What is the best approach to getting out of my mortgage with my credit union?

My husband and I are paying much more for our home than what it is worth, as probably most Americans are today. We kind of settled on the house in the first place when we bought it, and we both hate it. I am currently on maternity leave and am most likely not returning to work so I can attend school in September. My husband is a laid-off teacher who has no idea whether he will be working in the fall or not. We make our mortgage payments on time every month, but we are getting more and more tempted to skip one or two payments in order to save some cash. Problem is, we are too honest and responsible (unlike others out there), not to mention scared, to do that. Ultimately, we would love to just drop the place, maybe do a short sale or something like that. I'm sure everyone is looking for a way to get out of their mortgage right now, but is there a right way to do it? We pay our bills, but with me not working and hubby possibly not having a job in a few months, would we be able to demonstrate a valid hardship? Also, our mortgage is through a credit union, not a bank or mortgage broker, so I don't know how that would change our approach. If you have any advice at all to offer on what steps we can take, or if you just want to tell me to suck it up and deal with our crappy house because we should be happy we have a roof over our heads, I would love to hear it. Thanks.