heeheehee
...you still gotta a bitty baby...
Mine didn't have free run of the house until they were 1.5 yrs old. They were contained in a small room with all their stuff. Everyday when I came home from work, I had to clean a mess, no getting around that...actually they are 4 yrs old now, and everyday I come home from work and clean a mess

I never did the crate thing so I can't help you on that one. You are gone for a good number of hours, so I think leaving her in the xpen with pee pads is the route you should go