It’s the start of a brand new year. What does it hold? Nobody knows. Probably some Zoom meetings and home schooling, but hopefully some birthday parties and travels too. Whatever happens, download and print this to keep you and the clan organised. And it has UAE weekends blocked out. 2021 WALLPLANNER MOTHERSHIP (1) To […]
I mock my husband A LOT for his planning. He’s the king of Excel, with our holidays, family meet-ups and more, all plotted out in colour-coded glory. But guess what? It works. So that shuts me up. In 2017 he created a huge (A0) wall planner for our kitchen, and it helped a […]
So you have kids, and maybe some property or savings, and you feel like a grown-up. Is that enough? A little like the dentist, getting a Will is something we MEAN to do, but we’re busy, life gets in the way – and we don’t really want to face up to reality anyway. […]
I’ve just spent the last hour patting my daughter’s back so she’ll fall asleep. Her eyes will close, and I think it’s time to ninja roll off her bed and crawl towards the door, then they’ll fly open and she’ll stare into my very soul, accusingly. I know which floor tiles are to be […]
A survey by Norton has revealed that children in the UAE are among the youngest in the world to receive their first mobile device, with age seven being the average. And 66% of parents have admitted that they worry about spending too much time on their own phones. I confess I’m one of them. […]
With many Dubai households having two people that contribute financially, finding a childcare solution that works for the family is something of a priority when the baby arrives. The nanny vs nursery discussion is one to have with your partner, and it’s essential to weight up the benefits and potential drawbacks […]
“The obligation for working mothers is a very precise one: the feeling that one ought to work as if one did not have children, while raising one’s children as if one did not have a job” said Annabel Crabb. And I’ve had a few (okay, many) dilemmas about being a working mother over the […]
I first wrote down my recommendations for everything from handymen to hairdressers more than two years ago. Times changes, people leave, new experts arrive, and it’s time for an update. Over the last eleven years I’ve tried and tested a lot of services from the good and bad to the very […]
Stranger danger. That was the phrase growing up that we were taught (and it rhymed, so that helps). But I’ve felt uncomfortable with the concept of telling my kids that all strangers are ‘bad’ people who can’t be trusted. The majority aren’t. Over the weekend, a man approached Phoebe in a hotel lobby and tried […]
I was conflicted about having a party for Phoebe’s third birthday – the hassle of invites, food, party bags, entertainment, chit-chat with other parents, the (very real) threat of a tantrum as a result of too much cake and attention. In honesty, I very nearly didn’t bother. But she’s friends with a […]
I’m Helen Farmer, an editor and journalist, mum to 4-year-old Phoebe and 2-year-old Tabitha, wife to Nick and a mummy blogger in Dubai (even though I don’t really identify as one, but I blog, and I’m a mum, so there you go). I’ve been living in the Middle East for the last 10 years, working in books, magazines and broadcasting, shedding some light on the good and bad of life, work and motherhood in the UAE.
The Mothership is for you if you’re a busy, active mum who can’t stand small talk, bad info and twee blogs that make out that mothering is all unicorns and rose petals, instead of admitting that you can love your child so much it terrifies you – while still wanting a night in alone watching The Great British Bake Off with a double G&T or a night out pretending you don’t have children.
