Que será será

With the death of Doris Day At 97 yesterday it got me thinking about the sentiment behind arguably her biggest hit. What ever will be, will be.

The dynamic within our family has always been that Bec tends to be more the worrier whilst I always appear to have more of a devil may care attitude when it comes to life events and decision making. From time to time this does cause some conflict with Bec agonising over some decision which will appear trivial to me. But general our two attitudes balance well with Bec’s attitude keeping us all alive and able to save money and travel and buy the things we want and need. We also over the time we have spent together have come closer together in our thinking whilst we still follow the same general characters. I have found that I now feel a lot more responsibility than I ever did before and with that I have to spend more time over decision which will not only impact me but also my family as I have to consider their best interests too. Bec runs her business pretty much single handedly and as such has had to make decision quicker and on the hoof.

I have up till recently lived my life without any real path or destination in mind. Having no idea what I wanted to do when I grew up. I took subjects which I just assumed would help me in life rather than anything I was particularly interested in. I learnt how to pass exams rather than how to learn, following the path of least resistance. I moved through school and college and into work taking opportunities which just kind of came up.

That being said I wouldn’t change the life I have now but I do question the idea that whatever may be will be. I have made decision some more difficult than others at various times in my life which have all led me to where I am now and I personally think it’s a perilous idea to think that it doesn’t matter what decision you make because everything is predetermined and down to date anyway.

When you have a decision in life to make there is a difference between thinking. I am an adult and this is the decision I have made, as an adult I will live with and get through the consequences of my decision even if I may later reflect that it was the wrong decision. Rather than just saying well I didn’t really make this decision as fate was always determining what I was going to do anyway.

I suppose the point of all this is do you believe your life is predetermined or mapped out from before you are born. Or do you believe that you have autonomy and power to impact the direction of your life?

Meet the squad – Toot

So this is Jax

The white blonde hair and piercing blue eyed beauty & the reason behind everything we do.

Jax is 22 months old and he’s our rainbow baby. After suffering a missed miscarriage in June of 2016 I got pregnant pretty quickly again and he was born on 7-7-17 at 17.21 – all the 7s (apart from the random 21) – weighing a hefty 9lbs 4oz. I had a pretty easy pregnancy and birth – i guess after the MMC I couldn’t be more thankful for that really.

We kept his gender as a surprise and we never found out what we were having and honestly it was the best thing, I’d 100% do that again.

He was named Jax mainly because it’s a bloody sick name but also because Oli and I couldn’t decide on how to spell Jackson – I wanted Jaxson and he wanted Jackson so we agreed that as he was going to be shortened to Jax we may as well just name him that. So Jax George Luck-Baker he was named.

He was a right little monkey for the first 4 months of his tiny little life, a SHIT sleeper to say the least. As he was breastfed I made all the mistakes possible that I didn’t know were “mistakes” at the time. I’d always let him sleep on me, never put him down & this had a huge impact on me and mental health.

After hard work and determination from me, as well as working together with Oli he finally started sleeping better and eventually slept through the night for the first time when he was 7 months old. I’ve not really had a shit night sleep since.

As he grew older he just became easier – he is an easy baby – as much as I moan about him stealing my food, or hitting me in the face, or screaming at me or shitting out his nappy & not letting me change him I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Now he’s 22 months old his personality is just shining through – he’s hilarious (gets that from me), he’s clever (gets that from Oli), he’s stubborn, he’s irrational, he’s gentle, he’s kind, he’s inquisitive, he’s confident – Jesus Christ he’s confident – this worries me slightly but we will probs come to that over the next few months as to why. He’s just a dream. Yes we have days that are bloody hard and you will see that through this blog because this is real life but ultimately he’s such a good boy and I am so proud to say he’s mine.

He says so many words – this last week he’s started stringing words together – 2 cups, 2 cars, 2 ducks, …. never 1 as he still won’t say 1 – he also won’t say “yes” which is really annoying he loves animals and will make lots of the animals noises when asked he also seems to like cars and rarely sees one without saying car or papa’s car, or mama’s car. He grunts a lot too – also annoying.

Jax is reason behind this brand, behind JGLB – I mean his initials are used to name the shop. I wanted to show him if you set your mind to something you can achieve anything and even if you fail doing it, it’s ok because at least you tried and that’s the main thing. I also wanted to try and install some of my beliefs into him that bullying isn’t ok, that you must be kind to people & help others even when you don’t really feel like you can, always offer to help because someone else will always be worse off than you. I want to show him to not try and change the world but to do something that he loves everyday and eventually the world will change.

Over the course of this blog he will feature very heavily because he’s our main focus, everything we do, we do for him. He has his own insta Page @jaxtaposing where we rep for some of the BEST small shops around, this page is just about him and these small shops we rep for.

Over and out – lots of love Tiny Toot

Meet the squad – Mama

Hiiiiiiii

I’m Bec just turned 34 🙈.

I’m the quiet one out of Oli and I and you’ll soon learn that on our stories.

I don’t really like to talk about myself too much but I do really like to meet new people and learn about them and their lives, I’m always around for a chat.

My life is pretty bloody hectic to say the least.

I work 25 hours a week at my day job, I work around 50 hours a week (possibly more) running my own business and I look after the tiny Toot we call Jax (sometimes we call him Jax, he’s mostly Toot).

My typical day would look something like this:

Up at 6am and get ready for work, Jax wakes at 7am, I breastfeed him before I head off to work at 7.30. (Yes I still breastfeed him at almost 2 years old and yes I am proud of it)

Start my day job at 8 & finish at 2, I get home for 2.30 and look after Jax.

We tend to either hang out at home, go to the park or pop down the road to Olis aunts house for the afternoon.

I cook Jax dinner for 5ish and then Oli will be home at 6 and then at 6.30 it’s bath, book & bed for Toot.

I will then either do another 2 hours of my day job or I get on with business stuff (making Ts, pouring crayons, packing orders etc) till around 10.30pm and then it’s BED – so I get zero time to myself to relax at all – ever 🤣🙈

At the weekends we try and spend as much time as possible with Jax. He has his swimming lesson on a Sunday which you will see so much more of throughout this blog.

About me personally…… hmmm that’s a tricky one. I guess you’d say I’m driven, I’m determined, I’m short tempered, I’m impatient, I’m thorough, I’m hard working, I’m a bit weird, I love tattoos and all things skulls, I’m not a selfie person and I hate my voice so that’ll be great to see my mug all over this feed 🤣🤣 and that’s about it really – oh an I think I’m pretty funny.

Hopefully this blog and page will give you more of an insight into what our lives are really about. We want this to be as raw and as honest as possible I’m sure at times it’s not going to be pretty and all roses but really who’s life with a 2 year old is?

Catch ya later

Bec 🥰

Meet the squad – Papa

My name is Oli – I’m 37, was born in Hastings and have lived in Sedlescombe since I was ten. I work as a team leader for an insurance company based just 30 minutes from home. This means I have a very short commute which to be fair is pretty unusual for people who live around here, with most people travelling to either Tunbridge Wells or London.

My week days are typically heavily structured and tend to follow the same pattern each day. I get up at 5:30 and spend around half an hour catching up on social media and the news while building up the determination to go for a run. There is a pretty good circuit around my house which is almost exactly 5K. So I try to run this or various distances up to 5K by running to the end of the road and back each day.

I have what I used to think was unusual relationship with diet and fitness although it seems that this is battle that a lot of people go through. Up until the age of 30 I was always extremely overweight. Then lost a considerable amount of weight by training hard and sticking tightly to a paleo diet. Since then I have fluctuated wildly up and down in both weight and fitness. I tend to either be completely on top of both, eating well and training hard for six months or doing the complete opposite of no training and eating everything in sight. This year has gone pretty well so far. So I typically run between 6:15 and 7:00 then return and shower prepare lunch (nuts, raisins & two bananas) and get ready for work. This year I have been using the Nike Running Club app and find the guided runs really useful as while you’re running the coaches talk to you and not only help with your run but also pass along useful information and advice to help in the rest of your day to day life too. There are more runs being added all the time including runs based around headspace. I have learnt over the years that I’m so much better day to day when I’m on top of my fitness and diet and can give so much more to everyone else when I feel better about myself and feel like I’m taking care of myself. When I eat junk and don’t train I get moody, tired and irritable. Usually the people impacted most by this is my Family and this isn’t the person they deserve.

I leave for work around 08:00 getting home around 18:00 I then have 30 minutes to spend with Jax and get something in the oven or going for dinner before it’s time for his bath and bed routine which we generally always do together. But we’ll talk more about that later.

Once he’s gone to bed I’ll finish some dinner for Bec and I then spend the next couple of hours either helping Bec with the business or sorting out the kitchen. Then usually around 22:00 we get to watch 30 minutes of something in bed before going to sleep and it all starting again.

Bec and I are lucky enough to both get weekends off our day jobs so this really is the time we get to spend together as a family and we try and do as much as we can together. Either trips out using our national trust pass, or visiting the seaside. Just trying to spend as much time seeing things together, having fun as we can on the way.

Currently my main interests focus around Jax and wanting to be the best I can be for him. This lead me into the world of personal development this has made me almost evangelical about helping and encouraging others to want to grow and believe that they can be better. That wherever they are currently and however old or stuck in their ways they are we can all turn things around and be better. How everyday is new chance to be better than the day before. Reminding myself and other people that you’re also not going to get it right all the time. Some days you’ll make mistakes and do things that make you feel like you’re taking a step backwards. It’s important to not beat yourself up. The first step is recognising that you have veered from what you are trying to do and then learn from your mistake and accept that you’re on a journey.

My second passion is travelling. I love to travel and explore the world and see new places and meet new people. Whilst I have spent quite a bit of time in both Australia and Europe, I still have some major places left on the map that I haven’t made it to yet. Notably India and South America. I’m really looking forward to show Jax as much of the world as I can and hopefully instilling my love of travel in him too. I’m fortunate that Bec loves to travel as much as I do so together I’m certain that this will never stop. By the time he turns two, Jax will have already been too Germany, Czechoslovakia & Bulgaria.

Outside of these passions I also enjoy cooking and tend to do the majority of cooking for Bec and I, whilst Bec tends to cook virtually every meal for Jax (he can’t stand my cooking 😪). I love cooking things from ideas gained for recipe books or shows but rarely follow recipes anymore. I try to bake bread most days, that way i know exactly what is in it. I’m really worried about the ingredients in the food for sale now which i have no idea or understanding what it is and what it does. I find it hard to believe that there isn’t some sort of link between these unknown ingredients and rising ilness levels in our society. I also like watching TV programs that give me something to think about or help me in some way. I’m not a big fan of TV for the sake of TV like reality shows or the scripted drama type stuff. Lately I’ve really enjoyed watching the relaunch of Queer Eye. Having loved the original show years ago I have loved this relaunch so much so that I might even do a specific post purely on this show. I love healthy eating and cooking shows documentaries on Netflix. For example Conspiracy and Chef’s Table.

I appreciate I have really gone on here and I’m going to try and get more concise with my writing style as we continue along this journey. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome I genuinely would love to here your opinion on what we have done so far and what we do going forward, even if you don’t like something or the blog in general if you can explain why that would really help me, so please comment on here or hit me up in the DM’s on the Gram. ✌🏼

It Starts Here

The aim here is to share more of what happens day to day around the lives of everyone involved in JGLB so our first proper post will be an introduction to us all.

There will be no specific theme or time frames and posts will appear as and when we find inspiration to write about. We like to get out and find new interesting things to do so we’ll be writing about this as well as anything that we have found interesting or thought provoking or useful in some way. These could be things we’ve brought to use with Jax as he grows up, books, news stories we’ve read or seen, podcasts we’ve listened to or travel tales especial travel tales – We love to travel, this will quickly become apparent. Having both traveled fairly extensively, we now can’t wait to show our son the world. he’s already been to Berlin and Prague and we are heading to Bulgaria in a couple of weeks.

The idea behind this blog is to give you a view of our lives in more detail that you usually get to see on Instagram. This page will give us the freedom to write in depth reviews of the places we visit and things we buy for Jax as he continues growing. We love shopping small and local where we can. We’ll always highlight and shout out other small businesses that we use and love. You can follow us over on the account for this page @a_tiny_toot_of_everything or our personal Insta accounts Jax: @jaxtaposing , Bec: @jokerzgetleftbehind , Oli: @luckbao or drop by our business site at http://www.jokerzgetleftbehind.com

Bec is the real driving force behind everything Jokerz Get Left Behind she is the one with all the concept ideas and also person your are most likely to interact with in terms of orders through the site and Instagram. She has built the business from nothing over the last 18 months. Doing this alongside a day job and raising Jax keeps her incredibly busy. This blogging side of things will mostly be down to me (Oli), I’m sure she’ll drop in and contribute if there is something or other she wants to write about, or if you have any specific questions for her.

We live on the south-east coast of The UK just outside of Hastings in a small village called Sedlescombe. We were lucky enough to receive a national trust pass for Christmas from Bec’s mum and have already explored most of the sites near to us, with Scotney Castle rapidly becoming a firm family favourite. Expect a post on this shortly. We are really looking forward to being able to use it to travel further afield and see even more amazing sites over the summer.

Jax is 22 months old you can see more of Jax and what he gets up to by following his account on instagram @jaxtaposing. He is such a fun loving little boy who’s character is growing strong each day and really showing through. We’re lucky to have such a friendly, inquisitive and joyful child. We’re both really excited to watch him grow and help him enjoy his childhood as much as possible.

If you have any comments on any posts or have any ideas for future trips you think we should do either in this country or abroad then please let us knows either by hitting up the comments section or getting involved over on Instagram.