Fit to Scream

All the experts say that a toddler throwing a fit is a sign that she loves you. Does she have to love me that much, though? There were no less than four screaming, sobbing, fall-on-the-floor tantrums today--a personal record for her. It's usually an average of one every 5-8 days. Maybe. So what is a mom to do? I can't let her fling Joseph's food onto the floor, and we really didn't yell that much--just an exasperated "Elena!" and a lot of disapproving "you can't do that" while she panicked and flailed at the Cheerios until they were all on the floor. Was it worth the fifteen minutes of screaming and contortions that followed when we took her to the stairs to reap the rewards of her actions and sit still for a bare two minutes? I can't let her play with the knives in the dishwasher, either, even if it was only a butter knife. And do I not give her the cheese that I was going to hand her anyway, just because she sobbed like her best friend had died when the cheese didn't come *now*? And what do I do when she whines that she wants more bedtime songs instead in praying, then screams all through the prayer because she didn't get to say it? Well, that one, at least, was easy. I let her say a second prayer after I scooped each of the kids up into their respective beds. But the original question remains. What do you do when a screaming fit leaves you fit to scream?