A little thing called BALANCE

If you're anything like me, you probably hold it together pretty well. By "hold it together" I mean you keep your stress level to a minimum and you roll with the punches everyday. You practice patience (even if it's VERY difficult) and you maintain your composure through most situations... But if you're anything like me, you also COMPLETELY LOSE IT from time to time.

Nobody is perfect. Nobody can possibly live their life with zero stress in it, and nobody can avoid the occasional meltdown, right? That's where I'm at right now. I said this blog would be about anything and everything, and this week I've found myself stressing over what to write about next. Add to that the fact that my child is fighting sleep like no other, he's refusing to drink formula or anything from a bottle, my kitchen is semi under construction, I have 2 dogs that track mud throughout the house on a daily basis, I am sleep-deprived and have zero energy, and the chores and "To-Do's" keep piling up. Yep, I'm stressed, and I know myself and I KNOW that this is a recipe for disaster. So, this is what I'm writing about today and I'm hoping that it will be therapeutic for me at the same time :)

The other day I literally bawled my eyes out when Adele's Someone Like You came on the radio. At that moment I KNEW that I needed to take a step back and figure out what's going on with me! This is NOT the Shannon that you know (and love).


For the past 8 months I have been, more or less, stress-free. When Briggs was born I expected myself to feel overwhelmed and tired and helpless, but I felt none of those things. I don't know if it was the high of being a new mom or the fact that I never had a spare minute to stop and recognize the chaos , but I can honestly say I never felt overwhelmed. I never got frustrated with Briggs, and I pretty much never felt stressed. I had Balance. That is a beautiful word, isn't it? B.A.L.A.N.C.E.


Today I feel completely unbalanced. I feel disorganized, tired, frustrated and overwhelmed. But why? That's what I keep asking myself. I know there are many factors contributing to these feelings, but I can't quite put my finger on any ONE thing. My health has started to suffer as a result of my current stress levels and it's time to take control and pull myself together.

What it boils down to is finding BALANCE again. Easier said than done, but it's definitely do-able. Where there's a will, there's a way! In order to achieve balance in my life again, I need to prioritize things. I need to figure out what causes my stress, and I need to either eliminate it, or change it. It's that simple.

Priorities that will help me find BALANCE:

• Baby-proof my house so I don't have to worry about my fearless baby
• Make my health a priority. First on the agenda: gain 5 lbs.
• Get Briggs to sleep through the night. Goal: 8:30pm-7:30am
• Wean Briggs from breastfeeding
• DATE NIGHT with the husband. I'm talking fancy outfit and all. It's been too long 
• Complete my Gallery Frame Wall. Ohhh that's a stressful one.
• Finish making/buying everything I need for Mandy & Ben's Baby Shower
• Clean and organize kitchen drawers and cabinets upon remodel completion
• Figure out a system for keeping the house clean ALL week so I don't have to clean 4795632863 things in one day. Pinterest to the rescue!
• Start a business with THE Mel Velez and put our creativity to work. Stay tuned.
• SWEAT once a day, or at least 3 times a week ;)

Whew...I feel better already! Sometimes just writing things down (or typing them out) really helps to put things in perspective and helps me get a grip on reality. Although these tasks can seem daunting when they're just swirling around in my head, they somehow seem a lot less intimidating when they're laid out in front of me. Things start to take shape, and having a list makes it all a little more manageable. I encourage you to take a step back and see whether or not you have balance in your life. Do you have family/work/health/personal balance?? If not, let something go. Make a change. It will feel so good.