being a step parent has to be one of the most difficult things in this world. Always wind up feeling inadequate to the step children, and like you have encroached on their territory and do not belong there. I do not know how people can get beyond these feelings.I've talked with many step parents and they never discussed these things with me. So it's all new to me, maybe it's because the children are older in this case, and thus they were more firmly rooted in their routine. my arrival threw that entire routine into total chaos. what they were used to, has changed to include my routines beacuse the house is mostly my territory. master leaves the running of the house to me, thus mealtimes have changed, the meals themselves are different from before me, rules have changed and stuff like that. I can see the kids' points of views, but it still hurts me. I try, and alot of the time I feel like I failed miserably. Ah well, it is all rather new still so maybe it just needs more time to settle in. We'll see.