31 July 2010

Where Are the Mulleys?



Hello long lost friends!  Sorry we haven't been around much lately, but we have been rather busy with some big life events.  I'm going to attempt to catch you up on everything so be warned-this will probably be a long one!  I will try and back up to where we last left off...
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For those who aren't interested in reading the complete story here is the Cliff's Notes version: 

  • After we got our new dog, Molly, we found out that she had been shot in the face.  She had to have shrapnel removed as well as two fractured teeth.  She is now a "Franken-puppy" and has to wear a cone.
  • We closed on our new house.
  • We painted the living room from orange to beige.

  • I felt the baby move!
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For those of you who really care...here is the whole story...
Molly's first night as a Mulley
Scout and Molly playing the first night 

Last week, we adopted a new pup (like we don't have anything else going on in our lives).  We named her Molly and she is fitting into the Mulley family very well.  We picked her out on Wednesday afternoon and I scheduled an appointment with the vet for a wellness check as well as a bath.  Molly had been at an awesome rescue facility with about 30 other dogs and they ran around and played all day.  After all of that playing she was a little funky smelling.  When Molly chose us to be her new parents we noticed a little spot on her face and asked the foster mom about it.  She said it was most-likely from some hard playing with the other pups.  She called her vet to double check but we decided to go ahead and take Molly home with us and have our vet look at it when we took her in.  Fast forward two days to Friday.  I took Molly to meet the vet and the vet gave her a clean bill of health (strong heart, good eyes and ears, sweet demeanor, etc.) and the she went on to look at the spot on her face.  She looked in Molly's mouth and said she was pretty sure that she had a fractured tooth that had caused an abscess on her face.  She then said that she would have to schedule a day to extract the tooth (which also comes with knocking the dog out for the procedure).  She also told me that this procedure would cost about $500.  WOAH!  After her check-up, I left Molly at the vet's office for her spa appointment.  When I got home, Dave and I drafted an email to the rescue organization and told them about Molly's tooth and asked if they would pay for it since it was a pre-existing condition when we got her.  They said that we should bring her back and they would take her to their vet (who actually lives on the premises) and she would take care of it for us.  So this past Tuesday, we took Molly back to the rescue facility so she could go to the vet on Wednesday and get her tooth fixed.  The foster mom said she would let us know how it all went the next day and we could figure out when we could pick her up.  On a quick side-note, Scout was very sad while her sister was away.  She kept looking all around the house for her little sister.  It was really kind of cute!  Okay-back to the story...so Foster Mom emailed me on Wednesday afternoon and said that:

"Molly is done with her tooth repair but they also found some shrapnel, old buckshot in her face so most of that was removed but there are some small pieces that are too small to get out so they will be there for life. The small place under her eye that I thought was a tooth puncture was actually a small piece of buckshot causing an abcess and working itself out."  


As it turns out, Molly had two fractured teeth (most-likely from the shooting) and the vet said that she was probably shot at close range.  I can't believe someone would shoot that sweet girl in the face!  Dave and I were so anxious to get her back home with us that we planned on going to pick her up that evening around eight o'clock.  When the vet got home with Molly she was able to explain what they found and how to take care of Molly.  Molly was still very drugged up from the procedure, part of her face was shaved and was wearing the cone of shame (which she has to keep on for two weeks so they doesn't pull the stitches out of her face).  We were given a couple antibiotics to give her as well as some pills for pain relief and were told to bring her back in two weeks for a check-up and to remove the stitches.
Molly-the night of her surgery

I was so sad for this sweet little girl.  She could hardly walk because she was so drugged up and her face looked so bad and she was having a really hard time maneuvering in the cone of shame.  By the time we got home, I was an emotional wreck.  I could not stop crying.  I just felt so bad for sweet Molly.  We all (Dave, Scout, Molly and I) sat on the floor for some family time and tried to make everyone feel better.  Scout was very excited to see her little sister again, but she was also very gentle with her.  I think she knew that Molly wasn't feeling well.

The next morning, Dave and I had to go the closing for our new house.  Uncle Mike was taking care of the closing so I sent him a text and asked if it would be okay if Molly came (we weren't comfortable leaving her alone yet) and he said, "of course!".  So off we go to the closing with Molly the "Franken-puppy".  Closing went well, we were in and out of there in 45 minutes with sore hands from signing about a billion pieces of paper.  Molly played with Uncle Mike's dog, Porsche (actually she just stole all of Porsche's treats) which helped me to realize that she was feeling better.

After the closing we went to the townhouse to pick up Scout and then head to the new house.  I wanted to make sure both dogs went into the new house together so that they would both have equal "ownership".  Once we got to the house we all ran around and explored and then I went out to Ace Hardware to get some painting supplies so we could paint the living room.  We got one coat on the walls on Thursday and then headed back to the townhouse for the night.  Friday we put the second coat of paint on, went back to the townhouse to finish up packing.  As luck would having it, someone wanted to look at our townhouse on Friday evening.  We told them we were packing up and moving the next day but they were pretty insistent on seeing the house so we told them to enter at their own risk.  It looked like a hurricane had hit the Mulley house.  We cleaned out the fridge and pantry and took that stuff over to the new house while the potential buyers were looking around our house.
living room-before
living room-after
Elizabeth and the girls helping paint

Now, this brings us to today.  Dave and I got up early to get ready for the movers to come haul our stuff to the new house.  There were a few last minute things to pack up (bed linens, bathroom stuff, etc.) and then Scout, Molly and I headed over to the new house so that we wouldn't be in anyones way.  We have played outside (Molly actually likes to chase balls and bring them back-Scout never knew what to do with a tennis ball), laid on the floor of every room in the house and unpacked a few of the boxes that we brought over last night.

As I type this, the movers are unloading things into the new house and I am staying out of the way by typing this blog.  It has just started raining, so the dogs have been moved to the garage from the backyard.  Our garage is air conditioned--so don't go calling animal control on us!

One last thing that happened in the middle of this crazy hectic week.  I finally felt the baby move!  I was laying in bed reading on Sunday night and I kept feeling some fluttering in my tummy.  The sensation was getting more frequent and more intense so I put my hand on my belly and pushed down a little and when the little guy kicked again, I could even feel it on the outside!  I have been feeling him move around more and more, but have only felt it on the outside one other time.  I am eager for Dave to feel the movement, but we will just have to be patient.

Shwew-that was a long one!  I promise to do a better job of updating the blog from here on out.  It has been a crazy couple of weeks, but now that we are settling into our new home, you can be sure we will have a lot to blog about!

21 July 2010

Introducing Molly Mulley

We have a new "dogter"!  We adopted a sweet little girl and named her Molly.  She and Scout are already the best of friends.



14 July 2010

Big News for the Mulleys!

Well, today we got some very interesting news.  The Snoball place has changed their hours!  They are no longer open Monday-Friday during the day.

Oh!  Wait!  We did get some other news today, too.  We went to the doctor for our second trimester ultrasound and we got to spend about 30 minutes admiring our baby!  The ultrasound technician measured and took pictures of all of Mini Mulley's various parts; the brain, the four chambers of the heart, the arms, the legs, the kidneys, the face, the fold of skin on the back of the neck, the spine...you name it-I'm pretty sure it was observed/measured.  We also got to find out the sex of Mini Mulley and we are very pleased to announce that we are having a baby boy!  It appears that 63% of our readers were wrong in their prediction.  Like most boys I have known in my life, Mini Mulley was not at all shy about showing us his parts.  He was very active and did a few cartwheels while we are trying to look at him which made the ultrasound technicians job a little bit harder.  After about 25 minutes of showing off, Mini Mulley rolled over and pulled his arms and legs in and took a nap.  The baby was measuring right on schedule and had a heart rate of 153.  While the technician was measuring the Mini Mulley's various parts, she took a picture of his profile and I kid you not...this kid has his daddy's chin (or lack of).  Needless to say, we are over the moon excited and everything feels a bit more real to us now!

Before the doctors appointment, I loaded up on fluids so that I would be able to leave my required urine sample.  I consumed about 40 fluid ounces of liquid and when I got the doctor's office I was told not to leave a sample until after the ultrasound.  Man oh man that made things a little more uncomfortable.  Once my ultrasound was done, I was allowed to use the restroom which was almost the most exciting activity of the day.  Then I went and got my vitals taken and because I was getting my Glucose Screen today, I had to drink a sugary drink and then wait an hour to get my blood drawn.  I chugged my drink in about 45 seconds (even though I had 3 minutes to drink it) and then the waiting began.

After my blood was drawn, Dave and I went to Frozen Berry and got some frozen yogurt to celebrate our good news.

My next doctors appointment is August 13.  Until then, we will start thinking about decorating the nursery!





10 July 2010

I've Been Snoogled!

Hey, hey, hey!  Get your mind out of the gutter!  A Snoogle is not what you think it is!  It is certainly not some cheeky term for something dirty.


A Snoogle is probably one of the finest inventions of our day.  It is a body pillow that was originally designed for pregnant women but I can't imagine why everyone wouldn't want one!

I've been having trouble sleeping lately and if you know me well, you know that that is not a good thing.  I have always been one of those people who needs a ridiculous amount of sleep.  In fact, I consider sleeping as one of my fondest past times right after eating.  What can I say?  I'm a complex girl!

So my sleep has been interrupted lately due to being uncomfortable.  My hips and back have really been bothering me and I feel like a rotisserie chicken because I'm rotating so much throughout the night.  Following the advice of some friends; I tried a simple bed pillow between my legs while I sleep to help align my hips and spine--but it didn't really help.  Then, I bought a specifically designed leg pillow which helped and was okay.  Then, the Snoogle arrived!  I have slept with the Snoogle for the past two nights and I feel like a new woman!  It is absolutely amazing!

The Snoogle arrived at our house in a box that was almost the size of our Mini Cooper and also came with a thorough guide on how to use the Snoogle:

I have begun my evening in the "2-Soothe" position for reading and then when it's sleepy time I switch to the "Back to Back" position.  I often feel the need to roll over in the middle of the night and have found that instead of readjusting the Snoogle, I just turn my body and end up in the "Tummy Tuck" position.

After sleeping with the Snoogle for just one night I woke up with no hip or back pain and fully rested.  The Snoogle is amazing!!!  I'm thinking about sewing a fancy Snoogle cover so as to protect my Snoogle and look even sassier while sleeping.

I would also like to name the Snoogle, but I haven't thought of anything fitting yet.  Hey Internet...what do you suggest I name my Snoogle?!

07 July 2010

Boy or Girl

Our "Big Ultrasound" was scheduled for July 20.  This is the ultrasound where they measure the abdomen of the baby, the chest which includes a 4-chamber view of the baby's heart, legs and arms, head and neck, spine and we can also determine the baby's gender (if Mini Mulley is cooperative and shows us the goods).  I had to call the doctor's office today to reschedule our appointment because there is a chance that Dave is travelling the week the 20th.  Our next appointment is now going to be on July 14.  You now have less than one week to put in your prediction as to what the sex of Mini Mulley is going to be!

06 July 2010

Good News


We've gotten some good news in the past couple days!

Yesterday, my doctor's office called with the results of my Quad Screen (the blood work that I had done at the last doctors appointment) and everything came back negative.  This test checks for possible birth defects such as neural tube defects and down syndrome.

Today, we heard back from the seller's of the house we are under contract for and they are going to take care of all of the repairs that we requested based on our inspection from last week.  There weren't many big repairs requested, but this is still good news.  The main things that we wanted fixed involved some of the pieces of siding and a few shingles on the roof being repaired or replaced.

Life is definitely looking good for the Mulleys right now...let's hope it stays that way!

02 July 2010

Really Interesting

I found this on the internet and thought it was really interesting.  My body is going through some amazing changes!

Making Room for Baby

01 July 2010

Today, I Realized...



Today, I realized a few things:

1.  Our baby is going to be a Britican (British + American = Britican)  When I realized this, I laughed out loud off and on for about 30 minutes.

2.  I really like New Orleans style SnoBalls.  (SnoBall:  a frozen treat similar to a sno-cone, but made of very finely shaved ice, not crushed ice. A snowball stand will have 30 or more flavors, not counting 'cream' flavors (contains evaporated or condensed milk mixed in).  I actually already knew this one, but I found a place in Raleigh that has them and I got one and it made me very happy.  I plan on going often and trying many different flavors.  Today I had grape and raspberry, although I was disappointed that the raspberry wasn't blue.

3.  It is time to get some maternity clothes.  I have been holding out as long as I can by wearing sun dresses, but I need a little bit more variety in my wardrobe.  I went to Kohl's after work and picked up a couple pairs of capris, a pair of shorts and some shirts.  I imagine I will be rather comfortable in my new clothes...at least for now!