SpoonFullofJelly

* Sad Post Ahead...You've Been Warned* From the moment hubby and I threw the birth control out the window until now, we have met many newborns. I have been invited to over a dozen baby showers and received many pictures of tiny fingers and toes. All around us, friends and family have welcomed 16 babies with the 17th baby due in a few months. That 17th baby, which I'll refer to as the "Lost Gift", is the biggest stinger of them all. Each of these babies bring a sense of joy and jealousy to me all at once. I'm pretty sure I display both emotions when I'm forced to hear one pregnancy announcement after another. The majority of the parents are aware that we don't have children and only a handful know the hurt in our eyes and heart. Only a few know that this is the biggest hurdle of our lives. The rest probably don't think twice. After 4 years, I shouldn't be phased by all the babies around me, but the pain of loneliness and bitterness doesn't q

Baby Step One in Dave Ramsey's plan is getting $1,000 quick fast and in a hurry. 'Gazelle Intense' Dave calls it. Do whatever you can to get $1,000 ($500 for young adults and teens). Some people sell all that they don't use and some sell their skills. Come on, do you really need boots with fur in Florida? If you are done having children, sell those out grown clothes, and furniture. My parents moved from Michigan to Virginia and gave away over 8 winter coats. Ummm, that was lost money! Can you sew? make a dress for someone. Get the money, get it fast and get it secured!!! That is the beginning of your emergency fund. Hubby and I were the kind of couple that kept building savings, but not paying debt. That isn't the smartest idea. I had $1000 in credit card debt with $2000 in the savings account just collecting 1% interest. What was I thinking? If you are like me, put aside the $1000 for the emergency fund, and use the rest to pay your debt. Now, don't go cashin

I should have told you all that we were doing the 4th IUI procedure in December, but that was 2015. I was still about with the secret life of Maruki! Now that it's a new year I shall reveal more of who we are: We did do try #4 on December 20, 2015. That sunny, cold Sunday was too exciting for us because I was finally getting a positive OPK during the normal time frame. That was Day 16 for me and I normal don't see a plus sign until Day 18. Let's blame acupuncture for this positive change. We ran into the RE's office 10am in the morning and finished the afternoon off at a NFL game. The game helped eased the pain for hubby, I believe. Our two week wait wasn't that difficult. After all, we had Christmas and New Years during those days. We spent the times dreaming and making wishes for our future baby. We were explaining to our parents how exciting it would be to have a baby near my birthday or even in my birth month. We even discussed baby showers, car seats and di

I pride myself on being savvy with money. I am a tax accountant with a Master in Finance, but my husband and I have debt. Lots of school debt! We have also seen this debt as "good" debt, because we were taught that it wasn't bad debt. Universities teach that having school debt isn't bad and that banks will even exclude it from our first home purchases. Outside of school debt, other consumer debt is often ignored. I have heard of a hundred different excuses to why debt is "normal". Even my own parents have said "everyone has debt". But Mr. Mind and I know better. We want better. We are trying for a family and we don't want looming debt hanging over our heads forever. We don't own a home yet and we won't invest in that debt until the rest of the consumer debt is paid off. Ever heard of Dave Ramsey? He is very aggressive and opinionated about debt. He hates it with  a passion and will call you out on your over spending. I grabbed his b

We will be more concrete this year. I'm putting more focused in putting things out there for people to learn. Can you believe that people obtain other's opinions at the same rate as facts? Yeah I was shocked to read that stat somewhere. So I'm letting my experiences shine through this year, but on a schedule. Introducing our week: Mondays I will be sharing our experiences with budgets and budget busters. I bring some expertise with me on this subject. I have a Master Degree in Financial Managements, I am a tax Accountant and I have been following the Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover for a year. Wednesdays will be purely dedicated to Infertility. Hubby and I will be breaking down our experience that dates back to 2011 and keep everyone posted on what's to come. This section might get taken over by hubby...something is brewing and you will be the first to know. Fridays will be a fun day. We have been gluten free in this household since 2013. That first ye

We are changing some thing around the Maruki household. We want to share our world with you. We have been pretty private and only wrote about a few topics that effected us. Selfish right? How can we blog and yet not be transparent? That's what blogging is all about I believe. Well, we will share a little bit more about us over the next month. We have some exciting news for 2016. We will be Vlogging our Journey during 2016!!! Yes, you will get to see so much more of us! So many people are interested in what we think and feel about infertility, being gluten free, dissing debt and traveling on a budget. Sometimes people are afraid to ask us questions and will make up things based on their view of us. WTH! Ha! I rather for them to hear it from us than to make things up. So look for videos from us! Here is a little about us: ( Lauren and Brandon ) Hello! 1. Are you a very open or private person? I'm Open /   In general, I'm private 2. What is your favourite Christ