because sometimes you just have to

It is no secret that after having 3 kids sick with the flu, a baby girl with new tubes in her ears, a Momma sick with a horrible sinus infection (and almost laryngitis, ulcer in her mouth AND an issue I still won't discuss publicly), snow and cold weather that have kept us INSIDE way too much........ After all that it is not surprising that I have begun to crack.

After spending my 12 year anniversary at home SICK with 3 kids AND the Super Bowl it would stand to reason that a girl just might need to be wined & dined.

Now hear me out: it takes a lot to make me crack. I'm a homebody and seriously low maintenance. I don't ask for date nights. I can count on 1 hand how many movies my man & I have been to see in our 14 year relationship. Yes, I said 1 hand. And not even all 5 fingers are sticking up. I am happy with take-out or dinner at home. I'm content with sitcom reruns, football games or playing on my phone.

My MIL says we're the oldest young couple she knows. And I'm fine with that.

HOWEVER....... Since we moved in this house there has been no sense of order, no sense or normalcy, no sense of calm. Everything is in a state of limbo. We have rooms with no furniture. Every room has its share of unpacked boxes. One room is completely being used for storage. And there is no end in sight.

Since moving in we've had strep throat, multiple multiple MULTIPLE ear infections (even 1 right now), a broken arm, an intense and lengthy stomach virus times 4, the flu times 38, a surgery, and Momma's recent health issues.

I am not complaining. My family has a home. We have heat in these frigid temps. We have diapers. We have wet wipes!!! We have plenty of food. We have plenty of non-essential items. I am grateful everyday for my life. Which is probably why it took 5 months for me to crack.

But sometimes a girl has to wave the white flag of defeat. Sometimes Momma has to admit to her patriotic supporters that she is incapable of wearing her cape every day.

That occasionally she needs to throw on her good jeans that don't have crusted peanut butter on them, wear that shiny red lipstick that makes her man be a little more attentive, ponder the perfect handbag to carry, shave above the knee, and wear the dangly earrings that haven't been worn since her oldest was able to grab them and have dinner while not discussing when Cars 2 will be released OR swatting at a chubby little hand as it grabs the crackers OR passing her iPhone so another level of Cut the Rope can be cleared and leaving those precious blessings with someone else who gets to wipe their butts (which is exactly what I just did) and stop their fighting (what I've done all day).

And so tomorrow night my man and I will attempt to do just that. (We hope. We're still working on child care.) But, because we're choosing selfishness, we're missing a dinner at church. A dinner I was supposed to help with. And I just had to inform the one in charge that I was skipping. Or in my actual words, I am 'putting my marriage first.' I have no idea if she understood or not. I even felt a twinge of guilt, which I often do. But moments later, as I was pulling apart two fighting boys, my man called telling me he was excited about our date. And all that guilt just melted away.

I hope everyone has a blast at the dinner at church. I know it will be fun. And i know it's meant to be romantic. But tomorrow night i plan on looking across the table and seeing only my man. I plan on noshing on popcorn inside a dark theatre. I plan on NOT listening to Trout Fishing in America.

Because sometimes you just have to.......