To put it simply, life is crazy. No matter how old I get, I’m constantly relearning the lesson that what you have planned for your life might not be what’s actually in store for you.

I was wracking my brain trying to come up with a way to stay entertained during an upcoming hospital stay that, if all goes as planned, could last up to 10 weeks, and a friend recommended starting a blog. I figured I’d use it as a way to tell about the experiences I’ve had dealing with IVF and a high risk pregnancy. That way if my family wants to know they can read about it instead of me having to regurgitate the same story a million and a half times. Haha.

I decided to name it “A little bit of elbow grease” because sometimes life requires a little bit more than a grin and bear it attitude and takes actual hard work to stay positive during the times that seem most devastating and difficult. It’s a phrase I’ve used for as long as I can remember and I feel like it fits for everything. If something isn’t going well or not working how it’s supposed to, put the work in, whether it’s physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually, and fix it!

I tend to start things and never finish them, but if I manage to be bored enough to keep this going I’ll start with “the beginning” (how Matt and I got married), and tell our experiences of wanting to start a family, our decision to do IVF, and the crazy things that have happened one after another since then. We’ll see how it goes. Haha.