National Coming Out Day!

If you are part of the LGBT community, or know someone who is you may have heard the term 'Coming Out', it's a cover all term used when someone shares their story about the first time they told someone they were gay / homosexual / lesbian.

We shared a post back in 2012 that shared both our Coming Out stories, you can find it here.

For anyone who has followed us since the start you will know that my (Sarah) coming out story was not a happy one. If anything my story is a great example of 'it get's better', here's a post I shared at the time about how far things have come.

We even shared how we came out at work way back before it was 'okay' to be gay. Laura's story is here.

So why is there an official coming out day? Well that's simple, it is to mark coming out as a positive celebration. The date was selected as it is the annual march on Washington for Lesbian and Gay rights.

Founded because 'Most people think they don't know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes.

– Robert Eichberg, in 1993

It was started in 1988 so this year marks 30 years (another great thing that joined the world 30 years ago....ahem Laura).

What makes for interesting reading is that 20% of millennials identify as LGBTQ+ so sharing stories of support from others coming out gives that community reassurance and insight into coming out. It also mean having online points of reference is essential.

Over the years of writing this blog we have seen acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community increase and as we have traveled through our personal journey we have experienced different situations where we have had to 'come out' but overall we have received love, kindness and plenty of questions from interested people. We hope others have had a similar experiences.

Happy National Coming Day!

To My Darling Wife You're 30!

You are turning 30 today!

I don't expect you to see this until things have calmed down. We have your 30th birthday party today, a Disney themed Princess party where friends and family will be descending on us dressed as characters. Then we have Annabelle's naming day, another wonderful opportunity to celebrate her and finally, of course Bisbee turning 4! It's a whole weekend jam-packed with celebrating.

But before all the craziness starts I wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and THANK YOU!

Happy Birthday because you are finally 30! Finally because I am pretty sure you have wanted to be this age since I met. You have always been wiser than your years and wanted to 'grow up'. YOu are finally here though and my what a lot you have crammed into to those 30 years.

I mean my what a lot you have crammed into our 10 years together. Two engagements, a wedding, a house, a dog and a baby. Not to say the 17 countries we have seen together and countless mini breaks around the UK. The road trips, family visits and endless guests we have hosted from around the world. The Thanksmases, Christmases, Thanksgivings, birthdays, Halloweens, Valentines' Days and every other dressing up occasion you have organised. And all things photographed and documented. It makes looking back on our life together so far a very happy trip down memory lane. It makes looking forwards even more exciting!

And thank you because you make all of the above possible. Your organisation skills, planning, prep and your 'infamous' diary keep us on track and allow us to book in so many amazing things....and not miss a moment.

From sunrise to sunset every single day there is no one in this world I would rather spend every second with.

We may have met when you were only 20 but I am so glad that has given us 10 amazing years together before you turned 30 and for that I am grateful.

You really, truly are everything to me. If becoming Mum's has taught me anything it is that there is nothing in this world worth doing unless it is with you.

My biggest supporter, greatest cheerleader and best friend in the world I want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU (again)!

Thank you for being your wonderful, amazing, inspiring self every single day. You make me and everyone around you happier, better (more organised people). You have given me confidence, showed me what a positive attitude can do and showed everyone how important enjoying - and capturing - every moment is so important. You handle difficult situations with calm, poise that means I know we can get through everything.

You are truly my hero. Every. Single. Day!

Happy Birthday my wonderful wife! May we have many, many, many more wonderful birthdays to celebrate together. You will forever be my Queen.....or Princess if you prefer :)

All my love, now and always!

Baby Blogging - 10 Things I Never Knew Before Becoming A Mum!

Obviously being a new Mum is a learning curve. Obviously there are a ton of things that you think you should know but don't. And obviously no two days are the same.

I was expecting to be bored on maternity leave. It that an awful thing to admit?! I thought the lack of adult conversation would drive me crazy especially as my conversation would be with a crying baby. I was wrong though.

Annabelle is 3 months old and I have had 2 days of being bored. And those two days were when she slept most of the day. When she is asleep I usually rush around getting things done but occasionally she'll sleep a little bit too long and I'll start walking around slightly lost.

Mainly though days fly by, what's that phrase- the days are long but the years are short. Well in my world everything is fast. I mean I look at this picture and our daughter is definitely a growing girl.

What I have also learnt is that remortgaging takes AGES as does doing taxes and I'm not sure how I would have done it with a full time job. I mention it at this point as I have done our remortgaging while Annabelle has slept.

But when it comes to Annabelle I am learning so much about her and about myself!

For example I am right-handed but when Annabelle needs comforting (awful cold) I am able to write an entire blog post left-handed. Sure it takes longer but I don't think I would have ever attempted/ bothered to try it previously.

My body is older than I remember it being. Spending so much time on the floor is not great on my knees or hips. It has helped getting back to yoga but getting up and down is seriously a work out in itself. Who knew!

Babies are heavy. Okay that might be obvious but at baby development class they do an exercise that involves lifting the baby out in front of you - after a minute with Annabelle my arms are shaking! I thought babies were always fairly lightweight.

Nappies - who knew I would get to a point where I can 'feel' a nappy and tell if it needs changing. At the start I really appreciated the blue line that appeared on the front when dirty and when we jumped a size in nappies and lost the line we were lost. Now however I can 'feel' a dirty nappy. Crazy!

Also I can be thrown up and not want to wretch! That never happened before....not that many people threw up on me but it had happened on occasion.

I can get great satisfaction in a spotless kitchen. This surprised me. I always tidied up after Laura's cooking but it was always a basic tidy up. Now I tidy and clean the kitchen, daily. It's like my mission to get the kitchen back to 'normal' so that Laura can cook again. I was never previously bothered and I hope to go back to being not that bothered but while I am spending time at home that kitchen will be cleaned - frequently.

Days where Annabelle does something new are filled with excited messages to everyone - she's smiling, she's babbling, she's grabbing, she's hitting, she laughed, she's sitting up - whatever it is I am suddenly the proudest Mum in the world and everyone will hear about it.

On the other side when we get through the day in one outfit - her and me - it is noted as an achievement. I used to be all about targets and deadlines and plans of action at work, now my main target is de-robing Annabelle if I sense an explosion and making sure I don't have to do extra washing.

I never knew that raising Annabelle with Laura would be as great as it is. I knew it would be good but I expected us to be tired and irritable with each other but like when we got Bisbee it has bought us together as a team. Even when we are both sick we work together to make sure we get rest. Annabelle is constantly surrounded by love, someone to chat to and someone who wants to make her smile. If anything we are probably exhausting her. We are both enjoying it so much more than we thought though.

Who knew that a baby cold would be heartbreaking. Unable to communicate that she'll be okay and having to comfort her while she struggles to breathe in her sleep took more courage that I knew we had. I cried that I couldn't make her better, I empathised with every frustrated cry and I hugged her - a lot in the hope that it would comfort her. On that note I also didn't know that Laura and I could survive on 5 hours of interrupted sleep with full on colds ourselves. Turns out when we need to, we really can push though.

Annabelle being ill has also taught us how strong we can be when giving a baby medicine - both physically and mentally. Our little girl can really kick and she loves to do that 'rigid as a board' pose when you want her to sit, it takes a lot of physical strength to control her. Add in to this giving oral medicine when she is wailing to the point of going red when the syringe is barely at her lips and you have our challenge. Our poor little girl is taking medicine to regulate her liver readings and for 14 days we have to give her a whole syringe of medicine twice a day. It is one of the most awful, heart wrenching things we have had to do so far (alongside them drawing blood from her heel - that takes ages, 3 times now). We know it is for the greater good so push through but it.is.AWFUL.

I am sure there are plenty of other little things but these came to mind first....are you a new Mum? What do you know now that you didn't before?

Review: Pieminister - Sunday Best!

We were invited to try Pieminister's Sunday Sundae and we were so grateful we had the opportunity to taste this amazing concoction! Put simply you get your choice of pie, it is on a bed of mash and topped with a yorkshire pudding that has a carrot and swede mash in it.

The choice of pie is from the regular menu. Laura went for Moo & Blue, it was packed full of flavour but you really have to like stilton to enjoy it. I went for the free ranger chicken and bacon pie. Again so full of flavour and seriously packed with meat. You can see why Pieminister's pies are award winning!

Oh and they do Gluten Free options so you have plenty of reasons to go.

We would say the yorkshire pudding was too hard for our liking but the carrot and swede mash was delicious and the mash was a good accompaniment.

The dessert options were great too. The range of ice-cream sundaes catered for those with more traditional tastes and those who wanted something different. We opted for something different and got the pork pie. Turns out bacon and ice-cream can work together, who knew!

The best thing, as well as the pies, is that the restaurants are dog and baby friendly. Perfect for our family. Although if you head to the Birmingham branch wrap up as it's a little chilly!

We loved the decor and the location at the top of New Street, overlooking the town hall, makes it a great lunch spot any day of the week. The Sunday lunch worked well for us as we checked out the shops and finished with the Sunday sundae!

Check out the story of Pieminister here but the highlights include the brand starting in 2003 in Bristol before selling pies at Borough Market. They then started winning awards and opened a store in Oxford in 2007 and continued to grow since then. They are the only nationwide pie company that uses 100% free range eggs and meat and won awards for their commitment to pig welfare. Who even knew that was a thing?!?!

As well as that they are creating a forest!

So if you want good food, that tastes delicious and comes from a company with a good heart then check where your nearest Pieminister here.

Also they do brunches...that's right. Brunch pies, skillets and bottomless booze for £20 per person. They run every 2 weeks on Saturdays and sit in two sessions. It is definitely on our to try list!