Teresa Bloomingdale, "the

patron saint of beleagured

housewives," believes that

the originator of Murphy s

Law ("If anything can go

wrong, it will") must have

been a mother. No doubt

the long-suffering Mrs.

Murphy, like her counter-

part from Omaha, had to

cope with a hypochondriac

husband, chorephobic off-

spring, and garbage dis-

posals that talk back. A

mother of ten, Mrs. B.

wages humorous battles on

the homefront daily. No

wonder she suggests some

personal corollaries to Mur-

phy s Law like: "If your fam-

ily and friends insist on

celebrating your birthday,.

you re forty; He who

claims his child never lies, lies;" and "No family should

attempt an auto trip if their

kids outnumber the car

windows." Everyone who

reacts her warmhearted fam-

ily accounts will feel the fun

and magic of the wonderful

Mrs. B.

Teresa Bloomingdale is the

wife of attorney A. Lee

Bloomingdale and the

mother of seven boys and

three girls. In addition to

writing a weekly column for

McCall s, she has published

artides for several leading

magazines and journals, is a

frequent book reviewer, and

a guest lecturer. Her Up a

Family Tree is also available in

Large Print. Ms, Bloom-

ingdale lives with her family

in Omaha, Nebraska.