As the Days Go By...

Some days fly by.  Some days flow by.  Some days bump by.  And some days lurch and crash and fall to pieces to be swept to the side and locked in some dark dungeon to hopefully never be revisited.

Last Friday was that kind of day.

The last one.

The lurch and crash one.

I don't know what it is about the kids, but as well as Elizabeth does babysitting everyone else's kids, she has the hardest time watching her own siblings.

Jimmy's company has been working overtime to get all the products that they have designed produced and on the shelves in time for the Inauguration rush.  No matter who's side you were on, the Inauguration is always a big deal, and the company that Jimmy works for always is commissioned to make a lot of new products; coins, prints, bookmarks...even the invitation to the Inaugural Events themselves.

So, it is an exciting time, but this is the first really big project that Jimmy has had to handle on his own since I left the company to be home with the kids.

I usually go in for a few hours on Friday mornings to help him with anything he needs or to answer any questions, make any necessary calls and help him get a handle on ordering materials, but I am usually able to get home by around 9:30 or 10, so it's not really a big deal.

But this week, I went in for what was to be just a short while and ended up staying almost all day.

It was horrible!

It was so stressful to both Jimmy and me to have me there knowing that all who-knows-what was breaking loose at home, and it was super stressful for Elizabeth to have to deal with said who-knows-what, and I am sure that it was stressful for the little ones who were the ones causing the who-knows-what.

Honestly, by the end, we were all at our wit's end.

Elizabeth was in tears, Jo was in a tizzy and had pushed Gabriel down the stairs (he wasn't hurt, thankfully), and Jesse was beside himself with the confusion and chaos of it all.

The thing is that it seems that most of the issue stems from Jo and Elizabeth and their relationship.  It is not a very good one and I don't know how to make it better.

Elizabeth tends to be overbearing with Jo, and Jo has a hard time respecting Elizabeth's authority when I'm not there, and that causes Elizabeth to be even MORE bossy and overbearing.  I have talked to Elizabeth about this, but of course, when you are in the heat of the moment where you ask Jo to please stop pulling on Jesse's legs, and she looks at you and defiantly says 'NO!' and keeps pulling and makes him fall and cry, it is hard to remember to be calm and firm but loving.  All you really want to do is put her in her room til dinner.

For some reason, I am pretty much the only one that Jo consistently responds to.  Even Jimmy has his times with her.  I mean, she drives me crazy, but in the end, I am usually the one that has to/can bring her down from the rafters when she has gotten herself all worked up with no exit in sight.

Part of the reason that we decided to keep the kids home from school is so that they can have more time and better relationships together, but I seem to be having a hard time fostering a good relationship between Jo and Elizabeth.  They are both just so headstrong.  It is like having 2 oldest children, which, in fact,due to the difference in their ages, they both kind of are.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can help them have a better relationship together?  It's really kind of driving me crazy!