Why must they scream so loudly?

I love Ben. I really do but some days I feel like he is dangling dangerously from my last nerve! Today was one of those days. He was whiny and having temper tantrums practically from the moment his feet hit the floor this morning. I'm already not a morning person and waking up to whining is not my idea of a good way to start the day.

Some days he can just be outright defiant. He'll do something that he's not supposed to do so I'll tell him not to do it again. He'll look right at me and do it again. There are times when a punishment of some sort works. We put him in time out, send him to his room, take a toy or something away. I've even spanked him and I hate that I've done that. It didn't do any good anyway.

Today was just tantrum after tantrum and the afternoon got even worse. It's hard for me to fit in time to take a shower so I often end up taking one mid afternoon when the kids are napping. It works out great for the most part because then I can shower in peace. Well today the shower woke Ben up for some reason and he refused to go back to sleep. So he had a very short nap which threw him off for the rest of the day. This lead up to the temper tantrum to end all tantrums.

Seriously, I was ready for his head to spin and for green pea soup to spew from his little mouth. Who was this kid and why in the hell was he screaming bloody murder in the middle of my living room. I actually peeked out the windows a few times in fear that neighbors, police, the ambulance, and DYFS were ready to beat down my door in fear that we were harming him. No one was even touching him. This child screamed so loudly that I was afraid he'd really hurt himself.

He eventually calmed down though and there were only a few minor tantrums for the remainder of the day. I ran away to Walmart for a few a bit this evening ALL BY MYSELF! I contemplated living there like Natalie Portman in Where the Heart Is.

These tantrums leave me wondering.....is it possible that 3 year old boys suffer from PMS?