Can't take much more.

Man, am I struggling these days. The kids have been doing so much screaming and crying it's killing me. Each of them, in their own way, create drama for themselves where none exists and it leads to a massive, hysterical screaming fit. Besides ignoring it, which is almost impossible to do in most situations, I have no idea what to do. Here are some examples.

Elizabeth:

Today at naps, she woke up after about 1 hour and 15 minutes. She came to the door and sat down and then rocked against the door over and over for 10 minutes, sobbing all the while. Finally I said not loudly or mean, "If you are done sleeping, just come out of the room." (I didn't want to go in because the other kids would just wake up when I opened the door.) What was her response? She started screaming at the top of her lungs at the door. (I should add she is completely capable of opening the door on her own which she does all day long.) She just kept on screaming about absolutely nothing, waking up Parker and Miranda who could have slept for another hour.

Miranda:

Whenever we go anywhere, Miranda is always lagging behind. Parker and Elizabeth generally walk with me, but Miranda is always 20 steps behind. Even if we all start out together, she ends up behind us usually because she stops walking. So I say, "Let's go Miranda. Time to go." She just stands there. So I keep walking. Then she starts screaming "Mommy! Mommy!" at the top of her lungs crying. This probably happens 5-6 times per day. I've tried holding her hand tightly while walking, but she cries if I do this too. My only other options are picking her up (which my back can't take) or putting her in a stroller (which my back can't take either.) And to top everything off, she has started hitting me when she is not happy. Which is pretty much all the time.

Parker:

Parker seems to get upset at the drop of a hat these days. This morning, he asked for Oatmeal. I told him it would take a few minutes and then it would be hot for a few more minutes. Did he want another cereal while waiting? "No." So I make the oatmeal. Did he want milk in it? "Yes" So I give it to him and say, "It's hot, so you might want to blow on it or wait a bit to eat it." Five minutes later, he starts whining about wanting a cereal while he waits for the oatmeal to cool down. So I give him rice crispies. Then he starts crying about the oatmeal and how it is in the bowl that is too big. Seriously crying. I calm him down and get him a smaller bowl (even though I want to tell him shut the hell up and use the damn bowl he has). Then he starts crying about how the milk isn't in the right place and how the oatmeal is too bumpy and how he isn't hungry anymore. I'm so incredibly annoyed at this point (and it's only 7:15 in the morning) that I tell him to stop crying and what else does he want? He doesn't want anything as it turns out. He just wants to scream and cry. So I put him in his room so I can hear myself think and carry on with the other kids and getting ready for the day. He screams in there like a wild animal (no exaggeration) for a good 15 minutes. Then he stops. Comes out and plays with his cars like nothing was ever wrong.

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?

Did the kids have a meeting to discuss how to drive me crazy? Did they work out a nice schedule as to who will be screaming and crying at what times during the day to ensure complete coverage at every moment?

I really have no idea what to do in any of these situations and I'm sure my responses to their actions will cause some long term psychological damage.