Names vs Nicknames, Part 2

So after my previous blog about names vs. nicknames, here's the conversation that happened on Facebook (edited, slightly, to protect the innocent...)

Friend B:  I like that you call them by nicknames on the blog, I think it's cute!

• • June 26 at 8:47am · Unlike · 2
  • Friend A:   It's your blog. Do what you want. If she wants to start a blog where she calls your kids by their names, that's on her.
  • June 26 at 9:42am · Unlike · 2
  • Friend J: Totally your call--I have seen it done both ways. Personally, I love "The Boy," "The Girl," and "Mr. Ranch" 

    June 26 at 11:31am · Unlike · 1
• Mr. Ranch:   I think my name sounds like a salad dressing. Can I get a new one?

  June 26 at 1:24pm · Like · 1
• Grandude:  I kinda like the boy, girl, Mr. & Mrs. Ranch. Tell Mr. Ranch he can either be Mr. Ranch or the salad.

  June 26 at 1:32pm · Like
• Me:  Who would you like to be, Mr. Ranch?

  June 26 at 1:59pm · Like
• Mr. Ranch: Inigo Montoya

  June 26 at 2:03pm · Unlike · 3
• Friend C: Those of us that do know you know their names so I always insert their names when I read your posts. Keep using the nicknames.

  June 26 at 2:23pm · Unlike · 1
• Me: Nice, Mr Ranch....

  June 26 at 2:42pm · Like
• Friend G: I call my boys dawg all the time. Like T-Dawg. I also try not to use names online if I can help it for the same reasons as you listed. Plus they're just kids - who knows what implications there will be to what we posted now 20 years from now? It may seem obvious to us/them in 20 years that we never should have even used any kind of social media at all and they won't appreciate that we've splattered the pictures all over the place without their consent.

  June 27 at 12:11pm · Unlike · 1
• Friend G: Mr Ranch, every time you get one of those nametags that says, "Hello, my name is..." you know how to fill it out! Eventually that nickname will stick. 

  June 27 at 12:11pm · Unlike · 2

When we discussed this issue as a family a few days ago, The Girl said she would like to be called "Princess Sparkle Pony", but that is too many words to type every time.  It looks like the consensus is that Mr Ranch is now Inigo Montoya (I shall abbreviate it as "IM", because, like I said before, I'm not that into typing long names) and the kids are still The Girl and The Boy.  Or perhaps Mr. Ranch will now be "The Salad"...we'll see.

Names vs. Nicknames....Part I?

When I started blogging about a year ago, I made a very conscious decision to not use my husband or kids' names for a lot of reasons.  One reason was that even though I don't believe that a lot of strangers are reading this blog, it is just "out there", there is the potential for people who I don't know to read it. It is difficult to tell for sure on the Blogger data sheet (at least for me), but it does look like at least a couple times someone has come to the blog after a Google search.  I don't need or want strangers to be able to put my kids names and faces with our address and other info.  Of course, I haven't given out our address or anything personal on purpose, but I'm pretty sure that anyone who wants to figure out who I am and where I am could figure it out.  I mean, Blogger is linked to Google and it is pretty clear on Google who I am...Or maybe I just watch too many detective shows on tv.

Recently I had lunch with my former secretary who  read me the "riot act" the other day about "only" calling the kids "The Boy" and "The Girl"...saying, "they have names!".  I pointed out that I do use their names in real life and on Facebook, just not on the blog.  She was not convinced and kept on me to use real names, not nicknames.

Added to that is the fact that when I start writing it is sometimes hard to remember not to use their names...I have gone back to edit and proof and removed names sometimes.  But maybe that is because I'm getting old...

So I'm torn...do I have a "big reveal" and tell you all the family's names (and then use them) or do I try to keep a minimal level of "privacy" and continue with the nicknames?  Thoughts?  Advice from anyone who has been doing this longer than me?