Michelle Pfeiffer's Mommy Woes

In I Am Sam — in limited release Dec. 28 — Michelle Pfeiffer plays a gorgeous, no-nonsense lawyer who pulls out all the stops to help a mentally-challenged man (Sean Penn) retain custody of his seven-year-old daughter. Problem is, she can't seem to balance her own career and family. Naturally, this begs the question: How does Pfeiffer handle such a juggling act in real life?

"Oh, perfectly," she jests to TV Guide Online. Really? Is it that difficult to ensure that Claudia Rose, nine, and John Henry, seven — her kids with TV producer David E. Kelley — are properly clothed, fed and schooled? "You know, you have 'bad mommy' days and you have 'good mommy' days," Pfeiffer says. "You have days when you truly feel disabled as a parent and retarded. And you feel like you're ruining your children's lives and you should start putting money in an account for therapy immediately.

"But," she adds, "raising children is the hardest and most rewarding thing that a person can ever do. Still, I'm getting to the point now where I have to get back to work to get some rest, because [motherhood] is exhausting!"

Sadly, Pfeiffer won't be taking any catnaps on the set of Batman: Year One, now that Ashley Judd reportedly is filling Catwoman's kitten heels. But the actress gladly passed her skintight catsuit on to Judd, along with some purr-fectly helpful wardrobe advice: "Make sure the mask fits. It was squishing my face through half the movie." Blushing, Pfeiffer says she also told her successor to "make sure they give you a place to go to the bathroom — a little, you know... something!"