Helena's kids

Do you think the writers regretted giving Helena kids after it became clear the character was going to be sticking around? We only saw them a couple of times, and it seems like the show would've preferred to just phase them out or quietly forget about them. The kids made some of Helena's storylines more complicated--like what kind of mother hooks up with a woman like Catherine? Or gets herself in prison and then goes into hiding where no one can find her? What other character traits, arcs, or plots do you feel like the writers either dropped or were inconsistent on?