I called my Mom, Mommies.
I thought it was cute and it totally pissed her off. If I was mad at her, I called her, Mother and if we were out in public, it was Mom. One time I yelled out in a crowded grade 12 band concert from up in the nosebleed section, and she turned around from the second row, and looked directly up to where I was sitting and waved! 😂 I was my mom’s honing sense lol like she never had to yell Marco, but always knew where my Polo was 😂. But in all my best memories and the majority of my life, I called her, Mommies.
I also bugged her mercilessly about her Mom jeans, and her chubby wubby teddy bear face, but mostly her MS related symptoms. Although back then I would’ve called them her excuses. BUT, I am not unpacking the guilt here today because that will probably come out one day in a full-fledged book 😂 ha! Nope today I want to marvel at the universe.
SBean was 6 months old when my Mommies passed away. HBear was 4 1/2. HBear remembers Nana. She has specific memories that have been engrained in her memory, because they are the ones we have told her about over and over again. Or the memory that she has told over and over again. Or she has told and we have added to and they have become stories not necessarily memories.
And yet they both call me Momsies.
Their new way of saying my old nickname for my Mom. Without growing up hearing me, say it!
They both make fun of my Momsies uniform, joggers, a T-shirt, and an open front cardigan. Basically the exact same thing my Mommies wore except she would’ve never been caught dead in sweats lol but give her a high waisted faded light blue jean and she was one happy lady! 😂 Man did I make fun of her! She had such a great sense of humour, and could laugh at herself! Like, when she would pin her bangs back, exactly like I do now, 😂, and I would call her Mrs. Potato Head. Or every time we drove by a cow I said, “hi Mom!” Every. Time. And we lived in the prairies, there were a lot of cows. Sometimes she would even moo 😂. I never felt like I was being mean. Now that my Kids make similar jokes, I try not to take it personally. To my Kids, I am so old and out of touch! When my Mom was my age, I was 24 years old! The way I felt about hearing about my Grandparents born in the early 1900’s and my Great Grandparents being born in the 1800’s… That’s how my Kids feel about me! Born in the late 1900’s! Like, I even laugh when I put it that way! 😂
I remember this one time I think it was Mom’s 43rd birthday? and we all went to The Olive Garden. Fancy, I know lol on our way out Mom bailed off of a parking curb and tucked and rolled through the parking lot! Instantly my Sis and I were leaning forward with our hands on our knees, pointing and laughing uncontrollably! There was our Mom balled up and rolling through the parking lot and we just howled! Dad at least ran to help her. He was also having trouble keeping his laughter down. I think it may have been one of Ninja’s first birthday dinners with us, and he was appalled! He shamed us all with dirty looks as he was the only one that helped Mommies up. Mom and her little ballet slippers that she wore everywhere because she said she couldn’t feel the ground. I never understood what that meant. I just thought it was one of her idiosyncrasies. One of the quirky things that made Mom… Mommies.
The point of that story is, nobody laughed harder at that whole incident than my Mom. Throughout the entire parking lot, her laughter rang out the loudest the harder she rolled! 😂😂 Sometimes I forget what she sounds like and then I picture her laughing and it all flies back. We really didn’t understand a lot about her MS symptoms because frankly, we didn’t ask and she wouldn’t have told. My Mom didn’t like to complain. So she laughed. And we laughed with her.
My Kids constantly make fun of my left hand. My gimpy hand. To be honest I’m not sure you’re allowed to say that anymore. But, it is what my body is and that’s what I call it and the Kids think it’s hilarious! They will say, “hi5” and then pick up my sleeve and slap my limp hand and we all laugh. I am glad that we can laugh about my disease. I’m glad it’s not making them angry or bitter or sad or scared. Well I’m sure they feel a bit of each of those actually lol I know I did, but I’m glad they can balance it with laughter and humour. I’m proud that I have that in me, like my Mom. I know she would be proud too.
Miss you Mommies 💛.
A few years ago we stayed at Sparkling Hill and I had the BEST halloumi stirfry! Actually, when I ordered it I had NO idea what halloumi was! It’s salty delicious cheese btw! It has a great texture and is a perfect substitute for meat! Ninja and HBear hated this! They aren’t huge cheese fans but SBean and I, who both love Feta, LOVED this. You can even throw in any veggies you like to empty the fridge at the end of the week! In the future I would even just air fry the halloumi and add it to salads or even just snack on it all crispy and warm! YUM!
Sweet Chili Halloumi Noodles
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon oil
1 package halloumi
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 bag egg noodles
1 crown broccoli, chopped
Preheat the air fryer to 360F.
Drain the block of halloumi and rinse it under lukewarm water to wash off some of that extra salt. Slice the block into 1-2cm widthwise and pat dry with a paper towel.
Mix white wine vinegar, chili sauce, soy sauce and ketchup together in a small bowl.
Cook noodles according to package directions.
Place each slice of halloumi flat in your air fryer leaving a little room between each slice. Spray oil on both sides of the sliced halloumi. Air fry the halloumi for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden brown on each side.
In the meantime, add oil to a large wok/deep pan. Add garlic, white onion and ginger and allow to soften for 2-3 minutes.
Add the bell pepper and broccoli and pour in the sauce and allow it to bubble slightly and heat through, stirring to ensure it heats up evenly.
Drain the noodles and add to the pan. Allow the noodles to cook (2 minutes). Top with Halloumi and serve.
