Be careful, too, if you call the police. My brother is an officer here in California, and he says, the ways the laws are written here (or maybe it's just the rules in his jurisdiction, I'm not sure): if an officer is called to a domestic violence dispute, they MUST remove the person MOST CAPABLE of inflicting harm.
99% of the time, that is the GUY, even if the wife is clearly the attacker. So, unless your wife is a 6 foot Samoan woman, and you're Michael J. Fox, YOU would be the one carted off by the police.
Did she leave any bruises or marks? If so, a better move might be to go to a doctor and get them to document it (make sure they take pictures and put them in the chart) and then file a restraining order. Get some legal advice before you do anything. The presumption of the law (unfair, I know) is that you are bigger and stronger and therefore capable of escaping the conflict (whereas, an abused woman might not be physically able to get out of the clutches of her attacker).
I agree with the advice to simply take the kids and leave if she starts up again (or, if you have no worries about her with the kids, just exit the house when she starts up).
