Hiding a layoff from the family, bad idea?

I have been leaving the house at the same time each day so my kids do not notice. There are 17 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. Bills are coming up and I cannot keep this quiet. How did you handle it?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 12 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.