Does it get better?

[gravy_train]

Awe - I am right there with you, CrazyEight! I ask myself whether it is worth it on a regular basis and have learned a couple of techniques that I'll share with you. First, though, how old are the children in your care? My group is quite young and I find it really challenging because they take from me all day long and the giving back is minimal. Because of this I have learned to book some time just for myself at least once a week - sometimes I go for a drink at my local pub, sometimes I go for a massage, sometimes I go to the library - it doesn't have to cost money. The other night I closed the door to the bathroom, put some music on and had a nice, hot bath.
Through this site I have also learned not to stress out as much if I haven't had time to vacuum and mop one day, or if things aren't perfectly in their place. The parents just want to see their kids happy at the end of the day and that's all that matters.
I don't bother with intricate activities that take a lot of energy to set up. We paint, finger paint, play with play dough, sometimes I put water in tupperware containers with little treasures in them, freeze them, and then give the kids a bowl of luke warm water and some plastic spoons to dig the treasure out.
Another thing I have learned to do is multitask and try to keep my daycare stuff only during daycare hours. If I am makign muffins for snack, I sit the kids in their high chairs, give them some flour and water in separate cups along with a bowl each and some spoons and let them help me bake (of course all they've done is mix flour and water together but they LOVE it and they feel like they are helping).
Embrace freeplay and use it to do some laundry, read the paper, check your emails, or just sit and enjoy a cup of tea.
Figure out how long you need to do daycare for your family and start organizing an exit strategy. It really helps me to revisit my financial and personal goals and see what things I need to work on, etc. in order to get where I need to be when my daycare closes.
I might be reading too much into it but with your husband's shift work I assume that you are the primary caregiver for your kids? That alone can be very taxing and sometimes we lose sight of who we are as women when we are constantly accommodating our families and putting everyone first. this was my biggest issue in my first year of daycare and I completely burnt myself out within 9 months and even ended up getting pneumonia. I gave everything to my job and my family and it took me getting very sick to realize that my work/life balance was waaay off.
If your husband's schedule doesn't allow for you to get out for some adult time in the evenings, start looking for a babysitter in your neighbourhood who can come over for a few hours and watch your kids so you can have some time alone.
I still find the day to day stressful and actually just annoying sometimes but in my case the pros outweigh the cons so I will stick with it until I've reached my goal and am ready to close.
I hope this helps and doesn't sound too jumbled!