Actress and mom Melora Hardin has a unique way of attaining a work-life balance: combining the two. She makes her directorial debut in the independent film You, which was written by and stars her husband Gildart Jackson, includes appearances by her daughters and her father, and was filmed in her home. You releases online on May 8.
Q: What about your children makes you laugh?
A: The way they speak the truth with such precision and the way they turn words inside out. Piper used to say "comfor-full" instead of "comfortable" and "be-cept" in place of "except."
Q: What is your favorite family ritual?
A: Family dinners.
Q: What was your most frazzled mom moment?
A: I try to let the girls pick out their own outfits for school. Sometimes, as a special treat, they want me pick out their outfits. The most frazzling moments happen in the kitchen, over breakfast, while the girls are trying to pick out an outfit from the four or five I have chosen for them, all while rushing to make it on time to school.
Q: What parenting issue do you and your partner disagree most about?
A: It's hard to say, as we mostly agree on the way we parent our children.
Q: What is your parenting role: good cop or bad cop?
A: My husband and I take turns.
Q: What do you wish you had done before you had children?
A: Climbed Mount Everest.
Q: What is a typical Saturday morning in your house like?
A: By the time we wake up, the girls are usually in bed with us, so there is a lot of cuddling, giggling, and lounging. Then we all head downstairs in our pj's to make breakfast and eat as a family. For the rest of the day, it's off to whatever family activity or birthday party we have planned.
Q: What was your mom or dad most right about?
A: At the beginning of each month, my mom would come to me and ask me if I still wanted to take ballet lessons. She explained to me that if I said yes, she would go and pay for them. After paying for the lessons, if I was tired or if for whatever reason I didn't want to go to my ballet lesson that day, she would remind me that I had made a verbal and financial commitment. To this day, I am very disciplined about honoring my commitments, and I have my mom to thank.
WHAT'S YOUR...
...guiltiest pleasure?
Shopping for clothes.
...ideal getaway?
A quiet hotel room with a great view of a beautiful beach with my husband and children. Maybe a nanny would come midtrip so I could spend some alone time on the beach with my husband.
...favorite clothing item?
Dresses and jewelry.
...current reading material?
The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
What's your preference:
...chocolate or cheese?
Cheese.
...cook at home or eat takeout?
Both.
...coddle your tot or let him cry it out?
Most always cuddles and lots of love.
