[jalapeno]

My DD will be 3 next month and I can empathize with you. Some days with her seem like one long struggle as well. She'll push limit after limit and I find myself torn between being "consistent" and easing up so that I can find some balance between discipline and fun stuff.

I think lots of kids this age just have a really tough time transitioning from one thing to the next. For my DD I try to keep her informed about what's coming next (in the next 5 minutes, in the next segment of the day, and in the coming day). I'll give her a 5 minute warning before we end an activity or even give her a choice about leaving "now or in 5 minutes". If she starts to balk at the change, I'll try to redirect her by talking about some of the fun things to come. If at all possible, I'll give her a choice about something coming up. As in "art time is almost over and then we'll have snack - do you want prezels or animal crackers for snack?" I've even started giving her a head's up about the little things. Like when we have to leave the house, I'll let her know ahead of time, but I'll also tell her that soon I'm going to want her to go potty and put her shoes on. I also find that sometimes it is appropriate to "give in" and allow my DD more control over something. She absolutely has to ask in a nice manner but I do find that's it's worth it to be flexible when I can.

I don't know if any of that helps. I suspect you're probably doing all that already. I agree with GsMom, this too shall pass. I also know how exhausting this is!