lauriranae...I'm here, let me help!

Hi lauriranae...First of all...congratulations on FIVE kids...I always said I wanted 5 kids...but it wasn't in God's plan. He gave us 3. And I loved being
a mom with little kids at home. My dad's a baptist preacher...he's 81 now and still
preaching...and I'm 58...our kids are all grown and on their own. But when my sisters and I were growning up...we had a gospel trio and we sang 3 part harmony.
Daddy was also a gospel music promoter to all the gospel greats (Happy Goodmans,
Speers, LeFevers, Stamps, Blackwoods, etc) so we sang all over the place as kids
and teenagers...then I married (I'm the oldest) and my husband was in the service
so we moved out of state for 7 months. My sisters kept singing...and added a
friend to do my 3rd part of the harmony...my baby sister has always been the spokesperson for our group..she has always been a natural comedian..and has a voice compared to Vestal Goodman, if you're familiar with gospel music, and she would tell people that I had been 'replaced' ...that I had chosen being a professional
wife, mom and homemaker over singing. :-)

I wasn't a 'professional' by ANY means. When I was growing up...we had a story
book life. We had so much fun, my sisters and I. Back then, it was like the
Petticoat Junction...or Lassie days...if you wanted to talk to someone on the
phone...you'd pick up the phone and tell the operator who you wanted to talk to.:-)
If you wanted 'color' tv...you had 3 kind of cellophane 'films' to pick from...
red, green or blue, I think...and which ever one you picked...that was the COLOR
of the whole tv screen....THAT was color tv of the early 50's :-). We had the
3rd tv bought in our little town. We were poor but didn't know it...because
there was so much warmth, love and laughter in our home.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO that's what I wanted for my family when I had one, a storybook
life with lots of warmth, love and laughter. And that's what we've had. HOWEVER
even though I grew up in a storybook life...I was spoiled rotten and didn't even
know it. I never had to clean, or cook or anything. When we got married in the
mid 60's...my mom was stll combing my hair and helping me dress for my dates. So
I married not knowing how to do ANYTHING! What a shocker "I" walked in to.

I quickly learned that dust doesn't just 'disappear'. If you lay something down
where it shouldn't be...you eventually have to go back and pick it up again and
put it where it goes. If we wanted to eat...I was going to have to learn to cook.
You won't believe this...but it's the honest to goodness truth...when we moved away
for that few months...my mom was smart enough to know I didn't know my head from
a hole in the ground...and she put me together a cookbook. Many recipes started out..."Get a can of tomatoes out of the cabinet"..."OPEN the can" :-) My sisters
bring that recipe book up every now and then and we get a big laugh. But I'll tell
you another truth...I WANTED to be the best wife in the world...and I WANTED to be
the best mom in the world...and I WANTED to be the best homemaker in the world...
so I studied...and read...and asked questions...and then I was smart enough to
marry a 'boy' back then...who would turn out to be a perfectionist...so that has
helped tremendously.

OKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK...now to your problems. What kinds of special diets are your
kids on...what are their health problems..if that's why they are on special diets...
and are they all on DIFFERENT diets?
Do your kids mind fairly well...or are they kind of unruly...I'm not just being
nosey here...I'm wondering if they can figure into this 'clean up...stay clean'
plan right away...or if they will need to be trained.

AND...how helpful and encouraging is your husband.

There are many FUN ways to clean your home and keep it clean. Just let me know
your specific problems...and I'll help all I can.

Sorry I was so long...I could get a call right now that the president was coming
to lunch...and I'd go in the kitchen and calmly start fixing lunch...(I wish he
WOULD come to lunch...I think HE needs some good sound advice...and I think I'd be very tempted to put a big helping of castor oil in something........just for
fun :-) but anyway...my biggest fault is that I am too detailed in everything I do and I can't make a
short post to save me. Sorry. But I will be GLAD to help...just give me a few
more details.

Glad you posted. talk to you soon. kathryn