My iBook is still at the Apple shop and they are certainly taking their sweet time on fixing it again. We will continue with the Macs we have but I can tell you the transition & experience has been a disaster and something we will not repeat. Our family buys approximately a computer a year (maybe every 2 years...at most) and we will NOT be returning to Mac. Both are less than a year old and within a few months we had to have the logic board replaced on the iMac and still have some issues with it and now the screen has gone out (Corey thinks the back light?) on the iBook. Well, when he took it in Corey paid to have them back it up because EVERYTHING is on there & we haven't backed it up at home yet. I haven't figured it out & since we had trouble with the iMac we didn't want to back it up there. So, we just wanted the extra protection. They told us a week to 10 days. Well, apparently they had trouble backing it up and it took them 6 days to even get that done & get it sent to the repair center. We talked to the repair center (because the online status showed it still at the store waiting to be sent!) and they say they've ordered a new logic board & are waiting for it to come in. The customer service has really been lacking. I don't see me getting my iBook when they said...we dropped it off at 11am on the 1st and it is already the 9th. Hmmm....

For other news...Corey is going to Amsterdam on Monday for a week! Eeek!! We just found out about the whole thing yesterday afternoon. He returns on Friday night and on Saturday morning we leave to go to TN for a week. LOL! I'm so excited for him but hate the short notice. The kids and I have no trouble with him travelling...we just go about our business of daily life but I'm not looking forward to getting ready for our TN trip by myself. We are planning on taking some boxes,etc with us to store at my mother's house.

Now some kiddo news...Alex's membership to the Picky Eater's Club is about to be revoked. Woo hoo! LOL!
Now remember this is the kid who's only meat is chicken nuggets, loves fruit but not veggies, doesn't eat
cheese,etc.

About a month ago I convinced him to taste a bit of meatloaf & now he asks for it every week. A couple weeks ago,
out of nowhere, he came & asked us for a carrot. Trying not to faint from the shock we gave him a baby carrot and
off he went, happily munching. He ate carrots at dinner one night after that. Then about a week ago I was preparing
veggies for Parker and he asked for a small piece of broccoli. Raw broccoli mind you. Again, away he goes
munching happily. A few nights later I got him to taste a sloppy joe by telling him it was similar to meatloaf. He asked if
it had "that sauce" on it and I assured him it was fine & he ate several bites declaring he liked it but only if it was like mine
and had no sauce on it. LOL! One night we went to Mellow Mushroom (pizza place) and he was asking for the broccoli off all the slices of pizza..not eating the pizza mind you, just the broccoli! We had stopped to get him chicken nuggets before
we went knowing they don't have a kid menu. The following night we had baked chicken breasts, stuffing & roasted veggies. The veggies were peppers, carrots, broccoli & asparagus. He ate the chicken (UNbreaded...gasp...not a nugget!), a couple bites of stuffing (another gasp...he has refused the same food EVERY Thanksgiving), and roasted carrots, broccoli and asparagus!! We are so shocked...but delighted! To top it off last night we had shrimp scampi and after I asked him to taste a shrimp he proceeded to ask for his own plate of it and gobbled up about 8 shrimp & linguini (he rarely eats pasta of any kind). My goodness....he is certainly coming into his own!

On a different note he has been waking up at 5-5:30am (thankfully not waking *US* up then) and is back to having to take a nap (and is actually doing it!).

Morgan is Morgan. She is really into her art class and has been looking for books & DVDs on various artists at the library each week. Her dance class is another favorite and they have just started working on their dances for the end-of-the-year recital. She is starting to get excited and I can just imagine as it gets closer. We've recently made Valentine's cards for friends and as a service project for Camp Fire. We will be visiting a local Veterans nursing home and taking them homemade cards from the children and baked goods to share.

As an update on previous family news: my uncle is doing well & is settled into a new place, and my sister surfaced a few days after her disappearance with her abusive ex & a bogus story, picked up her daughter and returned to Lafayette. Everyone is deeply saddened by the whole situation. I'm personally over her choices. I talked to her during our visit and she honestly doesn't get it that NICE, DECENT people do *NOT* do this for any reason whatsoever. I think she is ruining her daughter's life and setting her up for this kind of future. I personally think this qualifies as child abuse. And I wish there was a way to legally get her daughter away from both of them since obviously she won't stand up for her child and do what is right and loving by her. I can't even begin to state just how mad I am at my sister and what she is doing to her daughter.

Enough of that. We are 9 days from our TN trip, the realtor my mom used is already scouting around for properties for us to look at. She sent us an email with several possibles listed. Yea!! Ooh...and with more good news....my good friend, Indigo (not her real name) is coming to Orlando to go to Disney with her family and they will be here in May...BEFORE we move!! I will finally get to see her again. We've met once in person for a very short time and at a very sad time for her. I'm beyond excited knowing I'll get to meet up with her again. Wooo Hooo!! You can visit her at her blog Thoughts Outside My Head .