HELP! The Sims 3 on Mac, NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS!

[shelbybabeyy]

MacBook Pro Specs:
Size: 13 inch
Bought: August 2011
Processor: 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
Software: Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 (11C74)

I just went out and bought The Sims 3 and The Sims 3 Ambitions EP yesterday and have been having problems ever since. My first problem: after installing The Sims 3, it tells me there are updates that need to be downloaded (no updates have been done whatsoever). When I accept to download them, the download gets almost to the end, and the box just disappears, without finishing the download. If I try to play the game from there, the graphics are distorted, eyes are messed up, can't see clothes, only skin color, etc. However, last night I tried the download numerous times and it did finally finish, however sims were still distorted. After that, I uninstalled everything and tried to reinstall and problems still occurred.

Also, after the very first time that I installed The Sims 3 (without any updates), I installed The Sims 3 Ambitions EP. However, when I tried to play The Sims 3 Ambitions EP, the program was opening and closing, repeatedly and there were 2 of The Sims 3 Ambitions open at all times. I could not force close or shut down my computer, so I held down the power button and uninstalled once the computer came back on.

Have there been any solutions to either of these problems? I was so excited to get the game and play, however I've spent about 8+ hours trying to get things working. I haven't had any problems with the game freezing or anything, yet I only played it for about a max of 30 minutes with the distorted graphics. The game glitched and lagged around, however never completely froze.

Thanks for your help in advance!