Have you heard? The Oscars were last night. I watched, hoping for a nice helping of irreverance from Jon Stewart and for a glance at some pretty dresses. I wasn’t impressed on either count. Of course, having only seen two of the nominated movies, it wasn’t like I had any real preferences for who actually won the awards. I dislike George Clooney a bit less after his acceptance speech, though.

It took long enough to find, but I’ve finally discovered my secret talent in life. I’ve got an excellent track record in Guessing Correctly when given Vague Hints. Case in point: I got 28 out of 33 answers right in this intelligence test. Yeah, so intelligence probably doesn’t have anything to do with that test, but whatever! I did well. I’m also very good– too good, perhaps– at guessing what my presents are at even the slightest whisper of a hint. Josh has learned not to say anything at all in regards to gifts he plans to give me. Are there careers in advanced guessing? Stock broker? Doctor? Palm reader?

On Friday, Aunt Jenn came over to watch the kids while Josh and I went to talk with our financial advisor (aren’t we such adults? we even made IRA contributions!). After the meeting, we took full advantage of the coveted child-free time and went to Borders for some books & coffee. We spent over two hours browsing– it was wonderful. It’s a completely different experience when I don’t have the boys in tow. So, add that to the list of things I enjoy: bookstores!

My siblings and I used to read Cricket magazine when we were younger and loved it– I was happy to find that they have a version for younger kids: Ladybug. The boys received the latest issue in today’s mail and we’ve already cut out the game pieces and have read partway through it. It’s perfect for their ages– not so young that Max is bored, but not so old that it’s over Khai’s head. It’s also nice to have something new to read; even though we make weekly library trips, they still have their favorite books that we read over and over. And over and over and over.

Max used to go to the Nick Jr. website and click on this one video repeatedly– it was The Dirty Sock Funtime Band’s Music Everywhere. I didn’t find it on iTunes, but lo and behold! They have that and a couple of other songs available for free on their website. Max & Khai have listened to it 6,342,362 times already today, and danced like crazy. Have I mentioned how much I love the internet lately?

Randomness:

• today’s craving: Pho. Lemongrass beef, to be exact. I blame Katie!
• I need to buy guitar strings and a new vacuum filter.
• song in my head: Where Is My Mind? - The Pixies
• does the humidity mean it’s springtime?
• our taxes are done… yaaay!
• message in a bottle

Max wanted to see himself as a baby, so we’ve been digging through the many folders of mpg movies from ages past. Watching those makes me want to have another baby and I need to stop thinking that like RIGHT NOW.

I’ve not mentioned here that my brother and his wife just found out that they’re expecting– so hey, there’s my baby fix. No need for me to have more. Right? Right. Maybe.

Somebody slap me!

We had a busy day– the boys covered themselves head to toe in mud again; we made mini-pizzas; one of the kitchen walls was decorated due to a glitter-glue explosion. Oh, and they ate the blueberry popsicles we made yesterday, which resulted in bath #2 for the day.

See? No time for another child in there. I just *think* there’s no focus right now– an infant would seal that deal. It’s just a silly emotional reaction fueled by my inability to believe that my baby is going to be five this summer, PMS and extreme cuteness. That’s all.

Things are perfect right now– seeing Max and Khai playing with each other so well and becoming such good friends is wonderful. Knowing that we could feasibly do Disneyland next summer and that *real* road trips (Space Center Houston, anyone?) are within reach opens up a world of possibilites. Why would I want to mess with that by having another child?

These thoughts just need to be put to rest… and the boys’ baby movies need to be locked away for a few years. Oh, some chocolate might help, too. Lots of chocolate.

First day of March. 92 degrees– a harbinger of months to come. The boys are loving it though, especially in light of the rain we had this last weekend. Of course there’s still much mud to play in, so that makes for even more fun.

My uncle, Mike Rosebery, was interviewed for a recent article in The Shreveport Times. I grew up with Mike’s photos; my dad always had several around. Mike would often send them as postcards, sometimes enlarged and mounted to matboard– those were my favorites. I’ve loved getting to see much of his recent work on a near-daily basis through his Flickr account, most of which are photos of Shreveport’s abandoned buildings and shells of once-busy factories. It’s been a neat insight into a city I’d never have seen otherwise; I’m repeatedly impressed with his photos from subject matter to framing to cropping. He and another photographer have an upcoming show– Forgotten & Abandoned Shreveport, from March 16 through April 27 at Artspace in Shreveport. We’re definitely going to be there. It’s cool when other people see the same talent you do, especially when it’s a family member. Congratulations, Mike– can’t wait to see the show.