I Am Seriously Thinking About Going Back To School To Be A Cpa. Other Cpa’s-what Do You Think?

I am 31, a mother of one, and out of work. I had a long term contract position with a local government to work as an assistant to a group of CPA’s in rebuilding 5+ years of back audits, completing the audits, and establishing a new system for the city. I had no prior experience, but all of the CPA’s thought I was very good and should go to school for it. The contract ended in December, and I have been out of work since. I cannot find work, and I’m thinking about going back to college ( I have an elem. education degree, but ends up I hate teaching- go figure!) and getting a second degree in Accounting, and then going on to be a CPA. It will take me a little less than 2 years ( since I have all of the general education requirements), but here are some of the issues I’m facing.
#1- It’s a $24,000 investment, and truthfully, I’m scared to commit to that much of an investment when we are family of 3 living off of $40,000 a year ( my husbands income), and I’m frightened about having loans for so much money in such a bad economy unless I know I can at least increase our income 3 fold after I am finished. Can I depend on making $60,000 plus a year right out of school? How much, would you say, the average CPA is making a year?
#2- While I was very good at my job, I now look at books for the CPA exam, and it makes my head spin! I know I don’t have the education yet, but I felt pretty sure that I had a good basis of knowledge. Please tell me if the CPA exam is way more complicated than the day to day workings of a CPA, because I never heard any of the CPA’s I was working with using such detailed language!?!
#3- My end goal is a career where I can feel accomplished, but still have time with my family. I would like to have my own firm eventually, although I understand that I have to “pay my dues” in a company first. Do you find your career to be rewarding, but still affords you the opportunity to spend time with your family?
#4- The CPA’s I was working with seems to be very well off- they all went on extravagant vacations, drove high end cars, ect. Were they the rule, or the exception?
#5- Most importantly- I never really saw myself as the kind of person who would be good at accounting. I always thought it would be someone who loves math, or is really ‘great’ with numbers, which I’m really not. But, as I went through the job, it didn’t really seem to be so much about numbers, as it was about logic and research- which I am very good with. I’m also great with computers ( I taught the CPA’s some stuff about Excel, believe it or not), and they all seemed pretty impressed that I quickly took to the rules of double entry bookkeeping ( they said that it takes most people quite a while to understand it). Do you think of your job as a ‘numbers’ game, or involving logic and research, as I experienced? I would hate to get into this, only to find out that I’m not good at it for the exact same reasons I never thought I would be good at it.
Thanks in advance for your help!