Coupon for America's Incredible Pizza Company!

Review to follow, but I wanted to share this great discount coupon so that you can also join in the fun! 

Fun, Food and Family America's Incredible Pizza Company is the place to find it all! Incredible Pizza Company delivers high energy and a quality experience for the entire family. After enjoying our freshly homemade buffet; enter our world famous Fair Grounds and play over 100 arcade and carnival style games. Race to the finish line while driving our go karts, get lost in a friendly game of laser tag, get a hole-in-one while playing glow golf, and spin away on the bumper cars and more! So whether you're 6 or 60, enter our fairgrounds and have an incredible time while making memories that will last a lifetime!


Get a 99 cent All-You-Can-Eat Buffet with a $15 Game Card Purchase at America's Incredible Pizza Company. Not valid with any other offer or discount. Can not be used towards a private birthday party, fundraising event or private group event. Valid at our Oklahoma City, Memphis, Springfield, St. Louis, San Antonio, and Tulsa locations only.
Coupon Printable Here

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

I can hardly believe that February is well underway! Time is speeding by. Which is why I plotted a list (I'm super into lists, for those who don't know). My list marks all those birthdays coming up. But I almost forgot that on top of birthdays, we have Mother's Day (and Father's Day too). I am a firm supporter of being prepared and planning ahead for those gifts. They need to sincerely mean something. They need to have thought put into them. After all, they are for special people in our lives. I also believe that gifts don't have to be expensive to be valued. But even more than that, if you are on a very tight budget like we are, you need time to "make" the gifts. Here are a few ideas for those of you looking ahead, but also wanting to save money. 

1. Watch out for rewards programs you are a member of. I received an email from My Coke Rewards. For five product codes, I got a free 8x11 photo book.

I just had to pay shipping. Similac Strong Moms had a similar offer. I had gotten a code from them for an 8x8 book. Again, I only had to pay for shipping. So I have made 2 photo books so far. Now I just have to decide whether to give both away or keep one for myself... These are wonderful ways to relive happy memories over and over again.
Mom's and Grandma's (and Nana's) all enjoy this kind of gift. For starters, it gives them something to brag with. My great grandmother was always telling me how she showed hers off every chance she got. She was a great great grandmother and proud of it! My mom kept photos of her 10 kids and 4 grand-kids in her purse. The 8x8 book is soft cover and would fit perfectly into her large purse. And these are gifts they can get multiple times in one year, every year. Why? Kids grow up. New adventures happen. New photos are taken.

2. Handmade gifts are always in style for Mother's and Grandma's. I've found recipes for air drying dough that the kids can make hand print crafts or ornaments that are one of kind.We tried this for ourselves. The dough was great. We just are not gifted in shaping it.

I made a botched owl when trying to copy this idea on Pinterest. My son asked me to help him make a Pea Shooter, but it looks more like a flat duck. My daughter made a "baby" that looks more like a failed human transmutation from Fullmetal Alchemist... But we tried! And we had fun doing it. 

3. Poetry. One year, I made a picture/poem for my Dad. I used a picture of me during my pregnancy with my first child and wrote a poem just for him. I created a collage-like piece and had it printed for him. Not everyone thinks of themselves as poets, but you might be surprised as to what you can come up with. For me, I think of the subject or the person I am writing about and to. If you can write beautiful notes in a card to them, chances are good that you might just be able to come up with something special. But even if you are not thrilled with the result, think of how they will feel at opening it? Words that came from your heart! Put a picture on one side and words on the other. Print it up and frame it. Voila! You have a handcrafted, but priceless gift. A cheat to this would be to find a magnificent quote that would make a lot of sense to them and pair that with a picture. 

4. Homemade cards are the best. Hands down. Get your kids to do the artwork. Add in a handwritten note thought of by you, or add a message you find online that is heartfelt. Glitter, pompoms, construction paper - get crafty with the kiddos! My kids love doing artwork. They love creating scenes from their imagination. What better way to honor the Moms, Grandmas and Nana's? 

5. Check your Dollar Tree store. I've heard there are blank canvases that you can get for a $1 each. They also have paints there. Kids can make art that way. Hand prints are always a favorite. Show how they grow over the years. These can also have dual purposes. I made artwork for my Mom way back in elementary school. She held on to a couple of them. Then when I got pregnant with my first child, she framed them and gave them as gifts to hang in the nursery. 

6. How much time do you spend with your parents? Grandparents? Did you know that one of the most precious gifts we have to give is our time? After all, we have such a limited amount of time. So sharing it with them is truly marvelous. Take them out for lunch. Don't rush through it. Let them pick the place. Or how about a movie? Or do both! I love going to the Alamo Drafthouse we have here. Eat and watch a movie. There are always specials going on too. Lately, I've been seeing movies coming that they offer Mondo glasses with. Collectibles, movie and food. Now that is the way to go for sure. Or what about a day shopping? My Mother and I always enjoyed yard sales, thrift stores and flea markets. We would hit any and all we came across in a single day. We had lunch together, found some pretty unique things, but most of all, we had an amazing time making memories together. Don't have money to spend? Take your Mom for a walk if she is able. Some of my favorite times spent with my Mother were on our walks. We talked as one woman to another. Laughed and got in the cardio we needed as well. Win-win! 

7. Small kids are fun to make cookies with. They can help add ingredients and make balls of cookie dough. Then enjoy them with a glass of milk and have them tell you all about it. 

8. Let your kids write a book. This not only provides an inexpensive, but meaningful gift, it also lets your children be creative. Have them write and illustrate a Mother's Day adventure. You can even write the story for them while they draw the pictures. Then, to make it long-lasting, laminate the pages before putting them together. Don't forget to have a cover page with the title, authors name and the date of when it was written. 

9. Breakfast in Bed. Not all Mom's like eating in bed, but for those that do - its easy and doesn't cost much to do for her. Prepare her favorite breakfast after letting her sleep in. Allow her to enjoy waking up slowly for a change. This can also be the way you start every Mother's Day for her. Followed by any of the other ideas mentioned in this post. 

10. This one is an unusual one that my Mom suggested. Have Mom and child swap roles for a few hours. Mom can whine and not clean anything. Then throw a fit about what she wants to eat. Why do something like this? Making memories. It is a great gift to give. And lets you have insight on the ways we perceive each other.  

11. One of the best suggestions I have heard was to get a nice looking journal. They are sold pretty much everywhere. Write down your favorite memories, recipes, or other lists of things you enjoyed most during your childhood. Your perspective will differ from hers, but they will spark memories of her own.  

12. Clean the house. I can't tell you how much I appreciate a clean house. Not having to do the laundry for a day. Not having dishes to wash. Not having to vacuum, sweep, wipe the table and counter tops, picking up toys... There are days when I wish for a break from all this - for just a day! Why not have all hands doing these chores so that Mom doesn't have to? Give her a whole day of not having to slave away for anyone else. This is a great thing to do every year. Make it a tradition! 

Speaking of traditions, it is not too late to start. Pick your favorite gift ideas and make the day the same every year. Not only will it be easy for both of you, but it gives you something to look forward to together. Let them know that you are setting aside the time and they need to as well. Then do your thing. 

Before picking things from the list to do, get to know your Mother, Grandmother or whoever you are gifting. It is only too late when she is gone. Know what she likes. Where does she like going? What hobbies does she have? This makes gifting so much easier as well as enjoyable for you both. 

These are ideas for the Moms who have everything they need and don't want for much else. Or as my Mom calls it, the Moms who have everything. Or for the ones who have the husband that get her a vacuum as a gift to celebrate the carrying and giving birth to his children... Let's face it, a vacuum might be needed, but why wait to give it as a gift for this one day of the year when you are supposed to be showing her some real love? This is a message to the guys. What are you telling her when this is the type of gift you give her? We all need to remember what Mothers Day is really about. It is celebrating the woman who has sacrificed so much. So if it something she truly needs, maybe considering getting her that anyhow, but then getting her something she alone will enjoy for her gift. This is something my own Mother has had to deal with on Mothers Day. That, or last minute gifts that were ill-planned for. Like those half-dead flowers... Seriously? And if she is on a diet and seriously wanting to get her health back in check SKIP the CHOCOLATES. Take her out to a healthy alternative restaurant. Know the woman in your life, guys. See things through her eyes. And give her a beautifully Happy Mother's Day!

Vengeance is Mine

I've been reading through Romans in my personal daily devotions. I came across some verses that lay heavy on my heart. In a couple weeks it will mark the year anniversary of the death of my great grandmother. 

Romans 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless and curse not. 

Looking back at that time, I am reminded of the anger, the pain, and the sheer rage that filled me. The events surrounding her death were less than pleasant. So much so for me, that I was ready to kill the one involved. I plotted his destruction in my mind. I seethed over the knowledge of what he had done and the fact that someone protected him from justice. He had someone high in the police department destroying the case against him. But who protected my Nana from him? Who gave her justice? To this day, no one has. I admit, I'm still angry. I still want him brought to justice. But no longer by my hand. I gave vengeance to God. He will serve a hearty helping on judgment day. 

Romans 12: 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 

The anger I held for this person was even stronger than the bitterness I harbored against my ex husband. A man who served up almost 8 years of abuse. A man that I can now see as nothing more than a fly buzzing around my ears - annoying, but so stupid that he's harmless for the most part. I haven't even wished death upon him. But the other fellow had a hand in my Nana' s end. He hurt her life. And that has never sat well with me. My Nana was more than just the matriarch of our family. She was, at times, closer to me than my own Mother. She knew and understood parts of my life that my Mom didn't. 

The passage I read yesterday showed me how I've been such a hypocrite. I teach my children that they need to forgive those who wrong them. To always treat a person how they themselves want to be treated and not as the other person is treating them. Yet, here I have been harboring hatred in my heart for another. Some might say I'm justified. But I am not. If all the world was an eye for an eye, we would all be blind. This is where the saying, "Kill 'em with kindness" truly comes from. 

I still feel the loss. Her picture hangs in my stairwell and I see it multiple times throughout the day, every day. A reminder of what is no longer here. A relationship that is gone forever. But I have finally accepted the way things are. I might feel anger at times. He's still out there, probably abusing another elderly persons kindness. But I know. Whether you believe in karma or in God, the truth is there. What goes around does come back around. Evil doers will reap their evil deeds rewards one day. I might not see it with my own eyes. Maybe it won't come in the way I wanted, but they will be punished.

Instead of holding on to the anger and hatred. I think it is time to take the high road. While I won't let someone continually repeat offenses against me and my family, I will be more loving towards someone who does me wrong.

Romans 12:20-21 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in doing so thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Putting it All Together!

My Party Pack arrived from House Party! Super happy to finally have all the fun gear together for the Sweetest Game Day party.

Tying that in with my sons parties. Time to get it all together and ready. They sent me a Snickers football, a mini Foosball table game and some bottle cozies!

I decorated the cozies and picked up some cream soda...I also got some Skittles and made little Rainbow Seed packs to send home with the kids.

It turned into so much fun! 

I also had fun piecing together my table decoration - the Pea Shooter. What do you think of it? 

I had to add beans inside the bottom of the cup as it would fall over otherwise. 

And then I made little candy goodie bags for him to take to class and give away, using mini Snickers, Milky Way and Musketeers bars. I think he will have a great birthday this year. There is more than one way to celebrate with such great snacks as Snickers, Skittles and M&M's! 
I also used some on his cake. Had trouble getting it out the pans. Lesson learned - white chocolate chips in a strawberry cake taste great, but stick to non-stick, greased pans like white on rice... So I went from this: 

To this:

Then this:

And finished with this!

Woo! I feel quite accomplished.