Yesterday we visited our local soft play area where Lamb got to meet Donald Duck! It’s safe to say he was one happy Lamb!

I know I’m a bit late for June, so see you soon for Julys Mummy and Me! x

 

While I sit alone wearing My Little Pony pjs, stuffing my face with a Big Tasty, Harry Potter in the background, fan blowing because this room is like a million degrees, I reflect on the weekend I just had.

My very first BritMums Live conference. My very first time at any blogging conference.

All I feel right now is a feeling of relief. Relief it is all over.

Don’t get me wrong, BritMums Live was amazing. Such a great atmosphere. Wonderful bloggers and brands to chat to, extremely informative seminars, and highly emotive keynote speeches. You really are in great company there.

However, as much as I enjoyed BritMums Live, I spent most of the time feeling a little out of my depth. A feeling that overwhelmed me to the verge of panic.

“Breathe Alex”.

As a teenager I was full of confidence and had an infectious personality; a personality still expected of me. Well, I’m not a teenager anymore, I’m fastly approaching 30 and I can tell.

Becoming a mother has changed me. I have learned to love like I’ve never loved before. I’ve learned to live life selflessly. I’ve learned to appreciate what I have and what’s important in life.

However, becoming a mother has also weakened me. I’m an emotional wreck at the hint of a sad story (I was the weeping blonde at the back of the keynote speeches). I have moments of panic in unfamiliar situations. I freeze when talking to people I’m meeting for the first time.

The thing is, you guys aren’t strangers. Most of who I met at BritMums Live know me, and I know you. So why does my mind go blank when I meet you in person? Why do I panic at the thought of approaching someone to say hello?

What’s happened to me?

Attending BritMums Live was a huge learning curve for me. Sitting in my little blogging bubble in my small semi-detached house in sunny Essex, I had no idea at how enormous the blogging world is. There’s thousands of us. Literally. So why am I important?

I suppose attending BritMums Live helped me realise how much work needs to go into a blog to make it a full-time profession. Something I was naively unaware of.

I often have to pinch myself when I’m comparing my blog to others and remind myself I have a job. I don’t blog full time. Those who do, grow quicker. Obviously.

BritMums Live has taught me so much about growing into a professional blogger. Increasing my social media following. Talking to PRs (something I’m actually doing well with already), and how important good SEO is.

It also taught me how happy I am with the way things are going. I don’t blog everyday, I don’t join in with every linky and I certainly don’t keep my social media up to date. Considering all of this I am really proud of what I’ve achieved so far.

I’m not the most well known blogger by any means, but I do have a circle of amazing blogger friends who regularly read and comment on my blog posts. Blogging is a community and I certainly feel I am part of it. Even if I am hiding behind my Macbook.

I am very proud of my little space online

Ax

P.S although I am happy with my blog as it is (slowing growing and expanding), there’s one BIG thing that will change about it soon. Lamb & Bear is expanding but not in the blogging world. Something exciting is happening and by the end of this year you’ll see what that is!

Here I go being stereotypical, but I’m a girl and I don’t know much about cars.

I’ve had a licence since I was 17. I passed 1st time. I have no points and never have. No tickets. Never been pulled over.

It’s safe to say I’m a good driver, but that doesn’t mean I know much about cars. In fact, last year one of my tyres was on verge of being illegal with how much it had worn down! Pretty bad I know.

I mostly rely on my husband to take care of the car, however we now have a car each and he’s not always around to sort out the MOT and servicing. Which is exactly what I had to do last week.

I’ve got an oldish car, the hubby has a better one (he drives around for work). Having an old car you can only expect it to need a little TLC when being serviced. Off I go to the MOT test centre and drop the car off. Luckily it’s really close to our local soft play so I can wait there with Lamb while the car is being looked at.

Unfortunately the car failed, but we were expecting it to. One of the advisories was a new tyre. Again.

This has opened my eyes. I need to be more aware of what I am driving around in, and more importantly, what Lamb is driving around in. Twice I’ve had a tyre close to being illegal and this just isn’t good enough.

Did you know that your insurance is void if you are driving with one or more tyres with a tread depth of less than 1.6mm (UK legal limit)? So it’s vital that you check your tyres regularly.

What Should I Check?

• The Overall condition of the tyres.
• Tread Depth – insert a 20p piece into the main grooves on the tyre. If you can see the outer rim then your tyre may be illegal.
• Tyre pressure – remember to always check when your tyres are cold. The wrong pressure can increase tyre wear and ultimately cause you to spend more.
• Signs of irregular wear – if your tyre tread is worn unevenly this is a sign of poor wheel alignment. If you suspect poor wheel alignment then ask your garage to check the tracking.
• Make sure your spare tyre is safe too!

The current British legal limit for car tread depth is 1.6mm (across 75% of the tyre). However, it is recommended you replace your tyres when the tread reaches 3mm. For each illegal tyre you face a fine of up to £2,500 and the chance of three penalty points on your driving license. This is certainly something I want to avoid.

Poor tyres result in poor driving. Aquaplaning to bad breaking. Trust me, Aquaplaning isn’t fun. It happened to me once when I was younger (I wasn’t driving) and it could of been fatal (we luckily aquaplaned away from the cliff edge we were driving along).

As I mentioned earlier I’ve had 2 occasions recently where my tyres were close to the legal limit. From now on I will be using a 20p to check the tread. If checking the tread is that easy, then more of us should be doing it (especially parents) to ensure we are driving a safe car. No matter what the age of your car.

We love to go on family holidays in the UK, or often travel long distances to visit family. Even more reason to make sure our tyres are safe.

If you are concerned about the condition of your tyres then take them to a professional. Finding the right tyres is not easy and takes up a lot of time! Point S car tyre dealers in UK offer the convenience of selecting and booking tyres online without any prior payment. Point S is located nationwide and can offer you a simple tyre check to brand new tyres and fitting

Ax

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