Divorce Support Forums: Being threatened by my ex....help!

Long story short is, I have been married for 12 years. My husband and I have agreed it's over and were going to settle things peacefully as can be, however we have 2 children together. He knows they are my world and without them I would fall to pieces, and he is using that against me. I am a housewife and have worked on and off to supplement his income when he was running short and this has basically ruined my chances at getting a job worth a damn because no one is hiring me due to my past work history. He is also using this against me. He told me just yesterday that he should get an apartment and take his money and our kids away from me. That the courts wont let me have the kids because I cannot hold a job and that my work history proves it. Yet when he is in a good mood and things are ok between us *basically I am catering to his whims and walking on eggshells and doing what he wants to make him happy* he says to me and to other individuals that when we get the divorce he will give me the kids because he don't have the time or the patience to handle them. However he also says that he wont pay more then 300 a month for them either. I told him that the courts would decide on that not him or me. He gets mad and then says that he will just take them then. I am tired of being controlled and I am tired of walking on eggshells and catering to his whims. My kids are scared of him when he gets in his black moods. I just want out and I want my kids, what can I do? I can't find a job that is decent and I fear without a job he will win my children. Any other housewives divorcees out there with advice that can help me in this situation? Thanks for your time and sorry this was so long.