Perry the Platypus

When my now-eight-year-old decided (on short notice) that he wanted to be a certain Disney character for Hallowe'en, I discovered that the show was too new and I would have to make the costume.

I am finally getting around to posting pictures. He paid me the ultimate compliment by asking if he can wear the costume next year, too. I did not bring up the fact that his parents are giants and the likelihood of it fitting a year from now is slim.

So here is "T" as Perry the Platypus. As you can see, all those years of Method acting classes have really paid off.

The duckbill was the hardest. It took a lot of engineering and I tried to use the lightest materials possible. My downfall, however, was being short on time. I used a glue gun to stick the felt to the cardboard. I used a LOT of glue. And that stuff is heavy. Loyal to then end, my little guy insisted on wearing the bill despite its ungainly nature.

To a certain reader named "Swampy": will you contact me? I have more pictures for you and some compliments to drop in your pocket.

Here's my info: queenofthefive (at) gmail (dot) com.

Labor of love

My recent escapade to create a costume for my seven-year-old has really started me thinking. Thanks to two fellow bloggers, Shelli and Akaemi (both of whom live on my street... I really need to get out more,) I was able to finish nearly everyone's costume in time for the Hallowe'en frivolities.

I completed the Perry the Platypus costume just in time for our church Hallowe'en party. And since I'm a glutton for punishment, and a sucker for my five-year-old's long dark eyelashes, I agreed to make a Ferb costume (another character from Phineas and Ferb.) One more trip to the fabric store. And more head-banging on the steering wheel, "What am I THINKING??? I don't have time or brain power for this!!!" I've been using Akaemi's sewing machine, which is missing its regular sewing foot (imagine that it holds the fabric against the machine) so I've used the zipper foot (yeah, meant for zippers!) instead. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Then I discover that the white thread I was planning to use was not the right kind. Shelli lends me this MASSIVE spool of white thread for people who know what they are doing. Sadly, I do not, and the little machine did not have a place for the spool. So I MacGyvered a contraption on top of the machine using parts from a broken-down Jelly Belly dispenser. My baby brother would be proud-- he's going to be a mechanical engineer when he grows up.

I finished the Ferb costume a few hours before dark. Then, of course, to complete the entourage, I HAD to make sure that Ferb's brother, Phineas, was well-represented. AAARGH! This time it was fanatical desperation. I cut out strips of orange fabric and basted (wanna-be stitched) the strips onto a white shirt. Combine it with a pair of jeans and Ta-DAA! Hey, the kid is two years old. He doesn't care.

My only regret is that I did not finish my husband's costume in time. He was going to wear a lab coat and be Perry's nemesis Dr. Doofenshmirtz. But I AM NOT A SUPERHERO and I did not get it done in time. Some day I will learn.

Dishwasher, meet Platypus

We recently had to buy a new dishwasher. This was due to a grim diagnosis given by the repair man (the appliance was, after all, fifteen years old.) We also needed to get rid of it because it was creating a puddle on the floor below it. My escapade to buy the thing is chronicled in an earlier post.

Anyway, our five-year-old took a shine to our brand new dishwasher, and it has become his not-so-imaginary friend. He talks to it, sometimes from across the room. He checks to make sure it is closed properly. And he invites it to dance with him. It doesn't seem to matter that the dishwasher never talks back, except when it delivers delightfully clean dishes.

Flash forward to Hallowe'en. My seven-year-old, for a long time, wanted to be Yoda this year. I went online to find a budget-friendly costume but didn't actually order one yet, which was a good call. About a week ago he changed his mind and declared that he wanted to be Perry the Platypus from the Disney show Phineas and Ferb. Why a platypus? He may be a cross-eyed teal colored lump some of the time but he's also a spy-- a semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal of action. Brown fedora and everything.

Once again I went online, only to discover that the show is too new to have an established line of costumes. Get with it, Disney! Usually you are so on top of things. I hit the fabric store and decided to make a teal-colored sweatsuit. The challenge? To find some creative way to attach a long, flat tail in such a way that he won't get a wedgie when he sits down. So that's my current project of desperation. I stayed up until 12:30 this morning in hopes of sewing enough of the costume that I could have him try the costume on, then I would hem the pants and sleeves while he was at school. But my two-year-old had other plans.

My alarm did not go off. Or should I say, the time was changed. By tiny fingers, I believe. I woke with a start and saw that it was too late to do any costume work before school. Aargggh! I stayed up late for nothing!!! As I frantically packed lunches and prepared breakfast and dressed children I heard my five-year-old say, from the next room,

"Watch out for the platypus, Mr. Dishwasher."