She's gotten so wacky and crazy that I've started wondering if she's hyperactive or has ADD or something (you know, that "there must be something wrong with my kid" feeling you get whenever you compare your holy terror to other people's little cherubs).

She starts out most things at a fairly OK level, but then it devolves quickly.

Here's an example:

Sam (acting out everything as she talks): "Mom, watch me do my dance. Pretend you were watching TV and you just saw a lady dancing, and then you said, 'Oh, look at the pretty lady dancing,' and then pretend you saw her do a big spin and then you saw her trip and fall down, and then you said, 'Whoa, that lady just fell down, I hope she's all right' and then you saw her get back up and keep doing the Peanut Butter Dance" (Note: I have no idea where or when she invented the Peanut Butter Dance, but I get to watch it -- and its many variations -- a lot.) "and then the lady was spinning and spinning and spinning and then she just almost fell into the TV and then she was spinning around some more and she almost fell onto a baby" (Note: By this point, she has nearly rammed herself into several large, potentially pain-causing objects, and I am saying, "OK, Sam, I see you. Let's settle down now," and she's completely unable to hear the sound of my voice.) "but then she missed the baby and she just jumped out of the TV and jumped on to you and started to tickle you!" (Note: At this point, she will ram her ragged fingernails into my chest and shoulders, which is quite honestly the least-ticklish spot on me, and try to knock me over or, if I happen to be sitting already, try to break my femurs by pouncing on my thighs with her knobby kneecaps.)

Her latest intense emotion is anger. She gets frustrated very easily if she doesn't get something right on the first or second try, and then she'll yell at whatever might be impeding her progress and promptly knock over a chair. Really. So far she's shoved down an unsuspecting computer chair, an innocent kitchen chair and a not-very-satisfying kid-size chair, which she had to topple twice.

Clearly, yelling is not the right response in these situations. The lecture voice? Might as well be talking to baby Noah about the finer points of hyphenating compound adjectives. And the soothing, calm Mommy voice? Yeah, that just pisses her off more.

I'm open to suggestions here. I can see she's trying to learn how to handle strong emotions, but I feel like I can't teach her when she's feeling those emotions and she can't relate to those feelings and talk about them when she's not having them.

I'm wholly open to suggestions here. Got any to share?