Valentine's Day Memories

Every year of my childhood, every time some special event or holiday came around, I always knew that we were in for the unexpected. My mom, who always loves doing "out of the ordinary" things - to say the least - would go all out for whatever the occasion. I always thought she was a nut ball! We ate ice cream cones on the birthday of the ice cream cone, we had green foods for supper on St. Patrick's Day, and she would bring home packs of silly putty to celebrate silly putty day (yes, there is such a day). See?! A complete nut ball! And every year, on Valentine's Day, my brother and I would wake to the smell of pink Valentine's pancakes for breakfast.

And apparently, I am as much of a nut ball as she is, because, every year since my kids were born, we have pink pancakes, or muffins, or whatever else I can think to turn pink, for breakfast on Valentine's Day.  And this year was no different. When my kids woke up this morning, I pulled out the waffle iron, and went to work making our special holiday breakfast. My kids wouldn't know what to do if I didn't make a pink breakfast for Valentine's! So here are some pictures of our fun this morning.

You start with a good waffle batter, and pour lots of red food coloring in! And, ta-da, you end up with a very nice, pink waffle!

Next, pull out your fanciest glasses (no plastic for special occasions!), and fill them with some milk. Pour lots of red food coloring in the milk, stir, and, ta-da, pink milk! You could use strawberry flavoring to make pink, but I was trying to keep the carbs as low as possible.

 

Round up the kids, sit down all together at the table, and enjoy some very happy, smiling kids!

 

Apparently my mom wasn't such a nut ball after all. Or maybe I've just embraced being a nut ball myself. Either way, I am making some great memories with and for my kids every time I do something fun and creative, like a pink breakfast. 

And by the way, this was the only thing I did for my kids for Valentine's. By making them a special breakfast and spending time with them while we ate it, I was SHOWING them how much I love them. No amount of chocolate or presents could ever compare to that!