Some kind of update

   I haven't blogged in so long I don't know what to write about.  I guess I'll start by saying what a slacker I've been.  I am at a stand still with the book (again) and Emergency Planning online classes.  I need to pick one or the other to focus on because I can't seem to do it all.  I'm afraid FEMA classes have been loosing out since I checked my possible credits and calculated how many classes I'd need to get started.  I really thought I could do something in a few months, but that just wasn't the case.  It's never as easy as you think it's going to be, huh?  (I should put that on a T shirt!)  A lot  of my time this month went to meetings for my son's Medical Action Plan at his new school.   Many meetings with many people.  We didn't have to do a 504 Plan because he still has a speech IEP for next year.  We probably will need the 504 Plan in first grade, as he likely won't be eligable for speech serveces through school.  We'll be doing Speech through insurance, then.
   In my defense, I have to say that I haven't been a total slacker.  When we realized we were getting a tax refund, I started planning home improvements.  We have a new sliding door in the works, which is good because the old one leaks when it rains.  I was always afraid it would rain hard when we weren't home to change out the towel in the track and ruin our floors.  I'll be glad when that's finally done.  We have also started painting.  We've been here three years, living with all the marks on the walls since we bought the house.  And the whole house was unrelieved white.  White ceilings, walls, carpet, shades...no color except the beige window toppers.  We are fixing that.  We started with my son's room because his walls were the worst.  I also wanted to add some toy storage in there, to get his stuff out of the living rooms and dining room.  His toys were all over the house.  Now they are just in his room.  And neat to boot!  I went through everything, throwing out all the torn paper toys, many kids meal toys and lots of toys with missing bits or that were broken.  This needs to be done regularly.  My boy is a pack rat like his daddy!  Little Boy Blue chose blue for his walls then cried that he didn't want his room to change, on the day we went to get the paint.  Awww.  He's happy with it now.  We still have my old brown bed in there until we are done with the crib.  The crib converts to a full size bed and will match the rest of his furniture.  Then our daughter, presumably, will get the bed matching the dresser and mirror.   I can't wait to do her room.  That will be last, though.  Because there's alwyas a chance we could end up with another boy...    
   My husband started painting the dining room next and the (accent wall) color is darker than we anticipated.  But I'm getting used to it.  Now I feel like we need to spruce up a bit.  I got pillowcase covers at IKEA for the couch in the sitting room, and two pillows for the living room couch.  I'm looking for a curtain panel for an old bookcase full of board games that we have in there and a kitchen curtain.  Soon we'll have color everywhere.  Now that the toys are up, the lack of furniture is more noticable.   We eventually need to get a chair or two.  And some decorative peices on the 'art ledge' at the entry way.  They are bare.  The house is starting to look good.  I'm really excited about it.  But it is going to take a while to get it all done.
   I cut the plants back in the aquarium- way down.  The Vals, Hygro and ludwigia were all to the top, and they are about 1/3 of the way up, now.  We went out and got glass covers today, finally.  I covered the tank with saran wrap while we were painting, even though we used zero VOC's paint.  The tint adds some VOC's so there was a bit of smell to it, but not nearly as strong as I remember when painting the other houses.  We opened windows, too.  The fish all seem fine.  I did notice how the tank kept it's heat better with the 'lid'.  And of course there was lots less evaporation.  So we got the tops.  I wanted plexi, but my husband fears all DIY tank things.  The tank is in the main living space and he doesn't want it to be ugly.  (What ev er!)  I have many Molly fry.  The largest are more than half grown.  I figure I get about six survivers in each birth.  I added a Betta to help control the population.  We'll see how that goes.
  Right now I'm having trouble believing we are going to have another child at all, it seems so far away.  I'm sad about it.  I watch the refferrals for China come in every month and it's just dismal how slowly it's been going.  There's no good news, there.  The best I can think about it is that it doesn't seem to have gotten any slower in the last few months.
   Well that's all from the homefront.  Hope everyone has a Happy Easter, Passover and Spring in general.  I got the rest of my clover seed down, now I need to start combatting the dandelions.  We live next to an empty lot and the weeds migrate.  It's a loosing battle because I hate putting chemicals on the grass.  Oh well.  TTFN.