we're off to see the wizard

Time for a Cool Mom Campaign update. I had been wondering if Abby was ready to begin enjoying "chapter books". One of my neighbours with a daughter Abby's age had been reading Charlotte's Web to her daughter so I thought I'd give it a try. While I was out shopping with Grandma Linda I happened to notice a sale on some classic books and snatched up The Wizard of Oz for $3.99. I thought if she really wasn't in to it then I wouldn't be out all that much. So for the last month or so Abby has been listening intently while I told the story of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Lion and the Wonderful World of Oz. I had read the book myself many years ago and I must admit I had forgotten how violent it was. The Tinman separates more than one head from it's body with his trusty axe. It was a little slow going because Abby had a zillion questions that she needed to ask. She used to books with a lot of pictures to help tell the story and the movie version of Oz isn't near as odd as the book version. For example, the china land, where everything and everyone is made of bone china or the mouse colony that saved Dorothy and the lion from the poppies. Yes, there was lots to ask questions about.

Once we had finally finished the book I told Abby we could watch the movie. Thankfully my neighbour had a copy on dvd for us to borrow. I wasn't too sure if it was going to be available at the local rental place. In honour of the viewing I had planned another themed movie night, with snacks to match the movie. I even went one step further and bought her a tube of Ruby Slippers lip gloss from my neighbour, the Avon Lady. She thought that was a real kick, let me tell you.

In the beginning I wasn't quite sure what snacks would tie in with the movie and then it hit me. I had that castle cake pan that Mom got me for Christmas. I could mix up a white cake mix, throw in a titch of green food colouring and voila! Emerald City, in cake form. That was the plan anyway. Unfortunately this was the reality....



Multi-tasking Mom that I am. I didn't get around to unmolding the cake until well after it had cooled. Big mistake when dealing with a complicated cake pan that has a lot of little crevices. It did come out of the pan, just in many pieces. I was so disappointed, but luckily I came up with plan B......





Yellow Brick Road cookies. Lemon cake mix cookies (1 box cake mix, two eggs, 1/2 cup oil. Bake at 350 for 8 - 10 minutes) that I shaped into rectangles or variations there of. Abby was very excited about the cookies in a oh wow those are cool kind of way, but I don't think she ate any. Grandma Linda, Mike and I "forced" a few dozen down so it wasn't a total loss. Surprisingly everyone got in on the lump of green cake that was trying very hard to be an Emerald City.



So Abby loved the movie and remembered so much from the book that she was telling us what was going to happen next. And, shockingly, she wasn't even afraid of the flying monkeys. Why? Because in the book they are good, but are bound by slavery to the Wicked Witch. She loved the music and has been singing the songs every since.

Know what the best part was? The next day we took the movie plus some of the yellow brick road cookies (at Abby's request) over to our neighbour to say thanks for the loan. As the Mom and I chatted Abby and her daughter wandered off into the backyard, but not far enough that we couldn't hear her say, "You know we borrowed a movie from your Mom. The Wizard of Oz. And I liked it. And whenever we watch a movie my Mom makes special snacks for us!" And my neighbour turned to me and said, "It's the little things that are the big things. She'll always remember this." And she is so right, I teared up a little bit right there in her driveway. Thankfully she either didn't notice or was polite enough that she pretended not to notice. It's an overwhelming feeling when you realize that your kids realize that you're creating memories.


Oh and the cool Mom points on this...... HUGE!