Ian, Ian, Ian. What to do?

To look at the above picture of Ian you probably wouldn't guess that such a cute little boy would be a problem child that I can't figure out. I am just not sure what is going on inside that cute little head of his. And I know that most of the problem lies with me and my impatience in dealing with him. He can throw a tantrum like none other. I should have anticipated this because he was the one baby that wouldn't cry himself to sleep. I don't have any problem letting my kids cry themselves to sleep but that boy would go for hours and not stop. He will get something stuck in his head and he will not let it go. Tonight may be a turning point but we will have to see.
Every night we have the same routine for bedtime. After family prayer the boys get a drink and off to bed. However, Ian will come out numerous times for more water. We have really tried to cut this back and we have to 2 drinks. But lately the talking and playing after lights out has gotten out of hand and will go on for about an hour. During this time he is coming out for drinks, because talking and playing makes him thirsty. So we are fed up. I will leave out the yelling part, but I decided to have a chat with him. So I sat there and tried to reason with him for a good 10 minutes. I know their ability for reason is not quite developed but I at least expect him to listen. His only response after us talking was that he was thirsty. He couldn't even tell me what I had said. So after a little more discussion he made me a promise.
I would get him a drink if he promised that this will never happen again. From now on it is drink, bed and sleep. No more drinks and no temper tantrum. What do you think? Will he keep his promise? I am not holding my breath but I think it might not be as severe. I will take any suggestions or criticisms on how to handle the situation. I sometimes think that I am missing something and maybe there is a real problem here, but he behaves at school. So he obviously knows what good behavior and bad behavior.Which I would rather deal with this at home then have the teachers dealing with this. I even tried to get him to tell me what he does when he doesn't get his way at school and why he doesn't freak out. No answer. I do love this kid and he is the first one with a please and thank you. But this Jekyll and Hyde bit is frustrating.

What a lovely place to live!!

We moved into our house about 7 years ago. We have spent lots of time and money but finally have things the way we like them. We would like some more space but we have worked with what we have. I have always thought that change would be good and I wouldn't be to upset if we had to move.
Now that that is a very likely possibility, I don't want to move. I like my house, I like our ward, I like the school my boys go to, but most of all I love the people that I call my friends. I belong to 3 groups of women in our ward. One group, we do a little preschool, so I only have to host once a month. One group is for babysitting on Saturday's, so we can have a date night with the hubby. Again, once a month, I babysit all the kids. And the last group is taking turns watching kids while the others go to the temple. My temple attendance has been seriously lacking for the last few years, so I am very grateful for this. Especially with so much uncertainty and other trials that are occurring, I feel like crying all the time. I so enjoy the peace I get from going and look forward to that time.
I just have to say how much I appreciate all the wonderful friendships that I have made and I truly hope that they will last even if we have to move. I also love my family so much and I can't believe how lucky I am to have a family as awesome as mine. And I am doubly blessed to have and even extended family that I do. I drug my feet for along time on this blogging thing, but it is a highlight of my day to login and see the postings of the Perrins family. Never a dull moment. I would love to see more of you guys. I think Walt applied to jobs in all of the 50 states except Utah. Sorry!!
Sorry this is so sappy, but it is not intended as a farewell and there is no new news on the job searching front. I just don't express my gratitude very often and thought it was about time. Love to all of you who read this.

MP3 and Me

I have finally done it and gotten a MP3 player. I am slowly joining the 21st century. Now that they are cheap I was willing to spend the money. Here is the story.
I don't like to exercise, especially walking or running. Extreme hatred would better describe my feelings but I need to do something. With my back, I am limited on the activities that I can do so I try to do what I can. With the weather being so hot both morning and night and that I didn't renew my gym membership, I have been lazy all summer and definitely feeling the effects. Two nights ago I really got fed up with feeling awful and declared to Walt that I wanted to start walking again. But I get bored which causes me to come home after about 10 minutes. Plus I need to know when I can stop. So I wanted to listen to something while I walk. For instance, if I listened to the whole Wicked soundtrack, I would be getting some good exercise. I then declared for him to make it happen.
He sweetly said OK, honey. So, yesterday he bought me a MP3, which I have just successfully uploaded my music. I have to pat myself on the back because I did it myself and actually figured it out. I am so excited to start walking at nights. I do not function in the morning. I am so excited that they are so small. I remember walking with walkmans and diskmans that were so bulky. I wonder why they call them ipods? They should have called them imans. Get it?