I hate when people say "you'll be bored". Purple, when I was unemployed for a year (I just got a job) I LOVED it and I was a lot of things but boredom was never a factor. I believe people say that to make you somehow see that you don't really want to sit at home all day. They probably mean well but it can be patronizing when I hear it. My dad has been retired for medical reasons since the mid 90s and people tell him the same thing. No, he's not bored, he has things going on. lol

Since it does sound like you guys legitimately need the income have you looked into other ways of making money? "Work" doesn't have to be the typical 9-5 grind. Instead of being homemaker, why not work toward a money making venue that is more inline with what you like doing anyway? For me, that would be freelance illustration. I can do it from anywhere, there's not a lot of overhead and I already know how to do it. I don't know where your interests lie but you may want to think of some way to become entrepreneurial. That does have it's own set of issues but it's definitely worth looking into.