Four Months!

Wednesday marked Maleah's four month birthday, if that's what you want to call it! It is just incredible to watch a little baby grow before your eyes. To see her day in and day out and see the nuances of change happening more quickly than I'd like is a blessing I hope I never take for granted! Here's a quick update on our growing girl:

Look at that sweet little face! :) Love her. Okay, the update:

Stats: She weighs a whopping (sarcasm) 12 pounds 12 ounces - putting her around the 15th percentile for her age. Really!? She inherited Blake's metabolism, that's for sure. Mama doesn't have a problem gaining weight. She was 24.5 inches long - she has grown 4 1/2 inches since birth! That is amazing to me! We could tell she has grown in length because her footie pajamas were getting a little snug. :)

Eating: She's still eating every 3 hours (7a/10a/1p/4p/7p/10p), but that'll probably change as we introduce solid foods. We started her on single-grain oatmeal (instead of rice cereal, at the recommendation of our pediatrician) Wednesday. Our plan is to give her about a tablespoon of oatmeal at her 7pm feeding and then a bottle. We'll do that until next weekend and start her on it for breakfast (7am) in addition to dinner, and go from there. I'm not in a huge hurry for her to move to solids, but she honestly seems ready. She took right to eating! After the oatmeal, she will take about 4 oz of formula. Then we do her bath and a story and let her have the rest of the bottle (another 1-2 oz). We still do the "dream feed" at 10/10:30 and she takes the WHOLE thing (4 oz)! It fills her up until 7am! At all of her other feeds, she takes 5 oz of formula.

Activity: Little Chick can hold her head really well and can sit up while supported. I've held a couple of newborns in the past few weeks and it really is amazing how squishy and floppy they are compared to Maleah! It's almost hard to believe she was ever like that. But, she was... and now she's a growing girl! She can roll tummy-to-back (right and left) and back-to-tummy (right only, so far). We love watching her roll around. She also started squirming a couple of weeks ago. We can put a toy in front of her and if she wants it badly enough, she's figured out how to slither (that's the only thing I can equate it to!) until she reaches it! Pretty amazing, if you ask me! Maleah also decided that she does like toys. We were a little nervous for a while because she flinched every time a toy made a sound. But now she loves to look at toys and grasp at them and, on occassion, we've caught her purposefully moving her arm to reach for one. Usually we just put them on her hands and she fumbles around with them. But we can see the intentional reaching and grabbing starting to happen. Oh - one last thing - Maleah has A LOT to say. She's always gurgling and cooing and blowing raspberries!

Sleeping: During the day, Maleah doesn't really have any set naps. At daycare she just sleeps whenever she sleeps. This makes it hard to have "set" nap times at home. But, on the weekends she usually does pretty well on the Eat-Activity-Sleep routine where she eats, stays awake for about 1.5 hours, and then naps for 1-1.5 hours. Right now she still takes 4 naps a day - yes, FOUR! - but as she stretches her feedings, I'm sure she'll drop down to three longer naps rather than four short ones. She is also now sleeping through the night and has been pretty consistently since eleven weeks. But, now we're to the point where it would surprise us if she woke up hungry during the night. She does still wake up throughout the night and we usually go in and give her a pacifier to calm her back down. I have a feeling we'll be stopping this soon because she can go back to sleep without it if we are just patient. But we're so tired that we just go and give it to her and I'm afraid we'll be trapped in this cycle for a long time if we don't put an end to it.

Personality: As far as we can tell, Maleah has a pretty calm, easy-going personality. She doesn't get too terribly excited about much but she's usually not particularly grumpy, either. I'd say she's pretty mellow. :) She adapts really well to new situations - we can take her just about anywhere and she goes with the flow as long as we stick to her normal eat/activity/sleep routine. She will nap just about anywhere but I usually have to hold her to get her to go to sleep (and she doesn't nap as long). She eats just fine on the go - we've even had to feed her in the car seat a couple of times and it doesn't seem to bother her!

We are really enjoying this new phase with her. She's much more interactive, responsive, and independent. She loves ot play on her activity mat or sit in the bouncy and watch us make dinner. She's just a happy little kid and we love her!!!

Wednesday Confessional: I Cannot Watch the Oklahoma Tornado Coverage

I hinted at this in an earlier Facebook post after inadvertantly watching a video of a teacher and her students enduring the impact of the Oklahoma tornado. All you could see was blackness and all you could hear were the terrified screams of this teacher and her students. Just catching a glimpse of this video sent me back to my own experience and made me angry that someone would capitalize on such a traumatic moment. I am trying very hard not to be overly critical of this woman, but it baffles me why she took the video in the first place and why she would want to share that video with the world.

I understand that people are fascinated with tornados. Living near Tuscaloosa's own "tornado alley," I have exeprienced several in my lifetime. As a little girl, I remember being rushed to my aunt and uncle's basement and could see the tornado behind us as we fled our house. That tornado ripped off our front porch and destroyed my Fisher Price turtle sandbox. (I was really mad at that tornado!) But tornadoes were always so exciting - it meant rushing out of the house and bunkering down with my family. Surviving was like beating nature at it's own game! Storms and bad weather didn't bother me a bit. Until April 27.

(For those of you that haven't heard our story, you can read it here.)

After the April 27 tornado, I experienced severe emtional trauma (as did most everyone in our city, whether or not they felt the physical impact of the tornado). It took months for the nightmares and flashbacks to stop. It took over a year for me to be able to talk about what happened without reliving the whole ordeal. It took up until recently for me to actually be able to talk about it without feeling anxious or tearing up. And watching just the bits and pieces of the Oklahoma tornado coverage has reopened wounds I so desperately wanted to keep closed.

I guess the reason I am being hard on this teacher for videoing her experience is that, after experiencing myself, I don't want anyone to know what it's really like unless they have to. When I lifted my head that day after the tornado, I had no clue if the rest of my family was alive. I'm talking about the people I was with. It was so powerful and so loud and so dark, I had no clue what was happening just a few feet away from me. It was terrifying. Calling my mom, crying hysterically, saying "We are trapped, we are trapped!" was the scariest phone call I've ever had to make. Risking electrocution and carefully tip-toeing through dozens upon dozens of twisted and fallen trees just to be able to walk across the street was exhausting. Waiting for my uncle to literally run nearly a mile to my aunt's house to see if she and my cousin's five-month-old baby were alive was the longest hour of my life.

You see, it wasn't just the moment of impact itself that haunts me. It was the hours, days, weeks, and months that followed where the tornado still had its grip on me and on my loved ones.

It was awful and I don't want anyone to ever have to go through it or its aftermath. And I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for people who braced the storm, lifted their heads, and found themselves or their loved ones injured. Or found their loved ones dead. My heart just breaks for those who have endured such tragedy.

I cannot continue to watch the coverage of the tornado. I tried to watch bits and pieces but the video I saw today brought back way too many horrible memories for me to continue following that story too closely. The images and stories are too close to our own for me to handle right now.

Some things are just too hard to forget. I have realized this week that the April 27 tornado is not something I will ever be able to put out of my mind. It is always there. I will have always experienced it. It will always be a part of my story. The Oklahoma tornado has reminded me that there are moments we cannot ever forget no matter how hard we try. But I am learning that it is more healing to remember than it is to forget. But, remembering is not easy.

Running a Household: Parts II & III

I meant to post this on Thursday, but forgot. Last week I wrote about how I plan weekly meals and grocery lists. Today I want to share what I planned! So that I can keep up, I'm going to combine what I wanted to write last week plus what I wanted to write this week. Hey, you've obviously got some time on your hands so why am I apologizing for another long post!?

Part II: The Plan

Sunday, May 18 - Grilled teriyaki chicken, Asian slaw, roasted broccoli w/ teriyaki sauce
Monday, May 19 - Leftovers from Sunday
Tuesday, May 20 - Moe's (taking dinner to friends w/ a new baby)
Wednesday, May 21 - Oven-roasted pork sausage with bell pepper, banana pepper, onions, and potatoes (Usually this is "Fend For Yourself Night," but we aren't going to choir since we are going out of town for the weekend)
Thursday, May 22 - Breakfast for Dinner ~ biscuits, eggs, and bacon

We are going to Muscle Shoals for the weekend, so obviously I'm not cooking Friday or Saturday night. :)

My grocery list consisted of the ingredients I needed for the meals above plus other things we needed like milk, bread, cheese, lettuce, produce, etc. I already had the teriyaki sauce for Sunday, potatoes for Wednesday, and biscuits and eggs for Thursday. That's how I decided on those particular recipes. Plus, chicken was on sale (why I chose chicken over beef) and bacon was also on sale. I won't post my grocery list because that's pretty boring... but I ended up spending about $90 and saved $30.

I did purchase a few things I hadn't planned on - I noticed Ore Ida frozen potatoes were B2G1 and Blake LOVES to make fries spur of the moment, so I bought him some (plus some hash browns for breakfast casserole). Chips Ahoy cookies were also on sale, so I felt pressured to buy some. :) Normally I don't buy so much packaged food, but I'm making some compromises so we can have more time to spend with Maleah and less time in the kitchen. :)

So... about how I choose recipes. For a long time, I thought I needed to make my husband delicious homecooked meals every night of the week. And, for a long time, I did. I love to cook and enjoyed making chicken parmesean or homemade squash casserole or crispy yogurt chicken on a weeknight. That was my pride and joy - hot meals every night of the week. Then came pregnancy and a baby.

Scrumptious, homecooked meals became a thing of the past. For a while, we ordered out A LOT. I mean, when your newborn eats every 2-3 hours, you're pumping every 3 hours, trying to catch up on lost sleep - how in the WORLD are you supposed to also cook!? Apparently, you're not. And if you are, I should just hang up my apron now because I'll never be able to perform that duty while a newborn is living under our roof.

I had to learn to simplify. I also had to listen to my husband and believe him when he said he didn't (and never did) expect such meals on a nightly basis. For a while, I apologized for making simple spaghetti or frozen chicken tenders or tuna salad. I just didn't equate those things with a good meal.

Hahahahahahaha how my perspective has changed. Last night I didn't even apologize for NOT COOKING. I planned for us to eat leftovers and, by God, that's what we did - at different times, on the couch! And all I ate was Asian slaw (I'd eaten part of a leftover lunch sandwich at 4, so I wasn't really hungry by dinner)! This doesn't mean that I've given up hope of preparing yummy dinners for my husband - it just means I've made things a little more realistic for our life now. There's no way I can cook a homemade meal every single night, get all the housework done, and still have a little time for myself (something I highly value).

Now I focus on quick, easy meals that require little prep and clean up. The fewer pots and pans, the less time spent measuring, the fewer ingredients, the better. I try to incorporate a variety of meats, vegetables, and flavors but keep it simple. I have also learned to stick with what I know on weeknights - I do not try new recipes during the week (unless they're ridiculously easy - such as the roasted sausage, peppers, & potatoes in this week's menu). Save that mess for the weekend. I tried to make a new recipe on a weeknight a few weeks ago and we literally had to throw it out - it was AWFUL. I need familiarity, simplicity, and every now and then - something frozen (Publix's frozen chicken tenders are actually pretty good!).

Part III:  Ten Go-To Recipes that I Love (making a long post even longer!):

1. Crock-pot shredded chicken anything - Tacos, poppyseed chicken, BBQ chicken. Anytime I need/want to cook chicken during the week, I Crock-pot it and shred the chicken. Takes a HUGE amount of time out of the prep. The George Foreman grill is also handy in making quick chicken dinners, but I hate the clean-up. Get the Crock-pot liners and that'll be a super simple clean-up.

2. Roasted veggies - chop up some veggies, put 'em on a pan with some extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, salt, & pepper. Finish with a little lemon juice and you're good to go.

3. Steamed veggies - Just go buy some Ziploc Zip 'N Steam bags. Veggies in bag, bag in microwave, butter afterward. So easy. I know you can make steamed veggies easily on the stove top but that's a pan that has to be washed and right now I'm digging the bags. Sorry, environment.

4. Tacos - duh.

5. Breakfast for Dinner - Another duh. I actually buy these frozen biscuits that are DELICOUS. I'm being serious - better than I ever imagined. I also bake the bacon (lay strips flat on a cookie sheet, stick them in a COLD oven, and turn the oven on to 375-400F; let 'em "fry" for about 15-20 minutes after the oven has reached the desired temp) - this helps avoid having to clean up messy grease splatters.

6. Baked potatoes and soup - Microwave the potatoes; make soup ahead of time. It's like I'm running a McAlister's out of my kitchen.

7. Quesadillas - black beans, cheese, salsa, tortillas... one pan... need I say more?

8. SALAD - Hello. You don't even have to cook it. Toss on some leftover shredded chicken for the hubs and we've got ourselves a meal.

9. FFYS - Fend For Yourself. I get it - this is not what you were expecting when I told you I was listing ten RECIPES. But I've learned to incorporate this night once a week (on Wednesdays right now). There are usually leftovers, salad fixings, sandwich ingredients - everything a grown man can make on his own. :)

10. Last, but never least - my favorite recipe OF ALL TIME: Chinese take-out. I am not kidding!! I love to make Asian slaw (it's so easy) and my own rice and then have Blake pick up some sesame chicken or something. I am not brave enough to make my own Asian food at home (yet), so I have learned the art of making what I can and letting the pro's handle the rest. Sometimes it's not Chinese - sometimes we might order wings and I'll make the sides. Or maybe we'll pick up BBQ and I'll make potato salad. Whatever works, you know!?

I hope this helps some poor mother out there. I know you're tired and I know you're tired of cooking. Anyone else have any favorite easy weeknight recipes!?

Wednesday Confessional: Taming the Tube

It is no secret that Blake and I love some TV. It's just nice to sit crash on the couch and veg out to some mind-numbing TV shows. I struggle with pulling myself away from the tube (don't we all, sometimes?) and often justify how much time I watch television.

Lately, my excuse has been that I am a new mom and I deserve some lazy time. And part of that is true. I do deserve a little time to chillax (yes I said that). But I was watching a show the other day and felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit pour over me. I tried to ignore it, but reminders keep creeping up and so now I have to confront it.

I was watching The Mindy Project on Hulu and an episode came on where the main character, Mindy (Mindy Kaling), starts to date a Christian pastor. Up until this point, the show only had the "normal" amount of indecency - sleeping around, partying, foul language, etc. (you know, stuff we're all used to by now). Well, on this particular episode, she visits her new boyfriend at his church. Moby - yes, Moby - is the church D.J. - yes, a church D.J.. There's all this loud club music and then Mindy's boyfriend, Casey, appears in his pastoral attire. He thanks the "congregation" for the applause and then starts to rant about how Game of Thrones didn't record on his DVR. And then he says these awful words - "I hate God." He declared that he hated God because a TV show hadn't recorded on his DVR. Then he had the "congregation" chant, "I hate God! I hate God!" with him.

I sat there in total disbelief, but I kept watching. Several thoughts went through my brain:

1. I am totally clueless as to how people support the FOX Network simply because their news shows are "conservative". This is the network that produced Family Guy and The Simpsons, remember???

2. Please tell me this "pastor" is going to pull out some message about being a leader not a follower. (He did not; he instead told everyone that God loved them even though they hated Him.)

3. Should I be watching this?

4. Let's just see where it goes...

5. Okay, I am just going to ignore that part...

Anyway, I kept watching the show and eventually watched the rest of the season while these questions (and then some) ran through my brain.

So, needless to say, I've been convicted about television shows since watching that episode. Mostly, Blake and I stay away from sitcoms - not really for moral issues but just because we like certain reality shows better (Shark Tank, The Voice, shows on the History channel, etc.). But after watching The Mindy Project and a good part of Season 2 of  New Girl, I am convinced/convicted that God has better plans for my time and energy than to watch shows that do not honor Him. I feel convicted enough that I kinda want to just walk away from TV altogether for just a little while to get my priorities back in line.

I've been thinking about what I can watch if I truly want to avoid shows that highlight sinful lifestyles. Basically, I'm left with certain reality shows and sports. Grrrrrreat. (Duck Dynasty anyone!?)

It's not that I think I should ignore the world. This is my home for now and I do believe that in order to reach the lost, I cannot just ignore sin. But I can't tolerate sin, either. I can't just look past it and be like everyone else. I have to approach it head-on and be willing to stand up for God's Word regardless of the repurcussions.

John 15:19, "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of teh world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

God has set us, as Christians, apart from the world. We are not to conform to its ways (Romans 12:2) but to let God renew us so that we may live in the world yet differently from the world.

Anyway, this is just me rambling about something I'm currently dealing with. And I'm sure I am not alone in this and am curious to hear other people's takes on this subject. How do you judge what you watch and what you do not?

Running a Household: Part I

The hardest - and I mean the. hardest. - aspect of becoming a parent for me was being able to continue to run our household as usual. It was difficult because it's just not possible to continue doing anything the way we did before Maleah! Everything has had to be adjusted to welcome our little girl into our family. It has taken us a while to get back into a groove, but we've finally figured out a routine that works for us all.

Blake took over the bill-paying (thank God), which helped me tremendously. Even though I get some sort of sick joy out of writing checks and putting stamps on envelopes (no, seriously, I LOVE it), trying to keep up with it was too much for me. So, I was left mostly with the tremendous tasks of planning for housework and dinners. Since tomorrow is Wednesday and I will be making our meal plan for next week, I want to share how I do it and how I stay in a reasonable budget.

Meal Planning

*I shop at Publix for our weekly groceries. The meal plan is for Sunday through Saturday, but I make the plan on Wednesday or Thursday based on Publix's weekly sale ad. I sometimes also buy groceries at Target, but mostly just from Publix! I try to only buy what we will actually need for the upcoming week. However, there are things I almost always buy when they go on sale regardless of whether or not I plan to use them in the upcoming week - Old El Paso taco kits (they are B1G1 frequently), condiments, salad dressing, cereal/oatmeal, Tostito's, pickles (weird, I know), olive oil, and pasta sauce. Those are staples I like to keep on hand, so I usually grab them when they're on sale.

*When I make a list, I try to think about what I can buy in bulk and spread out. For instance, if pasta is B1G1, I might stock up on pasta and we'll have it a few nights within a couple of weeks. Or if I buy a 5 pound bag of potatoes, well... I need to think of ways to try to use those 5 poudns before the potatoes start growing weird things!

*Honestly I am not 100% sure how much we spend per month on food. We include household items in our "grocery" budget, so we keep all of that around $350-400 a month. We are working on figuring out exactly how much is spent solely on food, but I would venture to guess it's around $275-300. We eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home the majority of the month so I think that's a reasonable amount for two grown people. I also have not been couponing much lately, but plan to start back now that I am not in Zombie/Newborn-Land anymore!

So here's how the plan happens:
1. Think about our schedule for the upcoming week and make note of any nights we might not be eating dinner at home or nights I won't have time to cook (Wednesday nights are for sure a no-cooking night and usually one other night during the week or weekend.)

2. Look at what we have in the pantry and fridge, trying to pay attention to anything that might be expiring soon.

3. Look at the Publix weekly sale ad on their website on Wednesday. I look through the ad once just to see what all is on sale. As I look, I am coming up with ideas of what to cook keeping in mind what I already have in the pantry.

4. Make a table of what meals I plan to make based on what I have in my pantry and what is on sale. I list out the ingredients. If there is an online recipe, I copy & paste the link on the table Sample... ignore the fact that it doesn't fit on the page. I have tried to re-format it like six times and now I just don't care:

Day	Date	Meal	Ingredients
Sunday	12	Poppyseed chicken and rice; roasted broccoli	1 lb chicken; 1 can cream of chicken; Worcestershire sauce; 2 head broccoli; lemon juice; garlic
Monday	13	CP BBQ Pork; green beans and potatoes	2-4 pork chops; BBQ sauce; fresh green beans; small potatoes; French Onion or Onion Soup mix
Tuesday	14	Creamy chicken Florentine; roasted zucchini	1 lb chicken; frozen spinach; garlic; flour; lemon juice; chicken broth; oregano; 1 c cottage cheese; parmasean cheese; pasta spirals; 2 zucchini http://skinnymom.com/2012/07/25/skinny-chicken-florentine/
Wednesday	15	FFYS
Thursday	16	Beef tacos; black beans and Rotel	Old El Paso taco kit; can of black beans; can of Rotel; shredded cheese; sour cream
Friday	17	Grilled hamburgers (grill or George Foreman); potato salad; roasted squash	1 lb hamburger meat; seasoning; 1 lb New Potatoes; mayo; mustard; 2 eggs; pickle relish; paprika; squash
Saturday	18	BFD	Biscuits; bacon; eggs; shredded cheese

*FFYS = Fend For Yourself
*BFD = Breakfast For Dinner

5. I highlight the ingredients I need to purchase and make my list using Publix's weekly ad and grocery list feature. Not everything I purchase is on sale, so I type it in.

6. Go grocery shopping! Lately, Blake has been the one to actually go to the grocery store. I am so grateful for his help! My goal is to start getting up early on Saturday mornings and go during Maleah's early morning nap, but I haven't quite done that yet!

7. Put the meal plan on the dry erase board on our fridge. I try to look at it each morning to make sure I have everything ready - thaw out meat, veggies still edible, etc.

And voila! We have a meal plan!!

Now, if ever there is a time that something comes up and we aren't able to follow the plan, I just do a little rearranging. I usually try to just bump a meal to the next week. I also usually have at least one meal that has some non-perishable ingredients per week (or items in the freezer or something), so I can make a switch if needed.

Anyway, our little meal plan works pretty well for us. Hopefully I can get back to couponing next month and keep better track of how much we are spending!

The Real Mother's Day

Look, I'm going to keep it real. I had this sentimental, sweet post prepared for Mother's Day. But I want you to know what it was really like:

- I had to sing on the praise team, so I had to be at the church by 7:30 A.M. on my first Mother's Day (not a big deal, since I am up at that time anyway!)

- Due to a miscommunication, Maleah's bottle and formula were left sitting on the counter instead of winding up in her diaper bag. The nursery staff had to come get me from Sunday School and Blake had to take her home so she could eat. (Go ahead and nominate us for Parents of the Year!)

- My parents came over for lunch. Originally, I wanted Blake to do all the work so I could just relax. But if I had let him do ALL the work it would've been 4pm before we ate. So, I made the potato salad, sweet tea, chopped veggies, and made the brownies while he grilled. (He DID do all of the dishes, though! Sweet man!)

- We all took a nap. Maleah went down for a nap around 1:45. I laid on the couch around 2:15, didn't fall asleep until about 2:30. Woke up, unintentionally, around 3:15. Maleah woke up around 3:30 (she usually would sleep until close to 4). So, I got up and let her lay with me for a bit while Blake continued his nap. :)

- We went to a friend's house for a 30th birthday party. Maleah spit up ALL over me after her bottle. Major thanks to Claire for cleaning me up and to Erin for cleaning Maleah up. :) After that, the girls got to watch Maleah poop and I, of course, got to change that diaper!

- We got home around 9pm and I put Maleah to bed by singing some old school worship songs.

- I crashed by about 9:45.  Blake fed her the dream feed so that I could go to sleep. But, I woke up around 10:30 and couldn't go back to sleep until nearly 11 thanks to a terrible headache!

So, that was my first Mother's Day. It was just like any other day... and I wouldn't have had it any other way. :) I enjoyed being pampered by my husband a little. He had flowers delivered to my office on Friday and also bought me a beautiful necklace with Maleah's birthstone (garnet). I loved spending time with my parents and friends. But, most of all, I got to be with my little girl all day (and all weekend, really!) and just enjoy being her mom. It is the hardest, most demanding job I have ever had and I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing about 90% of the time. But it is the most incredible gift and I am so grateful God chose me to be her mom.

Switching to Internet TV

I posted a status a few weeks ago about how Blake and I were dumping Dish Network and switching to Roku (Internet TV). Several people have asked me questions about it, so I figured others might want to know some info. I really had no idea bout Internet TV until the idea just came to me one day at work ("Oh my gosh! We can watch Hulu through our television!). Had I known/thought about it sooner, we would have switched sooner!!

What is Roku/Internet TV?
Okay, they aren't one in the same. Internet TV is just what it sounds like - you hook up the Internet to your TV and you can stream videos through various "channels" (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.). In order to do this, you have to have the right equipment. That's where the Roku box comes in.

Why did you choose Roku?
We narrowed our search down to Roku and AppleTV. Even though we like Apple products, the Roku just seemed like a better purchase. Honestly, I can't tell you all the reasons we chose it over AppleTV - that's really Blake's department! But, we had friends who had a Roku and liked it and didn't know anyone with AppleTV. I believe AppleTV didn't have as many options.

What are the advantages?
- Advantage Numero Uno: We pay $16 a month for television. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am (pretty sure that's not appropriate, but whatevs).
- Advantage Numero Dos: It limits what we can watch (more on that in a moment), so we watch less TV.
- Advantage Numero Tres: We only pay for things we actually watch. With Dish (or any other cable/satellite provider), we a buncha channels we never watched. Like, how many MTV channels do we need to not watch???
- Advantage Numero Quatro: We feel cool.
- Advantage Numero Cinco: DID I MENTION WE ONLY PAY $16 A MONTH?

What are the disadvantages?
- Disadvantage Numero Uno: We can't watch many shows live (more on that in a moment). We have to wait until they're loaded onto Hulu.
- Disadvantage Numero Dos: Not all of our favorite networks are on Hulu. TLC, Food Network, HGTV, sports channels. However, this doubles as an advantage (see Advantage Numero Dos) because it means we watch less crap.
- Disadvantage Numero Tres: You have to have a Roku box for each television UNLESS you have a Wii (like us!!!!). We can stream Netflix & Hulu in our bedroom through the Wii.
- Disadvantage Numero Quatro: There are no more disadvantages. See, the pros outweigh the cons!

Why not just stream Netflix and Hulu through the Wii?
Roku simplifies the process. Plus Roku is connected to Vudu and Amazon, so if a tv show or movie we want to watch isn't available through Hulu or Netflix, we can "rent" it from those places (meaning - no more trips to RedBox)!

What about news and local channels?
We bought a digital antennae so we can access local channels (and therefore watch some programs live). Unfortunately, because of the hill next to our apartment, we can only get ABC. I've had to start watching Good Morning America instead of the Today Show, which was a little bit of a tragedy. However, we do get James Spann, so that's a good trade-off. We also have access to Blake's parents' online Charter account so we can watch shows on the unavailable channels (like NBC's The Voice) online. So far, I haven't done that. I realized that once I didn't have access to certain shows, I didn't miss them all that much!

I hope that answers some of your questions. Even though we lost several of our favorite channels and features, the cost is totally worth it to us. I think we will continue to have Internet TV for a long time. Sports channels are really the only thing we're missing, but we can always go to a friend's house to watch the big games!