Oops

Last night we had friends over for dinner. Lisa cooked an awesome meal (brisket, her special green beans and potatoes). BC and I are meat and potatoes kind of guys. Anyways, our guests brought an Ice cream cake for dessert. We threw it in the fridge and had it after dinner. It was extremely good and everyone felt a little guilty after eating it( but it was well worth it). Well we only put a dent in it. Lisa and I were debating on what to do with the left overs, because she knows that if it is in the house I will eat the whole thing. I thought about bringing it to work, but I didn't think it would make it without melting. So I put it away and decided that it would just be slowly consumed over the next few days. I would just run a little more.

Well . . .

I wasn't thinking and I had just put it back where I got it. In other words, I put it in the fridge, not the freezer.

This is what Lisa found this morning. . . Oops



I feel bad that I destroyed the cake since it was very good and it was a gift, but in the big picture I subconsciously saved Lisa and I a few pounds.

How to waste $20

Well the other night Lisa, BC and I went to the grocery store to pick up some supplies. On our way home, we stopped at Spec's to pick up some more supplies. Lisa being a fan of the store wanted to go in while I waited in the car with the boy.(Edited by Lisa...What who says I like Spec's I've never been there before I just didn't want Colin to take even longer than I did. And by the way we were looking for some hard to find wine, that's why it took 20 mins. not 30 like Colin states below.) Well being the cash conscious consumer and earth friendly, I turned the engine off while we waited. I left the radio on and AC fan on so that we weren't bored and didn't suffocate.

I started surfing the web on my phone and started reading WSJ articles. A long time passed before Lisa got back. I was distracted so I didn't notice how long she had been. So I went to start the car and it wouldn't turn. I guess I had wasted all the juice in the battery (which now I need to get the battery and alternator checked).

A guy quickly came over to help jump the vehicle. He got another patron to bring his car over and assisted me with the process of getting the car jumped. After the car started and we closed the hood, I thanked the guy. He then informed me that he had been laid off and wanted to know if I could help him out. I felt I should give him some money for one, he was very polite and two he helped me out. So I went to look in my wallet and all I had was a $20. I didn't really want to give him a $20, but it was all I had, so I did.

After the fact I thought this whole thing was kind of a bad idea since the guy was hanging out in front of Spec's so giving him money probably didn't help him out in the long run. On the other hand, he did come help and provided a service.(I said it was a bad idea especially since the guy went over to a nearby trash can where he was keeping his bags did something and then went back into the liquor store.)

So in summary, I saved maybe 50 cents on gas by turning the car off for 30 minutes (20 mins.) and all it cost me was $20 and much deserved ridicule from the wife.

Tyson and Colin

Baby Colin wanted to be near Tyson while Tyson is healing on crate rest.

T Rex video

Here is the video of BC in his halloween costume. Enjoy!!

Costume Shopping

Here is BC is a Winnie the Pooh Costume at the Disney store. He is a big fan of Pooh Bear and he was pretty cute in the costume, but I made a comment to Lisa that the neighborhood kids would beat him up, so Lisa did not get it.

So this past weekend we went costume shopping.

First we tried the turning the boy into an elephant.




But he didn't really like it.

So keeping with his Winnie the Pooh theme, I thought how about Eeyore . . .





But the material was pretty thick and since we live in Houston and we don't want a cooked child we decided he wasn't an Eeyore type kid.

BC is T-REX




I have a video with him as T-Rex, but I need to convert it before it can be posted. I will add it soon . . .

Tyson Update

Tyson enjoying the sun on Friday

Well Tyson has continued to improve. We are cautiously optimistic that he is getting better. The vet has warned us not to get excited because he can relapse and some people (of course not us) incorrectly perceive actions as improvements when they are just unconscious responses of his body (i.e. not transmitted from the brain via the spinal cord.) For example, a dog can be paralyzed, but if you pet their hind area, they can wag their tail. This can happen without communication from the brain. So we are hopeful but still guarded.

Here is the latest:

Tyson has started to pee on his own. We are supposed to continue to try to help him pee, but when we take him to the grass he pees on command.

Tyson does wag his tail. Or at least he has once when we came home without touching him. I am not sure if this is a sign of improvement, but Lisa and I enjoyed seeing him happy.

Tyson's legs seem to have more resistance when standing. They don't seem to be 100% limp anymore, but this is a very minor difference.



We have scheduled Tyson's first acupuncture appointment. We have heard good things about acupuncture with this type of injury, so we are going to give it a try. I don't think I would ever get acupuncture myself, but they say it can't hurt . . .

This is how I picture it will go . . .

Crummy last couple of weeks

The last few weeks at the Caughran household have been less than stellar. Two weeks ago Lisa and I were both sick with some sort of stomach virus. I got to practice being a single dad all weekend taking care of BC by myself. We thought is was a bad weekend, but I would gladly go back to being sick compared to this past weekend.

This past weekend, Tyson jumped off the bed and hurt his leg and back. He was dragging his leg and wasn't putting any weight on it. We took him to the vet and they said he partially tore his ACL and he had IVDD (disk disorder). At the vet he seemed to be using his leg, but he was still favoring it. They gave us some meds and said he needed to be on crate rest. We took him with us to East Texas for Kiley's 6th birthday party. Tyson got lots of love from Hank, Jackie and the kids. He seemed to be doing well...

On Sunday morning, Tyson tried to get the chihuahuas behind our house and must have aggravated his back again. This time he didn't appear to be using either of his back legs. We went to the vet again and they said that he was paralyzed but still had deep pain sensation. They said we could either go with surgery or continue with the medical treatment. This was one of the more difficult days and decisions for Lisa and I. We finally decided to go with rest/medical treatment. We still don't know if we made the right decision, but we are hoping and praying that he regains feeling in his legs.

The last couple of days have been very difficult for me and especially Lisa. Lisa has had to single-handedly take care of Tyson and help empty his bladder every 2-3 hours. It is frighteningly similar to the period after BC's surgery when she had to cath BC. Lisa has been very strong and I am very grateful to have her as my wife.

We are still waiting to see if Tyson's back heels. There is a support website for dogs with this problem that is filled with hopeful stories of dogs getting better (www.dodgerslist.com), so there is hope. I will try to post updates when we see any changes in Tyson's status.