Rachel’s comment, from the post below:

Just so everyone knows, Leira was indeed born to Empire Strikes Back. My labor went so fast we didn’t make it through the entire movie. So fast, my actual doctor didn’t deliver the baby. I believe they had to bring in the ER doctor. INTENSE.

I’m an Aunt. It’s official. I’ve kind of been a lower-case aunt for Sam, but this feels very different than when he was born. Leira is someone who I feel a real sense of duty towards and thank goodness that the Kleins came to visit over the weekend because I would have been a ball of guilt and anxiety without them around to distract me. It’s kind of settling in now and I really wish I could be there with Rachel, even though I would just be a seat filler.

Poor Arrow was really thrown for a loop with other people in the house. She seems to be recovering nocely today, Tom took her out to the ranchito for a run with the desert dogs, and she’s muddy and happy and napping.

We had a lot of fun having our BFFs over – they hadn’t seen the house since we just moved in, so they could see all the work that’s been done and reminded us that we’ve actually gotten a bit finished. Also, Annika is proving that pregnancy is a very good look for her, yet again. Sam is proving that age 3 is a strange, yet, simple age and that you must take the time to assess the situation. And Will is proving that beer is a breakfast food and whiskey is for dessert, and that Nick Cage movies are always worth watching.

Tom managed to cook breakfast for all of us and prove that you can, in fact, use a pancake mix and rely on technique for the World’s Best Pancakes.

I’m sure I proved something or other, but what it could have been, I have no idea. I have fallen into watching the “Later… with Jools Holland” marathon on Ovation (a show that I have never seen before) and I’ve bookmarked the Wikipedia page for it. I will be searching for video of that past 33 series in the coming months, I suspect. Oh, live performances, I don’t need to like that band or that song, but I never get to see bands anymore, so I’m starved for it. UKers, you have no idea how lucky you are to have had this show.

Oh, and we watched the movie Hot Rod on Saturday. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It is very funny and I am a fan!

As Mother’s Day winds down, I want to address some things about moms:

1. My mother is probably the best mom in the world. Sorry, everybody else! I think she’s better than your mom! But things being what they are, if your mom was half-way decent, I can’t blame you for thinking otherwise.

2. My sister is going to be a great mom. Some women just have the right mix of fortitude, optimism, and insanity for motherhood and Rachel is one of these women. I can’t wait to watch her go through it (and not in some state of schadenfreude) because she’s just gonna roll with it.

3. Some of my favorite blogs are written by moms who manage to present themselves as complex, multifaceted, super-interesting women. Stephanie, Annika, Violet – I’m thinking of you! (Let me know if it’s okay to link to your blog and I will!)

4. Mothers-in-Law, while endlessly controversial, are also important. I hope that you have a good relationship with yours, and that you’re lucky like me and that she makes you’re life better and loves you as much as she loves her bio-kids. I miss her, but I’m glad that if she has to live far away, at least she lives in Hawaii, which makes the distance a little more bearable.

Yea! Moms! Woo!

I feel great. I’m sleeping better, I’ve stopped snoring, and I can breathe through my nose all of the time!

My throat feels like it’s been stabbed, though.

I had my check-up two days ago and saw pictures of my tonsils once they had been removed – they were 1 inch wide and 3 inches long. They were covered in scars and looked like Freddy Krueger’s balls. And, apparently, they were full of stones.

In not gross news, my favorite kind of frozen yogurt is tart plain, followed by caffe latte, and tart mango. No toppings.

My mom went home on Tuesday (the same day as my check up), but didn’t get going right away because she missed her flight (my fault) and so we ended up getting manicures and pedicures at the Palm Springs Mall in the same shop that Shannen Doherty had her nails done during the height of her 90210 fame (autographed Brenda Walsh poster). When Mom called me to tell me she had missed her flight I felt so terrible, I started crying and sobbing, which was dumb because it made my throat hurt.

She caught a later flight and everything was fine, but I got upset. I blame the drugs.

We had a great visit and, honestly, I don’t think I would be recovering as well as I am if my mom hadn’t been here. I love her and I miss her. I wish I could do for her what she does for me.

My sister-in-law and her husband are visiting this weekend. Wouldn’t it be neat if they were UFOs instead? Being “visitors” and all…

- Drive for two hours to bring you pho.

- Stay for an unplanned sleepover.

- Watch a horrible movie and enjoy mocking every minute of it.

- Jump into your Arctic-temperature pool, providing great laughs.

- Tell you your hair smells nice.

- Let their kid clean your pool.

- Drive through Joshua Tree National Monument, and decide that Pappy & Harriet’s is just too close not to go to.