Where am I?

Good question.
Geoff, my fabulous but sometimes crazy husband, and I have tossed over the idea of writing a children's book.  We have done this for 6+ years.  I have written several drafts in my head and a few on a word processing program.
The problem is that I don't know where to start.  I did a little bit of research to find out how one goes about publishing or getting a children's book published.  There are hundreds of publishers.  It was suggested to me that in order to get published by some of the "greats" that I would have to write my story and give it to them to find an artist.  I am too much of a control freak to let that happen especially when the art is so important to me.  And I keep trying to describe the art in words instead of letting the art speak for itself.  But it can't speak since I don't have an illustrator.
My other problem is that I feel like a failure.  My house is relatively small.  Only a 3 bedroom 2 bath with family room and living room.  Oh yeah...and a really great kitchen.  At the moment it is in various states of mess and clutter.  The floors need to be mopped, the laundry isn't done but in process, the toys are all over the floor despite the fact that I picked them all up yesterday.  Connor, the standard poodle, has tracked in mud from the unfinished disaster that we call a back yard.  I have 3 kids and a house.  It is all that I am in control of and I use the term control lightly.  (If anyone has ever tried to get a pair of shoes on a three year old and get them out the door in a timely fashion you understand what I mean.)  I can't seem to stay on top of the house and the kids and here I am trying to start another project.  But sometimes I think that if I don't have another project (ie. children's book) to focus on I will burn down the house and put my kids on the curb with free signs around their necks.  But I digress...
So the next move is to find an artist.  It may hurt my chances of getting a publisher and a book deal but in the long run do I want the kids book with my name on it to have beautiful art that I picked or art that may not be so beautiful because someone else did?
I put an ad on craigs list.  I updated my status on facebook.  I started putting feelers out there for anyone who dreams of being published as much as I do and I hope that I find someone that I can trust with my dream and one that can add to it.  So far I got 3 responses from the ad and at least 4 from facebook....yay for social networking.  I am looking for realism, something that you could say "Wow! That isn't a picture?" and I want it to have great color.  I have given all the artists the same assignment.  "Please show me what this looks like to you..." and I hope at the end of it one of them comes back with something that looks a little like what I have in my head. 
The search is on.  If anyone knows someone good with color, portraits and animals then let me know.