When she's not shooting movies or shuttling kids, Moore works with causes she's passionate about, including a local literacy group called Reach Out and Read, the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance (which fights a genetic disorder that affects the heart, brain, and other organs), Planned Parenthood, and the National Breast Cancer Coalition. But don't suggest that her active philanthropic life is just the result of her becoming a parent. "There's this whole notion about mothering and how it changes you, and that's just baloney," says Moore. "I got angry at this woman once—we were talking about AIDS in Africa, and she asked me, 'As a mother, how do you feel...?' I said, 'What? How about as a person?' You're not different because you're a mom. You're the same person."
Moore does, however, display some classic mom behavior as she digs through her bag to show off her latest snapshots—a blurry picture of Liv at ballet, an image of floppy-haired Cal shooting a basketball. "They're so lovely, and so their own people," she says. "When you have children, you see who they are from the minute they're born." As a parent, she tends to respect those individual identities and treat her kids as equals. For instance, she's lax about TV: "You know, if I can watch The Sopranos, they can watch Hannah Montana, right?" But she pulls the reins tight when she needs to, strictly banning Bratz—and brattiness—from the house. "I don't like kids to be testy or take a teenage tone," she says. "My son went through a period where he was saying, 'Omigod!' all the time. So we took privileges away until he stopped."
Next Page: "Maybe their father's more fun, but he's really embarrassing."
