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I've been doing a little experiment for, oh, seven years now. The results of my experiment can be defined by the following equations:
Me + Morning Swim = 75% chance of not losing temper with children during rest of day
Me - Morning Swim = 25% chance of not losing temper with children during rest of day
Other factors play in, like coffee and time of year (Winter is not my favorite), but the biggest determining factor of my mood and level of patience with small whiny people during the day is by far my early submersion in chlorine. I guess I flush out all the wound-tightness by freezing in the dark in nothing but a swimsuit while waiting for Tim to arrive, then thrashing my arms through moonlit water before dawn. I like to top that off with a searing hot shower and rich coffee from Borrone, and by 7 AM my day is pretty much off to a gorgeous start.
It's up to the kids to bring me down throughout the day, but I'm usually able to stay afloat as long as I've spent that early hour floating through the pool.
*Caveat: I really do love my kids madly of course. It's just, boy can they make me mad.
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