My A-Z of Important Things

 

A is for Amazing. I often forget how amazing my life is and need to remember that it is. I have three beautiful children, a wonderful husband, a job I love, a lovely family and great health. Yes, we have a lot of start-up life stress going on but even that is pretty amazing (not the stress....what we are doing!).

B is for Baking. I simply love it. And love that I now have a family to bake for, mummy meet ups to bake for and my husband's office full of hungry programmers to also bake for. Love it.

C is for Calm. My word for 2012. I have to remind myself of this one at least once a day.

D is for Design. I do love good design! Always and everywhere.

E is for Energy. This year I am building on my fitness levels, so I can keep up with the crazy energy levels of my little ones. Being a mum requires enormous stores of energy.

F is for Friends and Family. I am so lucky to have so many wonderful friends and a really lovely family.

G is for Garden. I really enjoy the garden and gardening. I haven't had time over the past few years to do much but this year we'll definitely get planting some seeds and having some fun in the garden again.

H is for Husband. I married my best friend Stef last year. Lucky, lucky me!

I is for Imogen. My wonderful daughter. Creative, intelligent, beautiful and so much fun!

J is for Jumping. Little ones love jumping. And they love it when mummy joins in. "Everybody jump up high" was our song of the day today!

K is for Keep-Fit. Related to E is for Energy. I love getting and keeping fit. Before I had my children I was at my fitest and enjoyed running, yoga, pilates and plenty of fun aerobics classes. I was addicted. And I'm pretty addicted again. This time with my exercise videoes in my lounge, as getting to the gym, takes up time I can't always afford. There's no excuse if it's just there in your house. Perfect for busy parents.

L is for Laughter. My children bring so much laughter into our home and our life. I love them so much for it. I can't spend a day with them without having at least one huge giggling session. Their laughter is infectious. So good for the soul.

M is for Max. My fabulous baby boy. Happy, socialable, cute and so very cuddly!

N is for Now. I am not always good at being in the here and now. It's not always an easy place to be when you're in the world of the start-up. There's stress and risk and too much work and so much promise for what will come. But we are often missing the now. There is so much right here, right now, that needs to be lived and enjoyed too. Children teach us to live in the now more than anyone can. Learn from them!

O is for Oren. My amazing son. Funny, loving, beautiful and also so very cuddly!

P is for Photography. Photography has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It is my work but it is also my life.

Q is for Quiet. When I was little I could never understand why my Dad would sometimes ask for peace and quiet. Why couldn't we have some music on? He loved music. We always had music on. Or the radio? And then I had children and suddenly, almost overnight, I completely understood the value of quietness.

R is for Relaxation. I don't take enough time to rest and relax but have promised myself to make more time for this one. And relax...

S is for Sushi. Because I love it so.

T is for Travel. No big long-haul travel plans at the moment but we are going to travel this year - and not for work - for some much needed family holidays.

U is for Underground. In London. Where I LOVE to be as much as possible. Not on the actual Underground, of course, but in my very favourite city.

V is for Vision. I love to focus on visions of where I want to be, to enable me to work towards goals, dreams, plans etc. Mindmaps, drawings, collages, lists. Lots of lists!

W is for Weekends. Especially the ones when we're not working. Now my daughter is at school I value weekends even more.

X is for Xylophone. A favourite with my children. And it always reminds me of childhood. And flashcards!

Y is for Yoga. Yoga has been important to me for a very long time. It relaxes me, grounds me and makes me feel strong. I used it in labour. I practice it most days, even if just for five minutes. It keeps me young!

Z is for Zoo. A place we all love to go to and as soon as the weather gets a little nicer we are getting a family pass to our nearest zoo (which also includes entrance into London Zoo!) and there will be lots of family fun at the zoo.

This is another beautiful idea from Susannah Conway and it has been so very lovely to write. Thank you! x

 I am going to print this out now for my office. What would you put in your A-Z of Important Things?

Comments

[Annabel - Love My Dress UK Wedding Blog]

I LOVE this Emily! Didn't even know you had this blog! I especially love K - I am trying my damndest to get fit and berating myself for not getting to the gym. But it's never going to happen with a business to run and 2 children! Better get the zumba fitness DVD on order then! ;)

Can't wait to read more of your blog :) xXx

[Emily Quinton]

Oh thank you! Yes, this blog has been on my mind for a LONG time. Finally, 2012 is the year to get it off the ground. Enjoy!
And yes, fitness DVDs are the way to go for busy mums - as long as you don't mind your family watching from time to time! xx

[Helen Lisk]

Brilliant Emily - lovely to read, and look forward to lots more posts! :)

Helen x

[Liz Broomfield]

This is great, and you've inspired me to do my own blog post when I should have been writing one for my business blog about tabs and margins! http://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/a-z-of-important-things/ I accidentally stole "quiet" and "photography" from you!

[Library_Michael]

This is brilliant. I'm going to do my own A-Z before the weekend :-)

[Emily]

Thanks Helen, I am glad you've enjoyed this post and I hope you enjoy what is to come. x

Liz, it was lovely to read your A-Z today too. Thank you! x

Library_Michael thank you! Enjoy making yours ;-) x

[Helen Noble]

Love your blog so far emily- perfect reading for when the little one is feeding. I especially like N for now- so important to remember, thank you for reminding me. You're so right about the importance of keeping fit as a mummy- it reminded me how fit we both were when we used to go for runs down the canal- running's always nicer when you have someone to chat too! Xx