Saturday afternoon Jason and I took Charlie to see his first movie: Monsters Inc. in 3-D. I decided Friday night during one of my sleepless moments that it would be fun to take Charlie to see it.  Mama offered to keep Maddie for us, which was crucial because there is no way I am taking Maddie to a movie.

I told Charlie early in the day that I had a secret for him and that he couldn’t tell Maddie.  I whispered in his ear that Daddy and I were taking him to see a movie, but Maddie wasn’t going.  He was so excited all day that neither one of us could hardly stand it!  He kept asking, “Is it time yet?” “Is it time yet?”

Now, I know that an outing to the movies can be very expensive, so we stopped at the store on our way there and got a couple of bottles of water and some boxes of candy.  Luckily, I just bought a really big purse that I was carrying.  However, we ate all of the candy on the way there and had to buy more at the theater.  Our bad, I guess.

The movie was amazing.  Neither Jason nor I have ever been to a 3-D movie before, so we thought it was absolutely incredible.  I realized after the movie started that it may not have been a good idea to bring Charlie to a 3-D movie for his first movie.  What if he thinks that all movies are like that?  He did really enjoy it, though.  It was very loud and dark, so he sat in my lap for most of the time.  Towards the end, he realized that if he sat in his own seat it would fold him up like a hotdog bun, so he spent the last few minutes of the movie just playing with his chair.  Oh, well…

We went out to eat afterwards and Charlie just thought he was the most special boy in the world.  We hardly ever even go out to eat, and now I know why!  It is EXPENSIVE to take a family to the movies and out to dinner!

So, that was Charlie’s first movie experience. Now onto something so good that I want to share with you.  It has been a little cold here in NC (even though this weekend is going to be in the 70’s) and I have been enjoying my wintertime treat: Russian tea.  I normally make it in December, but it is tough to find Tang around here!  I was so excited when I finally saw some on the grocery shelf.  I will warn you that I bought the store brand of Tang first, and it did not work.  I actually ended up throwing it away and remaking it with real Tang.  Don’t make that mistake.  Here’s the recipe:

Russian Tea

1/2 tsp. cloves

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup instant tea

1 large jar Tang

Another thing:  It is hard to find a large jar of Tang.  You may have to buy a small jar and use a little less of the other ingredients, or use 2 small jars and a little more of the other ingredients.  Now you mix all of this together, heat up some water, and add a couple of spoonfuls to a cup of that hot water.  I will admit, I usually use 4 spoonfuls!  It’s so good.  This recipe was my Mema’s, so I always think of her when I make it.

Russian Tea