Party in the C.I.A. by My Son

"Buddy" singing "Party in the C.I.A." on 12/7/2013

"Buddy" has been taking song writing and voice lessons since about February of this year.

Yesterday was his second music recital. He is 12 years old and spent most of this term writing his second song, which is a parody about Smores. He suddenly decided about a month ago that he didn't want to perform his parody at this recital. He quickly learned this song and did a great job!

He just uploaded it to his YouTube channel. You can watch it here: Party in the CIA (Cover) by Nvfish Productions

He also uploaded (earlier today) his first original parody "Bacon" that he wrote and performed this spring. If you watch that, you can see his sense of humor plus how much he has improved in his singing in just a few months.

While you are there, please consider subscribing to his YouTube channel. He works hard on it and already has 84 videos. It mostly consists of Roblox "How To Build" videos and walkthroughs along with his own cartoon creations including his original "Pistachio Popsicle".

I'm very proud of my not so little "little guy"! He just passed me up about two weeks ago. He is now about 5'10" and still hasn't started his "growth spurt"...

I think I will have to come up with another nickname...    ;)

A Chicken in Every Pot ~ Frugal and Gluten Free

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Halloween 2013

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Skillet-Fried Chicken ~ Gluten Free or Traditional

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The Mad Scientist ~ Halloween 2013

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The Renaissance Period of Classical Music and Leonardo da Vinci

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Inside-Out Chicken Cordon Bleu ~ Freezer to Table in Under an Hour

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Corn Cheese Macaroni Casserole ~ Gluten Free or Not!

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Johann Sebastian Bach ~ Part 2

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Johann Sebastian Bach ~ Part 1

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Impromptu Vacation for Our Dog's Birthday

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Taco Peppers and Spanish Cauliflower "Rice" ~ Gluten Free

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Buddy and Isabella ~ Wordless Wednesday

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Green Chile and Onion Meatballs ~ Gluten Free

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Something You'll Never See Me Doing... Basecamp Rock Climbing at Comm Row in Downtown Reno

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Sautéed Portobello and Onions in a Coconut Wrap ~ Gluten Free

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My Child... My Megaphone ~ Kids Say the Darnedest Things

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Hot August Nights 2013 ~ Reno, Nevada

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Primary Art Bundle

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What is Parkinson's Disease? ~ Plus My Symptoms & Statistics

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Friday Finds For Homeschool

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This Is How My Son Fights Writer's Block!

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BPPV and Post-Concussive Syndrome Update ~ Plus New Primary Doctor

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Why We Homeschool Our Son With Asperger's Syndrome

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Friday Finds For Homeschool

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14 Years Ago Today...

July 10, 1999

You can also see my favorite picture from our wedding of my hubby, my daughter,
and me on my other blog ~ Digging For Ancestors

Friday Finds For Homeschool

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Rhythm and Music Note Introduction

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Obsess Much? ~ Buddy's Indiana Jones Phase

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Quotes for Dealing with Parkinson's or Other Chronic Illnesses

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Flummox and Friends ~ Off-Beat Comedy Teaches Social Skills

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Bike Ride Over Longest Concrete Cathedral Arch Bridge in the World ~ Wordless Wednesday

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Ruins at Fort Churchill ~ Nevada

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She is 25 Today!!!

My darling daughter is 25 today!  I cannot believe the years have gone by SO quickly.

Happy Birthday Carabeth!  I love you dearly and always will ♥

My Experience with Post-Concussive Syndrome and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)

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Remembering Darci ~ My Aunt and Victim of The Prospect Killer

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What We Ate On Our RV Boondocking Vacation

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Austin, Nevada and New Pass Station ~ Our RV Boondocking Vacation ~ Part 5

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Hickison Petroglyphs ~ Our RV Boondocking Vacation ~ Part 4

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Elko and Palisade, Nevada ~ Our Boondocking Vacation ~ Part 3

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Winnemucca ~ Our RV Boondocking Vacation ~ Part 2

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Our Electrical House Fire ~ December 23, 2012

Hubby and I were having trouble sleeping on the night of December 23, 2012 and it turned out to be a good thing!  

It smelled like when you turn on the furnace for the first time for the season, but heavier.  I kept feeling the walls, but they were cool. Hubby finally went out to see if the smell was coming from outside.  Right about the time he was giving up, he looked up at the roof right above our master bathroom.  There was snow covering the whole roof except for that one area.  It had melted.  He came back inside and felt the ceiling above the shower and it was hot.  We called the fire department at 12:24 and all got out safely.  

It seems that it could have been smoldering from about 7 or 8 pm the night before, because we had a problem with some electrical outlets in the master bedroom starting at that time.  We had arranged for an electrician to come out the next morning.  Because we could not sleep, we discovered the fire before any of the alarms went off.  This was what prevented even more damage and property loss.  God was watching over us and keeping us awake!

We had some outstanding fire fighters from the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, Stations 17 and 15, along with someone from the Washoe County Sheriff's Department. 

We believed that it was all going smoothly until they decided to haul in the big hose...  Then hubby and I were like, "Uh oh!"  It turned out to be ok, though.  They were just making sure that it was completely out.

We were out of the house for 4 months and 1 day while the house was getting repaired.  (I did not write about this here until after we returned home, just to be on the safe side.  I did not want to announce that our house was empty to people we do not know.) 

Besides the master bathroom being basically gutted and all of the insulation throughout the whole attic... there was smoke damage throughout most of the house.  It should not have taken so long, but between some apparent "issues" with scheduling of repairs and slipping through the cracks a few too many times... it did.  We honestly think that if we had gone ahead and stayed in a hotel on the insurance's dime, we would have been back in the house MUCH sooner.  We stayed with my father-in-love so that it would be easier on "Buddy" (who has Aspergers) and our dog (who also has "issues"...lol).

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise in a way, because we were with my father-in-love A LOT more than we had planned.  It was his first Christmas without his soul mate. Christmas would have been SO much harder on him if we had not been there with him.  Because it took so long, we were also there over the anniversary of her death and her birthday.  

One of my neighbors could not understand how I was dealing with all of this so calmly and not appearing totally distraught. When I simple just said that I have made it through many more things in my life that were much worse, she was about floored...  But it's true!  This was really bad, but nothing compared to at least three events that come quickly to mind.  I am not saying that a house fire is easy to go through (because it most definitely is NOT), but after we all got out of the house safely... the important stuff was taken care of.  You know?  I do have an extra bit of anxiety now about potential fire hazards and do not like hearing fire trucks, but as a whole... all is well.  God definitely brought us safety and peace.

Most of what was damaged was actually done during the repairs.  It was a combination of water damage from leaving water standing on the kitchen floor for a few days (where boxes of pictures and photo albums were stacked), clumsiness  and plain old disregard for taking care of someone else's breakables. But I keep reminding myself that it could have been MUCH worse.  It is just irritating that almost all of the belongings we lost had to do with human error by those who were supposed to be helping us get back into our house.  Each one of those losses were totally unnecessary and preventable.

We are still unloading boxes... in between our volunteering at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum and me being sick.  But we are SO happy to finally be HOME!  And if I EVER hear (or say) the words, "when we get back in the house...."  ever again in my whole life... it will be WAY TOO SOON!  

* Update: The cause of the fire was that the previous owner had decided that he needed more power in that area of the house when he lived here and instead of adding more adequate wiring, etc. he just exchanged the fuse for one that was double the capacity of the previous fuse and its wiring. We had lived here for a little over 13 years by this time and had just been lucky to have not ever used too much electricity in that part of the house at one time before that night. We knew that he most definitely was NOT the handiest "handy man", but we did not know how dangerous his "skills" were until the fire. 

My Early Onset Parkinson's

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Sautéed Artichoke Hearts ~ Easily Gluten Free

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Reno Aces Home Opener ~ April 12, 2013

We enjoyed the Reno Aces home opener game last night even though we got skunked: 16 to 8.  "Buddy", hubby, my father-in-love, and I would have appreciated it if we could have done better, but we always have a great time at the Aces Ballpark.  All of these pictures were taken by my hubby, Matthew Parker, with his "new toy" he got for Christmas this last year.

Charles Brewer - first pitch in for a strike. Unfortunately, not much of the next 3 innings went well for him. . .

Aces take the field.

Catcher Tuffy Goeswisch does his thing.

My Father-in-Love, "Buddy", and I watching the game.

Setting sun beyond left field.

Archie and his BIGGEST fan!!!

Didi Gregorius - first batter up for the Aces. 

Brett "Bugsy" Butler, Reno Aces Manager ~ We are huge fans of Brett Butler and highly recommend his book "Field  of Hope"

Field of Hope: An Inspiring Autobiography of a Lifetime of Overcoming Odds

Cody Ross readies to swing.

The Silver Legacy and Eldorado hotel towers peek up above the stands.

Archie!!!

Ball on the Wall. . . 7th Inning Stretch.

Fireworks Friday

Fireworks Friday

Andelin Farm ~ Wordless Wednesday

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Looking For the Good

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What Part of Gluten Free Don't You Understand? ~ Shopping Trip Gone Wrong

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Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

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Everyday is Autism Awareness in My World!

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What is ADHD

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"The Genius Files" ~ Exciting Read-Aloud Series

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Vicks® Behind Ear Thermometer ~ Review

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Breaded Pork Chops with Homemade Marinara & Cauliflower Rice ~ Gluten-Free & Paleo

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Playing a Game You Cannot Win

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