Multiple loops problem

Hi,

I want to have 3 loops on my homepage.

The first loop should pull 1 post from 1 specific category.

The second loop should show 3 posts from specific categories (either by including multiple categories or excluding multiple categories).

The third loop should offset the 3 posts in the second loop and again show posts from specific categories (either by including multiple categories or excluding multiple categories).

The problem is that query_posts doesn’t have an offset option and there is no easy way to exclude/include specific multiple categories using get_posts..atleast not any that I seem to be aware off or seems to work.

Any pointers?

Thanks!