My son who just started 2nd grade is 7 years 10 months. He misses our state's cutoff by 1 month.

There's a 20 month age difference between my 1st and 2nd children and also between my 2nd and 3rd children. #1 was a very late talker, yet it amazed me what all he could understand. That age gap is challenging regardless of nursing status, in my experience, but nursing is a great tool to have in your box to be able to deal with the challenges. My 2nd son weaned at 18 months while I was pregnant with #3, and there were countless times after the baby was born when I wished I could have nursed the toddler to sleep or nursed him through an illness!

I tandem nursed my first two kids for 15 months, at which point the older child weaned on his own. The boys are 20 months apart. I highly recommend the book Adventures in Tandem Nursing by Hilary Flower and also the information found at http://www.kellymom.com/bf/tandem/index.html First off, I found tandem nursing to be a lot easier than nursing through pregnancy discomfort. Not always easy, but definitely easier. My biggest piece of advice is to not feel bad about setting limits on the amount that your toddler nurses. He may very well want to nurse a lot more often once the baby is here and your milk returns. For me, nursing both kids on demand made me feel overwhelmed, resentful, and wanting to wean both of them on the spot. Nursing the baby on demand and limiting the toddler to the handful of times each day that were most important to him was a lot more manageable for me. As long as I was consistent (although I did make exceptions for sickness and injury), my son handled the new nursing rules very well. You should have plenty of colostrum and milk for your baby in the early days as long as you are nursing frequently. Nursing toddlers are great for helping out with engorgement! The delivery of the placenta releases a hormone that tells your body to start producing colostrum/milk, and from there on it's just a matter of supply and demand. I actually tended towards having an oversupply while I was tandem nursing. I ended up assigning each kid his own side permanently (right for the toddler, left for the baby, and the baby could finish on the right if he was extra hungry) so I wouldn't have to worry about who had nursed where the last time and whether the baby was getting enough milk. My body quickly adjusted to the 2 levels of milk production and I was actually lopsided for some time, but it was worth it. My infant gained weight quickly despite only nursing on one side most of the time. I nursed the kids simultaneously out of necessity sometimes, but the 2 different suck strengths were a strange sensation. I nursed them separately as much as I could. When I did need to nurse them together, I would position the baby comfortably, then have my toddler contort himself however was necessary. He always loved the challenge! Side lying worked well (with the toddler leaning over my back) as did sitting on the couch with the baby in the cradle hold and the toddler putting his head in my lap and danging his legs out to the side on the couch. My toddler accepted his brother pretty quickly and was surprisingly happy to share nursing with him once we got the kinks worked out. I have fond memories of the two of them holding hands while nursing and of my toddler lifting my shirt so his baby brother could latch on! Really, my only regret is that we don't have any pictures of the two of them nursing together. Best wishes to you, and please let me know if you have any specific questions that I haven't addressed.

3 avocadoes, peeled and pitted 2 1/2 Tbsp bottled lime juice 1 tsp kosher salt (I think kosher really makes a difference, but you can use regular table salt if that's all you have) 1/2 cup diced onion 1 Tbsp dried cilantro (or 3 Tbsp fresh if you have it, which I never do!) 2 Roma tomatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced cayenne pepper to taste My kids won't eat it if it's chunky, so I throw all the ingredients in the food processor and pulverize it until it's nice and smooth.

2 of my sons have curly hair like me, 2 have straight hair like their father. All of them tend to have pretty short haircuts.

We start back in the morning as well. We're all excited about the upcoming year; I just hope the enthusiasm will hold for a while!

My 2 visual learners have both done well with Phonics Pathways lessons written on a whiteboard.

Here!

My plan is to start All About Spelling with each of my boys after he finishes Phonics Pathways. For my oldest son, that is this fall at the beginning of 2nd grade.

Sam's Club has one that is 23"x36" for around $15.

Here's the one I'm planning to use: http://www.kidskreate.com/edible_earth.htm

What a great idea!

This recipe slices nicely for sandwiches and has a light texture. 1 cup warm water 1/4 cup oil 1/4 cup honey 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 cup bread flour 1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten 1 tsp salt 2 1/4 tsp yeast Knead, let rise for about 45 minutes, punch down, shape into loaves, let rise another 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool before slicing.

Plans for my 1st grader: finish Phonics Pathways, start All About Spelling 1 after PP is done First Language Lessons 1 Writing With Ease 1 Handwriting Without Tears Math-U-See Alpha Story of the World 2 and activity guide, with older brother earth and space science the WTM way, also with older brother

I've been happy with the recipe found here: http://diynatural.com/simple-effective-jabs-homemade-dishwasher-detergent-rinse-agent/

Thanks for sharing!

Butter-flavored microwave popcorn!

My current plans for 2nd grade: Math-U-See Beta First Language Lessons 2 Writing With Ease 2 All About Spelling 1 Handwriting without Tears Printing Power Story of the World 2 and Activity Guide earth and space science that I compile using Usborne encyclopedias and library books My 2nd grader will also start Cub Scouts this fall.

Phonics Pathways is the only phonics program that we have used. My oldest child started it at the beginning of Kindergarten and just barely finished it at the end of 1st grade. My second child started at the beginning of Kindergarten, and I think he will likely finish it halfway through 1st grade.

I have the above-mentioned world map shower curtain hanging in the doorway between our kitchen (where we do nearly all our schoolwork) and playroom. I needed something to block the view into the playroom anyway, so the map serves multiple purposes!

And her blog was just updated: http://soloround.blogspot.com/

The current breaking news headline at FoxNews.com is "California teen sailor Abby Sunderland has made radio contact with family, is believed safe."

My 2nd child severed his pinky fingertip in a door hinge at age 3.5. His finger healed nicely and he has full function in it now. I can see a small scar if I look really closely.

Phonics Pathways has been a great program for us, both for my child who had an easy time grasping phonics and for the one who had to work a lot harder. We do all the lessons on a white board.

I have 4 sons in a 6 year span. You're scaring me! It already amazes me how much food they can put away, and my oldest is only 7.5!