What could be better than family time in Auckland, New Zealand? We moved from San Diego and definitely miss the weather, but life in Auckland is just peachy!
It was the end of Autumn 2024, it was May, it was dark and Winter was literally days away. Dave and I were sitting on the couch watching YouTube videos of Mountain biking, talking about just how long it had been since we had planned …
Does parenting through a lockdown get any easier? Have you adjusted to the ‘new normal’ or has your adjustment just felt like a slippery slide into a very average, daily grind like mine?Stepping outside of my own feelings and frustrations during Auckland’s extended lockdown and …
The seasonal rain hasn’t yet arrived here in New Zealand but there’s no denying that Winter is here. We are currently enjoying bluebird days but the temps aren’t playing around – she’s cold mate! Along with buying too many jackets and woollen socks (my winter …
Check out Part 1 of my investment series in collaboration with Sharesies here Just like anything, instilling responsible financial habits in both ourselves and our kids takes both time, patience and practice. As I mentioned last month, we began contributing to the boys’ savings accounts …
I’m partnering with Sharesies over the next couple of months to share our family’s experiences as we dip our toes into investing on the share market for the very first time. I’ve long lamented how painful it is trying to discuss financial ‘anything’ as a …
Visiting aquariums is our thing, it’s what we do when we travel and we absolutely LOVE it. Both of the boys have always been a tad obsessed with all things ‘ocean’, an interest Dave and I can wholeheartedly get behind. When we confirmed our (very) last …
I inadvertently taught myself a good lesson this week; despite my best intentions not to work on Monday’s as Nix is home from kindy, I found myself a participant in a continuous string of phone calls for over an hour, whilst I madly multi-tasked, wrote …
I’m in a real ‘adulting’ mindset at the moment. I’ve had a meeting with an insurance broker, we are getting Dave’s citizenship underway, our mortgage is up for renewal so I’m in full planning mode around refinancing and I’m really consciously trying to make our …
Waitangi Day is the line in the sand when it comes to New Zealand summer I reckon. The big stuff all happens ‘Pre-Waitangi’; the massive 6 week school holiday kicks off for the kids, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, road trips, tropical cyclones…………. Come Feb …
Nara was added to my Japan To-Do list pretty early on as I felt it was an easy combo of culture, religion and cool stuff for the boys, ie lots of roaming deer lol. Oh and this place is ancient! The boys and I were …