I reckon she doesn't spend any alone time with the children unless she is pushed to do it, hence why the 'little panic' about going away alone with Es.
She stays in bed when they get ready for school in the mornings and is already in pyjamas and scheduling their bed time by the time they are back from school.
I can't imagine her being the parent they go to for help with homework either, she knows
tit all.
At the weekend she uses
and the wets as her human shield against being alone with her kids.
I look back at when my daughter was the age Es are right now and it was (and still is) so easy to spend hours chatting to her, not only about her interests but fashion, movies, music, history, travel, current affairs and my own childhood experiences.
She acts so surprised that her children have their own mind.