"The Worst Is Over"

BRITNEY SPEARS' mother LYNNE is relishing life as a grandmother and is delighted "things are looking up" for her troubled daughter.

The 53-year-old has seen the Toxic singer go through a number of personal problems after losing custody of her two sons SEAN PRESTON, three, and JAYDEN JAMES, two, last year - including being hospitalised for a mental evaluation in January.

And Lynne's youngest daughter Jamie Lynn hasn't been without her own drama - she announced she was pregnant at the age of 16 and welcomed little MADDIE BRIANN ALDRIDGE Aldridge in June.

But the pop matriarch insists the Spears family troubles are gradually becoming a thing of the past.

She tells People.com, "Really wonderful things are happening now. It looks like things are looking up again.

"The seasons are changing and things are good this year. I am so happy where we are right now."

Lynne adds that she's enjoying the "small things" in life, like spending a day out with her grandkids or going on a shopping trip with Jamie Lynn, because Maddie is "growing out of all her clothes".

Speaking about her memoir, Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World, Lynne also defends her parenting skills, saying: "I had a perfect little plan. But, you can't control the (kids)' peers, you can't control society and you do the best you can."

And Lynne, who was a guest speaker at the Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) 20th Annual Convention in Texas on Saturday, has only one hope for the

future: "I would like smooth sailing for my children."