Monday, February 29, 2016

10-year anniversary yeah baby!



Hub and I just just celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary!

Oh gosh! Did I just say 10 years?? That's almost one-third of my life! (I'm 33 now). It's about a quarter of his (he turns the big 40 this year).

So how did we commemorate the big event?

We were contemplating going to Paris for a while, but decided against it after the terrorist attacks last year and also cos we didn't want to travel!

I'm almost 35 weeks pregnant and round as a whale, so it was a really wise decision that we decided to have a staycation!

At Le Meridien in Stuttgart no less!

My lovely in-laws took the kids for 2 nights so we could rediscover couplehood again! Can't believe this is the first time we went away by ourselves since we had kids!

It was SO. SO. SO. SO. SO. SO. good! And so needed!

Life with kids can be so full throttle. It's like an engine that once started, can't be stopped. And there's no weekends, no public holidays, no day offs. Everyday is a workday. As much as we enjoy our work as parents, its so easy to forget ourselves as husband and wife.

We reserved for ourselves a regular (ie. the cheapest) guestroom, so we were pleasantly surprised when they gave us a free upgrade to the honeymoon suite!

Well, the suite is simply a bigger room with a study table and couch. It was a very romantic add-on though! We also had a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine but hub only had a glass while I had a sip just to taste. Still, it was a very thoughtful gesture and we totally appreciated their efforts!

We did all the stuff we can't do with kids.

- Went to the movies. 

 Unfortunately we had to skip Leonardo Dicaprio's Oscar-winning performance in "The Revenant" because it was too tight time-wise. Watched "Deadpool". I think the name speaks for itself. It was a dead movie and not even Ryan Reynolds could resuscitate it! Please don't watch it and save your money.

- Went for a 1.5-hour massage 

What else can I say? It's become a tradition for us to go for massages whenever we can! We went straight for our massage even before we checked into the hotel on Friday!

- Went for sit-down proper dinners

We dined at the restaurant in Le Meridien, Le Cassoulet for our anniversary dinner. The ambience was very romantic and the prices were off the charts but hey, one's gotta indulge once in 10 years right?

The portions were a bit small though! We ended up going for a second dinner at an Italian place just so that I could get my fill!

We also indulged in the famous Sunday brunch at Le Cassoulet and that was a huge treat! Costing about 45€ / head, it was fairly pricey but I think it was still worth it for the dining experience. They had free flow of sparkling wine (not that I could take advantage of it) as well as fresh oysters (not my cup of tea either). I barely touched the usual carbs but I caved at the sweet dessert offerings.

(Clockwise from top): Bread closet with the different dips stored in the drawers. Chef's speciality on the house, something so yummy I wanted to ask for seconds! Soup starter from parsley root

My salmon and perfectly-seared scallops with root vegetables. Hub's beef fillet with some potato spring roll things that is to die for!

Indulged at our favourite Japanese restaurant, Kicho!

Sunday brunch: Creme Brulee and a chocolate-covered fruit stick from a chocolate fondue

At the subway station. We went carless so had lots of time for we-fies!

- Went proper shopping without the kids! 

We're such fans of online shopping by now because we have no patience to search for things we need with 2 running toddlers in tow. So it was double as fun to be able to just sit and wait for the hub while he tried on his clothes in the fitting room, the good old-fashioned way.

Breuninger was having a sale for members and we caught the last day of the sale. Talk about divine timing! We replenished his wardrobe and introduced some new brighter colours.

- Actually had a proper coffee and cake tea time!

Guess which one(s) the hub picked?

On a more serious note, I felt that this weekend afforded me / us the time to reflect on our relationship as a couple.

If I could summarize our weekend in one word, it would be "reconnect".

I remembered why I was so attracted to this guy in the first place. That we can actually have fun together! That we can do "our" stuff and not just "family" stuff together.

That we actually enjoy each other's company! We could talk and laugh and eat our meals without rushing. Oh and we could look at each other in the eyes and intentionally spend time together. And hold hands too. Oh the joys!

It was such a memorable weekend that I felt so sad when it ended! I felt like I didn't want to go back to my role as a Mom and housewife! I didn't want hub to go back to work! I actually missed our lives back before we had kids - that's not saying we regret having kids though!

We know our "us" times will come back again once the kids are older and more independent. I just need to learn how to grow as my role as a wife to my husband. To remind myself that my husband tries his best to be there for us and to be the sole bread-winner for our family. To lower my expectations for times when he comes home late. Or when I have to hold the fort from morning to evenings.

And to keep the flame of passion burning through those children-growing up years. We need to reconnect with each other. With God. Allow God to hold our marriage together and to keep our hearts right before Him.

May the good Lord use our marriage as a tool to mold both of us more into his image everyday. May I learn the art and skill of submission, which I do believe is a beautiful thing when not manipulated by the world's definition of master-slave submission. May I be able to continue to hold my husband in high regard, such that I can be his biggest cheerleader. All this will only be possible in God's strength as I ask Him to help me.

10 years down, here's to 10,20,30 more years to go!

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