How's Your Mrs. Hyde?

Jenny writes:

I hope to get a discussion going as a follow up to my Mrs. Hyde post.

About a week ago, she reared her ugly head again and that really bothers me.  She is kept contained within my own head, and heart, but I need to give her a voice and this is the safest place to do so. 

The boys have been known to ask me, "Is daddy gone tonight AGAIN?"  And as one sets the table, it's not uncommon for him to ask me, "Will dad be home for supper tonight?"  I don't like hearing those questions.  I know they must be asked, but no matter how many Bible studies the people ask for, or how long they keep Pastor after the closing prayer, doesn't it eventually get to the point where I get to say, "NO MORE!" 

I am not looking for my problems to be solved. They are not terrible. Jon and I have many good discussions, so please, no worries there! I just want to see us share some experiences and ideas. Sound good?

What I'd like to hear about is how you ladies guard your families.  How do you guard your time together?  How do you guard your husbands' day off?  How do you impress upon your husbands the importance of time with family without sounding selfish, keeping in mind the importance of his calling?

Advice for Emily O.

Emily writes:

As many of you have experienced, we're facing the imminent growth of our family. While this is blessed, awesome news--and an exciting time!--I'm at a loss as to how to transition to Sunday mornings in a way that will not resemble the Apocalypse.

Here's our situation: we've got two boys, the oldest almost three and a half, the younger nineteen months. Both do generally very well in church, though Younger Son is active and sometimes rubs off on Older Brother. I bring CPH books for them to look at, a calculator for end-of-service desperation, and crackers during the sermon. We have no pew-climbers, though I usually have to have a hand on Younger Son 90% of the time, and the noise level from them during services is between the "Cute--we love to hear them!" range (from members) and "You took Younger out at the right time" (from my, I suspect, more honest husband). We sit alone. People have started to offer their help, but it's been outside of church where we've really seen it (people offering to come over and watch the boys so I can do whatever. And they really come and really mean it, praise God).

So here's where I'm stuck. I know I can't sit in the pew alone with three little ones. People who have offered help are gracious, but no one is in church every single Sunday like we are. So I don't know if I should approach a few people to ask if they'd be willing to sit with us and then rotate help (which I think would be difficult for the boys to adjust to) or... fly-by-night and wait until someone approaches me and offers to sit with us. I don't want to take advantage; I also don't want to fall into the sin of Pride and end up resenting/dreading sitting through the Divine Service. So... help! Any and all advice would be much appreciated!