Layers of Happiness

Geared up bright and early. Out the door at 5:40am. Raining and cold but no hesitation. Face feels cold from the wind. Smiling by the end of the block. Singing out loud to what on the mp3. Houses are dark. Trusty steel single speed reminds my legs what it means to spin. Body heat tells me I have too many layers.

Work.

Do it again with less layer.

Sleeping In

Last night Jake slept for 13hrs. From 7p-8a. We actually made him stay up till 7. At 6:30 last night he was walking up to Amy and I going, "nigh night, nigh night?"

Sadie slept for 12hrs. 8p-8a. She had a little bottle at 6a after 10hrs of sleeping and went back to sleep.

Amy and I celebrated this ocasion with sleeping in also. 9p-8a.

Today I feel like a new man!

My Time Is/ Was Up

My S.A.D. 5 weeks home is up and back to work on Monday. Wait a second. Me and my BFF 1 year old have been having a great time. Sleeping in till 7 (he calls for me, "daddy") cause i will be right there. Breakfast, coffee, Elmo, then playtime from 9 - lunch. Nap time. Then play time till dinner. Then playtime till nigh-nigh at 7:30. This is too good. This time is so special. I will always remember it even if he doesnt. When he is a smelly teenager who wants nothing to do with me, this will be my happy place. SO I extended another 2 weeks.

Heres to the best 7 weeks of my life.

PS. I do get to spend time with Sadie. She also can roll over both ways at 3 months old. Eye carumba.

Milestone

Yesterday I taught Jake to pull my finger.

S.A.D.

Not sad like boo-hoo more like SAD meaning, YEAH! SAD, stay at-home dad. Amy's maternity leave officially ended so now its my turn. I took of 3 weeks for Jake. At first it seemed like a lot, but when I got into the groove I had wished for more. So this time 5 weeks! I know I will want more but the thought of not having to get up at 5 am to go to work but instead get Jake up, watch Elmo, hold Sadie, and spend the day with my little ones is a dream come true. I know it can be hectic but I will never look back and regret the time I get to spend with them when they are so young. So, today is day one of 5 weeks and I already want more.

first time swimming

Sleepy

I always tell Amy how boring Jack Johnson is. She, of course, dissagrees. Today a JJ song came on while I was holding Sadie, she fell right asleep. I guess I win that one.

right...i said she looks loke me

My Princess

Sadie Juliette Bartoszuk
Born 11-16-2011
8lbs 14oz 21" long

Poor girl looks just like me!

2 for 3

Two races in three weeks. Am I pro? Ok, how about 2 races all year. Thats more like it. I plan for the doosies, 24Wausau and Ore to Shore. 24 went well. I rode lots of bike and saw lotsa friends. Thats the best part. The race is something like #7. At this point its "easy". All you have to do is keep going and take your turn. Big woop. I can do that in my sleep. I guess I did. 2nd in the co-ed 4 person. We were steady even if it did rain a little. Rox was rockin', bs was bs'n, bro-in-law (sit down for this one) had more random fact than Steve, and bosslehoff had to buy two plane tickets, one for him and one for his hair.

Ore 2 Shore. I killed it. I had a time of 3:25. If you factor in for the time change from central to eastern I won! The race is a race. Big turn out. Well supported by the community. Challenging as hell. Makes you happy to just finish. Now the good stuff. Pre riding on trails that arent even in the course, lookouts that make where you started from look so far away, brakeless downhill singletrack, xc pumptracks, and that was just Friday. Riding with the bro, plato, jojo, and a couple rad girls is the best. Wish there were more. Did it again Sunday. Legs were swearing at me but the voices in my head were thanking me. So much fun was had. I cried tears of joy or were they windswept from the high speed single?

Cant wait till next year!

No Pic But It Was Real

Today I saw a guy riding in town. He was in FULL Fox Cities Tri Club Kit. He had no helmet on, was wearing bright white tennis shoes, and was on fixed gear road bike. I couldnt pull that look off.

Making a final push right now. I had planned on having fun this July but that light is getting so much brighter. I ordered my countertops yesterday and had the basement measured for carpet. I got all my extension jambs on over the weekend and cased in my doors plus the patio doors. Tonight I layed out all my leangths of base molding so tommorow night I can cut and install. I hope I can get it all nailed on in 2-3 nights. Then I have about a night of grouting and then I can start final installs of bathroom fixtures and make final plumbing connections.

Then its just final touches and connect all the cable lines and splitters and mount the tv's.

I still need a sauna door and insulate with cedar but that doesnt have to happen anytime soon.

I think I can be 95% done by the first weekend in August. Then time for summer.

Back

A full week off was nice. Mqt in the summer cant be beat, I dont care where you are.

I got some rides in too. Got the Up Nort' bike out and it was prime to ride. 75 degree, sun, and no wind. Lake Superior was glass all week. The great thing about riding up there is that there are trails everywhere. Marked trails. You can park anywhere in town and be on singletrack in less than a mile. I rode 2.5 hrs 3 different days all singletrack all from town and didnt ride the same thing twice. Awesome! I got into some great views, found a 12-15' waterfall by accident, and found the limit of mechanical disk brakes with a 200lb rider.

Up this month... finish the basement (fingers crossed), get a few rides in, celibrate #37, and rip some black dirt day and night with my homies.

Vacay

Ahh... the 4th is here. Time relax and enjoy some sun. Planning on spending some time here, there, and everywhere. After a little more work on my basement project I am calling it quits for a little while. I am at a good stopping point and I think I deserve a break. Doors and trim are about all I have left for major tasks. Soon I will be calling for carpet and looking for people to come break this thing in.

I am super excited to spend time with my little family and spend some time alone with nothing but the sound of tires gripping dirt and heavy breathing. Maybe a little yea-haa's mixed in when I hit a certain section of UP brakeless singletrack that I have been dreaming about.

Tour also starts and I admit I am a junkie. You cant fake the excitement and real life drama that unfolds during that race. No fancy A-list producer could replicate the intracasies, battles, and suffering going on. You just have to watch it and I will be.

July is shaping up to be a great month. Time off, summer fun, dirt shredding, and getting the gang back together in Wausau is going to make this month fly by but also one that should leave me satisfied and refreshed heading into the next things in life.

Thump

What goes pitter patter pitter patter pitter patter thump?

Jake using his new walking legs.

Fathers day was chill. Jake has been sick (dang daycare) but was pulling out of it by Sunday. Not enough though for me to run off and not feel bad leaving Amy alone. So we did family errands for groceries and more tile for my never ending basement project. Good enough for me.

Work looks like I will be pulling 12hr days for a while so who knows between that and home life how much I get to rip dirt.

Day of Firsts

This last Sunday was a day of firsts...

First time I had to pull over and ask my wife to drive because I couldn't.

First time I layed in bed and cried.

First time I had to call somebody for help.

First time I went to the emergency room and got whisked through and was seeing a doctor in ten minutes.

First time I puked from pain.

First time I heard a nurse say "I have orders to give you all the pain meds you need."

First time a doctor looked at me and said, "don't worry about a ride home you aren't going anywhere."

First time having a anesthesiologist say "Go to your happy place."

First time having an overnighter in the hospital.

First time peeing so much blood it looks like Hawaiian Punch.

First time handfulls of Vicoden doesn't take away the pain.

I have heard kidney stones are painful but holy Sh.....!!!

Turns out I also had an infection in my bladder so they couldn't remove the stone. If the stone plugged my inner plumbing it could cause back pressure and send the infection to my kidneys. From there my Kidneys would send the infection to the rest of my body. Thats a bad thing. So I got some extra plumbing put inside me to help everything go where it needs to go.

Since the stone is still in there until the infection is gone I get to feel the stone move around a couple times day. Want to see a grown man cry, come over.

Friday I get it all out. Just the thought of no pain is euphoric.

I Was in the Military

But I am not the patriot in the family. Things we take for granted not forgoten to my father.

Cool Kids

Everybody wants to their kid to be one of the cool kids.

I remember back to high school watching a few guys roll up and think how cool they were.

I still walk into work some days and see some guys coming in and think how cool they are.

Why are they so cool? They ride motorcycles.

I want a cool kid. So I am starting Jake off right!

I just need to give him a good street name so that that all the 2 year olds in the neighborhood and at daycare know not to mess with him.

Beefcake

My Iola

Goofball