#anettingnewzealandadventure: The Nettings Do NZ: Week 3

Week 3 has us feeling like we are into more of a groove. Caleb has gotten a grasp of his schedule, which is looking to be much, much more kind than the schedule of a resident J. He is working with three staff whom he finds quite different but he likes them, so all is good. As we are into week three, Caleb has already bought two bikes…any guesses at how many he accumulates by the end of our year :P. He did sell 5 out of 7 of his bikes in Ottawa before we left so I guess he deserves a few.

We are feeling pretty settled and set up in our new place. With this, comes less errands and a bit more free time for this momma….and that has had me missing my Ottawa life. I feel it’s inevitable that I’ll grieve the loss of maternity leave in Ottawa but I’m committed to making the absolute best of my mat leave in New Zealand. While I wish we were seeing Poppa daily, having Kensley play with her big cousins Jack and Cooper, sipping coffee and working out with April, living across the street from Jaime (& David, Everett and Kate), running with the BOB along the canal next to Jen (& Sebastian), biking the hills of Gatineau, having lunch dates with Linds (& Alice) and Sara (& Dante) and seeing all of my other awesome friends, I’m optimistic that Christchurch won’t disappoint! I was actually set up on a blind date of sorts (thanks Kayla!) with another mom and baby (Julia and Lucy). Lucy is 5 days younger than Kensley so we had a lot in common just in that! Anyways, I think it went fairly well and hope to see more of them. I’ve also signed up for a mom and baby fitness class at Hagley Park, the main park in the city that is just under 1km from our place, that I attended for the first time on Friday and enjoyed. My running stroller arrived on Friday! While I awaited its arrival, my awesome husband ensured that I was able to get out for a run before he went to work each morning. Truthfully, the morning run worked so well that it has made me wonder if I really do need a running stroller…don’t tell Caleb that though :P.

Kenlsey and I are filling our days with walks, learning her animals and animal sounds (which she loves), reading books, people watching out the window, laying on the grass outside and playing (her favorite), always an afternoon latte (decaf for her :P), and cooking yummy dinners. She is babbling and rolling and worming away and she is trying REALLY hard to mimic sounds that we make with our mouths and doing a damn good job in my opinion (and Caleb’s and Poppa’s).

This weekend was a weekend of wine. Friday night we opened another bottle of pinot noir from the Marlborough region “Black Thistle” ($21.00 on sale for $16.99) that we enjoyed with homemade pizza (chorizo, sundried tomatoes, feta and mushrooms). Caleb rates it as initially being a 3.5/5 but growing to a 4.5/5 with the dinner. I definitely agree that it improved but I fear my ratings are always going to be 4-5 so perhaps I’ll leave the ratings to Caleb (but I’ll give this one a 4/5). We found that it was harsh on its own but became much more smooth and enjoyable with food. We may have finished the whole bottle….so no second day tasting notes to follow.

We’ve been spending Saturday mornings with latte bowls and breakfast at The Boat Shed, which is about 300m from our place and along the river. Following this, we packed Kenlsey up for another day of “naps-on-the-go” (insert momma cringe here) and headed 1 hour north to the Wairpara Wine Region. We stopped at two wineries: Waipara Hills Winery and Black Estate. We preferred the Pinot Noirs at Waipara Hills but it definitely felt much more commercialized than Black Estate. Caleb got pretty annoyed by the guy serving our tasting at Waipara Hills, feeling he was pretty pompous. Although Black Estate’s pinot noirs weren’t as good, they didn’t disappoint and they definitely surprised us with the most unique and tasty rosé we’ve both ever had. Black Estates was an excellent experience; from the amazing vineyard and views, to the simple, rustic but elegant restaurant, to the yummy (but expensive) food and the unbelievably friendly, down to earth servers. There was also a scenic walk behind the vineyards that Caleb checked out while Kenlsey and I played on the grass because we didn’t bring the carrier for her (lesson learned!). Potential visitors, this is another place we will definitely take you!

Sunday had us visiting New Brighton Beach, which is 10km east of Christchurch. It has 20km of sandy beach and a cool pier. I had been asking Caleb for a family run all week (him pushing the stroller, of course) so we tackled a 10k along the beach. I had asked for a 6k, but Caleb being Caleb, pushed me to 10k. Kenlsey, our little trooper, stayed content (slept mostly) until 9.8k. We finished the run by warming up (much needed) with fish and chips and a latte. We also saw some pretty cool kite surfers and were totally impressed by them. Note that I spent a good hour on the couch in the afternoon complaining that I was dying from the run; coming back from having a baby is no joke!

This weeks successes include:

Getting a nutribullet for green smoothies

Caleb is getting more hands on in the OR

Caleb has now worked at all 5 of the hospitals he will be at this year

Meeting up with another mom and baby

Getting a running stroller and a family 10k

We got our NZ bank sorted

Caleb bought his second bike

See some pics below :)

We'll be in touch next week!

Love,

The Nettings