I'm a work from home dad. One thing I've learned is that no work gets done when the kids are at home (well, awake and at home). I start work super early and we still send the kids to daycare, but I do have tons of flexibility to be a dad that a regular job wouldn't provide.

I've never worked through elance, but I've hired a lot of people there. In my experience (again, as a hirer), once I find someone good, I stick with them. I've got freelancers that I met on elance years ago that I still work with. Don't know if this is normal, but if it is, I'd focus on building relationships and think of it as a marketing channel as opposed to your long-term revenue stream.