Tuesday, August 19, 2008

End of Summer Checklist

I've had a fun summer so far - the beach, boardwalk, bay, barbecues, parties, a Long Island wedding, trips, swimming, the Summer Olympics.. One problem, I'm a bit behind. 







With only two short weeks left of summer (yuck), here's the top three tasks on my End of Summer Checklist: 

1. Hang out with our brand new family member, Benji. 

2. Begin serious potty training. Help me! :)

3. Finish writing and revising SCREWBALL 2 (untitled). 

What would be your top three end of summer tasks? Is anyone taskless? :)

Pretty Tough Tuesday: Tonight's the night. Team USA is two wins away from gold. Check out Pretty Tough's Olympic coverage here

Contest Alert: Don't miss this one! Tera Lynn Childs is hosting a huge Olympic book giveaway. Check it out here

Have a great day, everyone! :)

26 comments:

Unknown said...

aw! puppy! so cute. hope you get around to your to-do list! the end of summer's always a downer. sigh.

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Virginia! Thanks.. :) And the puppy only woke up once last night. :) My daughter is having a blast.

Anonymous said...

Your puppy is tres cute! Good luck with the potty training! Moments like this, I'm so glad we got a geriatric dog for our first canine.

My end of summer checklist:

1. Make sure kids have clothes that fit.
2. Clean house.
3. Survive until September 2
3a. Practice Back To School Happy Dance daily.

TJ Brown said...

okay, puppy is super cute. And I really should make a list of things to do rather than what I've done... LOL It's just feels better to look at what has already been accomplished. My other list is too long.
Teri

PJ Hoover said...

Just don't potty train. Keep her in diapers forever.
Kidding.
But this one my plan with my daughter who them decided she wanted to wear panties right before we left for Disney.
Have fun with it, and enjoy the rest of the summer!

Alyson Noel said...

My list is unfit for print-- it's tooooo long!

But looking at your new puppy made my day!

Adorable!

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Amy! Thanks.. I love survive and make sure the kids have clothes that fit. :)

Hi, Teri! I like your list better. :) I'm making mine next.

Hi, PJ! Alexa Young and I made a list of the best things about staying in diapers forever - never have to get up from your bar stool and you never have to feel bad when you have to wear them again when you're old. Great advice - staying positive. I'm on the hunt for Backyardigans panties. :)

Hi, Alyson! She is sooo good so far. But, I think it's because she has a little girl in her face playing with her all day long. :)

Unknown said...

I'm assuming potty training for the puppy?

Here's what helped the most for me:

1. Buy those "pee mats" they sell at pet stores or WalMart. Go ahead adn get the good brands, at least to start with...they have a scent that attracts the dog to pee there, and the dog will naturally want to go to the bathroom there.

2. Once you get him using the mats, start moving them closer and closer to the door. Also, if the food bowl is near the door, that's good--he won't want to go near food.

3. Keep an eye out--when he starts to go near the door,jump up and kick him outside. Eventually take the mats away--he'll still go to the door, but will wait for you to open it.

It took a solid 2 months or so to train our dog, but once trained, he's never gone inside the house again.


...heh. Just read the comments and realized you meant human potty training. This might not be quite as applicable then, but feel free and try it out :)

Angela said...

Oh how I'd love to be taskless!

1. unpacking unpacking unpacking
2. set up times with translator for research project
3. maintain my kids - medical appointments for teeth, eyes and health.

Angela said...

Oh and congrats on the new addition to your family. Can I trade you five baby mice (unexpected end of summer surprise) for your adorable puppy?

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Beth! Thanks for the advice!! :) So far so good. This dog is sooo much easier to train than the human living here. :)

Hi, Angela! Five baby mice! Good luck.. I love the 'maintaining my kids'. :) LOL

Brooke Taylor said...

Awww... cute puppy. Best potty training advice is to just give tons of opportunities to go out and lots of praise when they do their business outside.

My to-do list is too upsetting to discuss. LOL. Much rather talking about doggy doodles.

Brooke Taylor said...

Whoops--probably shouldn't let your daughter do her business outside. LOL. Thought we were talking puppy potty training!

For kids, rolle dup newspaper... JK!!!!

Jessica Burkhart said...

Oooh, puppy! I want! :)

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Brooke! The doggie is actually a lot easier to train then the toddler. :) I'll try the newspaper. :)

Hi, Jessica! She's a cutie. :)

Booked Books said...

I love your puppy already!
I'm taskless...but maybe I'll go to Disneyland within this week? Don't really know yet.

School registration is next week for me.

Rowan

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

No, not taskless! *grin* So much to do here too!

Beth said...

hey keri! i thought of something just as i was getting home from writing class last night, and thought maybe it could give u inspiration for ur stories, since they are set locally. it's a facebook group, "you know you're from south jersey if..." so i fugured ur characters might do or say some thigns on here. me n my friends n bro got a real kick out of it. here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2326512777
it's really long, but i recommend reading the whole thing if u can

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

You're potty training a child, right? When I potty trained my daughters I made them go bottomless. The down side is you have to stayed home for a bunch of weeks. I always did it in the summer so they would not be cold being bottomless and we carried the port-a-potty with us in every room of the house... wherever we went, it was there too. It worked. And we had very, very few accidents.

My remaining list of what to do b4 summer's over...
1. hike down to the creek with my kids before school starts.
2. write/polish writing samples for an educational publisher/packager. (wish me luck you guys***)
3.get credentials together for my new job. (I begin Sept 2 and they want a copy of my college transcripts! YIKES, where the heck could THEY be???) and a whole bunch of other crazy papers like that...

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Rowan! Thanks! Disneyland.. :) Have fun.

Hi, Kelly! At least I'm not alone. :) Good luck.

Hi, Beth! Thanks.. I'll have to check it out. :)

Hi, Sheri! Great idea! I've heard the 'go bottomless' idea. I'll try it. Have fun and good luck with the educational publisher and new job. :)

Justin The Teen Librarian said...

1. Get outside more.
2. Write more songs for my band.
3. Make sure my pregnant wife is happy!

Kaitlyn said...

My three things.
1. keep my room clean for more then an hour.
2. finish 25 books before school starts.
3. do something epic.

None of which I have finished yet. Camping was kind of epic but that wasn't a full epic event.

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Justin! I like number three. :)

Hi, Kaitlin! Welcome back! :) Why 25?? See you on Wednesday.

Anonymous said...

I have to finish the novella that's already two weeks late because I've been working on Broadway so much this summer.

Adorable puppy!

Anonymous said...

Your puppy is adorable! Yes, definitely worth hanging out with. And good luck with the potty training and Screwball 2!

Keri Mikulski said...

Hi, Devon! How exciting - Broadway. :) Enjoy the novella. Thanks. :)

Hi, Caryn! Thanks. :)