They and I

A man and his three children leave the “Little Mother” at home in the city and set up temporary housekeeping in a country cottage to supervise the remodeling of the house he has just purchased there. The story is narrated by the father. His interactions with his children, interspersed with his own recollections of past events, make for hilarious reading.

This is Jerome at his best, IMHO, although this is apparently one of this lesser known novels.
(Summary by Debra Lynn)