Hi ho, hi ho, its off to school we go...

One morning I asked Chacha Ji (uncle Parveen) to take Nat to school as Anna was having a late nap.  Nat wanted to go on her scooter, so he walked Arjun and Nat several blocks to the preschool.  Well, the trip took a lot longer than anticipated, as Nat did not last very long on her scooter.  Parveen put the scooter on the stroller and got Nat to walk.  Again, that didn't last very long, and Parveen ended up putting her on his shoulders and carried her to school.  I am so thankful for my extended family, they care so much for us and would do anything for our kids.  Thanks Chacha Ji!!!

Nat does look pretty cute though.

Spring break and a childhood friend

This year we got to host a childhood best friend, our sweet Tarryn.  Tarryn is an extension of our family, a piece that has been missing for three years.  Chelsea was so excited to find out that she was coming to Abby for spring break, and we got to have her in our home for nearly a week.  These two girls were so excited to be together, I'm surprised our roof managed to stay on the house (with all the screaming they did all week).  Chelsea's already planning on going out to Calgary for a visit as soon as she can.  We are glad these two were able to reunite again and continue where they left off.

Some March happenings...

Spring so far has been pretty full for us, but just busy without major milestones to show for it.  But, the family is still having fun, loving eachother, growing bigger and smarter every day.  Here are a few pics of my family.  I love them!!!

(Oh, and my husband barely made the collage... he's so busy with tax season.  I'm so glad April is nearly complete.)

A comment on the picture of Nat and the balloon.  She wanted to take the balloon to nap, and she fell asleep with it.

And our Anna, she keeps getting bigger.  Here she is at 8 months.  She was not crawling at this point, but she did like to stand next to furniture.  She still had no teeth, but that doesn't stop her from eating everything she can.  She loves toast for breakfast, and chicken and rice for dinner.  She's our pumpkin.

The Frugal Parmar Life... I think this should be our new title

If there is something this Parmar household is, it would be FRUGAL!!!!  Sometimes to a fault, and my teenager would definitely agree (although I did buy something regular price for her not that long ago, and not at Walmart).  You put two accountants in a house and what do you expect.  We live for sales, we love to get a good deal, we stock up when a sale can't be passed up, and seriously, the latest "style" is so short lived that you don't really NEED it (but we don't look like the bag lady by any stretch).

Now, to add to this frugal lifestyle, I've ventured off into couponing.  I think couponing is great, never had a problem with it, I just NEVER remembered to USE the coupons sitting in my purse.  So, I've had to take this on seriously to get any benefits out of it.  I've scoured the couponing world on-line and discovered some neat tricks, some amazing coupons, and a whole new world of SAVING MONEY!!!!!

My husband got me started by showing me a news clip about extreme couponing (we don't have cable, so I haven't been able to watch the show).  Now he thinks he's created a monster.  My teenager has been telling her friends that her mom is crazy like the people on TV.  And now my 3 year-old (after watching me clip and organize coupons) asks if I have a coupon before I buy something.  Yup, these coupons have invaded our life.

Sometimes I save a little, sometimes I save a lot.  I'm not extreme, but I'm glad to say that I'm trying to be frugal.  We continually thank God for the blessings in our lives, which include our jobs and finances.  He has called us to be good stewards of what he has given us.  This is one thing I can use to try to honour God in our daily lives.

Where did my camera go... again!

A common occurance around here is a missing camera.  I like to have it handy, but there have been several times when I cannot find it.  It took me a couple of times to clue in, but we have a teen camera swiper at our place.  Sometimes you'll here 'click' 'click' coming from upstairs.  Sometimes I go to look for our teen and can't find her anywhere, only to discover she's been outside freezing, but has got my camera in tow.  Well, here's a little of what she's been up to.  I think she's getting pretty creative, and I will now hand the camera to her to take pictures for me.

Five years and getting stronger every moment

My husband and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary early February.  We got eachother Husband and Wife cards that were great symbols of who we are and where our marriage is at (even if those don't always change from one year to the next, eh honey).  Depak's parents had us over for dinner to celebrate with some family, and gave us some pretty nice treats.  We also got to enjoy a really nice dinner out with the kids at the fake parents.

This was a milestone anniversary for us, not so much in the actual number, but in the growth of our marriage.  We will both be honest and admit that marriage is hard work.  We've made a committment to eachother, and desire to be honouring to our Lord in how we live out our lives and our marriage.  This anniversary we truely felt some of the fruits of the labor of our first five years, and I'm so thankful to say that it was a labor of love.  I love my husband and I know that he loves me.  I am thankful to be married to a committed and Godly man, and I pray that I will be honoring to him as our marriage continues to grow.

Love ya honey! 

2011... We're nearly two months in...

2011 has been a very busy year so far at the Parmar house. Some reasons will be shared later, some are captured below. Lets see how much of this I can get done today!

Ringing in the New Year: we joined our care group this year to ring in the new year. It was a very nice and relaxing evening. Chelsea was hesitant to play crocinole (a traditional mennonite game), but she was a good sport. Anna did not nap well during the evening, and decided to ring in the new year with all the adults (and teen). Nat was excited about sleeping at Uncle Kevin and Auntie Lianne. We picked a sleeping Nat up and brought her home. She woke up at around 2:30 am screaming, as she was not sure where she was (she didn't wake up in the bed she went to sleep in). It took about 1/2 an hour to assure her that she was at home in her bed.

Another party? Nothing like starting the new year with yet another party. Just to get together with friends, the Tams opened up their home so a bunch of us brought our kids, our left over Christmas goodies and snacks and had a great evening with a whole lot of laughter. There were a few crazies that showed up, not sure who invited them, but they were pretty funny looking. :)

Happy Birthday Chacha Ji.  For Parveen's birthday we enjoyed some good hockey: Heat vs. Moose.  The arena was full, and the majority of the crowd was cheering for the Moose, except for Mukesh (and his new recruit).  Nat loves watching hockey, but told Phuphar Ji that it was too slippery for her to play.  She did want to be a part of the green team though (the Moose).

Nat's first sleepover!  Actually, I was watching the Tam kids for the night, but Nat loved that her friends were staying over.  The girls had fun dressing up, watching a movie, and reading stories.  She was very jealous that she couldn't sleep in the games room with the kids.  Between all the kids (mine included), I was up four times.  Alas, the life of a mom!

She's chowing down on veggies!  Anna started eating veggies at the beginning of January.  She was totally OK with the green veggies, until I introduced the orange ones.  Now the green ones will not get eaten.  Can't blame her, purreed green goup looks (and tastes) disgusting.  She's moved on to mixed veggies with meat, and she loves her fruit.  She also loves Baby Mum Mum's and the veggie puff stars.  I think she'll enjoy real food, can't wait to get out of the mush stage.

Snow! Snow! We actually got some SNOW!  This was to be a cold and snowy winter, but we've seen so little of it.  We got a decent amount at the beginning of January, so Nat and I went sledding with our crazy carpet.  It was getting late in the afternoon by the time we finished shovelling the driveway, but we went for a short while.  She loved it, and its fun for me too. 

Chelsea had a snow day too , so we ventured out to the Stadium to sled with the rest of the neighborhood. The snow was melting by then, so we got soaked. As for Anna, she wasn't a fan of being so bundled up, so she didn't enjoy it as much. She stayed with Grandma while I took the other girls sledding.

Nat started preschool!  In the fall I wasn't comfortable with Nat going to preschool, as she was only 2.  But, being home with her I realized that she needed more socializing and stimilus, which she wasn't getting enough at home.  Having the baby around makes it harder to go out, and trying to be a preschool teacher every day is challenging.  We were lucky to find a good preschool by our place that had a space available for her.  Here's Nat on her first day.  To say she was a little excited is an understatement.

Look who's 6 months old already.  I can't believe this little babe of ours is getting so big already.  She's sitting well, reaching around for all her toys, eating her fruits and veggies, trying to stand and walk around (with our help, or course), and definitely getting our attention (if it's not her yells, it's her smiles).  What a joy she is.  Love you our little Anna Simran.

The Christmas present finally got completed, only 3 weeks late.  I had started Anna's blanket at the beginning of December, and was trying hard to complete it in three weeks, but it took 6 weeks before it was finally done.  But, its beautiful and Anna loves it.  Now, on to the next project: my nephew's making his arrival in May so another blanket is under way.  I've also got an idea for next Christmas for all the kiddo's (nieces and nephews included, if I get the time to get it all done).  I am glad I took up crochetting again.