Sunday, August 19, 2012

I Will Update My Weight At Some Point in This Post



Sunday, and I woke up at 8am this morning.  Better than 7:30am, I suppose, but still really early for a weekend.  I guess I'm just going to have to face the harsh reality that unless I stay up until three in the morning - I'm doomed to waking up early on a weekend.

But, because I'm floating on cloud nine right now - because the theme song for my house is still Kumbaya - It doesn't bother me a bit.  Much.  OK, a little, but not enough to cause me to be angry or upset.

And for those of you that read yesterday's post, and are wondering if things are still going great?  Yes.  Yes they are.   Not a single argument, disagreement, or meltdown occurred in my house AT ALL yesterday.

Today is Sunday, which is my weigh-in day.. even though I haven't had a blog post about my weight loss since last Sunday -  I will stick to updating my weight.  I'll get to that in a moment.  First, I want to write a little bit of a heart felt post this morning.  Something that's weighing on my mind - and being this is my weigh-in post, I should probably talk about it.

I'm not going to spill any details - but I want to make a public service announcement, of sorts.  There's a valid reason why all of a sudden I feel the need to share this message - but that's not important to this post.  What I want to press on everyone today is this: If you have children...

MAKE SURE, IF YOUR CHILD HAS A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT, THAT YOU CHECK IT - OFTEN!

And, by that, I don't mean visiting your child's page occasionally to see what they've been posting.  I mean actually logging in to their account, reading their messages, seeing who they are friends with.

Both of my older children have Facebook accounts. (And this PSA isn't related to my children or their actions whatsoever, by the way)  The number one rule is that they are NEVER allowed to change their password.  They are, also, not allowed to delete messages, and they know that I will get on there frequently to read everything they've been doing.  They either understand those rules, or buh-bye Facebook.  The email accounts that are linked to those Facebook pages are also linked to an email account I set up for myself - meaning all the emails that go to them come to me, also. Both of their profiles are also completely private, meaning that only friends can see any of the information and photos that are on their profile pages.

I make a point of getting on both of their Facebook pages every couple of days and moseying around.  I read all the messages they send to their friends, all the messages they get from friends, and check out the FB pages of people they've added to their friend's list.  They are not supposed to add anyone that they don't personally know - except I've given Peanut some leeway on this because she plays some of the FB games and needs people to help her out on those games.  If they do add someone that isn't a personal friend, then they have to be around the same age.  And there is also a great feature that's recently been added to FB that allows lists to be set up.  Meaning all those people that don't really know Peanut, and only plays the games with her, can only see a limited amount of information on her profile page. 

If you think that getting on your child's Facebook page and reading all of their messages is an invasion of their privacy - then buy them a journal, make them write in it, and then never read it.  That would be private information that they are sharing with no one.  Facebook, however, is NOT a journal.  It is a SOCIAL network, meaning they are sharing information with people.  You have to monitor what information is being shared.  Period.

I trust my children.  I really do.  I don't do what I do because of not trusting them - it's about not trusting the other millions of people that use Facebook. Children are young, naive, and think it's cool that they can chat and send messages to people across the internet.  They don't comprehend that there are people out there that pray on young children, wanting information, luring them out.  It's scary to think about - but 100% the truth.

So, if Facebook is so scary, then why do I even allow my children on there?  Well, because I'm a firm believer in honesty and trust.  I teach my children responsibility.  I talk to them about the dangers.  I explain why I keep such close tabs on their internet usage.  To me, that's much more beneficial than just shielding them away from all of it.  I want my kids to know the right ways to use a computer, and social networking sites.

Right now, the communication between my children and I is fantastic.  If they have a problem, a question, a curiosity - even if it's on a topic that is way above their years - they come to me.  They know they can speak to me openly.  I've told both of my children that if they chose to write in a journal - that is private.  That is something I will stay out of.  However, there is a clause that if they ever give me a reason to question their trust - then their privacy is off the table.  I will only EVER take to snooping around their room or personal effects if I feel that my kids are in danger, somehow. 

Being a monitor in your child's Facebook and internet usage is NOT a privacy issue.  It is a safety precaution.  And that's all I'm going to say about the matter.

Now that's over, let's get to my weigh-in...shall we?

So, last week, I had a gain.  I went up to 251lbs.  This week?  Well, I lost the weight I gained last week.  I am back down to 249.4lbs.  Meaning I lost the 1.6lbs I gained last week.  I'll take it.  But I really need to get further down in to the 240s next week.  I'm so tired of teeter tottering back and forth.

I will say, however, that when I put on a pair of shorts yesterday - that were just a little on the snug side a couple of weeks ago - were much baggier yesterday.  Being that I've been on my feet for 7 hours each day for three days this week, it apparently has done something.  I know I've felt a lot of soreness in my legs and back each night when I get home.  My body just isn't used to being up and moving about for such a long time - after a summer of not doing a whole lot.

The scale is, once again, back to moving in the right direction.  Now, everyone keep their fingers crossed that we say goodbye to 249 forever next week.

Till next time.  ;)
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7 comments:

  1. Congrats on a drop in weight! I know how great that feels.

    I'm curious about what you wrote about FB. I have the same rules for my son -- for the very same reasons. You said that this wasn't about your kids' FB pages, but clearly something happened that triggered this. Can you tell us any details?

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    1. Nothing bad happened, I just happened to hear about a mother who discovered her daughter had been communicating with complete strangers - and several older men. Thankfully, they caught it in time before anything bad happened - but I just wanted to get it out there that you just never know what's going on unless you're involved and seeing it.

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    2. Got it. Very sad when parents let their kids "wander" unprotected on social media sites.

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    3. It is sad, but a lot of it has to do with parents not really understanding social media very well. I know that some people think that as long as their child's profile is private - then there's no need to worry about anyone that their child doesn't know. It really has a lot to do with the technological age - and parents are going to have to learn more about the internet, how sites are used and monitored, and learning how to check for danger signs.

      The situation that caused this post is because of all of that - parents that really didn't understand how it all worked. And the child is very responsible, but didn't realize the danger that she was putting herself in, either. Stranger Danger is taught to our little kids - but it's imperative that the message be taught again when our kids move in to the teen years, too.

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  2. It's great to trust your kids but you must trust them to be normal. Good for you for being in charge at your house. There are too many homes where the kids are in charge where parents fall for the guilt trips and the "you don't trust me" line. Well done.

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    1. Yeah, that definitely doesn't fly at my house. Kids don't like the rules, then they can go without - that's my motto. LOL

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  3. On Facebook? Agreed and agreed. I do the same thing.

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