In the last school holidays we took the kids on a mini getaway. We caught the car ferry early in the morning and headed straight for Waitomo Caves (link) before heading to Taupo for 3 nights. One of the major drawcards for our kids was knowing they could spend a day at De Bretts Waterpark…
4 weeks of being in Level 4 lockdown here in New Zealand … done! During this time the little nagging voice in my head says “you SHOULD be blogging. Documenting this time. Sharing your experiences.” But you know what? Writing a blog post takes more time and free mental space than I have during lockdown….
Last week my 9 year old complained about her dinner which was baked chicken breast, vegetables and pasta. MISS 9 : “Mum, you know I HATE chicken, why do we eat SO MUCH chicken?” ME: “We eat chicken about twice a week and as you know it is basically impossible for me to cook…
Over the summer holidays we completed our first overnight hike as a whole family. My husband and I have done a lot of multi-day hikes over the years using tents and a year ago he took our eldest daughter and her friend on a multi-day hike staying in huts but having all three girls on…
We have reached a new milestone as a family – we are preparing to embark on our first overnight hike as a whole family. I am very excited about this – we are going to do the Pinnacles Walk and spend the night in the hut. At the time of writing our children are 11,…
When a woman becomes a mother it suddenly feels like she is two different people, living in one body. Two different minds. Two different sets of emotions. Two different sets of desires and ambitions. Co-existing in one body, both feeling stifled by the other. Creating internal conflict, tension, struggle. As a result the women feels…
Last weekend I took my almost 9 year old daughter to Wellington. I had made a promise to take her away somewhere this year, just the two of us. She is my middle child and I don’t get a lot of time alone with her so this was pretty special. Neither of us have spent…
I haven’t had a good book to read for a while and with school holidays just days away I decided I needed to rectify this. My children all love to read so when we are away together for the holidays I love having “family quiet time” in the afternoon where we can all curl up…
We all have a voice in our heads. You know the one that chats along to you during the day, passing comments on what is happening around you, convincing you to do something (or not). If you pay attention to what this voice is saying, really pay attention, you might notice that what it is…
This past week I have been given an opportunity to test drive an electric vehicle, a second hand Nissan Leaf. This came about thanks to a wonderful initiative here on Waiheke Island (where I live) where several of these cars have been made available in our community to test drive over for a few months….