When things go all wrong

I thought I'd never write about the "bad", because I enjoy reading the "good" so much more, and I love the fact that I can choose what I want to include here. Today wasn't a great day. I have yet to decide if it was my fault or the kids' fault, but there was a lot of yelling! We had a slow start...we didn't even start school until noon. We all slept late....the kids slept until almost 10:00, which makes me feel like a bit of a failure. I was doing so well for awhile, setting the alarm and getting up for a walk. But, the cold weather and the sore throats came, and eventually we turned the alarm off. Now, we are back to what seems to be our old routine. No activity, which leads to a lot of penned up energy for all of us. I felt like nobody was efficient today. Nobody seemed to understand what it is we do in a schoolday. I was beyond frustrated. By the time we actually started school, my patience was gone. I did my best to hold that all in, which made me feel even worse. Somehow, it all got done.
Tonight after dinner, Greta had a meltdown. She has come into an age (I think it's the age) where she must disagree with me about EVERYTHING. And, since she never stops talking, she never hears anything anybody else says. We had a huge blowout tonight. She was screaming at me, which I had no tolerance for, and before I knew it, I was screaming at her and taking away all of her 'hockey privileges' for the evening.....which was the last straw for her. She cried so hard I thought she would throw up. She screamed that life was just not fair for her. (And David was in the background ferociously sticking up for his sister, which didn't help matters one bit). We don't take time to play games with her, we don't take time to do ANYTHING she wants to do. I guess this behavior is coming from somewhere deeper than I thought. The problem is....she is right. It seems that if there is ever a moment when I sit down for just a minute or two, she's right there saying "can we play a game?" "can you measure me for goalie pads, now?" etc., etc., etc.....and I ineventably say "PLEASE just give me 5 minutes alone in silence." She's had enough of that, apparently and is feeling like the only thing I don't make time for is 'fun with her.' Her love language is definitely 'quality time.'
It sounds like I need to take some inventory of how I'm spending my time and somehow fit this in. It's so important for us to have a good relationship. I need to show her that I care and I am here for her. All the other 'stuff' that I do in a day won't matter so much in the long run.