The Temper Tantrum

We have great kids, but I have seen my share of temper tantrums. But I have to say that Isaac's display last night was the most impressive battle of wills yet. This screaming cry fest lasted 30 minutes - to the point that his asthma flared and he couldn't catch his breath. There were a variety of issues that he brought the tantrum to be:
It began with the announcement of bedtime which Isaac just wasn't digging. As I have mentioned before there are a series of steps that lead to bedtime and if they are not tackled in the correct order mayhem breaks loose. Well the first step is Isaac walking to the bathroom. Since he refused, I carried him. The breakdown begins. John turned on the light in the bathroom since I was carrying a screaming flailing pig. Since Isaac didn't turn it on, then clearly he couldn't pee. So he refused to pee. So we picked him up and took him to bed. Well he obviously couldn't go to bed without peeing, but refused to go because that would be declaring bedtime.
So he screamed in his bed for a good ten minutes. He then decided that he would go to the bathroom - we let him climb down and into the bathroom, he turned the lights on and everything, even peed. But then he refused to get off the toilet. So he sat there, and sat there, and sat there - for an additional 10 minutes. During this time he is having a self induced asthma attack and refuses to let us use his inhaler on him. He finally decides to get off the toilet - and wants me to sit in the chair with him to sing a song, but he doesn't want me to sing - again this would declare bedtime defeat. So he sat on my lap with his hand over my mouth. That's right. So I told him if I wasn't going to sing I was going to put him in bed and go hang out with Daddy - I gave him the option, he could crawl into bed on his own or I could carry him. Knowing if I carried him - all hell would break loose again. He refused to climb in so I put him in bed, kicking and screaming. By now John and I had clearly lost our parents of the year award and we were both very much on the edge. I had begged and pleaded with Isaac, and was spiraling down to anger very quickly. So like any mother would do I took all of his friends out of his bed. The entire entourage of 10 stuffed animals came out one by one and I promised to stop when he stopped crying - so he slept alone last night. John and I left the room, closed the door, and went downstairs, closing that door as well. Not sure when he fell asleep.
This morning when he woke up I could hear him saying: "My phone, my phone - I want my phone". I guess that was taken out of his bed last night too. I am sorry - is he 2 or 17? He even declared last night that he didn't like us anymore.
Today during nap time I will be reading "The strong willed child." Isaac won't know what hit him....