Phew…..

Thankfully the weekend’s entertaining all went very well.

A few family members couldn’t turn up due to sickness but hey that’s better than having the sickness after turning up!

Nothing landed on the floor, or was deemed inedible for any other reason which is amazing really as it wouldn’t be the first time my Banofee Pie landed (face down of course) on the kitchen floor. Or there was the recent night of the burnt bread for Sunday evening Supper. Enough said.

Anyway,

I tried a new recipe and it went down very well, thanks to my friend Janus ( ) for allowing me to use it!

I thought y’all deserved a piece it was so good….

(If I was a professional snazzy top class chef type blogger I would of course taken a pic of one slice to let you see the biscuit base but as they say you can’t have your cake and eat it….)

Citrus Cheesecake. (on the left)

BASE
16 digestive biscuits (approx) – crushed
4ozs butter, melted

mix together then press into tin.

TOPPING
large tub Philadelphia
450 ml double cream
rind and juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp caster sugar
1 tin mandarins
4 tsp lemon curd

Cream sugar and Philadelphia together.

Beat double cream until quite thick then mix together with philadelphia/sugar.

Drain oranges and add to mixture, together with the lemon curd. Place on top of biscuit base and refrigerate for a few hours.

Delicious…

I made a few other equally delicious dishes with equally boring photos, which I may post later.

Saturday brought five 4-5 year old girls, otherwise known as Why did I agree to do this day? Princessmac’s birthday.

She had a great time and contrary to all the myths about little girls being loud and excitable I have to say they were very well behaved which Babymac can account for as he slept completely through the whole affair and didn’t even realise the fun he missed!

(I know you may think that was cruel, but trust me it would have been cruel not to have let him sleep).

The cake was another PCCBB effort…

You may feel you have seen something not unlike this before.

As if I would….

(When you break the legs off these Princesses you got a get full use out of the bodies )

One last picture of Princessmac her very self displaying her new prized possession.

A Bible and Bible case is our family tradition for a 5th birthday – we were a little proud of ourselves on Sunday mind you…

All in all a good weekend.

Thankfully.

Mummymac

Granny Annie’s Chocolate Cake.

As a child this is my birthday memory. Forget the presents, forget the parties. If you didn’t get one of these cakes it just wasn’t a birthday.

This is Birthday time of the year in our house with 1 just past in September and 2 coming up in November there is plenty of baking to be done. All our cakes are based on this recipe though my kids are going through the more complicated cake the better stage. Thankfully Daddymac is the arty type and he takes charge of piping and all the final details.

If you’re looking for a simple cake that is simply delicious here it is.

I’ve been asked for this recipe a few times lately so get baking girls

Granny Annie’s Chocolate Cake.

8oz Caster Sugar

8oz Soft Margarine

7oz Self Raising Flour

1oz Cocoa

4 eggs

Cream the sugar and margarine and add the eggs, then gradually the flour and cocoa.

Pour into 2 tins and bake for 30 minutes at 180C.

Icing

3oz margarine

4oz icing sugar

1 Tablespoon of milk

100gms Bournville Chocolate melted.

Cream margarine and Icing Sugar, add milk and chocolate.

Sandwich cake with a little and use the rest for the top.

Decorate as necessary.

(Try not to eat it all yourself )

If you want a nice plain sponge just leave out the cocoa and add another oz of flour instead then sandwich together with jam, top with jam and coconut or use fresh cream to decorate if preferred.

Mummymac.

A sad lad..

So Daddymacs off to USA for the conference and we’re already looking forward to his return

We have a busy week ahead with things to do and people to see. Have car, must travel and all that.

Don’t worry about him either, he’s had his fix. What an anorak!! – I guess that’s ok – I knew that when I married him.

We’ve been enjoying tracking his flight on here.

Is anyone else filling shoe boxes for operation Christmas Child?

Hope you all have a great weekend. I will when our boxes are finished
Mummymac.

It’s A Boy…

If any of you are interested in seeing the cutest baby who was born this morning, head over to Susanna’s and send loads of comments of congratulations her way.

Mummymac

Dunkin’ Donuts here I come…

If I had £1,

that is,

{$2.019 for my American friends}

for everyone who asked me “What will you do when the kids get up a wee bit?”

- I would never need to work again!

I genuinely get asked this question a lot.

I can honestly tell you now – I don’t know.

With a brain like mine I have loads of ideas, 99% of which are unlikely to transpire.

Regardless, on Saturday night I added a new skill to my CV and made these.

Dunkin’ Donuts eat your heart out.

I didn’t realise it was so easy to make donuts and so if you have a bread maker I’d advise you give it a go.

Your family will love you……..

and Dunkin’ might give you a job one day….

Mummymac.

Robert E Lee – Introduction to Quotes.

As I continue to prepare for our family holiday I’m trying to complete my reading schedule for our church reading roundabout. I hadn’t included this book (Robert E Lee The Christian by William J Johnson) in the sidebar as I couldn’t find it on Amazon when I was compiling that list but this is my current read anyway.

Regardless, this is a great book. I have little knowledge of American history and am enjoying learning in short bursts these days. The one thing that impresses me about this man is his yearning for his family to honor the Lord in all that they do. Shouldn’t this be the cry of all our hearts?

I’m only at chapter seven but have already come across various quotes I want to remember.

Saturday February 27 1847 in a letter to his sons (aged 14 & 10)
“I shall not feel my long separation from you, if I find that my absence has been of no injury to you, and that you have both grown in goodness and knowledge, as well as stature. But, ah! how much I will suffer on my return, if the reverse has occurred! You enter all my thoughts, into all my prayers; and on you, in part, will depend whether I shall be happy or miserable, as you know how much I love you. You must do all in your power to save me pain”.

I was thinking of this in regard to our own children, it shouldn’t surprise us that they don’t see that it’s because we love them so much that they can potentially cause us so much pain.

How many families do you know (even in Christian circles) where the parents have been caused so much pain because their children turned away from the things of God?

Praying that God would humble us to realise we must plead with him for the souls of our children and daily instruct them in the way they should go.

When General Lee wrote this letter he was sailing to Mexico and was potentially going to be away from home for a long period, yet the letter and his prayers show us his heart was concerned with the Spiritual growth of his children.

What are you concerned for with regard to your children?

Mummymac.

Daddymac, Auntie M & Us…

Daddymac has gone to the School of Theology at the Metropolitan Tabernacle London, or as the kids call it “Spurgeon’s Church”. He’ll return God willing on Friday night. Praying for safety in light of recent security issues on the mainland.

The kids are in bed and you know the score – It’s quiet!

We had a busy day. We made use of the car while Daddymac was gone. We’re one of the few families left that I know off who only have one car and I am so thankful that we don’t (at this stage anyway) need to be a two-car family. Having said that while I love to walk everywhere while Daddymac has the car at work, it does make a pleasant change to have wheels and so when he’s away we must travel. I mean it wasn’t exciting it was just a mega-grocery-shop but it is nice to go to the bigger stores a little further away every once in a while.

Tomorrow Auntie Margaret is coming to stay and the kids are hyper. Actually she is my Auntie Margaret, not theirs but if you knew Margaret you would want her to be your Auntie too! (You know – sweets and chocolates for everyone under 12!) We plan to shop for some school uniforms, Yes I know school is just out for the summer and I know I always said I wouldn’t shop for uniforms in July but with Princessmac starting in September and her being somewhat narrow I thought it would be best to get a proper fitting pinafore and Auntie Margaret has an eye for these things

So it’s off to bed for me and don’t worry I’m not on my own as the kids are fighting over taking it in turns to sleep with mummy while daddy is gone.

A happy Independence Day to all my American friends. (of course I didn’t forget)

Mummymac.

If you love apples and cinnamon…..

School’s almost out here and right now I’m baking some cakes as a thank-you to the teachers in the Pre-School and the Primary School where JDmac (6) and Princessmac (4) attend.

This recipe is a family favourite so I thought I would share it with you.

A Honeyed Sultana-topped Apple Sauce Cake.

1 Bramley apple

1dssp water

1/2oz sugar

1/4tsp cinnamon powder

4oz butter

6oz caster sugar

2oz sultanas

2 small eggs lightly beaten

6oz self-raising flour

Topping:

2oz sultanas

1/2tsp cinnamon powder

2dssp honey

Method:

Peel, core and slice the apple, then poach in the water, sugar and cinnamon powder for 3-4 minutes until cooked and soft. Leave to cool. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cold, pureed apples, sultanas and lightly beaten eggs. Mix well together, then add the sieved flour in 2-3 additions. Mix well, then transfer to an oiled and lined loose bottom tin. Cook at 180C/375F/gas mark 5 for 30 minutes until golden and firm to the touch. Unmould. Bubble together the sultanas, cinnamon and honey and pour over the top of the cake when still warm.

Hat-tip: Jenny Bristow

Mummymac.

Little house…..

Princessmac is four and a half. She’s cool. She loves organising the boys and being involved in everything. She goes to “big” school in September and is looking forward to that BIG TIME.

She can’t read yet though she is doing well with her letter recognition and phonics. She is longing to be a reader like her big brother.

She will sit and listen to almost anything being read but like every other princess she has her favourites. Snow White, Cinderella etc. We love them all. Keeping the balance she tends towards the more feminine Bible stories than her brothers so we go with Esther, Lydia, Mary and Martha. You know the score.

But there comes a stage in every little girls life when there is one particular set of books that must be introduced and sure enough having seen the DVD and been given a first book from the series she’s hooked. We have only read it about 1487 times (I try not to exagerate) and the other day she said it herself “Mummy, I do love this Little House on the Play-Area” !!

Mummymac

Delegate …

Shannon over at Rocks in my dryer hosts good old Works-for-me-Wednesday, now if you need a few tips that’s the place to go. This week it’s special tips she’s looking for, for the “Mom I’m bored” edition (in light of the school holidays!).

My tip this week is a book called The Dangerous book for Boys. Daddymac bought this book a few months ago as he needed to use up a voucher. (It was half price in Waterstones for all you UK bargain seekers). Now I have actually come across quite a few posts about this book on blogs recently and as I am hoping this book will work for me this summer I reckoned it warranted a Works-for-me-Wednesday post.

This book contains everything for a boy to be a boy and for a daddy to teach him to be a man. The men in your house will love it. (My guys want to take the wheels off the pram to make the go-cart as listed on page 91!!) My son doesn’t allow me to look at it, “It’s a boy book mummy”!! So I hope this works for you, get daddy involved this summer! Head on over to Shannon’s for more tips.

Mummymac.