MOTHER’S DAY: Working Mom

WORKING MOM

“I hadn’t been onstage in a while. The last time was pre-children. And before I went on [at Roseland], my kids were backstage, and I thought, This isn’t how I usually do it. I’ve got kids, and I’m thinking, This is weird. It’s weird juggling children on your knee while you’re in your rhinestone outfit. And I’m thinking, Okay, I’m gonna go out and do a show and I’m gonna be Superwoman! But I’m not really, ‘cause I’m a mom. It’s all very strange.” —Madonna

[After the twins’ birth,] I spent two years doing nothing. I was a wife and a mom. But you need that time to grow. You can’t be afraid of, ‘Oh, I’m out of the public, then I’m going to have to make a comeback.’ It’s ridiculous. No.” —J.Lo

“It’s really hard to find things that are worth leaving them for. [Balancing work and motherhood is] really hard. One night in Nashville, my son was screaming with a terrible stomachache. I was like, ‘I have to get out of here!’ but we had to finish. My friend Jenno, a mother of three who was producing, was great, reminding me that nine times out of 10, they just have gas.” —Gwyneth Paltrow

“The time I’m not spending with my kid has to be worth it.” —Jessica Alba

On welcoming her first daughter Sunday with husband Keith Urban: “At 41, it’s a more painful love. I look at that little girl, and I’m like, Oh, no, what’s going to happen? It’s almost like my heart is stretching; I’m feeling all these muscles stretch with emotion. It’s a beautiful love but there’s a lot of fear and pain for her life, and for Bella’s and Connor’s life. I like to believe that nothing was stopping Sunday from coming into the world.” —Nicole Kidman

“James Wilkie is so conscious of the time we spend together. I try to be home to tuck him in at least four nights a week, and if I’m not, he’s not letting me get away with anything. The other night I was sitting with him on the steps before Matthew and I went out to the theater, and he looked at me and said, ‘Mama, this has got to stop. Go upstairs and take that dress off.’” —Sarah Jessica Parker

[My boys] bloody well will work. Same as myself, same as David. They’re not going to be the kinds of kids that just hang about. I want them to be able to fulfill their passions, but I think it’s important that the children grow up and have respect for themselves.” —Victoria Beckham

On Suri’s fashion sense: “She’ll really tell me [what she thinks]. Like today I’m wearing brown suede pants, and she said, ‘I don’t like your pants.’ But then she’ll say, ‘You’ve got to wear these shoes.’ Or ‘That’s so pretty, Mom. Wear that.’ She’s got a great eye.” —Katie Holmes

Kingston is so chill. He goes with me everywhere. He’s been to every studio in L.A., New York, London. He lives up to his name—total Rasta boy. He gives me a real balance. You can go 100 miles an hour, but you still have to stop to hang out with him.” —Gwen Stefani

On having children with cinematographer Danny Moder (twins Phinnaeus and Hazel and their youngest, Henry): “How lucky we are that we love each other so much that we burst into three pieces.” —Julia Roberts