Alone22, I am in the same place as you - a stay at mom for 12 years and I need to go back to school in order to earn a higher income. My advice for what it is worth - take the AH out of your thought process and put some feelers out there - it doesnt hurt to look in the paper (or craigslist, who knew!) for jobs, ask around because you never know what is out there. Baby steps - yesterday I sent my college transcript to a graduate program where they will evaluate what classes I need to take to get a teaching cert. I was amazed at the confidence I felt just doing that one thing!
My point is that looking in the paper for a job, getting some info on classes (how many? how much? ect) ect can only help you make the decision.
Gather info and go from there. Peace -