Last week our regular dentist said it was time to get an orthodontist to take a look at our daughter's teeth. We thought we'd avoid this - last year they said her teeth looked great and she probably wouldn't need them. One year later, it is now probable the other way.

I knew I should have made a retainer out of aluminum foil and a parts of plastic soda bottle.

So we are headed to the orthodontist for a consult. The ever hyper parent, I've been researching local orthodontists - locations, certifications and prices. I found one that came highly recommended and has an office close by with great dentists.

I grew up wearing clunky metal things that seemed to grate the inside of my mouth and nearly tangle up anytime I kissed a boy with braces. I'd seen those Invisialign braces and I knew they made clear braces so I figured 20 years later that my daughter's experience would be better than mine.

Clear is just the start of them it seems! You can do the brackets in any color - even each individual bracket a different color. The image up top is one I was playing with randomly with this tool called Brace Painter. You can go all one color, even/odd, upper vs lower or just random with 30 colors.

I feel cheated! My heavy metal adolescence could have been a rose colored and blue tinted sensation.

Based on what these are going to cost, perhaps I should just make her get them in GREEN since that's what this is yanking out of our bank account.

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My daughter is skinny enough now that I'm wondering about protein shakes.

The kid is still eating but she has just grown a lot and gotten some seriously long legs. We eat healthy and she's a great eater of fruits and veggies. Skim milk, low fat soy milk, low-fat pudding, 2% cheeses, fruits and veggies, 100 calorie packs of snacks, etc are all a regular part of her diet.

Today she had a doughnut and strawberries for breakfast - we've been adding doughnuts and croissants to up her calories. For lunch, cheese quesadilla with sour cream and half a cookie. So it isn't like the child isn't eating at all. She's just growing and has a super fast metabolism.

So I'm considering something like whey protein for her, she's 10 now I don't know if pediasure would have much of a benefit. Anyone have any experience with this? Tips or suggestions? I've been told to make sure the iron content is low because that can make children ill if they have too high a level. Should I even be considering this?

The rumor is true - Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are having twins. The duo for the duo will bring their total up to six children.

The twins will be the new kids in the block in the group of Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh. Shiloh was the first biological child of the pair while Maddox, Pax and Zahara were adopted by Jolie on her own and later by Pitt.

Humorously it was Jack Black who spilled the beans in an interview on NBC's Today show, joking with reporter Natalie Morales that Jolie would "have as many as [the] Brady Bunch when you have these."

Oops but the news wasn't a shock as it has been alluded to all over the place - not to mention the huge flowing dresses Jolie has been wearing around. I'm sure they are super comfy for pregnancy in general but the ones she has on were made for a really expanding belly.

They seem to be very involved parents but I'd personally need a rolodex of babysitters to parent six kids, I'm just not wired to do that nor is my husband!

My daughter is in such a growth spurt. She's taller and lankier - some people who don't see her regularly don't even recognize her. After swimming this afternoon, she went to sleep about 6pm and still hasn't woken up.

We went shopping at Justice for some shorts and skirts. I'm relatively comfortable with that store although any place that sells the same article of clothing that can range from size XXS for like six to seven year old girls to XXL for 14 to 16 year old young ladies worries me some. I mean a tank top sure but how much fashion really translates 100% in terms of the actual look of the garment from 2nd grade to 12th in terms of what is really current?

I digress ... Since she is down a size from last year but taller, it was a mess. None of the regular shorts fit her the way either of us wanted. Shorts, skorts and skirts in our house must at least be as long as the tip of her fingers when her arms are by their side. Some were too short, the slims just fit oddly but most just were too big in the waist.

We found a pair of short leggings, a knit drawstring skort and two knit drawstring shorts - notice a trend here? All knit/stretchy things and ones that the waist can be adjusted on.

She adores Justice but it just doesn't really work for her. Thank goodness the Gap and Old Navy have waist adjustable shorts because that is our next stop. That is when she wakes up next!

We are big on doing extra school work during breaks and holidays plus having additional info on topics that our daughter may struggle with in school. I don't want to overload by child so a quick worksheet is great to keep them fresh or get more work on problem areas.

About three years ago I found a great site that I've more than gotten my money from, edhelper.com. I decided to check it out after seeing it on a handout from a teacher once. I've stopped buying workbooks because this is a much better way to work on specific skills whenever I need them. For $20 or $40 to access the site, it is a better deal overall because it is like having a custom workbook on every topic you can find - math, reading, writing, social studies, science, critical thinking and even test prep. You can start with kids before kindergarten and use it all the way through to middle school.

I fell in love with it first uploading spelling words for custom spelling activities. Then I delved into the math and social studies parts. You can completely customize any math and language based printout based on a huge number of options. For science and social studies, you can pick based on reading and grade level.

You can select worksheets and packages already done based on the level your child is at or you can tweak things as much as you want - that flexibility is what really sold me on the site.

I've built great worksheets based on the exact things my daughter needed to work on. Take math, you can just print out a daily worksheet review based on the grade and part of the year (example, third grade, last quarter) or you can pick and choose selections by specific math topic - addition, rounding, money, fractions, multiplication, division, probability, graphing and more. Many of the topics have sub-topics for example:

Addition and Subtraction
2-Digit Addition
2-Digit Subtraction
2-Digit Addition and Subtraction
3-Digit Addition
3-Digit Subtraction
3-Digit Addition and Subtraction
Addition (complete unit)
Subtraction (complete unit)

You can play with the site basics for free so give it a whirl.

My daughter is a slow starter in the morning. Getting her out of bed in the morning is a major excavation project. She's been late to school so often this year that we got a note from the school.

We've backed up her bedtime, voluntarily even.

I get her up earlier. I've done the super nice warm cajoling. I've done the fierce barking. I've done both in the same morning. We've tried grounding if she's problematic in the morning. We've gone positive giving her points for her points chart for getting out the door early.

We don't do showers or baths in the morning unless necessary. She eats a simple breakfast so I'm not wasting time cooking. I couldn't cook if I wanted because I have to keep her on track.

She's 10, I'm not going to dress her and brush her hair. I have actually sent her to school with unbrushed hair and teeth because I refuse to allow her to be late. My next step is to set up a plan with the school to bring her to school in her PJs with her clothes in a bag. Let her change in the bathroom once and I think it might not happen again!

What do you do to get your kids rolling in the morning? Because I'll take any suggestion!