Author: Shane

3 months

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3 months

Evelyn, Oliver, and Alexander at 3 months

So Alex is 3 months old now (or, you know, a week ago when we took this picture). It seems like time is just flying by. The main new things he can do now are roll over and laugh. He’s very generous with his smiles, though a bit stingy with his laughs (though I’m not sure that means anything; Ollie was the same way, and look at what a goofball he turned out to be!)

In particular, his gross motor skills seem to be outstanding for his age. Aside from rolling over so early, he also can basically stand on his own if you hold his hands, and when he’s on his tummy he holds his head up perfectly like he’s just going to start crawling. Combine that with a strong will to go where he wants (he lets you know which direction he wants you to hold him so he can see better), and I think he’s going to be pretty early on the mobility end of things.

He’s generally pretty easy going, but certainly the best time to catch him is first thing in the morning. By about 6 pm he’s getting pretty grumpy, but he is very pleasant when he just wakes up.

He has very recently started waking up quite a bit more, especially early in the evening and from about 3 am – 7 am, and it seems to be one of those, “you know, all things considered, I’d really prefer it if someone just held me” kind of things. Hopefully this is just a (brief) phase we’re going through and not a “welp, our best days are already behind us and it’s all down hill from here” kind of phase, because sometimes you need 10 minutes without holding a baby (shocking, I know).

“O What Freedom, This Great Steel Cage” now available from Analog

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My flash story, “O What Freedom, This Great Steel Cage” is in the May issue of Analog, on sale at fine newsstands now.

I want to point out Ian Creasey‘s name on the cover there. This is significant to me personally because years ago, I used to subscribe to a couple of magazines, including Asimov’s. Alas, I had to stop subscribing when I realized that I just wasn’t keeping up with my subscriptions. That stack of unread magazines has sat by my bed ever since, and the one on the top of the stack is the August 2010 issue of Asimov’s.

For SIX YEARS I have stared at the cover of that magazine, the contents seeping into my brain by osmosis as I slept. SIX YEARS of staring at those names, including (you guessed it) Ian Creasey.

I have since met Ian online, so naturally I sent him this picture of me snuggling with my August 2010 Asimov’s:

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Very happy to be once again appearing in such a prestigious magazine, and to be sharing a table of contents with Ian.

Honey-Garlic Chicken and Veggies

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The first Friday of the month is reserved for recipes. You can see additional First Friday Food posts here.

The Reason:

You know, I share a lot of recipes on this blog, but sometimes I yearn for simpler days. The kind of thing my mom would have cooked, growing up. Just a regular, old steak chicken-and-potatoes kind of meal.

This is that meal.

The Journey:

I have practically nothing to say about this recipe, because it’s just what you would expect. Sometimes, simplest is best: just a few standard ingredients that you already have.

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This makes a decent amount of food, and the best part is that the main dish and side dishes are made all at the same time. Still, this would be easy to scale up or down, as the situation dictates (although it never hurts to scale it up and have some leftovers!)

In the picture here it’s all piled up on one pan, but in reality we bake it on two so that everything can crisp up a bit better.

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The Verdict:

This just really hits the spot. It’s just so exactly perfect, and exactly what you want on a still-a-little-bit-cold-a-little-bit-rainy spring evening. This is the kind of easy-to-make staple that we need in heavy rotation for dinners at our house.

Clearly something about this recipe makes-me-want-to-use-hyphens.

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The Recipe:

Recipe adapted from Damn Delicious:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 rounded teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes, halved
  • ~1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 4 – 5 pieces
  • ~4 heads broccoli cut into florets (or 2 bags of frozen broccoli)
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets or coat with nonstick spray.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together butter, honey, brown sugar, Dijon, garlic, Italian seasoning; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
  3. Place potatoes in a single layer onto two prepared baking sheets. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with chicken in a single layer and brush each chicken breast with honey mixture.
  4. Place into oven and roast about 15 minutes. Stir in broccoli and continue roasting for another 20 minutes. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized and slightly charred. Remove top baking sheet from the oven and move the bottom baking sheet to the top rack; broil for 2-3 minutes.

The last picture it will ever take

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There are few things Ollie enjoys more than taking pictures and videos. We have (had) an old camera and we just let Ollie run wild with it. He never really wants to see the pictures he takes, he just enjoys taking them.

Well, no more. This is the last picture the camera will ever take:

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See, Ollie decided that it would be really cool to take some underwater pictures.

“Ollie! You can’t put anything that uses electricity under the water!” said Sara, to which Ollie incredulously replied, “The camera uses electricity??” It turns out, in Ollie’s mind electricity is not equal to batteries. After seeing his confusion, Sara proceeded to list all sorts of things that should not go under water. Each one was a surprise. Like, he understood in the abstract that electronics should not go in the water, but in the specific he was baffled.

We tried drying the camera out in a bowl of rice, but unfortunately there was no coming back from it. I did manage to rescue the SD card and get the pictures off (you should have seen that coming, since you’re seeing the picture above). I was kind of hoping for something cool from the underwater pictures, to make it all worthwhile, but unfortunately that was the best of the 3 or 4 he managed to snap before the camera gave up the ghost (and yes, we asked, this was not a picture of the toilet!)

::time goes by::
Sara: “Oh, don’t put the iPad under water either.”
Ollie: “THE IPAD USES ELECTRICITY TOO??”

*So glad* she thought to go back and clarify that one.

My story “Never” now available from The Sockdolager

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Peter Pan was kind of a dick.

I mean, all of Neverland exists solely so he can play out his fantasies. Whatever he wants, he gets: kick ass tree house, mermaids, fairies. He wants adventures, so he gets pirates…regardless of what the pirates think of the matter. Even if the pirates were real people with real lives, and people who cared for them, and maybe, just maybe hoping for one more chance to redeem themselves from some really terrible deeds…too bad! Peter says you’ve got to come and let him trounce you for all eternity, so that’s your new life. Bad luck fellows!

Neverland is a paradise, but only as long as you’re Peter. If you’re a pirate, it’s a fate worse than death.

Hop on over to the Spring issue of The Sockdolager and read all about it. And if you prefer the entire issue in an easier to read format, you can do that too (might I recommend the print edition?)