Burn-out

Lately my almost three year old and I have been having a rough time. She is going through a stage where she is especially defiant and is testing her boundaries to the max. I am working on having more patience, but sometimes I just feel like we battle each other half the day! Anyway, it's really having a negative effect on the whole family. I start out each day fresh with patience and a positive attitude. And by the time my husband gets home, I am ready to hand him the tot and run screaming to the next city. It's not fair for him to be greeted with this, especially because he has been pretty burnt out with work himself. Instead of coming home and relaxing, he comes home to a tense household, where we all feed off each other's grumpiness!

Help! What do you do when your kids are going through stages like this? How do you attempt to stay fresh and upbeat to greet your husbands at the end of the day? And how do you give yourselves a sanity break in the evening, without just dumping on your husband (who has also worked hard all day.) The other night I put on my ipod and attacked the mountain of dishes, while my husband watched our little girl. It actually felt like a treat to do dishes, since I got to escape eveything else going on for an hour or so. But it was better than actually just leaving for the evening, which wouldn't be fair to do every night. (But I'm telling you, these days I almost feel like it...)