I love BabyMac. I'm glad we got him. However, there was one condition to getting him for Christmas. That I would not be obligated to purchase anything else relating to Christmas. No tree. No decorations. No wrapping. Not even a bow. Nada. Nothing.

In exchange for this, I purchased a 20” iMac G5 with a Klipsch ProMedia Audio system (because it sucks listening to music through the iMac’s only downside --crappy speakers) and a new color printer. I basically bought my way out of dealing with Christmas. I was so lazy, even my extended family only got gift cards. My fiancée did get an actual gift – but only because his running shoes were crying mercy and he absolutely needed a new pair, and because Nordstrom’s was having a men’s sale and I “accidentally” purchased a few Nike Dri-fit shirts for not very much monies.

And oh baby is the iMac is super ultra deluxe. It’s slick. It plays nice. With the audio system, it sounds freaking amazing. It takes practically no time at all to learn if you’ve been a slave to the PC for the past decade. It’s the bestest (ok, ok, honey, you’re the bestest, but BabyMac is second bestest).

And the benefit of having kids? I can purchase the Adobe Creative Suite (and any other multimedia programs) for the student rate -- about a third of the price of retail. I hope that the girls will rock this iMac when they’re attending the Arts and Communications Magnet Academy (ACMA) next year. If they get in. I hope they get in. I’m hedging my bet that they’ll be using this more than I am with the ACMA curriculum.

I’m sure that it’s not good parenting to want children to fulfill the unfilled dreams of their parents, but I hope my kids get into a creative field – my parents programmed all the creativity out of me in favor of more practical fields. That calligraphy class I wanted to take was vetoed in favor of more “practical” classes. Like the four years of French I had to take. Lot of good it did – I can only marginally read French and the only phrase I remember is “Je vais à la plage!” (I’m going to the beach!) Not very useful unless I’m in France and wanting to tell people that I’m only going to one place.