not much enjoying my children at the moment (warning: venting)

[rhetorician]

just that really - DD1 is 5.5, DD2 is 2.5. DD1 has always been quite challenging, but everything really is a bloody battle, and no amount of threats/rewards etc seems to make a blind bit of difference. I would really like it if I said to her "DD, please go and get dressed" and she just did it, instead of my having to ask her multiple times, stop her from getting distracted etc etc. I don't expect them to be paragons of virtue, but the endless complaining and moaning and refusing to do stuff is driving me mad (e.g. they are in bed, got up to do wee, now they are wailing about it being too dark). I have generally been pretty patient with DD1's antics, but I just suddenly seem to have run out of road with her. Mind you, being angry with her just makes it all worse. I'd like to swap them for some polite, appreciative, well behaved children please...

My two are the same age and exactly the same at the moment. as soon as dd1 t settles down into an activity dd2 3 comes along and take it/ knocks it over etc. I am really trying not to spend all day saying don't do this, don't do that but they just don't seem to listen at the moment. I am having a large glass this evening

Mine can be like this too, roughly the same ages as yours. It grinds you down. Getting angry/shouting doesn't work for us. Have you read siblings without rivalry? I read it a couple of weeks ago and need to read it again as i can't remember most of it but i think it is very helpful. It helped me to understand how i could handle things better, i hadn't really realised that some of my comments were making it worse.

I'd like to swap them for some polite, appreciative, well behaved children please...

Wouldn't we all!