I can't believe that I'm less than a week into the Holidailies thing, and already I'm running out of subjects. The problem is that the main things happening in our lives are in holding patterns. Rita's health remains the same as we wait for her next chemo treatment. My mouth is still sore from the wisdom teeth fiasco, though it continues to mend, and the house still isn't sold.

We actually heard back about the couple who saw it the second time; apparently, one of their fathers came with them, and he wasn't keen on the place. He objected to the slight slope of the back porch (intentionally done, back when it was not a covered porch and the rain needed to run off) and the fact that seven years ago, there were termites in the basement (the house was treated and there have been no signs of termites in any of the numerous subsequent inspections). The couple still likes the house, but they're nervous people, so who knows what will happen? Then there's always the possibility that perhaps they were hoping on family help with a down payment. Whether they'll go against what the father wants remains to be seen; for now, we prepare for Sunday's Open House as though they're walking away from the table.

Outside of that little flurry of excitement, though, nothing new is happening. I feel as though I'm killing time, waiting for Christmas. Somehow, part of me thinks that events will begin after the holidays end. I don't know why; it's equally as likely that I'll be waiting just as impatiently come January. Still, I remain hopeful that my luck will turn in 2004.

What I was saying, though, is that I'm fresh out of freshness. Nothing happening equals nothing to write about, though I'm pretty sure that this is a better problem than I had a month ago, when the world was crashing down around my ears. I'd rather be a dull writer than a massive train wreck, all things considered. Perhaps I should count my blessings.

Instead of praying for activity in my life, therefore, I turn to you guys for stimulus. Following in the paths of other journalers, I ask you: do you have any questions you'd like to ask of me? Anything about which you've been curious? Topics I've brought up and then abandoned? Fire away!

(Of course, I reserve the right to censor topics as too personal, but those of you who have been with me since my pre-conception days may chuckle about that. Once you've discussed your cervical fluids, just about anything becomes fair game.)

Cory's with us this weekend! Sam is beside himself with excitement, though it means that Eric and I are not allowed to do much talking or participating when Cory is interacting with him. "Quiet, Mama!" he grumbles. "Go away!" Uncle Cory is cool.

We decided to go to the mall today, for want of a better activity to do on the spur of the moment in relatively yucky weather. Traffic was awful, reminding me of why I decided to either make by hand or order most of my Christmas presents from online stores. Inside the mall, Sam went wild, leading us on a merry dance from store to store. "C'mon, Cory!" he called as he scampered into teeny-bopper jewelry stores. He was especially entranced by a kiosk selling remote control cars, naturally. The salesman even let him operate one, telling us that Sam did a better job than even some of the five-year-olds than tried it. I'm sure he was just laying on the mustard to make a sale, but Sam did do quite well, really. I was pretty tempted, but the pushiness of the salesman turned Eric off immediately.

So, what are we getting Sam?

• A LeapPad. After much debating and deliberating over the various types of LeapPads available, we decided to go with the Plus Writing model. The My First LeapPad seemed tempting until I was informed by some women on a listserv that it featured almost constant background music and noise - not a plus, in my book. The Writing model plays all the regular LeapPad books (plus the QuantumPad stuff for when he's older), some of which are geared for preschoolers. Just for fun, I let him try it out in the store, and he was more than capable of using the pen and following the directions; he was quite angry when I didn't purchase one then and there.
• A Roundhouse for his trains. This is a Grandma gift, and it's going to blow his mind. He loves acting out scenes from his movies and books, and the roundhouse is featured in many of them.
• Finding Nemo. Yet another Grandma gift, which she told us about months ago to prevent us from buying it ourselves.
• Ice Age. This one is from us; he saw it at Bryan's house over Thanksgiving and he fell in love with it. I think he'll appreciate having it for his own.
• Maybe a remote control car. I'm just saying; the child has skills.
• A gift that I can't mention by name here, since Eric's getting something very similar.
• Some sort of imagination-based set. He loves his tool set; I'm thinking about a doctor's kit or a cash register/store set-up. I haven't yet decided.
• Perhaps a rocking or spring horse, courtesy of the other Grandma. She hasn't decided either.

And he's probably getting a boatload of other things from relatives about which I don't know. That's one reason why we're keeping it simple ourselves - well, that and the fact that we're aware that whatever we buy is going to have to be moved in the near future, and we don't yet know what kind of play area we'll have for him.

I'm excited about seeing his face on Christmas, just for the excitement of the festivities if nothing else. I'm pretty positive, based on Thanksgiving, that we could go without presents entirely, and he'd still be thrilled just to be with family. I hope we can keep that in him.

I need to go out and spend more time with Cory. Holidailies is a good impetus for writing, but it sure does steal the time away from me! Maybe I could get up and do it first thing in the morning...nah. Very unlikely.