Is it possible to get 2 desktops? Like she logs into a guest account while I login into my own account at the same time?
The Guest account I am not sure as I have never tried, but two separate desktops yes.
Airplay to an ATV allows mirroring (showing the exact same screen on extra displays) as well as separate desktops (she could even choose her own background, etc). You can also choose to have multiple desktops but have them work together, being able to float a window onto her/the other desktop from yours if you wanted.
As the person using the mac, you would have ultimate control when using extended desktop. You can cut Airplay off at any time if you are paranoid about what mom may (probably wouldn't anyhow) see at 3am, etc.
I have never felt the need to even try a guest account for my kid because you can set apps to only open up in your original desktop, so the alternate user can try to open torrents or some such app all they want because it will only open it on your display. For example you can have safari set to only open on your display, or always on hers, or work separately on both. Did that make sense?
I generally use airplay for the ability to run two completely different tasks at once, it works very well and is effortless. Just a click of an icon.