The Spy Kids star shares what’s different about her second pregnancy in part 3 of her exclusive iVillage blog series

So, as you may or may not know, I’m pregnant with my second child. I’m often asked what’s different this time around. Here it goes:

CRAVINGS: I have a fierce, insatiable craving for watermelon. I dream about it. No, seriously, I really do.

EXERCISE: I’m doing prenatal yoga and taking 30-minute walks through my last trimester, which is more than I did with Honor. And my belly popped much quicker with this one. I have a bit more discomfort that I don’t remember having with my first, but I am toting and keeping up with a 3-year-old and still running around a lot — so I have been blessed with some saviors: an ahhhmazing chiro named Dr. Takahashi and my yoga teacher, Aria. I thank my lucky stars for them.

WEIGHT GAIN: I’ve banned my loving husband from cooking a half a pack of bacon every morning and ordering or buying five desserts for dinner every night. We both put on a lot of weight the first time around and made a pact this time to eat better.

NURSERY: When we had Honor, we had everything prepped and ready to go — and not just for the initial newborn stage. We had a couple of stages checked off following that: probably a typical case of over-preparation. Right now we’re renovating our home to make room for baby No. 2, so we’re in a rental and we’re nowhere near the stage we were at when I was pregnant with Honor. And you know what… that’s okay. It turns out, the first five months Honor was in our room anyway in a co-sleeper, so I’m not too stressed about being overly prepared and having everything set up perfectly this time.** Kinda just going with the flow.

Really, our attention is with Honor right now, more than anything. She’s aware that there’s going to be a big change. The new baby is gonna cry and go to the bathroom and want to be fed — that’s kinda what they do in the beginning. We’re really dedicating as much time to making Honor feel as special as possible and a part of this new adjustment in our lives.

**Side note — I am soooooo excited about eventually getting to the new nursery! I love design blogs and it’s nice to see nurseries where people don’t replicate a store display. I aim for an eclectic mix of furniture found at flea markets, Etsy, and my fave baby brands with an emphasis on non-toxic materials. I’d like to do a “before and after” blog post down the road some time. I’d love to know some of your fave design blog sites that I should submit to! (Ivillage)

For the second entry in my “Diary of a Spy Mom” blog series for iVillage, I wanted to write a little more about the elusive balance between work and family.

I’ll start by saying that I don’t think I have or ever will achieve a perfect balance — I mean, who can? I feel fortunate that I’m in a position in my career where I don’t have to work as much as I used to. When I do work, I make sure that it’s time worth spending away from my family: taking jobs where I’m genuinely passionate about the material and excited to collaborate with the actors and filmmakers involved. And HUGE BONUS: I am lucky that I am able to bring Honor to work with me. Her days revolve around her nap — for now, at least — and she spends a lot time hanging out with me in my trailer. I create a makeshift playroom with a Pack ‘n Play for naps, I have lunch with her and spend all my down time with her.

We shot Spy Kids in Austin, Texas (where director Robert Rodriguez shoots all his movies), and our apartment wasn’t far from set. Most nights I was able to make it home in time for bath and bedtime reading. There was also a great children’s museum, and the Whole Foods headquarters in Austin has a playground that Honor LOVED. It was a great experience overall, and if I have to be away from home shooting a film, there’s really no better place than being on a Robert Rodriguez film in Austin, Texas. Because he’s a father himself, there’s such a family vibe to all his films.

In terms of day-to-day balance, our primary uninterrupted family time generally happens on the weekends, like most families with parents who work during the week. It’s during those times where (my husband Cash Warren) and I decided that we need to step away from work completely — no emails, meetings or texting — and devote our undivided attention to Honor. It’s important to us to not be “half-present,” which can happen when you’re still in work mode. It’s something I learned from my mother and father, who at some points in my life growing up held down three jobs each. My brother Josh and I never felt like we were neglected or came second because when they were around, we were treated like we were the only thing that mattered to them and we always felt unconditionally loved.

For Cash and me, it’s a never-ending, ever-evolving process to find moments where we can connect. It can be challenging enough to keep connected amidst the normal demands of life without children. To bring kids into the mix makes everything a lot harder and more complicated. We work at staying open and communicating. Most nights, especially lately, we have time with just each other (after we put Honor down). We don’t do anything major, just make dinner and talk about our day or watch TV together.

As far as what we do together on the weekends, well, we’re creatures of habit. No adventures involving saving the world — just a lot of time spent swimming, going to the park and having barbecues. (Ivillage.com)

I want to start this post off by thanking iVillage for the opportunity to guest blog on your site for my “Diary of a Spy Mom” blog series. I am writing a few entries about the film and the parallels to my own life as a working (and very pregnant!) mother. Hope you enjoy these.

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D (which opens on Aug. 19) is my first foray into a true family film. I wanted to do something my 3-year-old daughter Honor could watch. On top of that, the opportunity came to me at a perfect time in my life from a thematic point of view, something I think many moms reading iVillage can relate to: the idea that we’re stretched so thin in our daily lives as mothers and how to achieve balance — if there is such a thing, LOL.

While shooting Machete, our second film together, director Robert Rodriguez came up with the idea of a new Spy Kids film. We discussed, among other things, the challenges of going back to work after having a child, which is very much a theme for my retired Spy Kids mom character. But Robert will credit Honor’s exploding diaper on the set of Machete as having really sparked the lightbulb for the return of the Spy Kids series, LOL. After that incident, he began to write my role for a new film and a new set of spy kids, played amazingly by newcomers Mason Cook and Rowan Blanchard.

Trying to work, be a mom and wife and do it all perfectly with a smile is tough as heck. In fact, it feels nearly impossible sometimes. As much as I try to prepare and have everything planned out, there are moments where I haven’t packed enough outfits, toys, snacks, pacifiers, burp cloths or some other necessity to avoid baby meltdown. And Honor will vomit, poop, pee or some combination, and I’ll only have one diaper left. I’ll make do with a diaper and a blanket, but I feel like I look like a bad mom. No matter how prepared you are as a mom I’ve found that you’re always going to make mistakes. And most crushingly, I always feel like I should be doing more.

We had a lot of fun incorporating some of these themes into Spy Kids. (My character) Marissa is a first-time mother with two stepkids who are very critical of her and a husband she barely gets to see because he’s always working. She tries desperately to please them all. I think she’s relatable to moms who are trying to do it all and want it to seem like everything is going according to plan.  ;)

One of my favorite scenes was shooting the action sequence where I’m on my last mission before retiring to be a full-time mom. I’m full term and going into labor in the midst of a chase sequence where I have to save the world — ONE LAST TIME — before throwing in the towel. It’s obviously silly and light and not showing the “real” side of active labor, but I got a kick out of waddling around with a big (fake) belly, kicking butt.