what happens at the party...

Well the plan was to have it stay at the party, but that didn't quite happen.

You see Gracie and I were in Ottawa over the weekend to celebrate my nephew's first birthday. We had a ball. Her cousin, or the boy with every toy imaginable, is a lot of laughs. And his monkey-themed party, complete with all the trimmings was every one year old's dream.

Since it was a special occasion all the rules went out the window. No afternoon nap, eating way too many fruit kebobs, even eating cake, and staying up hours past bedtime. I don't think Gracie has had that much fun - ever. Smiling, giggling and so much attention, it was pure bliss. We decided we should get her a season's pass to "Rubyland" for her birthday. (Ruby's the dog - and Gracie adores her.)

But after all the toys, the treats, the cake, the dog and the attention the party weekend had to came to an end. Happily exhausted we flew back to Toronto.

We thought we were in the clear. What happened at the party stayed at the party, just like Grandpa's card said. But then the unexpected happened. First to Gracie, then to me. It would have been okay, but Daddy's smart.

Gracie got sick on Monday. Lethargic, feverish and just not herself. Kinda like a hangover. Then on Tuesday I was out with a twenty four hour bug. The jig was up. We had to confess everything to Daddy, especially since we passed on the flu to him today. Uh oh.

But now that the sickness is pretty much out of all of our systems, I think it is fair to say it was worth it.