Catching the Magic

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

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school

Sophie starts Kindi

February 7, 2009November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Charlotte, Sophie

Okay, it’s only 7.5 hour’s a week, but it’s still a milestone for Sophie. Up until now she’s been tagging along with me and watching her big sister run off to Kindi and now school. Now it’s her turn! From 9pm on Thursday morning she was asking me every five minutes, ‘Is it time for […]

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Jedi Charli Returns to School

February 4, 2009 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Charlotte, Random Musings

Charli bounded into school this morning, running ahead of us, with great excitement. She ran into her new class with no hesitation. She eagerly sat on the mat as soon as the bell rang. We left quickly. Sophie was in my arms, very sad and choked up. Dan was with me for moral support and […]

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School too easy?

December 1, 2008December 4, 2008 BritMumInNZ 8 Comments Charlotte

UPDATE: Date Posted: Thu, 04 Dec 2008 Quick update – had a great meeting with our Charli’s teacher and it’s just so great to keep the lines of communication open and nip little problems in the bud before they escalate. We are so happy with the support the school is giving us. They really are […]

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Being Strong

October 21, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 6 Comments Sarah

When my children are upset I don’t always find it easy to stay strong. This morning my oldest was extremely anxious about school swim class. She’s only been at school a term and this was to be her second swim lesson. She normally loves the water and we visit the local pool at least once […]

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Term 3 – we’ve arrived!

October 16, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Charlotte, Sarah, Sophie

We’re into the sunshine term of hat wearing and late evenings. Early bedtimes for the girls are harder to achieve with sunlight streaming through the curtains. The garden is such a wonderful temptation and hard for them to resist. I’m having to work extra hard to ensure a proper ‘wind down’ at the end of […]

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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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Ditch the straightening irons: Dreadlocks reign in a Southerly!

September 5, 2008November 27, 2009 BritMumInNZ 4 Comments Charlotte, Life in action - Videos, Sarah, Sophie

As I write there’s a mean southerly blowing and over dinner SJ asked me who was whistling. Erm, that’ll be Mr. Wind love, he’s a regular visitor to these parts! 🙂 It’s always at this time of year I question why I live in Wellington and start perusing real estate websites the world over. Just […]

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Sophie the Chatterbox!

August 28, 2008August 28, 2008 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Charlotte, Sophie

SJ is approaching two and three quarters and is such a little chatterbox. She’s an absolute delight to spend the day with and puts a smile on everyone’s face. This week has followed our usual pattern of visits to the library for story-time, swim lesson, play-dates and time enjoying the outdoors. Today, was a day […]

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Rain free Saturday!

August 24, 2008August 24, 2008 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Charlotte, Dan, Sarah, Sophie

News break: It didn’t rain on Saturday! Pitches across Wellington actually had players on them. Children danced on the side-lines, cheering on their sporting hero’s (in our case – Daddy O!)… Dan only played half a game (as there was such a surplus of players keen to actually get a game in) – but it […]

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An Olympian in the making?!

August 12, 2008August 24, 2008 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Charlotte

The girls have been very excited about the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Charli’s school are incorporating the games into their classes over the next two-week’s and she came home very excited yesterday. We got on-line and found tons of great print-offs and ideas; from learning the history of the games to modern day events. We’ve been […]

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A little ray of sunshine

August 5, 2008August 24, 2008 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Charlotte

This week (and it’s only Tuesday) has been all smiles and no tears (except from Sophie when her bicycle helmet unfortunately caught her chin as the strap clicked shut – ouch!). Charli has been thriving at school and I’m so relieved to pick her up and see all smiles. Her teacher is so wonderful and […]

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Little steps in a big, new environment!

July 30, 2008August 24, 2008 BritMumInNZ 3 Comments Charlotte

Charli is well into her third week of school. She’s loving the school, her teacher and the environment. However, she’s extremely tired and quite emotional in the late afternoon. I’ve been really open with many parents and am reassured to hear that this is all very normal. I’ve heard stories of children taking a year […]

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One Happy School Girl!

July 21, 2008August 24, 2008 BritMumInNZ 2 Comments Charlotte, Sophie

The week before term-break didn’t really feel like Charli’s first week at school. It felt more like a ‘taster’ before a two-week break of reflection and wondering about the future. I had so many vivid dreams of my childhood and schooling, as well as a few strange ones of being within Charli’s body in her […]

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Stepping onto the roller-coaster

June 24, 2008August 24, 2008 BritMumInNZ 1 Comment Charlotte

Charli had her last school visit on Monday and is now counting down the sleeps to her Kindi farewell Birthday on Friday and actual Birthday on Saturday. She’ll start school on Monday 30 June! It feels like we’re all stepping onto a huge roller-coaster. The visits have gone really well. She loves her teacher and […]

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