It seems, therefore, a perfect symbol with which to celebrate Easter in New Zealand. Charlotte came up with the idea of Punga art for Easter, […]

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Easter eggs, masks & baskets

March 31, 2010May 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Art, Charlotte, Sophie

A special Easter parcel arrived from Chicken Grandma and has kept the girls busy creating decorative Easter eggs (a fabulous Marks & Spencers kit), masks and baskets. With Charli off school due to a virus and eye infection the timing of the parcels was perfect. The girls are in their element being creative and turning […]

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Chicken Grandma in more ways than one!

March 31, 2010May 27, 2010 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Art, Charlotte

When Charli was very little my Mum used to make animal sounds on the telephone and one sound in particular stuck – that of a chicken. When Grandma phoned, Charli would say, ‘Chicken Grandma!’. Well, Chicken Grandma has been doing an art course and sent the girls a copy of one of her latest paintings […]

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