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 download, just right click in the new browser bar, then ‘Save As’ (or if you’re on a Mac select ‘File’ then ‘Save As’) and it will be saved to your Desktop, then emailed or put on USB to take to the printers (we used DESCO and had it put on foam board).   It look ..read more

  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 huge amount for coordinating daily life. I shared the link for it, and over the last two years have shared it foe your planning pleasures. I have had a few people asking for an update (you can imagine his delight) – so it’s back for 2020!   Here’s a free basic wall chart for you to download and take to the printer (com ..read more

  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. But folks, this isn’t going to resolve itself, so it’s time to put your Big Girl/Boy Pants on and make some plans for the future, to make sure your kids and assets are safe, because you really don’t know what’s around the corner.   A few months ago my husband and I travelled to the UK for a weekend, a wedding that the kids couldn’t ..read more

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 avoided, exactly how to close the door, then the baby gate, lights in the hall turned off, dogs in the kitchen in case they bark. Every night this goes on. My tummy rumbling for dinner, new emails unanswered, arm numb from the weird angle I have to lie in. This is the stuff I didn’t know about before I had children ..read more