Catching the Magic

Two Brits in Aotearoa bringing up three NZ born daughters. Our children: Our future. Haere Mai!

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random musings

Winter storms, sunsets and waves. Winter in Wellington

July 6, 2022July 6, 2022 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Header, Seasons

Winter has started with its usual mixed bag in Wellington – calm, sunshine days that are moderately mild lull us into a sense of ease, before a sudden southerly change hurls us into an abrupt awareness that it is actually the season of winter. Gale force winds, heavy rain, and snow on the distant Kaikoura […]

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A day out of the house makes a difference

September 21, 2011September 21, 2011 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

Yesterday I cleaned a lot (with a brief late afternoon escape to our local zoo). Today I had fun (except for a morning appointment to see the doctor for a warrant of fitness – but even that was plain sailing). The sun shone. The wind didn’t hamper my every step. Nature played ball (and threw in a real […]

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Heaven is for Real

May 10, 2011 BritMumInNZ 10 Comments Sarah

On Saturday evening, as I sat writing a blog post on the futon in my bedroom, with Alice asleep at my side, Dan sent me a text, which read, I got you a little Kindle book I thought you might like. Go to your Kindle on your iPhone xxx So I go check and see […]

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Coming Up For Air: A day like any other?

November 6, 2010November 11, 2010 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments Random Musings, Writing

Sometimes it feels good to dump down the activities of the day in words. To let everything go like a leaf at the mercy of the autumn wind or blossom raining down to carpet the ground in a spring shower. To come up for air. To appreciate the two forces at work in a strong […]

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Tribal Wives Wellington, New Zealand

September 13, 2010September 16, 2010 BritMumInNZ 34 Comments Random Musings

I am bravely picking up the baton and going to give this post my best shot, where others have skillfully gone before me – inspired by the amazing mistress of words Vix of Vegemitevix blog and her ‘Tribal Wives in Britain‘ post. Here follows my offering and I’d recommend visiting ‘Moments of Whimsy‘ blog for […]

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Walking back in time

July 22, 2010August 19, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Sarah

‘Race you to the top!’ I shouted to my sister as my legs started at a run up to the summit of the hill. ‘See you up there girls. We’ll take our time and enjoy the scenery,’ my Dad said with a smile of pride and perhaps a hint of envy at our boundless energy. […]

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Needing sleep

July 6, 2010July 6, 2010 BritMumInNZ 8 Comments Alice

And now she lies here blowing raspberries at me like it’s all a big joke. 1.32 AM my clock reads. She’s fed and slept, but I’ve snatched only pockets of twenty minutes sleep at a time. Third night in a row. Hubbie took her downstairs. He said kindly, ‘Get some sleep love.’ But as I […]

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Changing seasons, unsettled minds

May 17, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Sarah

It really has been hard to get back into the swing of things since our amazing holiday in Nelson. So many times we’ve looked at the properties there and considered a move. We’ve been in Wellington for twelve year’s now and it is totally amazing, but something about returning from holiday and the change in […]

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Thank ‘G’ it’s the end of term!

December 19, 2008December 19, 2008 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Charlotte, Sarah

I am so full of emotions tonight. It’s been tough letting go of my first born to a system where, due to numbers, children are molded to doing ‘x, y and z’ when told – how else would it be possible to contain so many free spirits within one room! The end term heralds in […]

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Scooting around Wellington on a sunny Saturday

September 13, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

Wellington is such a compact city, encased in hills and geographically challenged when it comes to expanding (but of course there’s always the option of building up – and one look at the number of cranes on the cityscape exhibits evidence aplenty of growth to the sky). The compactness makes Wellington a neat city to […]

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Random Happiness

September 10, 2008September 10, 2010 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

Being in the moment, totally at one with nature. Free of the monkey mind chatter and internal dialog. No ego to feed; just simple happiness from living in the present and being consciously aware. Every breath drawn from the centre of the Universe. Every cell in the body soaking up the warmth of the sun […]

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Officially Spring!

August 31, 2008 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

It’s officially Spring – or so I read in the newspaper today. The weather was beautiful this weekend and we treasured every moment. It’s been a rough winter with news reports saying it’s been the wettest on record. After a magnificent six month’s of summer, this winter has been hard on everyone. I reckon treatment […]

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What’s on your bedside table?

May 21, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ Leave a comment Sarah

In my first year of motherhood my bedside table was stacked high with a wide selection of parenting books. The subjects of most interest at that time were sleep, health, breastfeeding and developmental milestones. My reading of parenting and child psychology books became a little obsessive. There was a time when the only other items […]

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A little bench where I like to sit

March 30, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Sarah

I have a little bench, outside our backdoor. It’s sheltered from the wind and rain and it’s where I like to sit and think. I look up at the changing sky, the mostly ever-green trees and watch the season’s change. Listening to the cicadas in summer and the birds cavorting with one another. I think […]

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  • Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter! March 30, 2023
  • Summer holiday in Rotorua & Taupo March 29, 2023
  • Christmas and a Birthday in Wellington January 12, 2023
  • Summer highlights from the Wairarapa January 8, 2023
  • A long weekend with friends near Goat Island Marine Reserve January 6, 2023
  • It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – southern hemisphere style! December 23, 2022
  • Wellington Lantern Festival – in the spring rain December 18, 2022
  • Toast Martinborough – Wine and Food Festival December 16, 2022
  • Spring running highlights on Wellington’s trails December 14, 2022
  • Trail goodness in the southern Remutaka Ranges October 25, 2022
  • Family, hills & roller-coasters! October 22, 2022
  • Summer visit to London in July; seeing friends, West End Shows, National Art Gallery, Women’s Euro 2022 & corgis! October 14, 2022

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