Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day!  How did you celebrate this year?

My husband and I had our Valentine's date over the weekend.  It was so nice to steal a few hours away from our kids.  We haven't gone out as much as we would like to since Audrey was born because she struggles with severe separation anxiety.  It's really hard on us knowing that she will cry most of the time, though she (and James Charles) have only been left with my parents or sister-in-law. But Jason and I decided that we were long overdue for date night and Audrey would (sniff sniff) have to endure a few hours without us.

We took our time getting dressed up and met up with some couples from our church for dinner at a jazz restaurant. On the drive over, Jason and I made a concerted effort to steer away from talking about the kids. Of course we love them to pieces, but Mommy and Daddy need a break from mommy-and-daddy mode. It paid off. We had a blast actually talking to each other without having to shout over crying or music requests from our boy.


It was refreshing to see our friends when we got to the restaurant. Everyone looked at ease and it was nice seeing everyone so dolled up. I chuckled to myself when the group of us were seated.  We all quickly chatted about the kids--how they were they when they were dropped off or when the sitter came over, who was the sitter,  how we were so happy to be "free" for a few hours. It was like "Check. Got that conversation out the way." From there it was smooth sailing.  Good conversation. Good food.

But the mommy-in-me needed to know how Audrey was doing about halfway through our dinner. I sent a text to my sister-in-law. She said Audrey was still fussy, but they were getting along okay and not to rush home.  The report wasn't as bad as it could have been, so I continued to relax as we were winding down. We all were having such a good time that some (those with older kids, haha) decided to meet at Starbucks after dinner.  But our time was up.

In the car Jason and I talked about how we really had a good time. We got a chance to know our friends a little better. Next time we'll have a date with just the two of us, like old times.  Even if that means just an hour getting coffee.

Today we're celebrating Valentine's Day as a family.  James Charles' heart-shaped decorated cookies are baking in the oven. Brownies are next in a couple of hours.  They'll be fresh out the oven just as Jason makes it home for dinner. The ice cream will be ready to go too after we eat.  We'll all gobble it down (as Audrey looks on) and probably even make a small mess.  It won't be sexy or romantic. But it will definitely be love. And that's all we want.