I'm back from my Mom's place. Rob's off at work and I'm at home with Gabriel and working on getting four loads of laundry done today. It's been snowing out since last night and hasn't stopped yet. Neither our street nor our apartment complex has been plowed out yet, not sure about the main roads. I'm surprised Rob didn't have a snow day today.

And now, the recap of my very cool and relaxing extended weekend.

Friday

We got up, got ready, packed, and headed out to my Mom's place. We grabbed lunch on the way out there and the drive was thankfully uneventful. Dick Cop was at his usual position, but this time we knew where the speed limit changed.

When we got to my Mom's place we hung out around the house, took a nap, and ordered in pizza for dinner.

Saturday

Saturday we got to sleep in somewhat and after getting ready, we headed out to Wal*Mart. We were able to find a good amount of small stuffed Pokemon for Gabriel (for Xmas) and decided to give him the Turtwig that night during dinner so that he would behave. I also picked up a hoodie since I forgot mine and my Mom's house is usually fairly cold.

We then headed into Dubuque, drove around a bit while Gabriel napped, picked up some Pokemon cards for Gabriel at a comic book store, and Rob found a Ravenloft Tarokka deck (at retail price no less) for me as well.

From there we headed to the mall. Our first stop was at the men's section of Yonkers. Rob was able to get a jacket (the restaurant we'll be going to with my dad requires men to wear jackets) and a sweater. We then tried Gabriel with Santa, but much like last year, he freaked and wouldn't go near Santa. *sigh* I then picked up a cute outfit for Gabriel for when he comes to dinner with us at my Dad's. It's a lot better than jeans and a t-shirt. It's a nice pair of pinstriped slacks, a white button up shirt, and a sweater vest. So cute.

After the mall we headed to the House of China for dinner (one of my favorite restaurants) and I managed to bang my leg up on my Mom's car door when the wind blew it closed on me. Ouch. After dinner we drove through a lights show (I love that thing) and then headed back to my Mom's house for the night.

Sunday

We got to sleep in again and then made another run out to Wal*Mart for a few other items, including more Pokemon Xmas gifts for Gabriel. Oh, we did give him the Turtwig at dinner on Saturday night and he LOVES it. They didn't have in some of the things I had wanted to get him, but we did manage to get a good haul.

From there we headed back in to Dubuque. We were going to check out the kitties at the Humane Society and I wanted to give them a donation, but they had just closed when we got there. So, we went to a Wal*Mart out there and I was able to find what the other one didn't have. Now I only need to get a few more things for Gabriel for Xmas, and those will be coming from Amazon. I also need to get gifts for my Mom (I have an idea on what I'll be getting her) and Rob. Unfortunately, Rob is rather difficult to buy for so I have no idea what I'll be getting him.

When we headed back to Galena we went to Dirty Gurtz Burger Joynt for dinner and Gabriel was super well behaved there. He kept looking at my Mom and saying "hi". It was so cute. When we were finished with dinner we headed back to my Mom's place for the night and watched the finale of The Amazing Race. I'm happy with Nick and Starr winning. They deserved it.

Monday

We got up early to head out of my Mom's place because a bad storm was on its way and we needed to get some grocery shopping done when we got back to our neck of the woods. Gabriel was not happy with leaving his Nana and expressed his displeasure in ear piercing screams for most of the ride home (that is, when he wasn't sleeping). The ride back was all right. We stopped for lunch and had some visibility problems at some times. It was raining out a bit and the rain mixed with the salt that was on the roads to prepare for the storm left Rob's windshield all smeary for most of the ride back home.

When we got back to our area, we did our grocery shopping and then went home. We brought in mail and packages and all of our groceries and suitcases. We put the groceries away, unpacked, got some laundry started, went through the mail and packages, and then were able to sit down and have dinner and relax. We watched Heroes and the finale of Scream Queens. I miss being at my Mom's place. The storm started up pretty shorty after we got in for the night and has been going ever since. There's a lot of snow out there.

This weekend is going to be hectic as well as we head down to Chicago to see my Dad and Cheryl.

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