Commuting - gas savings vs. startup costs

[RoadRaven]

Now that it is cooling off enough to negate the shower issue, I have time issues. I am a single mom and have to drive to school twice each morning (one girl goes to volleyball practice at 6:00 a.m.; the other must be to school around 7:30). Even though it is possible to go back home and get on the bike at that point, I need to have the car at the end of the day because the girls must be at soccer practice by 5:00 four nights a week. I already need to leave work early to make that happen even when I'm driving.

This is exactly why I am only a very part-time commuter.
We live a long way out of town and have to get the kids into school. Although they are keen cyclists too, to bike to/from school is impractical because it would take so long and they have very heavy bags.
So somedays I drive them to school and leave the car in town and bike home to work/have a day off... and then my partner bikes in in the afternoon to collect the car and kids.
On days I work in town, we can do the same kind've thing sometimes.
The only days I can truly commute are in the school holidays - it takes me about 50minutes to get there and over an hour to get home (uphill all the way).
It is frustrating, but don't wish your children older so that schedules can be easier. I find myself doing this sometimes, and then I remember how quickly it seems that my two eldest have reached adult-hood (one left home last year, the second just 4 months ago) and I don't want time to speed up at all.