WEEKLY MENU 05.12.24
Honoring the ever changing Mama name and role during the Weekly Menu 05.12.24~
Mother’s Day starts out the Weekly Menu 05.12.24, so we’ve got a shout-out to everyone that embodies that position in any way. Being a Mom is my most favorite job. Ever. I detail it in this little post:
Motherhood
And, no. The boys in the post picture aren’t ours. That random picture made me smile because it looked like something they would do. One of the most interesting things about Motherhood, at least to me, is how the role constantly changes. We are well out of the intense caring phase of newborns and toddlers, just as we are finally out of the never-ending school phase. I am, after all, the “Well-Seasoned” Mom, so I’ve been doing this whole gig for a while.
You know what marks the transitions the best, at least to me? The constantly changing name the boysies call me.
I started out as Mama.
I adored “Mama” and it lasted for a good long time, thankfully. Slowly, as they grew, I became Mom. That was never as much of a favorite, and soon, Baby Boy transformed it into “Mum”. I like that. It seems like a warm hug to me. I was never a “Mother”, mostly because we’re a fair bit less formal than that. How much less formal can be seen in what they call me now.
A little backstory. My given name is Kathleen. I have always been called Kate. People feel the need to shorten my name to Kathy for some inexplicable reason, particularly those from the medical field. Kathy is a perfectly nice name. It’s just not mine. It’s a huge pet peeve of mine – that someone would not only shorten my name without even a “by-your-leave”, and then do it wrong.
Names Matter.
As might be expected, the boys thought my grumbling (every time I was misnamed) was beyond hilarious. So, naturally, they started calling me Kath. I might, possibly, have been a little, oh, histrionic with my irritation. At first my new name bothered me, but, as will happen with our boysies, it became normal because they did NOT let up. And eventually, I honestly didn’t mind it at all. (It does still aggravate me when someone outside of the family calls me that. So if you run into me, please, just don’t.)
We’re an acronym family. We always have been. Dad was “DOLD” (Dear Old Lovable Dad). My Aunt Mary Therese is known simply as “AMT”. Uncle Pat? You guessed it – UFP. (He’s a Catholic priest, so out of respect, he’s Uncle Father Pat.) My seester? “AF” (Aunt France.)
Which is why all of our boys now call me:
“K”
Aunt Mag (another seester) was more than a bit aghast when she heard me called “K” the last time she was in town. She even asked the perpetrator if I was aware that they called me that. She was assured that K did in fact know. And liked it.
I’m not alone in the acronym world. Bert started out as “Dada”. He never really was “Dad”: he pretty quickly became Pops to all the boys. What do you think they call him now? Yessir.
“P”
Don’t worry. He likes it too. I have told the boys that if they ever make me a grandma, I want to be called Kiki – a morph of my first and last initials. They’re resistant, but it’s MY name, so I’m sure I can make them call me that. HA! Maybe not.
What’s for Eats during the Weekly Menu 05.12.24?
We’re starting out with a slightly modified Mother’s Day Menu. Check out this post if you want a fully detailed menu that anyone can make for Mom, starting with a grocery list and a full cheat sheet on how to pull it all together:
Mother’s Day Dinner
I’ve been in the mood for grilled protein – any protein, really, so Bert will cook up a little variety with a mixed grill. Maybe some scallops, a little chicken, some interesting sausage? A fun Negroni Cocktail and glorified cheese and crackers to start, and the always delightful (and super simple) baked potato to side with the main. (Affiliate links follow – see Disclaimer Page for details.) One of the boysies will be in charge of baking the spuds and asparagus. We even have a special asparagus serving set that I’ll remind them to use. Obviously, I’m staying out of the kitchen and away from the grill for my big day. Unless someone needs supervised. I’m a helluva boss.
And the coconut cake? Store-bought from an amazing bakery.
On Monday, we’re having burgers zhuzhed up with barbecue sauce, onion rings, and cheddar cheese. We have been singularly unhappy with the frozen onion ring offerings, so I might make some from scratch, using a recipe I’ve had since high-school home-economics. That’s a game time decision.
The Pork Salsa Verde Tacos are well-liked by the fam, despite the fact that they’re, well, pork. They are super simple with only a few ingredients. And of course, we’ll use the crockpot again.
Here’s the whole week:
WEEKLY MENU 05.12.24
