Differences

It is often hard to believe that two children born and raised by the same parents could behave so differently.  My children looked very similar as toddlers.  Both Jackson and Scout had "slightly" larger than normal heads (a Rybarczyk family trait that I, personally, LOVE), bright blue eyes (Wade claims came from him) and golden blonde curly hair.  That is where their similarities came to a SCREECHING halt.   Jackson is essentially an "easy" child to parent.  He is very well behaved, quiet and can entertain himself.  I will also add that Jackson is messy (a trait that I am convinced comes from Wade) and highly anxious.   Now, Scout is a very different story.  She is a "challenging" child to parent.  Scout is not well behaved, quiet, or entertained by her toys.  In fact, if Scout is EVER quiet or entertaining herself something VERY bad is happening in our home.

So, why all the talk about differences.  On our last Friday of summer vacation, I had the "crazy" idea to take three children Jackson, Scout and Tucker (my nephew) to Splashtown (don't worry, I wouldn't embark on such a perilous journey without a little help from Starbucks). At Splashtown the differences between Jackson and Scout were blinding.  Jackson wanted to know where I was at every moment, despite my best attempts to keep he and his cousin informed.  Also, Jackson was fearful of some of the water rides. And, to be honest, I see nothing wrong with a healthy sense of fear.  But, I worry when Jackson's fears reduce him to tears.  I also worry when a child like Scout has NO fear.  Scout wanted nothing to do with me at Splashtown.  She would try to "run" away every chance she got and because Scout is small she could maneuver through the crowds better than I.  You may be asking yourself where Scout was headed when she was running away?  Scout was insistent that she could ride the Tornado.  A water slide that was funnel shaped, about a mile off the ground and appeared to make adults pee their pants with fear.  

I guess the bottom line is that I would like Jackson and Scout to be less different. Jackson could really use some of Scout's no fear attitude, and Scout really use some of Jackson's overly cautious demeanor.  

(I tried REALLY hard to take pictures of the three kids at Splashtown, but I firmly believe that I would need professional photography equipment comparable to that of National Geographic to photograph Scout running around Splashtown; however, I do have a few pictures from the cottage this weekend.)

Jackson "goofing" around in the kayak

Finally,  a photo of Scout without a lollipop in her mouth

Mommy & Scout before our kayak voyage

Iridescent

"Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss... But every once in a while you find someone who's iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare."
~From the book, "Flipped" by Wendelin Van Draanen

So, unfortunately, as a middle school teacher my quotes or references to text are limited to juvenile literature.  However,  the quote still fits Scout.  As her personality continues to develop, I grow to love her more each day.  Whether she is standing on a kick board in the water "pretending to surf," spontaneously kissing a friend's "boo boo" or stripping off her clothes and running around a birthday party naked, Scout is truly iridescent; she shines.  

"Arrr, I'm a Pirate!"

Aboard the HMS Bounty-Belfast, ME

Ever since our trip to LegoLand last month, Scout has been fascinated with pirates.  It all started innocently enough with the LegoLand show "Battle for Brickbeard's Bounty." At first, I was convinced that Scout would not even sit through this show, so imagine my surprise when she sat so quietly with her eyes fixated on Brickbeard and Sawtooth, the shark.  Upon our return home, Scout was still talking about pirates (and Sawtooth), so my mother sent us a link to a youTube video of the show.  Scout has watch that video everyday for over a month.  But that's not all...she calls herself a pirate, talks like a pirate, and she even smells like a pirate(sometimes)!  And when she's not the pirate, her dolls are pirates.   

So, it was quite fortuitous that a replica of the HMS Bounty (a vessel used in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) was going to be docked in Belfast while we were visiting Searsport this weekend.  Scout got to tour a "pirate" ship, and get her picture taken with a "pirate."  Secretly, I was hoping that they would invite her to join their crew, sadly, they did not.

Batten down the hatches and shiver me timbers,  I'm raising a pirate. Yikes!

Breaking My Heart...

There are very few things that can break my heart.  Before I had children, I was a sucker for a sappy commercial or news story about a dog.  In fact, one day when I was on my way to work, I heard a news story about a dog that was stranded on the roof of a house in a flood zone.  I'll admit it; I cried the rest of the trip into work.  However,  these days, one sure way to break my heart is the sound of Scout's cry.  Over the past week, Scout has reverted back to her nightly routine of crying at bedtime.  This cry brings on immediate stress and a tug at my heart to comfort her.   Wade, who can at times be the more rational parent, has been reminding me that we need to stay strong and not take her out of her bed.  However, when your child is crying for Momma it is truly heart breaking.  

Have you met Scout(zilla)?

Well, the answer to this question is simple.  If you were traveling anywhere on the east coast last week, you probably met Scout (aka Scoutzilla).  Scout made fast friends with most strangers she met... elderly women gave her stuffed animals, she scored *FREE* food on an airplane, and a flight attendant greeted her by name (and gave her a high-five) outside of the airport.   If you don't know Scout you can be easily charmed by her blue eyes, white blond hair and vibrant personality.  She can even charm a smile out of a TSA officer.  (Unfortunately, as a result of my poor parenting skills she told everyone that her name was Scoutzilla, oops.)  

This summer Scout took her third trip to Florida.  And, this trip, by far, was her best.  Long gone are the days of Scout and I hiding in an airplane bathroom because I am too embarrassed to show my face on the plane.  Scout successfully endured the steamy, daily Florida temperatures of 95+ degrees with a smile.  She stayed in her stroller at LegoLand and didn't try to jump off of any rides. And, most importantly, to her mommy and nana, she was well behaved during our shopping trips.   Scout ROCKED Florida!  

Scout & Jackson at the entrance to LegoLand

Sitting in her stroller 

Scout on the Carousel with Nana & Jackson

Scout sharing a giggle with Nana

So, have you met Scout?

Boudreau + Rybarczyk= Water Lover

Well, summer vacation is underway.  BS (Before Scout) summer meant lounging on the beach, collecting sea glass and playing in the water at the camp.  AS (After Scout), well, let's just say trips to the beach or camp have not been so much fun.  As stated numerous times before, Scout is extremely active and adding water to Scout's activity level equaled a nervous, cranky and (some might say) crazy mother.  However, something is different this year.  Scout is entertained by the water.  She will sit and play in the water with her water toys (almost) independently.    I guess it was bound to happen.  Rybarczyk, my last name, means "fisherman" and Boudreau, Wade's last name, means "waters edge."  Together, we have created the cutest little water lover...

Playing with sand toys

"Swimming"

And, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't include a photo of Jackson

                                                       
And, it wouldn't really be a blog post about Scout if there wasn't some type of "comical" event that happened.  So, here it is...


Scout has been doing so well with her potty training.  She has been primarily wearing underwear, so I let her go to the beach in a swimsuit without a swim diaper.  After she had been playing peacefully on the beach, she let me know that she had to poop.   On the long, hilly and exhausting journey up to the camp, Scout pooped.  By the time we reached the camp, and I tried to take off the swimsuit, poop was everywhere.  At this point, I was overwhelmed by poo.  Seeing my frustration (fear? panic?), Scout starts repeating, "God Dammit, God Dammit"  Enter my friend Stacy, who saved my life even though she was laughing at me...

Do you know where your cell phone is?

Usually, I do.  However, I have a bad reputation of not responding to people as quickly as they may like me to (um hum, you know who you ALL are...).


Well, last night I went to bed with my cell phone on my night stand.  And, this morning, I woke up with my cell phone on my night stand.  But, after waking up this morning, things got a little busy.  Scout had pooped (surprise, surprise), Pilot had puked, and Jackson had to get ready for swim lessons.  Just your typical morning.  When things were more settled, I went to retrieve my cell phone from the night stand, and it was not there.  I searched the bed, the floor and the closet.  I searched Scout's room, Jackson's room  and the sitting room.  Finally, I decided to try my luck and ask Scout where she had put "mommy's phone".   In my mind, I thought that she would respond, "I dunno." But, imagine my surprise when her little fingers took mine, and she led me upstairs to Jackson's room.  Imagine my even greater surprise when she stood in front of Jackson's TV/VCR combo and pointed to the slot for the video cassette.  And, sure as shit (shit, unfortunately has been on my mind a lot lately) there was my phone sitting on top of a cassette inside the VCR.  


What can I say? That's life with Scout...