Mummascribbles meets…Lamb and Bear – Mummascribbles

Today we meet the lovely Alex from Lamb and Bear. Thanks so much for taking part Alex.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your family.
My name is Alex and I live with my husband and son who is almost 2 ½. We live in Colchester, Essex, but I was born and raised in Barnsley, South Yorkshire until I was 10. I’m proud to be a northern Essex girl! I became a Mrs in December last year and have been with my other half for almost 10 years! I have 2 brothers (I am the middle child). My best friend happens to be my husband’s sister and she set us up! I’m also very close to my younger brothers fiancé and we spend lots of time together playing with the kids (she has 2).

What do you like doing to be you, when you are not parenting, working (if you do), or blogging?
When I have an evening to myself I’ll either be watching something new on Netflix or my Friends or Absolutely Fabulous boxsets. I obviously like to blog, so will be writing, photographing or chatting on social media. I love socialising with my friends and having girls nights out with cocktails!

What is your biggest achievement to date?
I would have to say giving birth! Nothing can compare!!!

I worked hard at completing my fashion degree and managed to find a job straight after uni. If you ask me this question again at the end of the year hopefully I’ll be able to say “launching a successful baby clothing label!.”

From your own experiences, what do you find the hardest part of parenting and what is the easiest/most rewarding part?
I found dealing with my emotions the hardest part. Until lamb was 16 months I was a complete wreck. I wasn’t diagnosed with PND, but now I’m better I know I had it. But I’m so happy I didn’t need to turn to medication. I also find dealing with a fussy eater one of the hardest things I’ve gone through. I would give up sleep to get him to eat something.

The easiest part for me (now I don’t have PND), is loving my son. That sounds so cheesy, but when he was a baby I just didn’t feel the overwhelming rush of love. Now I can’t love him enough. I well up sometimes just looking at him.

Parenting in itself is no mean feat; how do you juggle everything you need to in order to get everything done on a daily basis?
I have a routine! Well, kind of. Mondays I’m at work and my mother in law has Lamb, Tuesdays we go to toddler group, then lunch/nap, then either play at home or go to soft play or the zoo. Wednesdays I try to do housework and blogging and let Lamb watch a couple of movies. We often use Wednesday to hang out in our PJs.

Thursdays and Fridays I’m at work.

Weekends I have the hubby around to help.

I often do my grocery shopping online and have it delivered late at night (around 9PM) so I know Lamb will be in bed and give me time to unpack. I blog in the evening or when Lamb is asleep. I also do lots on my lunch break at work, either blogging, sending birthday cards on moonpig, online shopping – anything that can be done on a computer!

If I’m honest, to fit everything in I often stay up until midnight.

Why did you decide to start blogging?
I found myself giving lots of mums at the groups I was attending lots of tips and advice; it kinda just came naturally to me.

Tell me a bit about your blog?
Predominately it’s a parenting blog, but I touch on home, fashion and other lifestyle categories. It’s mainly a place to document my life with Lamb! At the end of this year I will be launching Lamb & Bear clothing, so blogging will be a lot more fashion related (children’s fashion).

I don’t run any linkys but will hopefully start one at the end of the year, as I love finding new blogs to read and people to interact with.

What do you want your blog to achieve and where do you hope to see it go as it grows?
As mentioned earlier, I want my blog to grow into a brand, which is something I’m working hard on now. I also want it to grow professionally and earn me a little cash every now and then!

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about starting a blog?
Just write. Write, write, and write. Don’t worry about what any one else is doing because it will take at least a year for you to properly on the blogging map. Learn what a linky is and use that as a starting point for some of your posts, and link up every week. Also put a lot of effort into social media. This is where a lot of your readers will come from.

Finally, don’t put pressure on yourself, I’ve been blogging for 18 months and I’ve stopped worrying about blogging everyday, and just fit it in when I can.

If you could have dinner with three people (dead or alive), who would it be and why?

1. David Beckham. Do I need to give a reason?

2. Alexander McQueen. Probably one of the most talented designers to come out of the British fashion industry.

3. Freddie Mercury. He’s a legend. Who wouldn’t want to meet him?

Tell me three random facts about you

1. I’ve just dyed my hair pink for charity!

2. I would probably beat most people in a quiz about Friends. In face, I once watched an episode of Mastermind and the specialist category was Friends and I got more questions right than the contestant!

3. I have an underactive thyroid, which means I take medication for life.

You can find Alex over at www.lambandbear.co.uk and also on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest