greycat wrote:
Can one have it all? No, and this is one of the big myths that is often repeated but rarely acheived. You're told you can have it all, but you can't. No one can. It's just not the way it is. You can come close, though, if you're willing to make some choices about what you want versus what you must have. Please don't believe anyone who claims that "you can have it all". Unless you're bloody f*cking rich, you can't. And if that were the case you probably wouldn't be asking the question, eh?
Any creative ideas welcomed! 
I conciously made a decision several years ago to "get out of the loop" with respect to the 9-to-5 thing and stop working for someone else. I had to make some hard choices, and I certainly
don't have it all. But I
do have my freedom, the ability to do what I want when I want, and I can choose what I want to do. I also have no commute. What did I give up? Lots of things, but it turns out that with a few exceptions, they weren't all that important to begin with.
It may sound silly, but look into web design or (ack!) programming. These are all things that can be learned without a huge investment in time or money, and can be done from home or at a conventional job. There are lots of other possibilities too, it just depends on what you like to do. If you're a graphic artist you can leverage those skills fairly well.
I must say, 40 is a risky age to get pregnant. Think carefully before doing this as it can be a terrible mistake. I have friends that did this and now they wish they didn't. I won't go into details, but they have a child that is going to require full-time care for the rest of its life- not exactly what they'd bargained for.
