Working from Home

In today's economy, I feel strongly that I am not the only stay-at-home mom looking for work that can be done either online or at home (like stuffing envelopes or telemarketing).  I have been blessed to land two online tutoring gigs (http://www.brainfuse.com/ and http://www.ed2netlearning.com/) - both of which allow me to work at home, online, with rather flexible schedules.  I am paid $10 an hour if my students show up, but if no one shows, then I am paid 1/3 of that hourly rate.  Doesn't sound like much, I guess, but the gigs are allowing me to make some cash while I am at home.

Even though I have been fortunate to obtain some online work, it does not provide a stable supplementary income and that totally bums me out.  There is a dollar amount in my head for which I need to earn per month in order to help pay the bills.  As I mentioned before, this is a supplementary income - my husband is the breadwinner and is bringing home a good paycheck but the amount is less than what our family needs to survive.  And let me tell you, we do not live outside our means by any stretch of the imagination! 

Hello?!?  Six kids?!?  You do the math: spending roughly $1,000 a month on food to feed us (we do not go out to restaurants - no McDonald's, no CiCi's Pizza, nothing!)  All food is bought at Wal-Mart or Costco.  Then you add in the bills we need to pay (gas/electric, trash, phone/internet, water, life insurance, etc - no car bills here, thankfully!) and the miscellaneous such as the amount needed to drive us around town to work, the grocery store, the library, YMCA practice, and church and voila!  Where did the money go?

So, back to making some money online.  I love the idea of online tutoring because a) it is flexible, b) I can do it while the kids are playing or napping - no interruptions for me, c) utlizes my Elementary Education degree as well as my M.Ed., and d) gives me money!  But....there is a problem: I stress myself a bit trying to make sure that all my tutoring is done during nap-time because one company uses headsets while the other one doesn't which means if the children are playing while I'm tutoring using a headset, the online students can hear my children = huge no-no!!!  I also get a bit stressed and totally discouraged when students do not show!  I'm waisting time while I sit and stare at a computer screen for apparently non-existent students!!! 

I absolutely LOATHE the idea of wasting time!  I do try to do something constructive while waiting such as Facebook or Gmail (no time like the present to catch up with family and friends!)  But is this waiting worth the frustration and discouragement?  Should I continue to stay on as an online tutor if students are never guaranteed to show up?  It would be great to have the ability to rely upon making a certain amount per month with these tutoring companies but sadly this isn't happening.  I suppose the biggest thing that gets me is this: I am qualified to teach but our state isn't currently hiring teachers, or substitutes for that matter, and I'm torn between the desire to teach full-time and stay at home with my kids.  I know the Bible says to be content in your situation but sometimes it just feels good to earn some money - personally makes me feel validated for having earned my college degrees (and having to pay off the loan debt still!). 

I love my kids so much and don't want to leave them so that's why I absolutely LOVE the idea of staying at home and working from home...I suppose sometimes you can't have it all?   What do you think?  Any successful stories out there from moms staying at home and earning sufficient money to make ends meet while not taking away time from the kids and husband?