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Topic : 02/21 More Wifestyles

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Created on : Friday, February 17, 2006, 03:07:28 pm
Author : DrPhilBoard1

Dr. Phil revisits the topic of what makes a good wife. Grant and Kelly first appeared on the show because Grant expected his wife to live up to his demanding standards. He wanted a cleaner house, better meals and a sexier spouse. After seven years, his constant criticism and disappointment had her ready to throw in the towel on trying to become the "perfect wife." Dr. Phil’s first talk with Grant and Kelly caused quite a stir as thousands of viewers wrote in choosing sides. How are Grant and Kelly now? Has Grant abandoned his critical ways and his expectation of having a Stepford wife? And why is he no longer wearing his wedding ring? Talk about the show here.

 

Find out what happened on the show.

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February 28, 2006, 2:51 pm PST

part of the list

Quote From: reichlin72

Oh I'd love to see the full list of the 75 items Grant mentioned, is that available on the message boards anywhere?
"That list was not complete and it did not include motherly duties," Kelly points out.

"Yeah, this didn't have to do with childcare," Dr. Phil agrees
as he reads from the list. "This was just organizing closets; organizing hallway closet; keep the car clean; grocery shopping; cook efficiently; use the oven; use the stove; get rid of the stuff you don't use or need; sew; mend; wash; load and use the washing machine properly; basic routine maintenance on washer, dryer, oven, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, toaster; decorate windows; weekly and monthly cleaning; positioning of furniture; organize videos and DVDs; organize CDs; organize the linen; stock the linen; sanitize the bathrooms; cook Mexican food — so, that's just in general, wives in general need to cook enchiladas — dirty clothes hamper; get country dance lessons, Latin dance lessons, hip-hop dance lessons; and do preventative maintenance relating to common household items."
 
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February 28, 2006, 3:03 pm PST

02/21 More Wifestyles

Quote From: obxsister

Diana--- 

You have told just about everybody here that disagrees with you on how important cleaning and organizing is or is not, that they are headed for divorce!  And many of these women have had marriages that have lasted longer than you are old!  You've said that just about as many times as you've told us you can clean your house in 20 minutes! 

If that's what their husbands expects and they have agreed and chosen to stay home.............................How old do you think I am , lol? 

  

AND I CAN PICK UP MY HOUSE IN 20 MINUTES.  For all of you who think it's impossible, email me and I'll give you the tips. 

  

Geez! 

  

Diana 

 
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February 28, 2006, 3:22 pm PST

Kelly here

Quote From: momisme2

I just want to give you the biggest hug then send you on a mini vacation!    hint hint Dr. Phil 

  

Ive read your posts and feel humbled by them.   You seem such an honest loving compassionate woman!    I can imagine how upsetting the anxiety and frustration are for you.  Im sorry youre hurting!    :( 

  

You asked Grant what specific areas of improvement you needed to work on and he couldnt answer you.  You asked for specific dinner requests and he had a hard time answering you.   Why is that,  Kelly?  That seems an important question to be asking.     

  

Has Grant started wearing his ring?  If no, why do you believe he doesent wear it? 

Do you think the house is a shambles and Grant has reason to feel the way he does?  Or do you think you do a fairly good job considering you have three young children? 

Do you think there could be any merit to Grant having a possible disorder? 

Does your family support you emotionally? 

What does your father think of all this?  Your mother?  Brother and sisters if you have any?   

  

Sorry for the third degree!  If you feel up to it would love to hear your answers!   

  

  

  

  

You asked Grant what specific areas of improvement you needed to work on and he couldnt answer you.  You asked for specific dinner requests and he had a hard time answering you.   Why is that,  Kelly?     

  Honestly, I can't speak for Grant but he just seems overwhelmed.  My personal interpretation was that one or two things was too specific and it was too much. (He would probably tell you he did not know where to start LOL).  

 

Has Grant started wearing his ring?  If no, why do you believe he doesent wear it?  

Grant has not put his ring back on, however the ring is very big. I am not sure what the real issue is there, but he hesitates to have it reduced so much and mess up the engraving.  I am hoping to see the ring back on that finger soon, but I don't want to push. That seems to slow things down.  

 

Do you think the house is a shambles and Grant has reason to feel the way he does?  Or do you think you do a fairly good job considering you have three young children?  

The house is far from a disaster. It is attractive and I get many many compliments on it.  

We do suffer from a lack of storage. I am trying to be creative. The children's stuff certainly adds up and it is also hard to know what to keep and what to get rid of.  My hidden spaces like closets and drawers are worse off than the rest of the home. In general, what you see looks good.  I really enjoy flylady.net. I am learning just to get rid of stuff.  I do love clothes!!! It is very difficult to clean with the little ones. They are 1, 3 and 4. They can almost undo anything! They  all nap at 1 pm however, and it is nice!  I am trying not to clean when they lay down because then it feels like that is what I do from the time I wake up till I go to bed.  I don't think that our home should cause the grief to Grant that he claims to feel from it.  I am making a concerted effort to declutter the home and to have it organized very well. It is not just for Grant. I appreciate it too, but I am not convinced that I will have a much happier hubby post "spotless home".  

 

Do you think there could be any merit to Grant having a possible disorder?  

I don't see that Grant has a severe disorder. I see that he is unhappy and pointing the finger at me.  

 

Does your family support you emotionally?  

My family is great. I have 4 siblings and they all support Grant and I. I have one big brother who chooses not to watch the show because he wants to keep liking Grant LOL. They make sure I am okay, but thay also know Grant well and they know that part of it is Grant being Grant.  

 

What does your father think of all this?  Your mother?   

My father passed away last Fall- just a couple of weeks before we taped the first show.  The show would have been close to impossible for me if my father were present. He thought the world of Grant and was very proud of him.  I was his baby and he would not have managed that very well.  My mother supports this whole deal. She is all for plowing through it now as opposed to later.  

  

Kelly 

   

 
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February 28, 2006, 3:29 pm PST

I was wrong

Quote From: momisme2

Kelly posted:   I did not ask Grant for the list of 75 things.  

You were right.  She did not ask for the list.  However, it was still a jumping off point and the items listed were basic items or items that he thought would be fun.
 
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February 28, 2006, 3:38 pm PST

Kelly here

Quote From: amyjo304

I don't think that most of you stopped to listen to the 75 items.  They were very basic items and some of them Grant even said that he thought it would be fun for them.  I look at the list and think about how I can do most of those things in an hour. 

As for if my husband brought a list of things to me, I would definately take a look at the list.  Also, Kelly asked him for the list.  Did you get that part of the show?  She asked him to make a list so she could better understand what he was looking for.  It was a jumping off point.  I hope everyone can please remember that. 

  

Amy 

  

I just realized the confusion. The list of 70-75 things was Grant's alone. The list we made together was something different. Right after the first show, Grant took me out and he pulled out a piece of paper. He wrote down what he would like to see from me and also himself. I did the same, and we tried to come to some sort of agreement.  That was when I said all I could promise was to do my best.  I still have that much shorter list, and I do look at it. They showed clips of us writing stuff down and that was what they were referring to. lol- We have lots of lists. They are all on engineering paper.  Kelly
 
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February 28, 2006, 4:16 pm PST

Basic items........fun??????

Quote From: amyjo304

You were right.  She did not ask for the list.  However, it was still a jumping off point and the items listed were basic items or items that he thought would be fun.
"....organizing closets; organizing hallway closet; keep the car clean; grocery shopping; cook efficiently; use the oven; use the stove; get rid of the stuff you don't use or need; sew; mend; wash; load and use the washing machine properly; basic routine maintenance on washer, dryer, oven, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, toaster; decorate windows; weekly and monthly cleaning; positioning of furniture; organize videos and DVDs; organize CDs; organize the linen; stock the linen; sanitize the bathrooms; cook Mexican food .....dirty clothes hamper; get country dance lessons, Latin dance lessons, hip-hop dance lessons; and do preventative maintenance relating to common household items."
 
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February 28, 2006, 4:36 pm PST

27 of the 75

For anyone who missed it, here are 27 of the 75 "basic, fun items" that Amy says she can do in an hour: 

"....organizing closets; organizing hallway closet; keep the car clean; grocery shopping; cook efficiently; use the oven; use the stove; get rid of the stuff you don't use or need; sew; mend; wash; load and use the washing machine properly; basic routine maintenance on washer, dryer, oven, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, toaster; decorate windows; weekly and monthly cleaning; positioning of furniture; organize videos and DVDs; organize CDs; organize the linen; stock the linen; sanitize the bathrooms; cook Mexican food .....dirty clothes hamper; get country dance lessons, Latin dance lessons, hip-hop dance lessons; and do preventative maintenance relating to common household items." Put that together with Diana's 20 minutes of house cleaning, and I guess you've got a full day's work!
 
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February 28, 2006, 5:23 pm PST

02/21 More Wifestyles

Quote From: gak815

You asked Grant what specific areas of improvement you needed to work on and he couldnt answer you.  You asked for specific dinner requests and he had a hard time answering you.   Why is that,  Kelly?     

  Honestly, I can't speak for Grant but he just seems overwhelmed.  My personal interpretation was that one or two things was too specific and it was too much. (He would probably tell you he did not know where to start LOL).  

 

Has Grant started wearing his ring?  If no, why do you believe he doesent wear it?  

Grant has not put his ring back on, however the ring is very big. I am not sure what the real issue is there, but he hesitates to have it reduced so much and mess up the engraving.  I am hoping to see the ring back on that finger soon, but I don't want to push. That seems to slow things down.  

 

Do you think the house is a shambles and Grant has reason to feel the way he does?  Or do you think you do a fairly good job considering you have three young children?  

The house is far from a disaster. It is attractive and I get many many compliments on it.  

We do suffer from a lack of storage. I am trying to be creative. The children's stuff certainly adds up and it is also hard to know what to keep and what to get rid of.  My hidden spaces like closets and drawers are worse off than the rest of the home. In general, what you see looks good.  I really enjoy flylady.net. I am learning just to get rid of stuff.  I do love clothes!!! It is very difficult to clean with the little ones. They are 1, 3 and 4. They can almost undo anything! They  all nap at 1 pm however, and it is nice!  I am trying not to clean when they lay down because then it feels like that is what I do from the time I wake up till I go to bed.  I don't think that our home should cause the grief to Grant that he claims to feel from it.  I am making a concerted effort to declutter the home and to have it organized very well. It is not just for Grant. I appreciate it too, but I am not convinced that I will have a much happier hubby post "spotless home".  

 

Do you think there could be any merit to Grant having a possible disorder?  

I don't see that Grant has a severe disorder. I see that he is unhappy and pointing the finger at me.  

 

Does your family support you emotionally?  

My family is great. I have 4 siblings and they all support Grant and I. I have one big brother who chooses not to watch the show because he wants to keep liking Grant LOL. They make sure I am okay, but thay also know Grant well and they know that part of it is Grant being Grant.  

 

What does your father think of all this?  Your mother?   

My father passed away last Fall- just a couple of weeks before we taped the first show.  The show would have been close to impossible for me if my father were present. He thought the world of Grant and was very proud of him.  I was his baby and he would not have managed that very well.  My mother supports this whole deal. She is all for plowing through it now as opposed to later.  

  

Kelly 

   

I have to agree when you say a perfect house won't give you a happier husband. 

  

When you say Grant is overwhelmed, unhappy and pointing the finger at you, a light bulb went off my head. Do you think it's possible (and again I don't know either of you  and I could be way off) that Grant is overwhelmed by the whole reality of marriage, three small children, the financial pressures, etc.? And on some level he is afraid to articulate those fears because it is too horrible to think, much less say, anything that sounds like "I regret having children so soon and close together, I hate all this responsibility, I'm afraid I can't handle this."  

  

I have heard it said that when a person tries so desperately to control externals it is usually because the overwhelming chaos inside is too difficult or painful to process. (that may be Dr Phil!) 

  

If you think this is a possibility, maybe you could bring it up to Grant and let him know that he can talk to you about this without being judged. Obviously, you can't give back the kids, and neither of you would really want to, but if he felt safe just articulating any fears/concerns, that might help you both work through them. 

  

I know I delved into some risky territory here, so feel free to tell me where to go (kindly, please - I have good intentions !) 

  

Lots of luck, 

Julie 

 
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February 28, 2006, 5:41 pm PST

02/21 More Wifestyles

Quote From: gak815

You asked Grant what specific areas of improvement you needed to work on and he couldnt answer you.  You asked for specific dinner requests and he had a hard time answering you.   Why is that,  Kelly?     

  Honestly, I can't speak for Grant but he just seems overwhelmed.  My personal interpretation was that one or two things was too specific and it was too much. (He would probably tell you he did not know where to start LOL).  

 

Has Grant started wearing his ring?  If no, why do you believe he doesent wear it?  

Grant has not put his ring back on, however the ring is very big. I am not sure what the real issue is there, but he hesitates to have it reduced so much and mess up the engraving.  I am hoping to see the ring back on that finger soon, but I don't want to push. That seems to slow things down.  

 

Do you think the house is a shambles and Grant has reason to feel the way he does?  Or do you think you do a fairly good job considering you have three young children?  

The house is far from a disaster. It is attractive and I get many many compliments on it.  

We do suffer from a lack of storage. I am trying to be creative. The children's stuff certainly adds up and it is also hard to know what to keep and what to get rid of.  My hidden spaces like closets and drawers are worse off than the rest of the home. In general, what you see looks good.  I really enjoy flylady.net. I am learning just to get rid of stuff.  I do love clothes!!! It is very difficult to clean with the little ones. They are 1, 3 and 4. They can almost undo anything! They  all nap at 1 pm however, and it is nice!  I am trying not to clean when they lay down because then it feels like that is what I do from the time I wake up till I go to bed.  I don't think that our home should cause the grief to Grant that he claims to feel from it.  I am making a concerted effort to declutter the home and to have it organized very well. It is not just for Grant. I appreciate it too, but I am not convinced that I will have a much happier hubby post "spotless home".  

 

Do you think there could be any merit to Grant having a possible disorder?  

I don't see that Grant has a severe disorder. I see that he is unhappy and pointing the finger at me.  

 

Does your family support you emotionally?  

My family is great. I have 4 siblings and they all support Grant and I. I have one big brother who chooses not to watch the show because he wants to keep liking Grant LOL. They make sure I am okay, but thay also know Grant well and they know that part of it is Grant being Grant.  

 

What does your father think of all this?  Your mother?   

My father passed away last Fall- just a couple of weeks before we taped the first show.  The show would have been close to impossible for me if my father were present. He thought the world of Grant and was very proud of him.  I was his baby and he would not have managed that very well.  My mother supports this whole deal. She is all for plowing through it now as opposed to later.  

  

Kelly 

   

Im so sorry to hear about your father!    My condolences to you and your family.   

  

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.   I very much hope Grant will stop his finger pointing for both of you as well as for your three children.   

  

Take care of yourself, Kelly!   

  

  

 
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February 28, 2006, 6:22 pm PST

Rewarding job

Quote From: tiatula

he ought to get it. The house is not her worry alone. There are better things for a woman with children to do than to keep a house clean to her husband;s specs. Again, he is not her employer. For many women, cleaning a house (when it only gets messed up again) is not a rewarding job. If he wouldn't like to give up his job to do ut, maybe it isn't really her choice either. What are her dreams? Are they being buried?
Hi  - Cleaning a house is not rewarding because it always gets messed up again?  I remember Grant mentioning CD's to be put away, a refrig. to be cleaned out, a bathroom to be cleaned - When you organize CD's and put them away, THE JOB IS DONE!  When you clean out a refrig., THE JOB IS DONE - These aren't EVERYDAY tasks!  AND..............why is a bathroom so dirty that you have to SCRUB it?  She has certain expectations of Grant, like going to work and financing their lives - He too has expectations - It seems as though her part is lacking - You can always find an excuse not to do something - (the children are sick, a friend stopped in, I have a headache, too many calls came in, I had to stop at the store, I had a hair appt.) If you don't want to do it, you don't do it - I heard her say that she wanted a nice clean house too - WELL......................What's the hold up?  ORGANIZE!!!!   She has gotten to a point that it is sooooooooooo bad that she feels like she doesn't know where to start - JUST START!!   You asked about her dreams and if they are being buried - She should have thought about getting married and having a family or finishing her dreams - You're right, he is not her employer - It's ashame that he has to even mention the household !  AND........yes, you're right, the household is not only her worry alone - He goes to work so that he does not have to worry about mortgage payments - He's doing his part!
 
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