Are your children Smarter than you?

I look at my children and I realize one thing. These kids are smart as hell, and I better bring my A game because these children of mine are ever-evolving. They are building them bigger and smarter. My four year old needs to be Gilbert Arenas' attorney. She finds ways to talk herself out of almost anything. The logic is sound and she is very analytical. She is smart and precocious.

So how do you discipline smart and precocious? Very creatively. Case in point. She misbehaved at school and refused to do her schoolwork. She knows that the consequence for not doing work is a spanking. When asked what her punishment was she responded a spanking, but before the spanking she asked for a "reduced" sentence. I.E. less licks and make sure they aren't hard. Now mind you she did the negotiation after doing several really good things in succession (bargaining). Her dad and I still followed through with the punishment, but he was more lenient than he planned because she negotiated her own plea bargain. I am smart enough to know that traditional punishments are not gonna work.

My aunt says, you shouldn't have spanked her because she negotiated her on punishment. That is behavior to be applauded. I told her I have to keep my promises to my child because she will think she can talk her way out of anything ( see Gilbert Arenas). I don't know if I am doing the right thing, but I know I gotta mean what I say and say what I mean. To all you parents out there: Good luck. I know I am gonna need some.

How can I make it better? (blogtour post)

As a wife and mother, I spend lots of time trying to make life better for me, and my family. I often look for ways to maximize my time, and improve my quality of life. Unfortunately, the search can often be time consuming. (I can get lost in web surfing and surf for hours.) I have a few sites bookmarked, so I have some starting places. However, I like the idea of one-stop shopping. This is where http://www.makinglifebetter.com comes into play.

Making Life Better has the following:

• News and Offers
• Beauty and Style
• Home and Family
• Vitality and Wellness, and
• Tips

This is a wonderful website. I can find out what is on sale, what items have coupons, and what contests are open. I can even plan a menu around an item I found a coupon for in the news and offers section. Let's face it. It is a win win.

I am enjoying this site, and it has now moved to my bookmarks!. How do I keep finding all of these wonderful websites? Momcentral.com. At momcentral you can find book and product reviews by other moms. It is an awesome place, and it is bookmark worthy!!!!

Minimal is better. Repeat after me "Less is More."

How often have you gone to a function with your children and realized that you left your camera? Or if you remembered your camera, you left your phone? If you remembered the phone and the camera, but you forgot your laptop? How many of you manage to carry all three including the numerous bags and accessories that your children want/need for you to carry? If you fit in this category, a smartphone with a decent camera is probably what you need. In addition, if you are a mom and a multi-tasker, not just any smartphone will do. You need a smartphone with an excellent operating system, the flexibility to edit pictures, email, and to do all the things that a momma on the move needs to accomplish.

The Samsung Omnia fits the bill. It is only 199.00. If you are like me, inexpensive, efficient, and user-friendly are what we need in our gadgets. The Samsung Omnia has a 5 megapixel camera. This is excellent camera quality for a cell phone. Most cell phones only have 1.3 megapixels or less. Some of the newer phones have 2.0 megapixels. For the technology challenged, the larger the number of megapixels, the better the picture quality. So for people like me, who are on the go, and don't need anything else to think about bringing, the Samsung Omnia would be awesome.

For more information about the Samsung Omnia visit http://www.windowsmobile.com.