looses it at polite requests

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maybe this is the wrong place to ask this but sometimes when I politely and calmly ask or suggest that Olivia come in and watch Dora or color or something like that, she'll have a conniption fit - so much so that she'll need a time-out.

terrible two's indeed.

any tips on remedying the situation before it snowballs out of control?

I think you hit the nail on the head.

Its boundary-testing time. Just stick with the time outs - you don't want that behavior to become established as something that gets results.

Two year olds by nature have trouble with transitions. How are you approaching her? Take the time to sit face to face, and for her to acknowledge you, before making your suggestion. If that isn't enough to ease it, you may need to phrase it as a question, "do you want to keep playing here or would you like to watch Dora, which is starting now?" If your goal is to actually move her, then the suggested phrase might be, "in 5 minutes Dora starts, and I would like you to come inside then. I will let you know again when there are 3 minutes left, 2 minutes, and 1 minute. Then we'll sing ABC, and you will follow me."