This past weekend, Eric (one of Michael's friends from Chicago; he was also in our wedding) came down from LA (where he lives now) to meet Rita. They got along great! We especially thank Eric for all of the time he spent playing tennis with Rita, watching tennis with Rita, and the beautiful butterfly bracelet he gave her.

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a corned beef dinner on Saturday (with Eric) and Sunday (with my sister Kristin). Kristin also played tennis with Rita. So beware - if you come to our house you may find yourself playing some tennis.


Tonight we are trying this recipe with the corned beef leftovers.

The big news of the day is that Rita starts school on WEDNESDAY! We decided not to start her tomorrow because the school has a "national disaster day" or something and they are spending the morning practicing all of the disaster drills. The genius mom in me thought that may be too tramatic for her first day of school.

But Rita's new teacher invited us to come over after school tomorrow so we could meet her, check out the classroom, and see where she will be sitting. Her teacher seems very engaging and genuinely excited to have her in her classroom. She says that her students will love that she's from Russia, and reassured me that there will be a number of girls who will be fighting to be her "buddy" and help her with everything.


Bonus photos of the pedicure that lasted 30 minutes...