Elizabeth picks up her youngest daughter and carries her inside their house. She is still sound asleep from all the fun and stress that happened today. She takes her child to the twins' room and lays her down to tuck her in. She checks to see if another accident has occurred and if a change is needed. She finds that it is indeed wet, but since it is extra absorbant, it will last for the rest of the night. She tucks Melody in and heads back downstairs to discuss everything with the Amelia. "Ok Amelia. Please explain what happened. I promise I won't yell anymore. I was just worried since it was Melody's first day as well Melody." "I know mom. I am so sorry. We kept having to wait in long lines and she just wanted to do different things. All the rides we did were spinning rides and bumper cars. I guess that the pizza and all the spinning and bumping caused here to have an accident. She told me her tummy was hurting, but I thought it was just a tummy ache due to being stressed about the change. Gah, how could I be so stupid? She must hate me. I try to be nice to her one time and I screw up so hard that she will just hate me more." "Now honey, don't be so dramatic. I'm sure she loved that you were actually being a good sister. She needs you just as much as she needs Cassi. She may even need you more than Cassi. I can tell just from watching Mel that it hurts to be around Cassi. Their entire relationship is going to change and they have been inseparable. That is really scary, especially for a new 4 year old. I appreciate that you tried to be a good role model today and I really love you sweetie, I just wish that you remembered that she is 4 and not 16 anymore. Now that being said, you still are being punished for bejng irresponsible. What do you think your punishment should be?" "I don't know, being grounded or something. It was just one mistake. You should have been there to see us mom. We were behaving together better than we ever have." "Well, I can agree that I would have liked to observe your relationship, so I think I have come up with the perfect consequence for your actions. You are not allowed to use your phone unless you're going somewhere with our approval until further notice. On top of that, you will be on babysitting duty for the next month. That gives you time to realize that Melody is different than you know and gives me time to realize that you may be different than I know. I am trusting you to be responsible. Please don't let me down a second time." "Ok mommy, I promise. I really do. Thank you for being so understanding. I will do my best with Melody. No promises with the other two though. They are still super annoying and boring." "Well honey, we all got to start somewhere. Now go get ready for bed and send your father down here once he is done with the twins." Amelia runs upstairs to get ready while Elizabeth rubs her face and ponders what to do with her kids.
"You wanted to talk to me dear?" "Yes Phillip, I was wondering what your thoughts are about the kids and our new situation. I mean it is way harder than I thought it would be. I cannot imagine how David and Melody feel. I am just worried that we were wrong or that we will screw something up. I mean one wrong move and something terrible could happen that we will regret forever." "Liz, honey. I understand your concern, but look at it from a different angle. Our family can be closer than it ever was before. I mean Cass and David always did their own thing and kept to themselves. They never even left their room half the time. Amelia was a rebel child causing mayhem to get attention and Melody didn't really have any siblings to connect with because of the age gap. Now Melody and David will have a tight brother-sister relationship, Amelia has seemed to open up and take on some responsibility as a big sister, and Cassi and Melody are still twins at heart. One big happier family. All we need to do is make sure that everyone feels safe and ok which you seemed to nail today." "Thank you honey, I guess I am just worried about Mel. I mean not only has she regressed into a 4 year old girl which is hard enough, but she also is having accidents fairly regularly. I mean 4 in the past 48 hours is not a great percentage. I am worried that she might be regressing or already has lost her continence. I don't want her to deal with any more problems than she already has." "I really appreciate how much you care Lizzie, but let us just wait and see. It could just be that her brain has not fully synced with David's yet. I mean it has only been 48 hours. I am sure that it takes time for everything to work properly. Melody was still having night time accidents anyway before the swap. Whose to say she wouldn't have the same problem we had today? If this stays an issue, then we can just contact Larry and he can run some tests. If worst things worst, we have a kid not in school yet that needs to be potty trained. It isn't that big of a deal." "I guess honey. Thank you for reassuring me. I love you." "Oh yeah? Let's continue this conversation in our bedroom."