My husband and I will celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary next week. In those four years we have traveled to Europe and both American coasts. We have been to countless rock concerts and fancy dinners. We love to spend time together being adventurous or even lazy.

This year, a celebration is in order. The problem is, I'm too tired to think about it. With two babies in the house, romance is not at the top of the list.

Our pediatrician joked that most fathers get their wives back when the baby turns 1; the first year is all about the baby -- babies, for us -- and the relationship can get tossed aside.

I've started to do that as I choose sleep over quality time, a kiss goodnight as my only form of affection.

Our marriage has to be a priority in order to make sure we are happy with each other and good parents. But it's easy to be too tired to take a few moments to reconnect with each other. The grandparents keep offering to take the kids overnight so we can be together and sleep in.

But we love being with the twins so much that even a night away seems more tough than appealing.

We have hired a babysitter and gone out with friends a few nights. I made sure to find a babysitter early on so we would have freedom. I never want to become a couple who says, "We haven't had a date in five years."

So I've decided to use our anniversary as motivation to get back into the swing of things with Jack. The babies are four months old, after all, so it is time to remember the man I fell in love with. He had to endure three months of me on bed rest, and he's still adjusting to being second place to my new one true loves.

It's hard, though, with babies who tend to sleep through the night yet like to mix it up by waking up at 3 a.m. some time. I have a feeling they do it to keep Mommy and Daddy on their toes as they giggle with delight in the predawn glow.

By the time Jack gets home at the end of a long work day, I just want to hand him a baby or two and head to bed. When the perfect angels wake us up in the morning, there is no time to cuddle in bed with each other. The children act as if they haven't eaten in days and cannot go a single second without a bottle.

So how am I going to bring back the love to our house? There is plenty of baby love, but not much of the romantic stuff I miss more than I thought I would.

I've always heard about leaving love notes for your significant other to spice up things. I'm still writing thank you notes for the gifts that keep arriving.

We could eat dinner together after the babies fall asleep. But cooking is out of the question until I can function past 8 p.m. So takeout is big in our house, and eating at the coffee table while we argue over what to watch isn't exactly what the love doctor ordered.

I'd try to be more spontaneous with my husband, but a child always interrupts. We can't catch a last-minute movie or go to an all-night diner. We have to plan ahead and be prepared for most activities to take a lot longer.

While I'm not sure I'm ready to have the kids sleep somewhere else for the night, it may be time to go for it. If we don't do it at some point, the chance for alone time will be slim to none.

So it's time to make a dinner reservation and schedule a trip to the movie theater. We can start with the anniversary and go from there.

I hate the idea of not including the kids in our fun night out. But sometimes it has to be just about Mommy and Daddy, no matter how tired they may be.

Sleeping together on our anniversary may not be the same it used to be. But waking up next to each other without a baby crying in the background is probably the most romantic moment I can imagine right now.

Laura Lewis Brown is an adventurous newlywed who has loved, lost and doesn't mind sharing. Her column appears every other Thursday.