The early months of any relationship are wonderful and in fact, the entire first year or two can be a walk in the park. But sooner or later, the romance and warm fuzzies that you had at the beginning fade away and are replaced by cold, hard life. Whether you have children or are focusing on careers, romance loses priority after a while and you might even start to take your partner for granted! Here is how to regain the lost romance.

Without communication there is no romance. It doesn't have to be verbal, just a simple loving glance or a kiss goodbye will suffice. In many cases, even simple gestures like these have vanished from long-term relationships. Smiling at your spouse in the morning over coffee will do wonders. So will kissing him or her goodbye or even leave a short love note in one' briefcase.

Just like love romance does not come without efforts. You can boost your romantic level by simply saying "I love you", words that probably slipped out of your mouth frequently in bygone eras! Try to make it a habit to tell your partner that you love them a minimum of three times a day. This isn't as hard as it might sound, once when you wake up, again when you meet up after work, and finally, before you go to sleep. If you can throw those three valuable words in there at other times of the day as well, go for it! We all need to hear that we are loved.

Avoid fighting in your free time. Finding time alone can be very hard, especially if you have children, so don't ruin it by bringing up problems you have with the other person. If you are annoyed that your husband left his shoes in the middle of the hall for the umpteenth time, wait until he is about to do it again to remind him gently where they actually belong. And if your wife prepares that mushroom dish that you hate so much, don't comment on it while you are having a date night! Spending this time talking about more constructive things will greatly help your relationship.

Have some cuddle time. Sometimes just being on the couch together can do wonders for boosting the romantic connection.

Take a vacation. It doesn't have to be a romantic second honeymoon to Hawaii or Fiji, but if you can take the weekend off from work and kids, do it. Find a cozy Bed and Breakfast out of town and relax . . . together. Both of you will benefit from the downtime and this will reflect in your everyday actions toward each other.

TLC is highly under-rated. Why shouldn't you kiss or hold hands in public, or in front of your kids? You are not only proving your love to each other, but to the world. And while you certainly don't want to start undressing each other in front of the kids, they will learn positive things from seeing that their parents are still in love!

Romance takes some effort and upkeep. If you ignore it or put it on the back burner, you will most certainly lose it, so take up the challenge and do something today to rekindle the romance in your relationship.