Surviving this Stage and Enjoying Small Moments

Sarah is going through a stage.  I am calling it a stage because stages come and go and I am hoping this one disappears tomorrow.  When things don't go her way, she crosses her arms, stomps her feet and groans her disapproval.  If we are at home, she uncrosses her arms just long enough to stomp to her room and promptly slam her door.  If we are out in public, her little tantrum can morph into sitting down on the spot and refusing to move, crying or acting like a toddler begging to be picked up.

She looks pretty harmless here, but trust me this cute face is capable of a whole lot of drama.

We are trying many different strategies.  We try to talk it out and explain how to more appropriately communicate disappointment.  She often covers her ears and says, "I can't hear you.  I'm not listening."
We have talked calmly and sternly and loudly. We have given time outs.  Time outs cause her to scream rude things to us. I shake my head and wonder when a teenager moved into the house.  We continue to carry on and wait for the day when this stage will pass and before we know it, she will be onto something else that tests our patience and drives us crazy.

Not to leave Jack out of the Sunday confessional, his latest stage is an opening door obsession.  He wants to open both doors when leaving the house or returning from an outing.  Seems harmless until someone else opens a door or both doors.  Hell hath no fury like Jack when someone else has opened those precious doors.

This kid never met a door he didn't want to open.

The big thing we are trying to instill in both kids is that crying and whining does not get you what you want.  So far we have not had a lot of success.  We will keep talking over the noise and hope that little by little it makes a difference.  In the meantime, we have been enjoying lots of family time and small moments that dull the memory of Sarah and Jack's screaming, whining and stomping and groaning.

Like trash talking my kids when playing Whac-A-Mole.

Spending time at Science World.

Getting out into the sunshine to ride bikes and scooters.

What crazy stage are dealing with right now?  Any brilliant ideas on how to make it less painful?