Autumn left its coat off and let summer take a spin on the weather chart today. After dropping Charlotte & Sophie at school, Alice and I played on the beach. I was quick to ditch my boots and tights for bare legs, so I could dip my toes in with Alice (plus she wanted to […]
Sophie
Weekend Highlights: from Football to a Doll House (with a car boot sale in between!)
Got to admire him… Partying till 1am (YouDo 4th Birthday), woken at 6am by his daughters jumping on him, spends the morning delivering flyers to advertise the school car boot sale, and then attempts a game of football. Twenty minutes into the game he’s injured and hobbles off the pitch. But his support crew stay […]
Things I’m Loving! Purple tights, red boots & more!
LOVE Purple tights and red boots, because sometimes a girl likes to pretend she’s a cosmopolitan chick – even if she does get very strange looks at the school gates of her local school. So after cleaning the windows (that nobody but her notices whether they’re clean or not), and being the laundry fairy to […]
Upside Down this Lyrical Sunday!
A poem from my dear Mum (and wishing her and Chinese Grandma a very happy Mothering Sunday in the UK x): Spinning on our world of awe by Grandma – Celia Aspinall Spinning on our world of awe Day light there Night time here Whatever time Always dear Love birds Up-right – upside down Swinging […]
Things I’m Loving… this last week of daylight saving
The clocks have turned back. This morning when the girls awoke at 7am I wearily acknowledged the fact it was actually 6am. Tonight darkness will fall at 6.30pm. The long summer nights will, for a while, be but a memory. We shall rug up, play board games, watch sunsets and admire starlit skies before bed-time. […]
Something to Love Every Day of the Week
Wellington from on high one sunny Saturday… Family time in the beautiful natural sanctuaries that Wellington holds dear. Appreciated, loved, protected and nurtured by many that care… Delighting in Alice’s awe of nature and forever expanding our own knowledge and appreciation. Special time with our big school girl on Monday, who loves learning with a […]
Running with Passion
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 […]
The Loveliness of Nature to Nurture
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 […]
Things I’m Loving
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 […]
Into the School Groove
Term time routines are all go here. The girls even have a dedicated calendar in the kitchen reminding us when their school library days are, what days they need to have trainers for cross country running, when guitar lesson day is for Charlotte and piano lesson day for Sophie (both new hobbies this term for […]
Expressions from the beach
It’s been a few days of children’s Birthday parties, fun at the beach and the zoo. Sunday evening, before dinner, was the best of all… just us at the beach (I’m trying to stay focused on the magic and not the extra washing we brought home with us and sand in every crevice of the […]
The new Queen Elizabeth departs Wellington: Bon voyage!
The new Queen Elizabeth visited Wellington harbour today, gliding in gracefully an hour ahead of schedule as the sun was rising. It is the second-largest cruise ship to be built by Cunard, the largest was the Queen Mary 2, launched in 2004. We gathered in Seatoun to farewell her as she departed Wellington harbour, sounding […]
Togetherness
After six weeks of togetherness we farewelled Chinese Grandma & Granddad on Valentine’s Day. They dropped off Charlotte & Sophie at school and said a brave good-bye. In the afternoon, Dan, Alice and I took them to the airport and had one last coffee together. We don’t know when we’ll meet next, but hopefully it […]
Things we’re loving…
It’s been a busy week getting used to school being back, Alice walking and enjoying the last week of Chinese Grandma & Granddad being with us (they fly home on Valentine’s Day). Thankfully Charlotte & Sophie have LOVED school this week (makes for a very happy Mama!) and we celebrated the end of the week […]