These were inspired by Pinterest, which I'm really enjoying these days. I knew there would soon be a day when we would absolutely need to have Rainbow Pancakes in our lives. And sure enough, yesterday was just that day. Within five minutes of Isia being awake, I could just see where the day was heading. Now I'll admit I'm a bit selfish about our days. I know our time together at home while they're little is limited, so I'm not willing to surrender to crankiness so easily (See cranky crafts, here). I also understand "off" days- and sometimes a whole week- are inevitable and that sometimes nothing, not even the best art project in the world, can turn it around. But I'm an eternal optimist, so I want to try everything in my arsenal first.

My first plan of attack is dressing her as cute as possible and insisting on doing her hair. Striped stockings and braided hair on little girls have a calming effect on me. While her actions insist she's "so big," her attire reminds me that she's still oh so very little. 

 And then, of course, something novel that we can all enjoy together. She, between outbursts, enjoyed watching the batter change color. and staying that color as they cooked- "Mama, they're still yellow!" And I enjoyed the process of making, which is also very calming for me.

We used food coloring to tint our batter, dividing the batter between five bowls (I forgot all about purple until we were all done, oops). I only used a few drops per bowl so the colors were a little muted, although they still looked really pretty once cooked...

...especially when we cut them open. If you want really vibrant colors you'll probably want to use gel tints, but these suited us just fine. They filled up our bellies and brought giggles along the way- "Mama, we're eating rainbows."

 Sometimes a few Rainbows, and a full belly, can help remind us that it's not so bad to be little- and that we are much loved. That can be very helpful indeed!