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Friday, November 21, 2014

Ghostbusters family Halloween costumes/cosplay—with all four Ghostbusters represented!

Who ya gonna call? All 4 of us in our #Ghostbusters #Halloween costumes. We had a little #foodallergy friendly party at Z's school and handed out little toys and safe treats.

Oh goodness, it's been quiet over here. I'm 31 weeks pregnant now, and have been in bed for two weeks with a horrid painful sinus infection I can't take any serious medications for (I'm doing Tylenol, hot/cold compresses, saline nasal rinses and the like, but obviously steroids are not an option and I don't want to mess with antibiotics while pregnant either).

BUT I wanted to pop in to belatedly share the fun we had a few weeks ago in our Ghostbusters Halloween costumes:

My 2 favorite #Ghostbusters: @whatmashekadid and Ms. Z.

I actually broke several sewing machine needles on these costumes, even though they aren't of course totally sewn from scratch. But I had to tighten up the size large flight suit for myself as I was swimming in it. I took the arms in by about two inches of width each, and the legs by about four inches each (they were HUGE)... and I accidentally sewed over a zipper in the process.

The elbow pads were also from scratch—a lot of Ghostbusters cosplayers buy volleyball or judo knee pads and spraypaint them gray, but I figured it'd be easier to just take some gray doubleknit I had lying around and make my own little pattern. A few more broken needles ensued:

Last-minute slapdash #Halloween costume #sewing: kid-sized improvised #Ghostbusters elbow pads.

But so worth it, right?

On her way to school in her complete #Ghostbusters Stantz #Halloween costume. I broke 2 needles #sewing those elbow pads last night but so worth it for the joy on her face. Containment unit is a vintage 1980s toy my aunt still had in her basement.

The containment unit she's holding is a vintage toy loaned from my cousin, by the way.

Anyway, these costumes were relatively simple and low on the actual sewing. We just bought:

We did MEAN to make some ghost traps (video tutorial here) and proton packs and PKE meters, but didn't manage to finish them in time... and apparently it didn't matter, as we got tons of compliments at Z's preschool Halloween party and while walking out and about in the neighborhood—a lot of people started signing the song when they saw us! (We didn't actually go up to any houses, since Z is so allergic to nuts, peanuts, eggs, dairy, and everything else found in most Halloween candy, but we had fun ogling all the cool displays.)

In case you're wondering how the heck my four-year-old daughter even decided she wanted to be a Ghostbuster for Halloween, it started when my husband when to a Ghostbusters 30th anniversary art exhibit at Gallery 1988 and came home with this Ghostbusters New York Service Map art print by Anthony Petrie:

She was really intrigued by it, so we let her watch a few episodes of The Real Ghostbusters on YouTube and she became a bit obsessed and decided to be a Ghostbuster for Halloween. (She also loved the movie, but don't think I will let her watch it again—it has some rather risqué scenes and a good bit of swearing).

My sewing machine is in the repair shop now, but when she comes back I have some doll sewing plans (Z wants a curly-haired brown-skinned mermaid fairy superhero doll for Christmas, and no such thing actually exists in any store), and I have an almost-complete baby sweater to show as well!

OK, back to bed for me!

**Disclosure: Actions you take from hyperlinks within this blog post may yield commissions for polkadotoverload.com (quite likely to be spent on yarn or fabric).

21 comments:

  1. Super cute! I love the costumes.

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  2. I have been predisposed to winter sinus infections for years due to all the swimming I do. Lately, I have had terrific success using something called thieves oil. You can make your own or buy it pre-blended. It's a mix of cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, and a few other essential oils. I put a few drops in a neti pot with salt. Hope that helps!

    http://www.natural-aromatherapy-benefits.com/Thieves-Oil.html

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    1. http://www.natural-aromatherapy-benefits.com/thievesoilrecipe.html

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    2. Hey - while this is an awesome potion, I recommend just confirming with a couple of sources that none of those oils (cloves, specifically) may be contraindicated in pregnancy.

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    3. Don't worry, I always check things like that with my midwife! :)

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    4. SO helpful to know—I looked into this and swimming in chlorinated pools sounds like I need to be careful. I've bought some nose plugs and will look into what I can safely put into my sinus rinse (I have a Nasopure, similar to Neti Pot).

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  3. I completely understand your desire to remain antibiotic free while pregnant. If you reach a point where antibiotics are needed, there is an option with less exposure for the baby. My DO prescribed an antibiotic mixed in a nasal saline rinse which worked wonders for me. Limited systemic exposure to the antibiotic since you are not ingesting it

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    1. Thanks for the tip! My main worry about antibiotics is that my daughter's allergist says that taking antibiotics while pregnant might further tip the scales for baby to have the same kind of multiple food allergies, eczema and asthma my older child does, but I didn't know that in a nasal rinse might even be an option—will ask the ENT about it.

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  4. What a fab set of Halloween costumes. You did a fantastic job scaling yours down. I love your blog and that you share your beautiful family with us in the blogosphere. Best wishes in the coming weeks for the safe delivery of your child. :)

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  5. Awesome. Just awesome. And you are looking fab! I can't believe you are 31 weeks already.

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    1. Wow, neither can I. Though my swollen ankles won't let me forget it! :)

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  6. OK, y'all are adorable! I love how you're accommodating the bump in the costume! Z sure is growing up - and she's a very lovely girl.

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  7. You guys look amazing! What great costumes! Z looks so happy in her costume!!! Here's hoping you feel better soon!

    PS- now I kinda want a mermaid fairy super hero doll!

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    1. I am going to make the pattern a free PDF... it is just a super simple rag doll that Z designed with my help! :)

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  8. Most excellent costumes! All the best for baby Venkman! I could have sworn I had toy-reviewed a brown mermaid soft doll, but if I did, it was a sample. And now you will get sucked into the Waldorf doll land with special needles and just the right stuffing...baby flashback! (I was sewing an asian fireman soft friend). Remember: no capes!

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    1. I know, I told her no capes because of the Incredibles but she really wants her superhero doll to have a cape. It will have to be removable so as to avoid dangerous situations!

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  9. I love this idea, especially as a family costume. I hope you get your machine back soon!

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    1. It'll be back with me this Sunday, and in the meantime a friend lent me her lovely Featherweight.

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  10. So this is just about the cutest halloween anything on the internets right now! I followed your progress on Flickr, and basically: So good. So, so good.

    My son LOVES the Ghostbusters theme song and can be heard singing to himself "who ya gonna call ... ?"

    Can't wait to see the doll!!

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