I only work part-time, and except for the holiday season, I don't even often work all 5 days per week. So it's not like I'm dropping a full-time, salaried position. I only got this job last fall, so we're used to living without it. We have had one expense come up since then that we have to figure out how to deal with, but I do think we can do it. We live in a modest (at best!) house, don't have a ton of debt, live modestly and within our means, and try to be careful with our money.
My feelings are, I had time to do lots of stuff before we had kids (including a "career" - put in quotes because I never did find a job that I really loved) and I'll have time to pursue that again when they are older. But my time with them now, when they are young, is going by SO fast. I will never regret having to tighten the financial belt a little so that I can be with them more!
.