Saturday, August 22, 2009

the facebook race

many of you have seen this picture
because we are friends on FACEBOOK. i started facebook to chat and share pictures with friends and relatives and even find a few friends that i'd lost contact with. i thought i'd just keep it to a few people. then the "friend requests" start coming in. now, i understand that facebook suggests friends that you might possibly know and it's fun to see people and their families and check out what's going on in their world. however, i don't get requesting "friends" who one has never even spoken to and has no connection with. i don't really want to share pictures of my kids with strangers. i've had several requests from people i know i've never seen before because they live in a different country. but the one that tops it off is a request i recently received from a girl i went to high school with who, from all accounts, despised me. i didn't know her, never said anything mean to her, but she found some reason to strongly dislike me and facebook has, i assume, suggested that she befriend me. when i mentioned the girl's name to erin he said something along the lines of "the one who hated you". yep, you're not the only one i've heard that from. for many, facebook seems like a friend race. one of my fb friends (who, by the way, i really like and think is hilarious) recently announced they had reached 1000 friends. 1000 friends? i can't even keep my own kids straight let alone remember 1000 names of people i don't regularly see. i have "ignored" requests from people i don't know and they sent me another. usually after the second request i confirm them IF the look even vaguely familiar. i'm thinking maybe i will start a new fb account and put pictures of my family on that one and then accept every tom dick and harry that requests me as a friend on my current one. then if someone i've never met sends me a friend request i can send them a message back that says: "please send request to other account. i don't accept strangers as friends on this one. :)"
p.s. have you heard about people who have creditors request them as fb friends and then harass them about their over due accounts? that right there tells me to be weary of never-before-seen-friends. you never know what their intent is. they could be predators. and yes, i do admit i'm a bit paranoid.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

lincoln's first day at preschool

Lincoln really wanted to go to school this year. we settled for preschool at the Busy Bee Academy, which I've heard nothing but rave reviews for.
I thought a lot about whether I should put Lincoln in kindergarten this year. I feel he is ready, but thought there would be advantages to having him start next year.
*he would be the oldest instead of the youngest
*there is research showing that it's better for the child if they start kindergarten at age 6 instead of 5
*I assume he will want to date and drive- it would be nice for him to start these things with his classmates
*it seems logical to graduate HS and then leave for a mission, rather than wait a year and have that time to start college or get a job or meet a girl...and then leave
*Lincoln and Landon are just over a year apart in age; it makes sense that they should be a year apart in school
*I'm not ready to let go of my little boy! but don't worry, this last one played very little part in our decision.