Oscar Night. February 27th 2011 And some reporter named Peter Larsen

Pete Larsen.  Reporter with handy notepad on left. Will Smith.  Star.  With hand to ear on right.

Tonight, once again, my daughters and I get to watch my husband don his traditional rental tux and drive up to the red carpet at the Oscars to interview all the stars alongside all the other media paparazzi.

Peter Larsen, Pop Culture Reporter, Orange County Register

I was so predictably irritated by this today that I didn't even take any of my usual photos of him on his way up like I have all the other times.  My bad.

Now that his daughters are older, we ALL get to pretend it's just fine we're not there with him.  That we all couldn't be happier to left alone in the middle of a perfectly good Sunday so he can go TO THE OSCARS.

And that it is JUST FINE that he gets to go "see it all" and meet all those Oscar-winning celebs over and over again.  And over, again.

Anna Lily and Juliet Larsen giving pre-Oscar interviews

It's fine.  Really.  Fine.

Last year's press pass.  I can't deal with this year's one.

However, we also do have the advantage of later on hearing what really happens out there on the red carpet which often never really makes it into print.   The looks, the goofs, the jabs, the panic, the ego, the rush of it all.  The best boob jobs.  The genuinely humble and gracious.  The truly great bodies.  Etc...That's what we get to hear.

And, as always, I get to ask:

"So, who was THE HOTTEST LOOKING WOMAN ON THE RED CARPET, TONIGHT, HONEY?"

And I get to hear who that was.  That year.

 And I have to think about that.  Because he knows precisely what I think "hot" means to me, so his answers to my questions are maybe worth not being there.  A bit..

However, he does often come home with some pretty good gossip, too.

So, that's a nice silver lining, I have to say.

(Oh, and pssst!  If I do hear anything particularly juicy that somehow didn't make it into his own story, for The Orange County Register, I may just have to post that later...)

Anna Lily and Juliet Larsen giving pre-Oscar interviews