Patching and Plastering - Sheet Rock HELP!!!!!

We have a 100+ year old house. I have just spent the last 3 weeks scrapeing layers upon layers (10) of wallpaper off of the walls in what will be a bedroom. At around the last 2 layers I began to notice that the wallpaper had been painted over. I am guessing to hide wall damage. By the time I got those last couple of layers off, some of the sheet rock(I think it's called... looks like crumbling cement) started coming off with the paper. Now there are holes in the walls that look like someone took a hammer and randomly hit the walls. These holes go all the way to the lath. I have also noticed that there are places that the wall seems to be bowing away from the lath (soft spots if you will). One of the walls is an exterior wall and I just had insulation blown in the house a couple of months ago. How do I repair all of this WITHOUT tearing the walls out and replacing them? My husband is deployed right now, and I am doing this project by myself and learnig as I go. We are new here and don't know anyone yet. I am also working around 6 young children, so I need minimal mess :rolleyes: . Once I get the walls fixed I want to paint, can I just paint over the washed walls?
Thanks for any help!!!

Sorry to say Id take it all down to wood and new drywall on it then your done and a good job. That old plaster will just keep comeing off. We had 6 kids too Id say close the room off and do it.

ED ;)

The advantage of removing all the plaster down to thestuds is that you can also update plumbing and wireing while you are at it. The plaster, for that must be what you have, can be repaired. It will take a long time to walk you through it. Instead try this Do a search for Preservation Briefs. I think you want # 21 or 22, I forget anyway the one on repairing historic flat plaster. Now you will want to remove the bowed or loose stuff and instal new chicken wire or metal lath and replaster. There are some other things like clean out the spaces between the lath and if you don't use wire or metal lath then you must renail each lath. This is not that hard to do if you have existing plaster to work to. I have posted here several times on how to do it. I am just not up to typing that much right now. Sometime I will put it in a word file so I can cut and paste.
Before you remove anything figure out how to get into and out of the room other than through the door and seal the door off and get everything off and out the window. The mess and dirt of removing plaster and 100 years' worth of dust and insulation and dead vermin is unbelievable but doable. If it were my house and I had just insulated I would repair the plaster but then I am a plasterer.

Good luck.
Our best wishes to your husband and you while he is away.