The Sunday (on Monday) Post [42]

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly at the Caffeinated Reviewer! It's an opportunity to share news, post a recap for the previous week, showcase books, and highlight what's planned for the week ahead.

News:

Everyone keeps talking about finding their new normal, but I'm struggling to find mine. Jacob is home now, so that helps, but trying to essentially homeschool our son while also taking care of the day-to-day tasks, is difficult. We can't go to Story Time at the library, playgrounds are a big no, and walking is quickly losing its appeal. As far as physical exercise goes, we bought them a trampoline last weekend, and they seem to enjoy jumping for the most part. Jacob and I have used it to, and it was quite the reminder that I'm not as young as I used to be! I can still do a front flip though, so there's that. ;)

I'm not sure how some parents are going to handle having to homeschool on top of everything else. I'm a teacher (when I'm not a stay-at-home mom), so this isn't completely new to me, but other parents are going to struggle with what's required of them. What if they're unable to print the papers the students are supposed to working on? They have to cut and paste, fill in blanks, etc., so it can't all be done online. Additionally, some students don't have access to computers or internet, so how are they going to even see the materials? Are we supposed to save these papers and turn them in? Turn them in when? When my son is supposed to start first grade next year? Is he going to start first grade? There are so many unanswered questions right now, and it's hard not to feel super stressed about it.

My son's school introduced three phases of learning over the last week. One was an emergency packet just to keep kids going while they were unsure if schools would reopen. Now we've entered phase two, which is two weeks of materials that need to be completed (and possibly stored somewhere) before "Spring Break". There will be no new materials that week, but phase three starts the following Monday, which includes classroom and video instructions from his teacher. How am I supposed to help and monitor his "school" day, if I'm also supposed to keep the girls away from the computer? The rules state that only the person the video is for should be seen, and that nothing inappropriate should be seen in the background. Do naked three-year-old twins count as inappropriate? Because the hotter it gets, the less inclined they are to wear clothes, plus we're potty training.

We tried to do online instructions with my son's piano teacher, but that was a huge flop. Mostly because of the reasons mentioned above, but there were just so many interruptions in a 30 minute time period. The guy came to read our meter, so I had to let him in the backyard. Then the dogs started barking, because they heard him outside. The girls woke up from their naps earlier than planned, and then they wanted to know what their brother was doing and "help".

In other news, we've ripped up all the new linoleum in the kitchen, dining, and utility rooms. If you've been following along with our recent move, you'll know that the floors were unfinished when we moved in. The "handy man" rushed through the process of installing new linoleum (that was weirdly soft and squishy for a kitchen -- vinyl, I think), and the flooring didn't go all the way to the walls in some places. It looked like crap, and I was always stressed about not being able to get all of the dirt that was collecting in those cracks. He also didn't glue all of it down, just the areas where it connected, so there were big bubbles everywhere.

I took pictures of all of this, and the lady we're renting from said she would look into it and potential solutions, but I never heard back from her. After awhile, I noticed that water was collecting between the old linoleum and the new (that's right, he didn't even remove the old first (or clean it for that matter) before installing the new). I was worried about mold and mildew, so I asked if I could life a corner to see what looked like underneath.

Yep. Moisture was trapped underneath the top layer, and this is two months after its installation. You can also see the jagged edges the "handy man" made with a freaking box cutter. After seeing these pictures, she said she would talk with him and brainstorm ideas. I told her Jacob was going to be home for the next two weeks, and that we wouldn't mind tearing it up and just using what was there (that was professionally installed and didn't need to be replaced to begin with). She said that would be fine, so Jacob tore it out, and I scrubbed until my arms ached to make sure the floor was clean after seeing the mold and mildew.

The landlord told me repeatedly that what was underneath was damaged and no longer pretty, because someone used the wrong product when cleaning it (something like that), and that their "handy man" wasn't concerned about messing up the flooring when he was painting (also poorly done, but beside the point). He also assured her the old linoleum was irreparable, when he's actually just lazy. 

THIS was underneath the new stuff. Sticky stains and paint splatters, and a ridiculous amount of dirt buildup. I mean, c'mon dude. How hard would it have been to sweep and mop the floor before installing new linoleum? This is also likely the reason we've had an ant issue in the dining room. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement. I sent the landlord all of this to show her what we were now working with, and again she said the darker areas were ruined beyond repair. Oh, yeah?

It wasn't ruined or damaged. It just needed some elbow grease (several hours of intense scrubbing), and someone that actually cared about having a clean floor. This linoleum is actually really nice, and I like the subtle checkered pattern (hard to see in this picture). The floor legit sparkled when I was finished with it. Edward Cullen would look pale in comparison. ;)

If you look closely, you can see the scrubbed clean area on top, and the dirty untouched section on the bottom. Ignore the baseboards, because they're a problem for another day. Apparently, he sawed off the bottoms around the door so he could just shove the new linoleum underneath. I have no words for half of the "improvements" that were made prior to our arrival. However, it was a great way to kill time one day while we're still stuck at home. I only had to use a putty scraper where he connected the newer pieces together (some of the glue wasn't even dry, and he applied it months ago). It was a lot of work (for free), but I'm much happier with how the flooring looks like. It feels better under our feet, I know it's clean and not collecting dirt or water, and it's pretty to look at. It's also easier to clean, if you can believe it.

As far as reading and blogging go, I'm failing. I thought I would have more time with everyone home and socially distancing themselves from the world, but keeping everyone entertained (physically and mentally stimulated) is a lot of work. There's very little "me" time, and I usually fall asleep the second I crack a book open. I've been trying to make more time for myself, and Jacob's been helping with that, but I also know he needs his own time, too. If you've found your new normal, know that I'm super jealous, because we're still trying to find ours.

Also, if you're hoarding toilet paper and soap, please stop. Be kind to others, and kind to yourself. :)

Previous week on the blog: 

• Sunday: NA
• Monday: NA
• Tuesday: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune (★★★★⋆)
• Wednesday: My Weekly Pull [115] & Can't Wait Wednesday [85]
• Thursday: NA
• Friday: NA
• Saturday: NA

What I'm currently reading:

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig 🎧

The Honey-Don't List by Christina Lauren 

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett

• I'm really enjoying the audio version of House of Salt and Sorrows! It's spooky, which I wasn't expecting, and I'm really curious about the sisters and their "curse". 
• The Honey-Don't List has been pretty great so far! I'm already super defensive of Carey and want to fight people on her behalf. Luckily, James seems up to the task. ;) 
• Chasing Lucky started off as a buddy read with Karen (For What It's Worth), but Josie really annoys me, and I'm having trouble with her as a main character. It's sitting on my desk waiting to be read, but I'm not itching to pick it back up.

 What I plan on reading next: 

Night of the Dragon (Shadow of the Fox, #3) by Julie Kagawa
What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume
We Didn't Ask for This by Adi Alsaid

What I'm watching:

I'm still re-watching Yu Yu Hakusho, which has been enjoyable! LEGO Masters is an amazing show that we all look forward to each week, and Jacob and I still watch The Masked Singer every Wednesday. I've correctly guessed one person (Taco), and Jacob was right about Robot. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, and slew of movies on Disney+. 

Challenge updates: 

• Read the Alphabet Challenge 7 
• Audiobook Challenge 9 / 50+
• Beat the Backlist Challenge 19 / 110
• Discussion Challenge 1 / 1-10
• Goodreads Challenge 107 / 365

We've also been doing a lot of Spring Cleaning while being stuck at home, and one of our larger projects has been our ever-expanding comic book collection. We simply don't have room for them all, and have needed to go through them for awhile now. We're only going to keep our absolute favorites. If you're looking for new reading material, I'm selling them on Mercari! I'm getting rid of single issues, as well as some sets. I haven't posted everything yet, but there are a few things already up and available. If you're a friend, message me or make an offer, and I'll give you the Friend Discount. ;)