So you've had a bad day...

It happens to all of us.  Nothing goes right.  Everything goes wrong.  What's a mom to do?

Well, acknowledge the fact that you are having a bad day.  The earlier you realize that you aren't handling things very well, the sooner you can deal with it.

Do your husband and kids a favor and tell them straight out that you are having a bad day.  With luck, they'll get the message and be careful about what they say or do.  Maybe they'll even try to help a little.

Don't make any decisions until you're in a better mood.   That means no nasty emails, no irate phone calls.  When you're having a bad day, it's hard to see things clearly. 

Do as little as possible.  That's right.  Take care of the necessities but put off the rest of your obligations.  Most things can wait a day.  This is not the time to start something new.

Indulge yourself with something that makes you feel good.  This could be curling up with a good book, taking a warm bath, watching an uplifting movie (no depressing ones though!) or eating a handful of chocolate chips  :)

Get a good nights sleep.  I know, lack of sleep is one of the main reasons we get cranky but do your best.  If you have a baby or sick child, there's not much you can do but most of the time we have some control over when to go to bed. 

Our kids need us, our husbands need us, and we need us to be our best.   Hopefully, if we can acknowledge our bad day and don't do anything to make it worse,  we can put our bad day behind us and face the new day with hope and gratefulness for the blessings we do have.