As always, we are first going to give you a big life update and then tell you all about what we've been up to whenever we haven't been sneezing and wiping our noses! Ziggy keeps finding more bugs for us to test our immune systems. 😅 

 

 

 

/ 1. We managed to meet up with a member frog Shelbie when she came to the UK! 

/ 2. Having fun with Ziggy! / 3. Ziggy in his TV chair! / 4. We took Zig to the spa! He brought his car. 😆 / 5. Aunty Laura prepping Ziggy for Cambridge 😂 / 6. Making himself comfy 

/ 7. Having a cuddle with Woody ❤️ / 8. The girls at John's wedding / 9. Cheeky Mr Daughton

/ 10. Rose being ill!! / 11. A model. / 12. Spiderman with his broom.

In January 2023 we really felt a shift in our perspective and decided that 

a new year meant new changes! 

 

We had made goals which we mentioned in the last newsletter and we are really trying to stick with them - focusing more on our family, health and mental health rather than work or anything else. 

 

So, the first big change we made was we spent a couple of days taking down Ziggy's cot and turning it into a toddler bed! We decided we needed more us time and that meant beginning to move him out of our bed and slowly transitioning him into his own room. It was a success! The first night we spent in bed together being able to cuddle we both fell asleep so quickly. I've found it so hard trying to balance one on one time with Rose and then family time. They are both so important! I feel like taking these first steps is the right thing to do. 

 

I also feel like driving more and being more independent is helping. Through our circumstances of working together and living together, me not being able to drive previously and also having the same friendship group, Rose and I were ALWAYS together. Whilst I think it's a huge testament to our relationship that we get along so well, hardly argue and are still in love, I think it's important to be able to be independent and do things alone.

Rose and I have been working on one of us looking after Ziggy while the other one gets 'me time'. We had to work on not feeling guilty when one of us was having fun and the other doing childcare, but we soon dropped the guilt as we learned we each had so much fun having a special day with Ziggy and the other would always come backwards refreshed and ready to parent! Now we have more alone time we are each meeting friends and picking up more hobbies. I made an awesome mum friend who introduced me to a whole friendship group and they are awesome! On certain days I take Ziggy and have a huge play date with my new friends and their kids, and Rose has started taking Ziggy to classes on the weekends! I really feel like balance is slowly starting to happen! 

Driving more has really boosted my confidence and in January I finally picked up my new car! Isn't she a beauty? I haven't named her yet so please feel free to suggest a name! My last car was called Valerie and although I loved her so much and cried when we let her go, I'm really welcoming in all the new changes this year! 

 

Talking of changes, on February 3rd we had been in our new house for one whole year! Moving in during the middle of my menty b was not fun, and it's absolutely incredible how much has changed in 365 days! I've fallen in love with this house, this new area and I'm glad we moved. I also did some soul searching and I can see clearly now why I had so many issues with moving. I really feel like the hard time I went through has made me grow so much as a person and I've got to say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! 

 

During this year we have changed so much about the house and we have ALMOST finished the winter room - all we need to do is choose a paint colour!!

Ziggy reached level 4 in his swimming lessons. 🥺 This makes me so emotional as this was a huge journey for both of us. He started swimming at 7 months and because of my post partum anxiety and being scared to drive I found it really hard to take Ziggy to classes and activities. Swimming was the first thing I did alone with Ziggy and the first two or three lessons he just cried the entire time! We had many ups and downs, one time he slipped on something wet in the changing rooms and banged his head and I felt like a terrible parent, but now he absolutely loves swimming and I am a total pro at taking him alone! In fact, I love it! He loves the water now and I can't believe he's level 4!!! 

 

Ziggy is changing so much and learning new words every day. He is going through a bit of a clingy phase and wants me to carry him all the time instead of walking. This gave me carpal tunnel in my arm and because we are such lesbians Rose got carpel tunnel too! 😂 

 

And of course in January Rose's brother John married our sister in law Hannah!! Before the wedding we hosted Hannah's hen do and I went to get my nails done with Hannah for the wedding, and we had so much fun, we're making it a monthly date! 😂 

 

The wedding was the most beautiful day and it was so romantic. I told Rose during the ceremony that if we were a het couple we would have made a baby that night! We cried the entire ceremony we literally used up about two packs of tissues it was so sweet. I met some of Rose's family I'd never met before, we all had a dance and Ziggy was the star of the show!

Inevitably Rose went down with what I'm convinced was Covid after the wedding! But it was all worth it for how much fun we had! Whilst writing this Rose currently has tonsillitis and we are unsure if Ziggy has chicken pox! We are definitely going to continue trying to lower our stress and look after ourselves for the rest of the year! 

Let's talk about Love!! Obviously it was Valentine's Day this month. Some people don't really care about Valentine's Day, but for me it's really important! Personally I love any excuse to make an occasion and celebrate, I find it makes life much sweeter to dress up an ordinary day! 

I've actually been thinking a lot about love recently, as it's our Wedding anniversary next month and we will have been married for 8 years, and together for 12 years this year. Time flies! Here are some thoughts and things I've learned about love. 

 

When you've been together a long time of course it isn't as intense and all consuming as young early love. But actually, for me, the stability of always having a trusted friend, a person to confide in, a person to cry on, a person to laugh with, a person to snuggle, kiss and cuddle, is so much more valuable than a person that you are obsessed/infatuated with. I think when you fall in love you don't know everything about the other person, so you kind of project and fill in the gaps and put that person on a pedestal. But over time you learn more about each other, grow and learn and change together until you know that person inside and out. Whilst the wild rollercoaster of new love is certainly an adrenaline filled ride, I'm so happy to be living a life with my rock, my partner in crime, my chosen family. As someone who grew up with parents arguing and divorcing, this time spent with Rose has taught me what healthy love can look like. I feel extremely blessed that we have found eachother!! After going through some hard times and ups and downs in our relationship, our marriage has been tested and that makes me confident that we can overcome any hurdles that life throws our way. Our love and life isn't perfect, we have anxieties, stresses, conflict and everything that everyone else has, but at the end of the day, we have each other to love and I am so very grateful for that! 

I do also believe a huge factor in a long surviving relationship is respect. Sometimes it's not the big disasters that break down relationships but the tiny interactions like how we talk to each other each day. Sometimes it's the littlest things that make life the sweetest. 

 

The biggest leap in love this year for me have been two different types of love; self love and love for my friends. 

 

Starting with self love, I've spoken about it before, but simply changing the way I speak to myself in my head has had enormous benefits! I thought to myself one day, it's actually quite stupid to be mean to myself - I've got to live with me! So what is the point of talking badly to myself all day when it's only me who has to listen to me?! In a world which can be cruel, or a world where not everyone gets along, I might as well be my biggest supporter, when I've already got enough other people criticising me - it's not like I need any more haters! So now I am my own best friend. Choosing to love myself has been something I did very late in the game, but it's so amazing. I've got my own back! I'm confident that I can get through anything as long as I've got me. Me and me are in this together! I'd love to hear more about your self love journeys and if you have any tips. It can't ever hurt to love myself/yourself even more!!

 

Love for my friends has been another love I've been exploring. When we moved house a lot of the people closest to us moved away - I'm no longer in contact with my family (let me know if you want me to talk more about this btw, I can always make you a video on it!) My brother was closest to moved away, my best friends moved away, we moved house and we had a baby. A lot of our circumstances changed and we realized there were some friend shaped spaces in our life that needed to be filled. I don't know if you guys believe in manifesting, but before New Years Eve I wrote a letter to the universe about what I wanted, and more friends were high on my list. Less than a month later I made a friend who introduced me to her friendship group and now I'm part of a group of about 35 mums! They all have children Ziggy's age and live in the area or close by, so our children are growing up together. I cannot tell you how happy I am - when one Mum is sick the other Mums send them a care package with chocolate and bubble bath etc! I think having friendships is so important and I actually read a study that said healthy friendships help you live longer! I think there is a lot of emphasis placed on romantic relationships by society, but friendships are so important, and love for friends is an incredible kind of love! Funnily enough I have had fall outs and big arguments with all of my closest friends, but we are still friends and having the best time together! If it's worth the friendship, you can survive anything! 

 

See study here: 

We are obsessed with spring, it's Rose's favourite season. As Rose suffers from S.A.D, seeing the sun start to come out in the spring immediately makes Rose feel better, and of course, she loves gardening! Rose has big garden plans this year! We are lucky enough to have a spacious garden and although it's beautifully landscaped, it's currently quite harsh looking with no flowers or flower beds! Our aim is to design our own dream garden and make it come to life slowly over the years! 

 

Rose dreams of having a kitchen garden with herbs and veggies! She also wants to soften the path to the yew tree with lavender and roses. 

 

I want to create a wild flower bank at the end of the garden, add in some flower beds and grow my favourite flowers: sunflowers along a wall. I also want to grow a rose over this arch (and I'd love to install a working bar into this archway for garden parties!). 💐

As well as horse riding, plane flying, making new friends and driving more we did the ultimate thing that has put us out of our comfort zone: I have booked a holiday for me Rose and Ziggy! Yes I'm terrified of taking a toddler on a plane, but after years and years of no holidays since before lockdown I think it's time, and I want to make some precious memories as a family. So we have booked to go to Barcelona in April!! 

1. Spain passed a law allowing people to freely change their gender on their identity papers by means of a simple administrative declaration from the age of 16. This is amazing news because there are only a few countries in the world that allow this. 

 

2. Czech football player Jakub Jankto said he "no longer wants to hide" and came out in a video on his Instagram. 👏

 

3. Hundreds of people turned out to defend a London pub’s drag event for kids from a far-right protest. 👑

 

4. Lawmakers in Finland voted to allow transgender people to legally change their gender without proof they had been sterilized or were unable to have children. 

 

5. A new trans-friendly update in The Sims includes medical wearables, binders, and shapewear. 😎

Guys we have started Station 19!! I'll be honest we really didn't get that far into the first episode before we were interrupted and had to stop, but we've made the first step! 

Interestingly I've just got onto season 7 of Grey's Anatomy and Christina Yang has just bought the Seattle fire station as her new home with her new husband Dr Hunt. So I'm already seeing the crossover... Plus I noticed Dr Bailey's ex boyfriend Dr Ben in Station 19! 

 

You. Rose absolutely loves this show! Season 4 is a slightly different, 'Who Dunnit' formula, but she's still obsessed with it! She says it needs more lesbians. 

This is our TikTok of the month. Guess who it is about. 😂

In America it's Black history month, so I thought we could celebrate our favourite Black creators! I've popped them into categories! 

 

Books 📚

Joel Rochester (He/They) @FictionalFates If you love books, then Joel is your friendly neighbourhood bisexual who is obsessed with books! 

Nana and Rose (who are NOT a couple but are both queer) run the podcast Two Twos! They also do so much amazing charitable work and if you click on their link on their TwoTwos Podcast Instagram page you can donate to their Black LGBTQIA therapy fund.

Luz aka @swytmylk on TikTok I fell in love with Luz when the beautiful TikTok algorithm showed me a video of her that I tried to Duet (I've tagged her in it!) And who doesn't want a gorgeous femme lesbian on their timeline? I tagged Luz and it turns out she's a fan of our channel! 

 

Jerell Gant @imitationbyJerell. So I found Jerell on Reddit on an art thread I believe, and I got obsessed with his art! Obviously the paintings are incredible but he also randomly sometimes makes epic coffee tables! I really want a crystal one! 

Miss Virginia starring Uzo Aduba. This movie is AMAZING! It has Erin Brokovich vibes. It's about a single Mum who is struggling and wanting the best for her son. I watched it before I had Ziggy and it was sooo good!! 

Sophie Williams @SophieWilliamsofficial who also runs @OfficialMillennialBlack. Sophie has written lots of books on how to be a better ally towards Black people including Anti- Racist Ally. She also created artwork with anti- racism information on that was used all over London during BLM. I love the way she educates because it's clear and to the point, no nonsense stuff, which is just what is needed when you need to learn! 

My timeline is filled with family content so I could go on and on, but here's a few creators that I wanted to shout about. 

 

Grace Victory @Gracefvictory

All Mums are super mums but have you heard about Grace? After contracting Covid Grace had to have an emergency C section before being put into a coma. She missed out on bonding with her baby after birth, breastfeeding her baby and when she came out of her coma she had to re learn to walk! She had to shave her head and grow her hair again because of the damage that happened to her hair during her coma. And THEN not only did she literally die and come back to life, then relearn to walk and come home and be a mother to her child, she had another baby and did all the things she couldn't do the first time around, like breastfeeding. She is such an inspiring, powerful woman and I love her honest raw posts about motherhood. 

Krystian Gabrielle @Krystian_gabrielle

Krystian is a single queer mum based in Florida! She actually used to create content with her wife Caitlyn but they have now separated - I think that's so important to have creators who show breakups! It's a huge part of life, relationships end and whilst I totally understand that some creators may want to stop sharing their lives when it drastically changes, I think it's important to show all aspects of life! Krystian makes family content and her kids names are two names that Rose and I had on our baby name list, so she has excellent taste! Another creator who isn't afraid to show the real nitty gritty aspects of motherhood!

 

Twitter: @charlotte_fc11Insta & tiktok: @charlottef.11

 

Charlie! Thank you for sharing your story. You've gone through a lot and you are so strong. We are so proud of you. 👏

I’m looking for gaming friends on PlayStation! I recently bought PlayStation plus and don’t have any gamer friends at all. Happy to try new games, only available during evenings and late into the night due to work.

I've been an admin on a couple Minecraft servers over the years and have seen how toxic multiplayer can be, especially on public servers where there's little to no accountability. I wanted to provide a space where people in this particular community, which I enjoy being a part of, can play Minecraft without having to worry about that kind of stuff. The server is whitelisted (invite-only), definitely LGBTQ+ friendly, and has a dedicated Discord at https://discord.gg/fyWQRtvqKP. If you don't use Discord, msg me your in-game-name to @AgincourtDB on twitter and I will whitelist you. IP is Server IP is 51.81.168.38:25590
Only a few players currently active so there's plenty of room for more!
David

Frogs, there are six (6) of us currently connected as followers on Duolingo. It’s free and you can choose ANY language and still participate in the teamwork and support features with your frog follower friends. If you want to join us, download the app and follow either, myself Frogs Rule/FrogsRule2 or Gaynor Gaynor Adams/GaynorAdam1

This is Sarah's beautiful dog Luna (Luuny, Luuny Duuns, Lunacy):

Here's Sherrie's beautiful late cat: I'd like to nominate Little Kitty as the Lily Pad pet of the month. Little Kitty is no longer with us, having passed on a couple years ago, but she loved me so much and I still miss her. And yes, she was a very lazy cat, as you can probably tell. If you need a higher resolution image just let me know.

Did you enjoy the newsletter? Let us know, we would love to hear from you.

Don't forget to email us if you want to be our next ‘Frog of the month’, have your pet featured as a 'Pet of the month' or if you want to have an ad on the Friendship noticeboard. We also welcome any other ideas that you might have. After all, we do this newsletter for you and we want you to enjoy it.