Drew Barrymore has a long list of accomplishments ― including actress, producer, director and beauty line creator ― but one of her favorite things to gush about is her life as a mom.
Barrymore is raising two girls ― Olive and Frankie ― alongside her ex-husband, actor Will Kopelman.
“They’re my favorite people on the planet,” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2016.
For Barrymore’s birthday, HuffPost rounded up some of her best quotes about being a mom. Check them out below.
On What Love Is Like As A Mom
“I thought I knew what love was, but holy cow, I did not. I could never have imagined the kind of love I have for my children.”
On Joking About New Motherhood
“It’s like having the worst crush of your life. I drive home with heart palpitations like, ‘I can’t wait to get to her.’ I think, ‘Is she going to call if I play my cards right?’”
On What She Wish She Knew About Motherhood Before Becoming A Parent
“It’s like constantly playing mental chess on how to get something done in that moment, and I hope I’m doing it as gracefully as possible. It’s so amazing ― after your kid is crying for 12 hours, you’ll start laughing and you love them even more. But the next day, the stupidest thing will throw you. Everything surprises you constantly.”
On Finding Out She Was Welcoming A Second Daughter
“I got the call from the doctor the second time and he said you’re having another girl and I thought, ‘Oh, I realize now I was put on this planet to be a good woman so that I can raise good women.’”
On Disney World
“We went to Disney World which was such a dream come true, for any family. And it was just seeing your kids’ joy. And I was just crying the whole time. Cinderella thought I was nuts.”
On Co-Parenting
“It really is about the tone you set. And you can talk until you’re blue in the face, but kids watch what you do every single day of your life, all day long. And that behavior and that example and that love and community and honesty is just I think what’s making everything feel safe for my kids and that’s really the intention I had as a parent ― was how do my kids have this incredible sense of freedom inside their heart because they know I’ve got them, and their dad’s got them, and [the rest of their family’s got them].”
On The ‘Post-Baby Body’ Conversation
“I never looked good in a bathing suit, so now I look worse in a bathing suit. I have cellulite. But I would much rather have my kids and look a little worse in a bathing suit!”
On Being Real With Her Daughters
“I’ll never take the tone with them of work is bad, my past was bad, life is bad. This is the adventure and journey we’re on, but you have to be nice, and safe.”
On Balance (Or Lack Thereof)
“People are like, ‘How do you balance?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t.’ I have to pick stuff. I have to stop doing stuff. I have to cut stuff out of my life. I always get in trouble for saying you can’t do it all. But it’s not that you can’t have it all. I just don’t think I can personally do it all at the same time. I’ve tried and I often come to the humbling fact that I cannot do it all at once. I can do almost everything throughout my whole life. I believe in myself, I have confidence.”
On Finding Joy In Her Work
“Sometimes I feel like the two are pulling in different directions, and I feel really torn and freaked out in my head and my heart and kind of all over the place. I think there’s a lot of days where I feel like, ‘Good, I took care of work stuff, now I can focus solely on my kids,’ and I’m revitalized by work to just go and be a mom and nothing but a mom. And then when I lean in with my kids so much, I’m like, ‘Good, I’m glad I have something else to focus on.’ It makes me feel re-energized.”
On What Her Daughters Have Taught Her
“I always love and try to live on the ‘high road.’ I think you feel best when you behave or react or come from the ‘high road’ place, and my kids have elevated that for me in a way that is indescribable.”
On Looking Back On Her Past Experiences
“Everything in my life has been a butterfly net of information, how to hold it, harness it and then use it to be my best parent.”
On Having A Free Moment As A Parent
“Do you ever have that moment as a parent, where you have a few minutes to lay in bed and read a magazine at a hotel, and [you’re] like, ‘How am I not chasing the kids around? How am I stealing a few minutes to myself? When is this going to end? And why do I feel like I am breaking the law?’”
On What Trips With Kids Really Look Like
“I’m so Type A and buttoned up with my kids, which is hilarious because in my real life I’m the most disorganized person. No one will let me hold my passport or, in this case, I’ll forget I’ve double-booked an interview over swim lessons. When it comes to my kids, though, I feel like an absolute soldier with a Kevlar vest, and instead of a bullet belt it’s filled with a sippy cup and snacks. I love going on adventures with my kids — we’ve done Disneyland and Legoland — and I feel like we all literally suit up as if we’re going to some type of battle. But instead of armor, it’s all kids’ stuff.”
On The Most Surprising Thing About Becoming A Mom
“I think motherhood is just so humbling. You realize how ill-prepared we all are, how little we know. But this love is so beyond any love you’ve ever known that it just kicks in and all of the sudden you start scrambling for all the answers and to get in touch with your gut instinct.”
On Supporting Her Kids
“I am unbreakably in love with them and will be every single day for the rest of my life no matter how nuts they drive me. I am that rock solid, ‘will always be there for them’ parent.”
On The Reality Of It All
“It’s a ride, I’m tired, but it’s the best ride I’ve ever been on in my life.”
Before You Go
