Goddess: Celebrity Moms and DadsKelly Ripa: ‘I Always Feel Guilty’
When you hear about Kelly Ripa's packed schedule, it's hard to imagine that she even has time to sleep! The 40-year-old is raising three kids with husband Mark Consuelos, hosts the venerable morning talk show "Live With Regis and Kelly," guest stars on various TV series, and serves as a spokeswoman for appliance maker Electrolux.
Ripa and the brand are now working together to promote Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month via a campaign called "Secrets of SleepoverSurvival" and an online "virtual" sleepover to raise money for the cause. Cancer, it turns out, is an issue that's close to her heart.
"Both my mother and Mark's mother have both battled and overcome cancer," says Ripa. "The reason I got involved with Ovarian Cancer Research Fund is a close friend and neighbor of mine growing up died when she was younger than I am now of ovarian cancer and she never really even knew she was sick. She never knew she had the disease until it was toolate."
As for real-life sleep overs at the Ripa-Consuelos household, the couple, who are parents to 14-year-old Michael, 10-year-old Lola, and 8-year-old Joaquin, approached the milestone slowly.
"They have lots of cousins, that's sort of how we started with sleepovers," Ripa explains. "We did a lot of half sleepovers, where the kids would go and have dinner and watch a movie and getin their pajamas, and then we would take them home. It seemed like a fair compromise."
And the former soap star has realized that when it comes to being a working mom, compromises are a big part of life. That and guilt, which seems to come with the territory for Ripa and so many other women.
"Guilt for me is something that I still struggle with. I always feel guilty. I think every working mother does have that guilt about failing in some way. But the way I've learned to sort of balance it is just by knowing that I'm going to fail everybody a little bit every day," Ripa admits. "Nobody's going to get hurt. So I just have to sort of relieve myself of feeling the pressure to do everything perfectly everyday."
Thankfully, her hubby of 15 years, Consuelos, is there to help keep things running smoothly at home.
"We have consistency in our schedule. And I have to credit my husband with this, because ... he's always been extraordinarily organized, and he's really taught me how to simplify my life through organization." she insists. "My children and myself, we know what to expect every day. On Monday, this is the schedule. On Tuesday, this happens. And I think that they benefit from knowing what to expect when they gethome."
Though a fourth child could disrupt all that organization, at least temporarily, it's something Ripa hasn't ruled out ...well, sort of.
"I would love more kids. I think that we're so lucky to have the three that we have. And we're in a place where they're kind of civilized, I mean, dare I say civilized? We can travel, and they can take their own bags. And we can go out to dinner with them, and we can have conversation!" Ripa jokes. "You know how people always find a baby onthe steps? And I always think, why can't I find a baby on the steps? I feel like that's the only way it's going to happen at this point."
For more information on Kelly's virtual sleepover and fundraising efforts for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, check outKelly-Confidential.com.
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