2 track recording into DAW recording/playback question

[dualmono]

Hey all,

crossposting this from the RME forum, for I think theres not much help to be had there.
I'm trying to set up a non complicated recording workspace for our singer.
She will be using the Fireface UC on a 21" 3.33 Ghz iMac Intel Core 2 Duo and recording with Ableton Live on Mac OS X 10.6.8 in either a stereo PZM microphone or a M/S setup, monitoring in the same room as she records in.
Sound sources are: Voice, Vibraphones and guitar.
I have run into a slight problem though.

How could I setup the Fireface and Ableton so she has no hassle with monitoring/playback of the recorded tracks?

The way I see it is that she would be either monitoring her direct signal via the Fireface UC and the headphones out or via software monitoring in Ableton Live.
But there are two problems here:
Setting up the Fireface UC as her monitor, leaves her with the microphone signal during playback of her recorded tracks and wouldn't be very practical considering the danger of feedback during playback of the recorded tracks.

If I set it up so that there is no monitoring the audio input of channels 1 and 2 from the Fireface via chanel 7/8 out, I have to activate Ableton Lives Software monitoring, which introduces latency (and crackle when setting the buffer really low to get somewhere close to acceptable latency values) to which she can't sing comfortably.

Any ideas or hints how to set this up, so she has minimal hassle with it and can focus on recording her material?

In the Ableton forum someone said, she should go to Totalmix (the Firefaces mixing UI) and mute her ingoing tracks everytime she wants to playback.
Well, I don't want to come across as a dick, but I think thats not a hassle-free workflow.

Does someone have a clever idea on how to solve this, or are there only the two options:
1. direct monitoring via the Fireface (= clicking like crazy on small buttons between takes)
2. software monitoring in Ableton (= latency and unconfortable recording)

Couldn't this maybe be scripted, i.e. everytime she hits 'play' in Ableton, the Fireface inputs are muted automatically, or rather, everytime she hits 'record' the Fireface channels are unmuted?
Could this be solved by clever use of MCP?

Thank you,
dualmono

[Snarl 12/8]

Monitor on headphones.

Edit: But at some point she's going to need/want to learn about muting/routing/setting levels (playback and record) if she wants to get good results and have an OK time doing it. Why does this setup have to be so simple. There's a basic level of complexity required to use a setup like that, that can't be avoided. The sooner you get her comfortable with that complexity the sooner she can hit record and get predictable results.