Stress and a Sassy Six Year Old = Disaster!

So Colton has turned into one sassy six year old lately.  There are days when we he is perfect - very helpful and polite and caring and a joy to be around.  And then there are the other days and today was one of them.  We have been really on the go lately with sports and activities and family get together's and now with Frankie out of town on business things have been even further off our regular schedule.  This past weekend we crammed in probably more than we should have and we weren't at home much which I know can be very hard on kids (as well as adults).   I did let Colton sleep in my bed with me both nights just because I thought he would enjoy a "slumber party" with Mommy and I knew I haven't been spending enough one on one time with him.  Last night the boys spent the night at my parents house so I could get up and go to work early while my parents got Colton off to school and watched Mason for the day (Frankie is usually the one who does morning drop offs at school and daycare so we had to make some adjustments to accommodate his work travels).   When I started packing up to leave Colton started to cry cause he said he just didn't feel right not being at home with me on a school night.  I finally got him settled and in bed and grabbed my coat to leave while my dad was rocking Mason to sleep and before I knew Mason was saying bye bye and crying cause he wanted to go with me.  Now I am already a little stressed playing the single parent role (so much harder than I imagined, not sure how people do it all the time) and my anxiety levels have been higher than normal for some reason so both my kids crying as I leave them really wasn't going to help.  Finally got both boys calmed down and I was on my home, kid less.  I was up early today to deal with the nightmare of traffic... worked a 10.5 hour day and then dealt with that same nightmare of traffic on the way home.  I have been more than stressed at work lately and I am sure it shows at home.  I went to my parents immediately after work and all I wanted to do was pick up my boys and go home and get dinner going and get the dog outside (poor thing has been neglected lately).  Well Colton apparently had other plans cause as soon as I said let's go home he turned into the sassiest kid I have ever seen.  He was saying things like "you tricked me", "you aren't even gonna feed me dinner", "you said I have to go right to bed, wow, without even eating", "I don't care just throw away my video games, I don't even care".  At one point I yelled and told him to shut his mouth, get his coat on and get in the van cause we were leaving.  I know I shouldn't have yelled but seriously I was at the end of my rope and he was making me crazier by the second.  He continued to yell things that weren't true, continued to sass to my mom and dad as well as to me.  I again snapped at him and he just didn't care one bit, I felt like I had completely lost control of my own child.  And then all of a sudden I lost it, I looked at him with a sense of hopelessness, my own child had no respect for anyone at that moment and I just burst into tears right there in my parents entry way.  I just starred at Colton and bawled... seriously, I even said, I can't take you anymore Colton I don't understand why you are doing this.  As soon as he saw me crying he started crying.  It was a mess.  It never should have even gotten to that point but I think I was so stressed and he was just needing some one on one attention from me and I wasn't giving it to him.  I feel so bad for the way things turned out and if I could go back and change things I would but I know that can't be done.  I finally got the kids into the van and I gave Colton a hug and told him I loved him so much but I just don't know why he talks to me like that.  He repeatedly said he was sorry and even called my parents on the way home to tell them both that he was sorry for the way he acted.  Once home we had a much better night, I think maybe we just needed some time at home together.  I still don't feel like I have control over my six year old and I am hoping it is just a phase where he is pushing the limits to see how much he can control.  I am going to do my best to handle these situations differently and hopefully it will never get to this point again.  I know I need to not put so much pressure on myself to do everything but that is just my personality and it will be hard to change.  I need to not let work get in the way of my family time, no matter how busy we are at work and how far behind I may be!  I need to spend more time with my six year old without baby brother interrupting us and I need to realize that sometimes he is just looking for attention when he acts like this but it is so hard when I  can't seem to get through to him.  Colton is my little buddy and when we have days like this these hit me really hard, here's to hoping tomorrow is a much better day for both of us!