Great thanks everyone! My gut feeling is really good about this - I am also very happy to have her in the house which is not necessarily how I have felt about other people. I am off to chat to her mum and dad to make sure they are all ok with it too. If that is good then we'll organise an hour or two with the kids on a Sat pm and DH and I will take the dog for a walk!!! I am really excited as Dh and I both realise we need to make a bigger effort to invest in us after 4 years of just getting by.
One last question - is $10/hr too measly???
Thanks again for your encouragement!