At the cinema

Ice cream in the food court

Scootering around at the mall

We don't watch a lot of TV or movies.  It's our stage in life, and I'm okay with that.  If we do get that chance, I'm perfectly happy watching movies at home.  Controlled environments: cheap beverages and snacks,  pause, fast forward, volume control, bathroom breaks, kid interruptions - all to suit our needs.

My American friend invited us to the movies today.  I had to think a long time before I came up with the last time I went to the movies: 2011.  Same friend, girls night out.  It was great time and we laughed a lot.  Since then, prices have gone up.  I just closed my eyes and handed over my card, and later noticed my "discount" price was 63 TL (that's only $21 come to think of it - but 63 is 63 in lire - and lire is what I make, lire - and it kind of blew me away at the time).  

I had brought Teoman and his Babanne to watch "The Good Dinosaur" - I had watched the previews online and it seemed like a great Pixar film/animation - and in my excitement at the idea of taking them out, seeing a film, one last fling before the baby - I don't think I made a good judgement.  In fact, I've always been annoyed with parents that bring children to the theater for animated films.  The theater is dark, the sound is intense, and because of the nature of a "good" film - there's bad guys, scary events, and way too much drama for a kid.  I should have known better with Teoman as well - we watched How to Train Your Dragon 2 at home once and he cried when the father was killed.  Not because he necessarily understood that the father was killed - but because all the characters in the film had tears in their eyes - and he teared up right away asking "Why is everyone so sad?"

I should have stuck with my Paw Patrol and Bubble Guppies - no bad guys, no bad events - just learning programs: problems with solutions.

Teoman was ready to leave during the previews.  Then they stuck in an animated short film that was too scary for his age, and so by the time the movie started - every time there is even the slightest suspenseful moment (the egg hatching), he would shake or jump.  He was ready to leave, and cried - I  tried to keep him a little bit more, in hopes he could see it wasn't scary - but when the Baba got washed down the river - that was it, he was done.  "Where's the Baba?"

Um... swimming.  They'll find him later.

So we hung out in the lobby for a while and Teoman scootered happily around.  And pretty soon Mina joint us as well.  She may have stuck it out - but they are both almost four, and prefer each others company over movie - so we headed out and had some ice cream.

Should done that from the beginning.