"The Most Important Work You Will Ever Do Will Be Within The Walls of Your Own Home." ~ Harold B. Lee

This is a sign in Cathy Kambouroglos' living room. You may think that as a stay at home mom to five children she has an incredible amount of work to do within those walls. But the way, the style and the attitude in which Kambouroglos and her husband Tom raise their family, it all works out.

Kambouroglos and her husband always wanted a large family. It's all they have ever known. He is one of nine and she is one of seven siblings. "My mother made it look easy," recalls Kambouroglos. "I always wanted my dinner table full."

Two years after the Kambouroglos' got married they started their family. Before Kambouroglos gave birth to her first child, she had planned to go back to work. At that time she worked at the café in Border's Book Store. But as soon as she saw her son, Nicholas' face, she knew she could never leave him.

She and her husband knew for her to be a stay at home mom would be "a huge financial thing." Additionally, they wanted their children to attend private Catholic schools, yet another financial sacrifice.

But as Kambouroglos says, she and Tom are "both on the same page," and she appreciates his support. Kambouroglos has always had the attitude of "things are always going to work out." And then she said, "Would you do anything at all if all you looked at was how much it was going to cost?" Her children, she said, "are the most important thing."

Kambouroglos describes her parenting style as "strict." She herself was raised that way. She remembers as a child going out to dinner or to church with her family and was expected to sit still, not to run around. At the time she felt this was no fun but now she appreciates how she was raised.

"With a larger family it is easier to be strict. Because I can't do everything for all of them." So, even her youngest, Gabrielle, 7, has to "step up."  

Kambouroglos has always taught her children how to do things for themselves, but she's also taught them how she wants them done. Kambouroglos will tell her children if what they did wasn't a great effort. "I won't praise them just because they folded the laundry. I will tell them if I want it done a different way." Kambouraglos says it makes her children "stronger people.  

"Sometimes it is easier to just do it yourself, but you aren't doing your children any favors with that."

Some may think this kind of no nonsense parenting is a little harsh or a little old fashioned. But it turned out to be the best thing for the Kambouroglos children as they faced one of the biggest challenges in their young lives:  two years ago their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.  

It was a very scary time for the family. But as Kambouroglos remembers "I wasn't afraid that they couldn't take care of themselves." She knew that with all her teaching and training her children would be able to make their own lunches, do their own laundry. The children "rose to the occasion," she recalled. "They always do."  

But though Kambouroglos could relax about the daily stuff of life being handled, she had one fear that she had trouble coming to grips with: "I had the fear that I wouldn't be around to see them get married." Kambouroglos has since recovered and said one of her "hobbies" now is staying healthy. As a result of the illness the Kambouroglos family eats almost all organic. "It (the breast cancer) changed how we eat. I read a lot about how much nutrition comes into play (with our health)."

Recently Kambouroglos has started "dabbling" with working outside the home. She does have her real estate license and has started to sell purses by Thirty-One. It's a home based business and very flexible. It's only one or two nights a week. "It's been fun to get back out there," said Kambouroglos. But still, she is in no hurry. She says, "My children are my career. Everything else is just a job."


FAST FACTS ABOUT CATHY KAMBOUROGLOS:

Kambouroglos' favorite restaurant: Ciro's in Lancaster.

Kambouroglos likes positive phrases and affirmations and has notes posted all around her home.

She doesn't watch much TV but when she does, she likes to watch HGTV. Kambouroglos especially enjoys designer Candice Olson.

Kambouroglos likes to cook and makes lots of homemade ice cream and tries to be all-organic.

Favorite color: Hot Pink

On a night out with her husband the Kambouroglos' often end up "hanging out at Barnes and Noble."

Kambouroglos loves to work out every day. She especially likes Jillian Michaels workout tapes. Her children do, too.

Things she finds herself saying almost on a daily basis:  

"Life isn't fair."

"If you've got lemons, you better learn how to make lemonade."


Written by Maureen Leader, Special Features

Photo credit: Maureen Leader