playground

Since the new playground was installed at the Oxford & Cambridge Street corner in Richmond, we have been visiting it at least once a week.  It’s a nice walk through the church and we often come across interesting nature items.  Today Poppy found a friendly bee that happened to like her flowery purse and travelled all the way home with us – and some amazing red mushrooms/toadstools on a neighbours lawn that almost looked as if fairies may live in them.

why do I blog?

I’ve had some recent visitors to Poppy’s blog wondering why I put photos of her on the internet with all the weirdos around who will find out where we live and either burgle us or snatch her from her bed, or perhaps both!

There are so many reasons why I blog and put our lives on the internet – here are some of them as I reflect….

  • To allow Poppy’s father & family overseas & in New Zealand to keep up-to-date with her life.
  • To document our adventures and relive them through photos and journaling.
  • To record & share learning opportunities and connect us with home-schooling resources.
  • It’s easy, cheap, and fun.  It humbles, exhilarates, and connects us to the world.
  • It’s our mark on the world, a record that we were here.
  • It allows us to demonstrate our passions and meet others with similar interests.
  • It gives us opportunity to strike up an online conversation with a network of hundreds of millions of people.
  • Some things we share may inspire & encourage others as we are inspired and encouraged by others online.
  • Our blog is a place where we can write with artistic expression.

One amazing example recently was the opportunity to document how we live as a single-parent family in New Zealand to 20 million TV viewers in Japan.  This opportunity was extended to us via the power of the internet and directly due to our historical documenting of our lives and culture on our blog.  Who knows how many single Japanese mothers will gain knowledge and understanding of a differing culture to their own – and perhaps even dream to have the same wonderful opportunities we have in New Zealand without the discrimination they suffer.

There is no predicting where life will take us, especially as we make connections and share with others.  Not only do I see blogging as a wonderful confidence-builder in the future for Poppy, but also as a wide community for us to discover and enjoy.  I don’t expect those with suspicions about the value of the internet to ever understand completely – I guess it’s part of our unique family culture and has provided us with an incalculable array of positive experiences.

 

skating

Poppy was really excited to see the Skating Show on the weekend and I was thrilled to hear there were special Learn To Skate classes being held on Saturday morning.  The last time Poppy went skating she was frustrated trying to keep up with other kids in the casual session – this way she would have someone structuring her time and assisting with her technique.  She did way better than at the Hip Hop break-up skate party last year and also met a couple of other girls her age to ‘play-skate’ with after the class.  We will continue to come along to classes whenever soccer is cancelled on a Saturday morning.

police station visit

Poppy’s preschool took a class to the Richmond Police Station where the kids were invited into the cells, had their fingerprints taken, patted a police dog, crawled through a police car and listened to the siren…..


The first thing Poppy said to the first police officer she could find was “My Daddy has lots of guns!”
I remember having a conversation with her months ago about guns not always being for hurting people and criminals; in fact, her Daddy has a collection of guns and will shoot targets and go hunting. However, it was more common for people in America to collect guns than in New Zealand.
Needless to say, the nice policeman said something like: “I’m going to have to keep an eye on your father then!” until I cleared the air saying he actually lived in the USA and therefore probably out of the Richmond jurisdiction….. ahhhh, some of the other Mums are still emailing me with their comments and laughing!