Well, March is here and we are loving the warmer, dryer SF weather. Lulu has been practicing on her Balance Bike, doing very well, I might add & miss Delilah is up on all fours and ready to crawl! We are currently residing at Casa de Castle Sha Nay Nay for the week, while she and Mike are vacationing. It's fun to be downtown, we have a magnificent view of the city sky line. Although the down side is the constant noise of traffic and sirens-all night long! Frank, the cat is not so sure about the girls and he misses his Moma, as he has started to whine for her at 4am! That is when Renee usually gets up for work, I am sure Frank is lonely, as we will not get up to entertain him that early!

Delilah can't keep her eyes off her big sister, I can't wait to see this relationship develop. Lulu is so good with her, a perfect big sister, for now.

Renee has an incredible CD collection, I need to get back to downloading as much as possible, Smashing Pumpkins are in right now.

All the best, em & family

Spring is Coming!

The Damon Dong family is ready for the warmer weather here in San Francisco, it has been rainy and windy, but non the less, we are happy it is consistently in the 50's! We walked to Ocean Beach yesterday and enjoyed the amazing surf and sunset with Uncle Mark(a). Lulu adds an (a) on the end of his name, calling him Uncle Marka! We love our time spent with him, such fun and such a great Uncle! He has amazing patience and a level of fun that certainly always surpasses Mom & Dads! Lulu, Delilah and I spend one day a week at the Academy of Science, there is always something new to see. We pack a lunch and have our picnic with the Turtles and Lizards. March is looking to be a busy month for us, we are house sitting for Renee and Mike while they are in Florida for a week. Frank, her cat will not be too happy about the girls, but we'll have some fun with him! Then at the end of the month the girls and I fly home, to Maine for a visit! we are so very excited! We'll try to bring the warm, Spring weather with us!

I have finally included a few shots of myself, Uncle Mark got ahold of my camera and took a a couple of nice photographs. So, finally you all can see that I am healthy and happy! I love the pictures with me and Lulu and then the one with Michael!

Lulu and I spent the morning Spring cleaning her room! I am determined to get Delilah into the crib, starting tonight! Wish me luck! I'm afraid I don't have too much Foodie info lately, the girls have been my world, food is so back burner for now. Love to all! xx emma & family

News from SF

Spring seems to be right around the corner for us here in the Bay Area. The Magnolia trees are blooming as well as the Cherry Blossoms, just in time for Chinese New Year! The Dong Family will be celebrating this Sunday with a family luncheon, there will be approximately 40 os us in attendance, which is a small group.

Lulu has been attending Ballet classes every Thursday at the Shan-Yee Poon Ballet School. We've made some new friends and it's one of Lulu's favorite activities. Mom's are not allowed in the studio while class in in session, as we tend to be a distraction, so the photo's I have included are just before class, when the girls pick a colored letter or number to sit on in preparation for stretching and focussing in on Miss Sheridan, the Dance Instructor. So, we always try to "do" Lulu's hair before class, she is growing her hair out so we can put it into a proper bun.. For now, we do our best. This past week I was told to put 5 buns in, it was a project, but the Dancer was satisfied.

There is a very small window to peek into, it's a great laugh to watch these girls!

We finally got both girls into the tub together, although Delilah is not a big fan of the water yet. We'll keep trying!

We have really ben enjoying the Academy of Sciences, which has a wonderful Aquarium, rainforest, playroom and much, much more. A great place to visit on a rainy day!

We also had an outing with our new friends at Humming Bird School to our local Fire House, Lulu hoped right up into the truck! We learned a lot that morning, great fun!

We went to our local Play Ground yesterday and Delilah had her first swing, she loved it!

The girls and I are headed home to Maine at the end of March for 10 days! We are so very excited! This is it for today, the girls are commanding my attention.

Stay Tuned!

Geese! Where have I been?

Well, this blogging thing is much harder than I ever thought! I will pull out the "I've got 2 kids card", and say we have been fairly busy! For instance, I just had to unplug my laptop and join Delilah here on the floor while she bounces away........and Miss Lulu has been in bed for the past 36 hours with some sort of icky bug! Sooooo, every time I even think about typing, something seems to come up. I suppose I am being a bit nostalgic to my English class days in High School, where just the mere thought of writing a paper would send me into a tail spin of procrastination! As I am writing now, I have come to the conclusion that I need to enter a blurb more frequently with less content, rather than waiting a month and trying to squeeze in a small novel(not which will happen today, as the bouncer starts fussing!)!

Winter here in San Francisco has been very mild in temperature-say the 50's, not bad at all. And the rain has been much more enjoyable in place of the freezing snow!

So, this will have to suffice for today........until, hopefully sometime this week, DDF

Here are a few Holiday photos with the girls and family. Mark Dong hosted a Secret Santa Family party with great success! I forgot to take photos of all the food and found only this snappy of his pot stickers, they were delicious! Mark laid out a nice spread of salami and cheeses, along with a wonderful pasta dressed with a rich almond and tomato pesto, spinach salad with extra crispy bacon and I presented a vanilla bean cheesecake laden with a zesty and festive cranberry-orange compote. You can see Delphina Dong with Katyln Reno, Delilah on the couch, Lulu holding a zonked out little sister, Janice (Mike's sister) with her daughter, Kiana and Delilah, the host, Mark and then Mike with his girls. There is also a photo of Kiana with Delphina and Delilah, too cute!

I had the pleasure of Dining at The French Laundry last Friday with my good friend Sheri, what a treat. Definitely a must do before you die experience. The food was out of this world, however the service was a bit too much for me. As you are trying to relax and savor your delights the kitchen has prepared for you there are about 10 servers bustling around the dining room making sure you have more than what you need. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, but geese, can I at least drink 1 entire glass of water? NO!-would be the answer there. Anyway, I included a few photos of the wonderful food from our 3 hour lunch that included 9-12 courses of love.

And of course

Gingerbread Houses that I

usually make

with my Grand-

-mother, Gigi!

Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Caviar!

Butter poached Maine lobster with chestnut puree, cranberries &

brussle sprouts!

The most amazing beef from Idaho!

Happy Holiday Everyone!

Hello Everyone,

I really must reiterate how hard it is to get anything accomplished with a new born, let alone a husband and 3 year old!

I want to dedicate this small insert to my beloved Moxie Bang Bang Simmons, RIP, 1996-2009. What a great girl, friend, companion, sister, dog, trouper, snuggle girl, traveler and all around goodness! Moxie's cancer finally won, but she will never be forgotten, always in our hearts and our dreams!

You'll see a couple of photo's of Ocean Beach, the "lines" in the sand caught my eye as I was walking by this morning. The other nice blue pix is of Sutro Baths, which is also along the way of my 4-6 mile walk I take every morning after Delilah and I drop Lulu off at School. A bit brisk this morning at 35', what the heck?

Then I added in a few pix of us with Moxie...can't say anymore on that....it just is......remember all the great times!

Then there are some fun pix of us at Auntie Nay Nay's "Castle" for dinner. Lulu has the BEST time with her Auntie Nay Nay!

That's all I got for ya this go around, Moxie gets me choked up, I'll be back in the swing of this real soon!

Best, Em & Family