The Big Beach Hop!

Why hello everyone! Remember me? It has been a while!

When I was last here it was pre-christmas, I was stressed and a mess. I now return to you rested, tanned and having had one of the most fabulous summers in a long time. 

Our summer has been made up of one massive beach hop, with some fantastic new finds and a sprinkling of the tried and trusted. It started local as we were lucky enough to have school close quite early, so we filled our days with exploring the local beaches we have come to truly love. We built stuff, we swam, enjoyed great friends and ate our fair share of iced cream goods. Local has never been so good!

We did not venture too far for our first stop, Tapapakanga. A simple weekend trip made up of some of the best things in life, good food, water, sand, stumbling upon a local dance group performance and of course cousins. Such a great spot so close to Auckland.

Next we took advantage of visiting my family and popped over to Mt Maunganui for a taste of some of the best beach living in NZ. I was particularly stoked that my wee niece could join us. I think she will fit in just fine with the family, she loved the beach!!

At some point N had to return to work, but the rest of us did not let that stop us! The rascals and I promptly set off to Otama Beach to visit with my parents. The conditions were perfect and between Big L leaning to master the waves and having a fabulous natural geothermal pool to soak ourselves in, we had absolutely no reason to leave the water, so naturally we spent about 6 hours a day swimming! I will always have the most fun and relaxed memories of this great beach.

We then felt obliged to stop in at home briefly and make the necessary preparations for us to set off on the next hop. Oh and collect N of course! But that didnt stop us from checking out a few more local spots :)

Packed and ready to go again we headed off to a new spot for us (revisted for the friends we went with) Papa Aroha in the Coromandel. And it was divine! Lucky to go with a family with a boat we dined on sea food every night, Snapper, Kawai, smoked mussels, and scallops. All of the rascals managed to catch their own fish and dive to discover star fish and sea dollars all over the sea floor.  I even managed to catch a fish! The water varied, some days flat and tropical lagoon like and on others rough and exciting, perfect for a bit of body boarding. Everyone enjoyed sea biscuiting and the men embraced the challenge so much they could hardly lift their arms the next day.  We saw sharks (even a little hammerhead!), stingrays and dolphins! We were so lucky to have perfect weather (only about 2 hours rain in a 9day stretch) which meant that we could explore some of the surrounding islands.

All round a fabulous treat!

 

 

Camping life very much agrees with our family. We enjoy nature, we enjoy the simple life and we enjoy each others company. 

My whole life I have been a 'multi tasker'. I can do a lot in a short time, but I am no longer sure that it is a good thing. In finally getting to spend some quality time with my family I realised that while I 'accomplished alot' in the past year I do not think I have accomplished the right kind of things. So I am resolved to separate my work life and family life, not always an easy task when you work from home, but I do need to do it better. This year is my last year of having preschoolers and I want to embrace it. I want to feel less like I am half listening to them or not likely to ever join in their games because I am trying to work and expect them to 'entertain themselves'. 

We have some big plans for our little family this year and for those things to happen I need to be more present.

But over time I have also learned about myself that in order for me to be present in my life I need time to be creative. This past year I have spent alot of time helping others be creative yet not really carving out that time for myself. 

So here is my aim for the rest of this year. I want this blog to be a place that keeps me accountable and helps me to keep record. So from here on forth there will be one post a week about how I was present and how I was creative. Neither need to be reinventing the wheel but they do need to be essential to reinventing my interaction with my family. 

It has been such a great summer but I also want it to be a great year :)

As we engage with new adventures I want to be able to jump in with both feet. 

I want to be present. 

Righto finally ready to start my year and it is only.... almost March!!! Oh well better late than never! 

Catrien

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Happy Weekend

After an immensly trying week with less than minimal sleep (there seems to be a virus going round with high fevers and a wicked cough- yay!) we all woke up on Saturday morning and the sun was shinning. Phew N and I both breathed a sigh of relief, we can do what our family does best, go bush! So we packed up some snacks, no need to load up the bikes because they are permanently in the car, and headed off to our favourite spot- Huia!

 The Rascals took their bikes as far as they could then set off on foot. Little S made me laugh so much! That girl just never stops talking! It felt like we were on a nature tv show.

 She particularly loved these "fluffies"!!!

 When we reached the end we arrived at a spot we had been past so many times before yet never explored, so we decided to stop for morning tea...

 The rascals devoured a feast of grapes, crackers and peanuts- yum! And we were all delighted to find a little peephole on the bridge to allow you to look directly down into the water overflow of the dam. wow was that trippy and strangely dr seuss like!!

 Then after stopping off for a coffee on the way home the Rascals collapsed into their beds for a well deserved rest before setting off to celebrate Littlè W's birthday. While they rested I frantically finished off this little dude for Little W. I was so pleased with how he turned out! Bright, friendly and oh so cute! Thank you for a great free pattern Emma from I love buttons by Emma

 And Happy Birthday Little W! What a full on first year of life!!!

Sunday started off with a bang- Happy Fathers Day N! French toast on the deck with presents. N was lucky that I bothered wrapping anything seeing as the Rascals had been consistently telling him what we got him since friday! The best present of all was that the Rascals settled in for a happy day at home. We hung N's bird feeder, he mowed the lawns and relaxed on the deck. I dyed some custom order yarn and sorted out our strawberry patch for the coming summer, while the Rascals gave the sand pit and trampoline a good work out. Mix in a few cups of tea and it was a great morning followed by a spot of tennis in the afternoon.

This year we are going to have two rather large strawberry patches- woohoo!!! Last year N and I didnt get any strawberries because the kids ate them so fast so this time we are hoping for atleast a taste!!!

So needless to say that the twins and I needed a quiet morning on the beach this morning to recover from that happy but crazy weekend.... Hooray for Happy weekends! Boy did we need this one... xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Baby Blanket :)

I was approached by the owner of Huia Cafe, my most favorite cafe in the whole world, and asked if I would make her a baby blanket for her baby (due any day now!), and of course I need no encouragement to knit so here is what I made her :)

I really really hope that she likes it!!

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I Heart Huia

 I have been feeling beyond frustrated lately. For as good as things are when they are good, once they start spiraling out of control they are bad, very bad!

We were lucky enough to enjoy the best family holiday we have had yet with some dear friends this time last month (wow I can't believe it was really a month ago!). Quality time is a good thing all round. Prior to leaving we had a good groove going, the 'Year of the Top Sheets' was in full swing and every one so excited to head off camping for a week of blissfully indulgent beach time. We went, loved it, came back, and then out of nowhere it hit me... Morning Kindy...

I spent so long looking forward to Morning Kindy. It was going to bring with it all things good and fabulous, quality time for Big L, quality time for the Twins. It was going to put an end to the hideous Afternoon Kindy and its crazy routine. For the most part Morning Kindy has kept its side of the bargain and I am enjoying most things good and fabulous. But man oh man...

Three pre-schoolers + One COMPLETELY not a morning person Mummy + 

have to be out the door my 8:15am = ouch! 

Basically nothing gets done apart from me barely dressing the kids and myself, breakfast, grabbing what is needed for the morning and heading out. Generally everyone enjoys a fabulous morning, but the second I pick Big L up the dread inside me starts building. Eventually we will have to go home... and it is a tip. UGH.
And seeing as my kids' ability to play completely by themselves, stay kind to each other and be contructive seems to rapidly dimish post lunchtime, the stretch to the return of the Marvelous N at the end of the day tends to be made up with naps, playdates, and beach time...

So weekends and Spare Moments have largely been taken up with doing the General Jobs. There has been no Hooky Time, no Exercise, nothing Creative and I have not even managed to do any work for my Shop since our return from holiday. I am frustrated and my hands are itching to make something! I am dying for some balance... I want, no I NEED my Hooky time back! I am one tense and snappy mamma!

So here is what I did this Morning. It makes no sense. It sure did nothing to help with the house work stress levels but it felt good. Instead of making the boring porridge or wheatbix and then forcing the kids to eat it, I made pancakes, chucked a few things in a bag and off we went while N had a much needed sleep in.

5mins down the road and we were at the beach/playground. Fresh morning air. The Rascally Ones gobbled up the pancakes without a fuss and ran off to play. And I sat, drank coffee and shouted random encouraging phrases in the direction of the playground.

When the Rascals had their fill of pancakes and the playground we went and picked up N and headed off to one of my favourite places, Huia. More specifically The Huia Foodstore and their Divine Coffee. 

I didn't even mind that the Rascals were getting into the sachets of sugar like a bunch of coke addicts, rubbing it into their teeth, aahhhh....

 

 We played tennis and frisbee on the beach, swam and played in the sand. Enjoyed the company of a friendly dog. Laughed and Played.

 N was happy. 

The Rascals were happy. 

The morning did nothing to relieve the pressure that I feel at home, but today it was the right thing for my soul. 

I heart Huia

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