Catching the Magic

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

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Lyrical Sunday | Between

June 10, 2012June 10, 2012 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Lyrical Sunday, Sarah

This isn’t my usually thought out poem for Lyrical Sunday. I love the theme Cyndi has set, of ‘Between’ for ‘Lyrical Sunday’ – so many great possibilities came to mind. Unfortunately I feel terrible this morning. I tried to get out in the sunshine, but it was a disaster. I just need to let go […]

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How to be an attachment parent without a caffeine addiction?

May 10, 2011 BritMumInNZ 11 Comments Sarah

If you clicked through from your Google reader hoping for an answer to the above then I am sorry to disappoint you. Perhaps I should have titled this post, ‘How to be a parent without a caffeine addiction?’ – but I do know plenty of parents (incredibly!) that do manage to parent on only milk, […]

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4 Seasons: Making, Baking, Coughing & Spluttering

December 7, 2010December 7, 2010 BritMumInNZ 8 Comments Art

The nippers all have coughs and snuffles, which is surprising for the season. They are still happy loves, but a little on the tired side and having more time off school and kindi than usual (really don’t want to pass on germs just prior to Christmas!). Poor bubba isn’t sleeping well with her snuffles (which […]

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Loving and NOT Loving Today; from blissful naps to burnt scones

November 4, 2010November 4, 2010 BritMumInNZ 19 Comments Alice, Baking, Loving & Not Loving, Sophie

LOVING listening to my intuition. This morning I phoned my Mum in the UK on impulse and she said, ‘I was just thinking of you!’. The miles and miles between us evaporated in a moment. The strong bond between mother and daughter struck a chord of connection on the heart strings. LOVING watching baby Alice […]

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Wardrobe Wednesday: Someone’s learned the art of keeping awake!

October 28, 2010October 28, 2010 BritMumInNZ 9 Comments Alice, Charlotte, Sarah

It’s close to 1am and little Miss 8 month old has decided it’s the perfect time to exercise her vocal chords. She has a beautiful voice and is making the most delightful sounds, only her timing is awful! I have brought her downstairs so she doesn’t wake up the rest of the household. I can […]

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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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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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Trying to stay focused on the magic

August 6, 2010August 6, 2010 BritMumInNZ 5 Comments Random Musings

I’d forgotten how life with a baby can sometimes feel a little relentless. It’s easy to get caught up in the repetition and forget to focus on the magic. Yesterday started well, with berry muffins freshly baked and cooling down at 9.30am. Sophie, still home from Kindi with a cold, played well and Alice was […]

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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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She who trusts

June 16, 2010June 16, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Alice

There is no clock in Alice’s world, only the difference in light between night and day. She feeds when she’s hungry. She sleeps when she needs to. And spends her wakeful time drinking in every sight, sound and texture. The only taste to cross her lips is that of her mother’s milk from the breast. […]

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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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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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Alice at 7 weeks: Sharing the love (and the milk!)

April 6, 2010April 7, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Alice

The badge of honour – baby sick on the shoulder – is one Mummy is wearing frequently of late. Alice is seven week’s old today and looking plumptiously scrumptious. She’s feeding like a champ and has a big appetite. Mummy has been completely soaked to the skin several times due to her over-feeding (cheers Alice)! […]

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Alice & Mummy have an all nighter!

March 29, 2010March 29, 2010 BritMumInNZ 7 Comments Alice, Sarah

12.30am One feed down for the night and nappy changed. Gotta love my iPhone in bed! Baby back to sleep and so must I… 2.30am And so my all night milk party continues; still rocking! Having a blast on the dance floor. Alice is necking back the drinks. 4.30am She’s on the heavy duty cocktails […]

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Older posts
  • WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024!February 20, 2025
    In November 2024 I took on the epic endurance event of the 50km WAI2K Ultra, from Woodside Train Station in Greytown, through the hills of the Wairarapa and Kaitoke Regional Park, to Tunnel Gully Upper Picnic Area in Upper Hutt. This mixed terrain course involves around 2,500m of elevation gain through dense scrub, beautiful native… Read more: WAI2K 50km trail adventure, November 2024!
  • Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well.February 6, 2025
    Life is never all sunshine and roses. When we have had the good fortunate of having people in our lives that we’ve loved deeply, and have felt their love in return, it is painful to see that person suffering. Life is all about beginnings and endings, hellos and goodbyes, first moments and celebrations, and also… Read more: Visits back to the UK aren’t always a holiday – when those you love aren’t well.
  • Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024January 6, 2025
    At the end of May 2024 my husband and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary and took the opportunity to grab a fix of winter sunshine, over the ‘King’s Birthday’ weekend public holiday (beginning of June), with a trip to the Gold Coast – on Australia’s East Coast. We were joined by our children, Sophie… Read more: Celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a long weekend on the Gold Coast – June 2024
  • ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024January 2, 2025
    After over twenty five years of living thousands of miles away from my birth country, and many flights back and forth, I am still in awe of the fact I can be on the other side of the world in 24 hours. I remind myself that jet passenger services didn’t start until the late 1950s… Read more: ‘Last time’ moments on a spring visit to the UK, May 2024
  • Race Tekapo 50kmSeptember 29, 2024
    Race registration on Friday night, by the shore of Lake Tekapo, was a ‘hold on tight to your bib’ or you won’t be going anywhere tomorrow affair. The bitingly cold air was a shock to the system, after my husband, daughter and I had driven from a sunny, spring like day in Christchurch. Our flight… Read more: Race Tekapo 50km
  • Running the stunning Motatapu Trail MarathonMay 30, 2024
    This was one of the most beautiful trail marathons I’ve ran and was a great way to celebrate a summer of running and see in the beginning of autumn (though the weather was still very much throwing the heat of summer on event day – which fell on the first Saturday in March). The 42km… Read more: Running the stunning Motatapu Trail Marathon
  • 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra!May 21, 2024
    I’ve been on a good running streak for over a year now (meaning no injuries, illness or troublesome hormones to slow me down – thanks to a mix of strength work, good luck and hormone replacement therapy!). When I saw that a new event was going to be held in the city where I live… Read more: 50km for 50 years! How I saw in the first day of my fifties running the 50km Faultline Ultra!
  • Six month catch up!March 9, 2024
    Time is literally flying away on me and blog writing is very neglected these days, but we are all well here and can’t believe our lovely Christmas and New Year festivities were three months ago! Spring and summer has raced by and now we are on the cusp of autumn here in New Zealand. Since… Read more: Six month catch up!
  • Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.August 8, 2023
    With the days dark and short here in New Zealand we jetted off for some warmth and sunshine in the Cook Islands, just a three to four hour flight from Auckland. We have never visited any of the Pacific Islands and it was with great delight that we touched down on the runway in Rarotonga,… Read more: Ten blissful days in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.
  • Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday CelebrationAugust 7, 2023
    Turning 50 is definitely a milestone birthday, but hubby Dan didn’t want a party so in February we decided to head away for the weekend to celebrate at the Marlborough Food and Wine Festival. Dan’s Birthday fell on the same weekend as the festival, in the sunshine summer month of February here in New Zealand,… Read more: Marlborough Food & Wine Festival Birthday Celebration
  • A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon!May 10, 2023
    Round the Bays Wellington, held in February every year, is always an iconic event, generally bestowed with sunshine and an amazing turn out of people of all ages. The atmosphere for this event is like a festival, with entertainment lining the route of the first 6km, between Waitangi Park and Kilbirnie Park (where all the… Read more: A few running events to kick off the year & a sub-4 PB at the Rotorua Marathon!
  • Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles!April 4, 2023
    On Census night in New Zealand we were away from home, up in Auckland (along with thousands of other people from all over the country) to enjoy an epic night of entertainment at Mt Smart Stadium. We flew up first thing on Tuesday morning, giving us plenty of time to enjoy some sight seeing before… Read more: Auckland mid-week break away for Harry Styles!
  • Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter!March 30, 2023
    Our youngest turned 13 in February, joining her older two siblings in ‘teen hood’ (though our oldest will turn 20 in June this year!). Having started high school a couple of weeks before her birthday there was, certainly for me, a moment of nostalgia as I reflected on how grown up my ‘baby’ has become… Read more: Celebrating a Birthday with a Meerkat Encounter!
  • Summer holiday in Rotorua & TaupoMarch 29, 2023
    The last week of January, before the start of a new school year, we drove up from Wellington to the central region of the North Island for a week’s holiday. We’ve holidayed in this area many times over the years and never tire of the endless outdoor activities on offer in the most beautiful natural… Read more: Summer holiday in Rotorua & Taupo
  • Christmas and a Birthday in WellingtonJanuary 12, 2023
    Sunshine was gifted to us on Christmas Day this year in Wellington and we had the most wonderfully relaxed day together (well, almost all together, as our oldest currently lives in Melbourne and so we video chatted and were delighted to see them having an awesome time with a friend and their friend’s family). We… Read more: Christmas and a Birthday in Wellington

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