Mommy's Pre-School Week 1

Now that summer is over and life has settled back down into a normal routine, I know that Kit Kat and I will start to get bored with one another.  I need some focus (and a reason to stay off Facebook) and she needs to be given guidance and activities to keep her busy.  So in comes Mommy's Pre-School!  Kit Kat had a blast with this week's theme and it helped Mommy focus and come up with some fun activities for us to do.  This week we learned all about the Seashore, which we will be visiting in a few weeks when her Daddy picks up an award he won for his Grad School work.

We visit our local library every Friday as they have some great toddler play classes and so I picked up some Seashore themed books for inspiration.

For the learning activities this week, we identified different types of seashells using some seashells I got at Michael's for like $3 and My Shell Book.  I also created a Find Bottle with an empty plastic water bottle, a bag of sand from the Dollar Store, some of the shells from Michael's and some sea animal stickers.  The stickers weren't quite right for the job but they worked, she liked finding the crab the most.  I paired the Find Bottle with Hide and Seek Harry at the Beach. 

Crabby Beach Ball & Seashore Themed Find Bottle

One book that inspired a few activities, including one I didn't plan, was Crabby Crab.  This was my favorite book, very cute illustrations and a nice simple story.  We created a very cute handprint crab inspired by this book and a bit of Pinterest.  Just a piece of blue construction paper, with a white 'sand' and yellow sun glued on it (Mommy did the gluing this time, next week I let her play with the glue :) ).  I used Red Crayola Kid's Paint and painted each hand and helped her place them on the paper, then added two googly eyes.  Then I set her free to make a mess with the rest of the paint!  And, we had fun walking sideways like a crab (as spontaneously inspired by the book). 

Handprint Crabby Crab

Lastly, for a bit of exercise, we had fun kicking our beach ball around the yard.  I set out the seashells, books and Find Bottle on her playroom table and she played with them multiple times during the course of the week. 

Books I recommend for learning about the Seashore:

Crabby Crab by Chris Raschka
My Shell Book by Ellen Kirk
Hide and Seek Harry At The Beach by Kenny Harrison
Flip Floppy Ocean Animals - One of Kit Kat's Favorite Books

Next week, we learn about Ice Cream!

It's Bawlmore, Hon

Baltimore is a very confused city, it’s not quite southern and not quite Yankee.  A few things are very certain though: we love our Maryland blue crabs steamed with Old Bay, we love our Orioles and our Ravens and certainly don’t forget the Natty Boh, Utz and Berger Cookies!  Most Baltimoreans seem to have a love-hate relationship with our city, proud to be from Baltimore but most want to live somewhere else :).  However, we will speak of our hometown with a passion and if you mess with us, you will be sure to see our Bawlmore side come out!

My sister in law gave me these cute Kate Spade "Shore Thing" earrings for my birthday and I have been obsessed with them ever since!  They are the perfect summer earrings and this would be the perfect crab picking outfit! Comfortable (no white!) and influenced by some of the things Baltimoreans love: Crabs & Flamingoes!

In Maryland, particularly the Baltimore area, crabs come in and on everything.  There is Maryland Crab Soup, Maryland Crab Cakes, Crab Imperial, Crab Dip, Chesapeake Burgers and Chicken (Crab Imperial on a burger/chicken), Shrimp Stuffed with Crab and just plain Steamed Crabs.  My absolute favorite way to use crab is in Cream of Crab Soup, there is nothing more decadent than Crab, Cream and Old Bay. This is hands down the BEST cream of crab soup recipe I have ever had.  Every time I order Cream of Crab in a restaurant it is compared to this and every time it falls short (except for maybe G&Ms).

The Most Perfect Cream of Crab Soup

1 Quart + 1 Pint Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Quart + 1 Pint Half & Half

1 Cup White Wine

2 Pounds Crab Meat (Jumbo lump is best)

2 Tablespoons Old Bay (Add more or less to your taste)

Combine all of the above ingredients in a large pot and bring to a simmer.

1 Cup Melted Butter

1 Cup Flour

Combine butter and flour in a separate bowl until smooth.  Pour into soup and stir.  Bring back to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes stirring often.