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Shih-poo
Malti-poo
Cockapoo
Bichon ?
Small golden mix or lab mix
Due to what you've said about your lifestyle and expectations I would skip Border Collie and possibly the Beagle. The Dacshund and Maltese might be pushing it with the ages of your children due to the size and potential back issues of Doxies. Keep in mind many rescues do not adopt certain breeds or the tiniest dogs to families with young children. It's probably safest to shoot for dogs 10# and higher.
You may want to avoid puppies as the time left alone will make it difficult to train and, imo, is not fair to the puppy. If the time frame alone is 4-5 hours it wouldn't be as problematic. Having the fenced yard is a plus and most dogs would be happy with daily walks, a little backyard time and playing with the children. Regarding your cat, my rescue "cat tests" dogs when requested by potential adopters. It's not fool proof but does root out highly reactive dogs. When it comes time to adopt, if any dog you are interested in seems stressed or anxious, walk away. I'm only saying so because you have small children. Dogs that are most likely to bite are fear biters. There are too many solid, chill dogs to choose from so there is no need to take any risks.
Labrador Retriever. Hard to find a breed more gentle and loving than a lab. My choclate lab is great with the grandkids and she tries to make friends with everyone she meets. And at 58 pounds, she's not a huge dog.
We absolutely LOVE our lab golden mix -- VERY loving, affectionate, friendly and a "clown",but she is also VERY rambunctious. (I think it depends on the particular Lab or Lab mix.)
Labs make an excellent family pet & are usually great with kids. Intelligent so easy to train & quite tolerant.
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