My MIL totally helps out with my children / child care needs; the woman has also been keeping my house clean (to be fair, it is to keep her sanity since her definition of clean is stricter than mine - lol!), and doing the laundry. (Yes, we compensate her, but not nearly what she is worth, especially because we feel "safe" with the children being with her, which is EXTREMELY important.)
There is no way I could be doing "everything else" without her support, and that of my husband, who also works a very demanding full time job. We are a two-income family making above average wages, and yet we are still counting pennies despite the fact we do NOT live an extravagant lifestyle. We recently did an analysis of "where is the money going" and it is the daily expenses - increased gas and food costs in particular - that have been eating away at our household income.
It is taking THREE adults to manage my household and child care. THREE.
If she quits/has a health issue, one of the balls WILL drop....
Productivity is definitely up, but .... 
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