Cerberus on Valentine's Day

I spent Wednesday night (the 13th) in a really bad mood. I had wanted the boys to make the valentines for their classmates, but ended up just printing some off for them because not only were we trying to get valentines ready, but I was also wresting with Cerberus, the three-headed dog guardian of the Underworld. Marcus had chosen to do a little report on Cerberus for Greek Mythology Day (which ended up being on the 14th), and his teacher had encouraged the kids to come in costume. I debated pulling out all the stops and trying to sew some kind of hooded cloak that we could attach two extra heads to, etc. (make it his Halloween costume), but decided that this was Marcus's school project, so he should do more of the work. We opted for paper mache dog heads. Marcus did a good job on that part, but my next thought was that we'd just hot-glue the heads to one of Marcus's MANY baseball caps, but he was violently opposed to damaging any hat. So that left us wrestling with tape. Combine that with my total lack of ability to create anything that looks remotely like an animal, and I was cursing Cerberus's name. Luckily, Guy came home from Scouts with a clearer head and responded appropriately when I shoved the project into his arms and raised my white flag of surrender. Guy and Marcus ended up using a wire hanger to circle the hat (inside the hat band) then come out either side to attach to the heads.

So, here is a picture of Cerberus (er, Marcus) on his way to school the next morning. I really am glad that they do these kinds of projects (really, I actually am) and the kids had a great time. Marcus came home with stories of his friend who was Hades and wore a red wig, his friend, Zeus in a white wig. Everyone's favorite, though was Medusa, who'd managed to weave lots of rubber snakes into her hair. When we were making the costume, Marcus commented that he was excited to see the kid who'd chosen to be Charon, the skeletal boatman who ferries souls across the river Styx, because he wanted to chase him and say he was playing fetch with the bones. (For those who care, I can't find that Charon was a skeleton--he's most often called an old man--but that was the picture Marcus had gotten in his head and he was having fun with it)

Oh, I'm still not off the hook for a Halloween costume. Marcus has decide that he wants to the the Chimera. Luckily, October is still a ways off.

(An interesting fact about Cerberus that I learned while helping Marcus: In some stories, the dog can be placated with cake. Maybe a 3-headed dog can be a kindred spirit after all.)