Valentine's Day....before and after.

No, your eyes aren't failing you....those are a dozen roses from my wonderful hubby. He completely surprised me with them at work on Thursday. It has been a while since he has gotten me flowers, and although they aren't necessary, I do love getting them.

So this Valentine's Day has made me think about how much having kids changes things. For example, here is a theoretical scenario for Valentine's Day PRE-kids....

-- You actually get to spend some time making yourself look a certain way to go out on a date.
-- You go to a nice restaurant and splurge, getting what you really want and not just the cheapest thing on the menu.
-- You might catch a fun movie or do something interactive like a concert, taking a long walk hand-in-hand, etc.
-- You might then, at a leisurely pace, go to an ice cream shop and share a yummy treat.
-- You exchange gifts that were carefully chosen.
-- You might even *gasp* spend the night at a B&B or fun hotel.

And here is a COMPLETELY THEORETICAL scenario for Valentine's Day POST-kids....

-- You grab a quick shower and throw on some clothes.
-- You decide to go and grab some food somewhere, but not without first getting both kids ready, diaper bag packed, sippy cups filled, etc, etc, etc.
-- You discover, upon arriving at your desired location, that your iPhone map was not completely accurate and the Quiznos you are now at isn't exactly still in operation.
-- You then decide where to go next based on what coupons you have with you.
-- You arrive at the next restaurant only to discover that one of your fingernails has broken off down to the quick.
-- You order your food and sit down to feed the smallest child, only to somehow fling/throw a jar of peas all over yourself, the table, and the floor while simply try to get the lid off. All the while, your husband is MIA getting the drinks, the youngest child is screaming to be fed, and you are covered in peas of which the taste and smell disgust you.
-- You humbly thank some other customers who are seated nearby (but who did miss being covered by peas) for bringing you some napkins and alerting some nice employee so that he can come and clean up the floor.
-- Your Valentine finally comes back to find you still covered in peas, and the youngest child is still screaming because half of the food you brought for her was lost in an unfortunate sequence of events.
-- You try to hurry through the rest of your meal with your remaining dignity, having to share half of your food with the oldest child.
-- You finally make your way out to your vehicle only to discover that yet another fingernail has somehow broken down to the quick, probably a result of the Great Pea Incident.
-- You then make your way to the mall because your husband wants to take you shopping, and on the way there realize that you have accidentally left your stroller for the kids at home.
-- You give up and just decide to go home because after all that has happened, it's time for the kids naps anyhow.
-- You go to sleep in your own bed, just hoping for a good night sleep.

It's definitely true that kids change everything, but with that said I wouldn't change a thing. And someday when the kids are grown and we are actually able to do whatever we want for Valentine's Day, we will most likely just be wishing that they were here to share it with us.