I think a lot of the pilots flying for the regionals these days would trade places with you. Most of us haven't heard any good news recently, and what good news I hear typically turns out to be rumors and not truth.
While regional airlines can sometimes be a quick entry point for aviation, It can make for some of the dullest flying out there, especially if you found yourself in the right seat of an RJ. The amount of time away from base, and from home will be a big hardship on the family, however, you won't know if they can deal with it, or how well they deal with it unless you try it. Another captain i flew with recently was explaining his daughter tugging at him not to go to work, i'm sure that happens in all fields, but normally a child expects you to come home for dinner.
There are some other "adventurous" flying jobs out there. Problems are that most all flying jobs don't pay great, and you'll take a significant pay cut to do any flying other than what you're already doing. It's just a big give and take. Weigh the options and proceed with caution, if you do plan on making the jump though, i'd hang out in your current operation, instruct on the side, push hard for the chopper gig, and jump when the market starts to move. You'd probably find yourself in the middle to tail end of the hiring once they get down to 700TT pilots (dont know your multi numbers), especially when you consider the guys on furlough (who might come back) and hopefully, you wouldn't be looking at a furlough in your future after getting on, but that's just the great aviation gamble. best of luck.