Can We Have a Do-Over, Please?

It's 8:30am and I've been up for 2 hours. Two of the longest hours of my life, it seems. I'm not sure quite what happened, but somehow both kids woke up in terrible moods. Mine quickly disintegrated to match theirs. I started taking a deep breath each time I went to speak to avoid snapping. Soon I was taking a deep breath, counting to ten, closing my eyes, plugging my ears... didn't help. Jacob wouldn't leave me alone and Hannah was having her own personal crises every few seconds. Somehow in all the chaos, I managed to get a load of laundry in and the dishwasher emptied (and then filled again, tells you something about the state of my kitchen). As I finally carried Jacob up for his morning nap, I could hear Hannah crying that she wanted a pretzel. Not just crying - a really annoying combination of whining/crying/panicking that she has perfected and employs regularly.

Now Jacob is in bed and blessedly quiet. Hannah is badgering me to "touch the H" on the computer, now she's fallen on the floor in a fit of despair, saying "Owie, owie" (her way of seeking sympathy when she's in trouble or upset for any reason), oh, she's up again and asking for a balloon that blew away yesterday. Is it just me or is she practically seeking out disappointments to support her current mood?

My only hope is that when my family arrives (they are on their way as I type - or they'd better be), their arrival will alter the dispositions my kids acquired over night. And since Jacob is in bed and not hanging off me right now, I'm going to have a cup of tea that I trust will alter mine...