Too bad you had a cold but hopefully your interview went better than you perceived it did!
It can be tough working full time with kids. I'm thankful that I only work part-time and the rest of the time I can be a SAHM (also I'm a teacher so I only have to pay for care for DD and I don't have to worry about summer/holidays!). Here are a few suggestions:
Laundry: This can be a daunting task but your 10 year old and 6 year old can help! I do laundry once mid-week and once on the weekends (when I do sheets and extras as well). Mid-week I usually do three loads: 1 white, 1 dark, 1 colours. My 7 year old takes clothes from the dryer, helps fold and puts away. I think you could realistically expect your 6 year old to do that (may take a few weeks training though!). Your 10 year old can sort (you can teach that to the 6 year old too), put clothes in the washer and add detergent, be taught to remove stains, switch clothes to dryer, help fold and put away. I would say have your kids do the mid-week laundry while you are preparing supper.
Meals: PREP, PREP, PREP. 1) On the weekend (or day off) make 2-3 meals and freeze for the upcoming week. During the week take the meal out of the freezer to thaw in the morning and heat up at night. 2) Consider browning some ground beef or pre-cooking chicken and freezing for easy meal preparation during the week. 3) Perhaps have 1 night/week or so that your 10 year old cooks even if it's just macaroni! 4) Make a list of quickie meals that you can make in a bind even if it's not a favourite (ours includes mac and cheese, hot dogs, wieners and beans, soup with tomato sandwiches...)
Daycare: Consider an in-home daycare. They are usually cheaper and can be better in the long run if you do your homework. My daycare provider usually only has my DD sometimes 1 other child (and her own child!). She also knows first-aid and parents in the same way that I do so I know my children are in the same type of environment they are at home. Also, we have worked out an hourly rate as opposed to a daily rate. This sometimes benefits me and sometimes benefits her so it's a fair trade. Her family has also become close personal friends of ours and our children get along well. I doubt I would have had such a great experience in a daycare (not to mention that it would cost me a fortune since my DD isn't quite a year old yet!).
Starbucks: I LOVE Starbucks and am lucky enough?? to live in a community that doesn't have one. However, when I lived near one I would buy a $25 GC once a month and that was my coffee budget. It stops you from going crazy but you have to have will power not to re-load it.
Retirement/Education savings: I always remember the saying: "You can take a loan out for school, but you can take out a loan for retirement!". We contribute to Education funds for our children every month but we contribute a lot more into retirement funds. Thankfully retirement is a lot different in Canada and even without extra savings we will get about the same amount when we retire as we do today. We are smart enough to recognize that things can change so we contribute to extra funds! If we don't use our 'extra' money we can travel or purchase a vacation property or something!
Have fun going back to work! I hope everything works out for you!
