The Elvis Story

Monday

Nov032014

There's something magical about Full House. It has broken through Alexis' Disney-encrusted heart and nuzzled itself into a very special place. She has watched every single episode possible, in no small part thanks to reruns constantly playing on cable.

That's why she's obsessed with Elvis.

Uncle Jesse loves Elvis. Therefore, she must love Elvis.

One weekend we were driving to the outlet mall when Alexis asked to listen to some music by Elvis. Thanks to the joy that is Amazon Prime, I was able to stream an album for free. It was during All Shook Up that I turned to Alexis and joked, "You should just be Elvis for Halloween."

"YES, I SHOULD!" she yelled out. "And Mila can be my guitar!"

It was a most excellent idea. It occurred to her early enough for me to be able to hunt down a guitar costume on ebay for Mila, and there was plenty of time to find an Elvis costume.

HOORAY FOR NOT HAVING TO MAKE ANYTHING!

Nothing that seems easy is every actually easy, though. I ended up buying two guitar costumes because the first one was too big. Then I couldn't find an Elvis costume that Alexis thought was suitable. We searched every store everywhere and she hated ALL OF THEM. None of them fit, they were ugly, and "MOM, THAT'S A BOY COSTUME."

Duh.

I still don't know where the kid got all of this gender "conforming" nonsense, but the fact that there was a little boy on the costume on the package was enough for Alexis to declare that she hated all things Elvis costume-ish. I tried to convince her that I could make a few alterations to make the costume fit her a little better, but she was having none of my logic.

So I tricked her.

I'm confessing to it in part so that I can make it very clear to a certain 8 year-old who sometimes reads this space that she should listen to her mother because MOM IS ALWAYS RIGHT ABOUT THESE THINGS. AHEM.

Always right. Always.

One day the girls and I did a round at the mall where I had Alexis try on one of the "boy" Elvis costumes. She declared it awful and terrible and not at all OK and started begging to just be Elsa for Halloween "like everyone else."

Seriously. She said that.

I rolled my eyes at her drama and then promptly returned to the mall without her the next day. I marched in and bought the exact same Elvis costume she had tried on the day before. Then I destroyed the evidence by taking it out of the packaging. I placed it on the kitchen table and then declared, "Look! Alexis! I found a girl Elvis costume!"

She was all sorts of excited and immediately ran to try it on. It was a little big in the legs and waist, but I told her that was no big deal. I could throw it on the sewing machine for a few minutes and make it fit perfectly.

She was cool with that answer.

And even cooler with the final result.