Caligirl, do not worry, itīs not a matter of 15 years. I faced the same shitty questions after staying home for 2 years with my new kid (and I had very good marks at school before that, except in Maths *coughs*).
One question I heard when I was looking for an apprenticeship: "Do you believe you are still able to learn, after 2 years at home?" At this interview, I gave the guy a piece of my mind, and left. HONEST!

My advice would be: Do not apply straight away for a regular work contract. Go to the temporary agencies, and do 2 or 3 temp jobs. If you do them well, it will be a LOT easier to find a regular contract again! Just _show_ and _prove_ you are still able to work - it works so much better than _telling_ them.

Sad as it is, potential employers donīt ask for what you have once been, but what you _are_ at present...

And the idea that stay-at-home people go braindead within weeks or at best months is a stereotype that sadly does not die.

Keep trying!

Oh, and something very important which also proved very helpful to me: Seek out a professional and show him your application papers. Let him advise you on how to better present yourself. It can make a HUGE difference if people like your papers!
In fact - if the application letter sucks, the potential employers will not even bother to look at your qualifications.

Apart from that, I agree 100 % with everything that mastersgem said!

And, in my present position (PA to the Managing Directors at a Real Estate company), I get to see and reply to a huge load of job applications. Here is some advice I retrieved from this:
1. Apply for jobs in which you have already had some (no matter how short!) experience. Hardly anyone is willing to hire an employee who is completely foreign to the business. Part of this is because the employee may find out the business is NOT what he had imagined it to be, and leaves, which makes the whole hiring process start over again...
2. NEVER apply for several positions at the same company at the same time! It makes you look desperate.
Which leads to:
3. NEVER appear to be desperate / in need of money! (Duhhh, everyone works for the money, itīs just not a good idea to show it.) At best, that keeps your chances low; at worst, it might get you a job with a shitty salary because your employer thinks you will be so glad to have a job that you will accept any contract, no matter how bad.
4. I cannot emphasize enough what mastersgem said: It is far easier to get a better job if you are already employed!
And at least around here, everybody will understand that you want to get out of temporary assignments and have a real / longer contract - at least here, the temporary agency gets half your salary!