If you could sit down for one-on-one girlfriend time with TODAY's Natalie Morales, mother of two boys, would you want the scoop about interviewing celebrities, globetrotting or the secrets of keeping cool under the pressure of morning television?

Didn't think so.

As moms, the real burning question is: How does she do it? Sure, there are folks to help with hair and makeup at the crack of dawn, but who tucks the kids into bed and kisses them goodnight when work takes her away? There's the thrill of hearing the TODAY show song at airtime, but success doesn't come without challenges.

Natalie Morales shared with TODAY Moms how she manages to be apart from her family for work, which she says is the hardest part of her job. She makes sure she's in touch with them throughout the day and is trying to Skype more. "I just talk to them and tell them I love them every minute that I can when I am traveling," Morales says.

It helps that she's seen one of her role models, Meredith Vieira, balance family and work, making her realize that you can have a little of everything in your life.

But the role model she's had since youth has always been her mother. "She's shown me that you can always dream big dreams, and you have to work hard -- a great work ethic will be the key to your success."

Moms always knows best.

Do you have questions for Natalie? Put them in the comments, and we'll ask her the next time we get a chance.

Julie Weingarden Dubin is a Michigan-based freelance journalist and author with three rocking kids, a loving husband and a trashed minivan. She covers health, psychology, parenting, relationships and pop culture. 

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TODAY's Natalie Morales writes about her involvement with a TV special aimed at tackling child hunger.

What does it feel like to be so hungry, you can't think of anything but when you will get your next meal? 

Shocking to think that is how one in four school children feels right now, according to the latest statistics. With the economy's collapse and so many parents still without jobs, many are having to make painful choices. Sadly, many kids feel the consequences the hardest. 

Teachers see it first-hand: the look of kids who can't focus, lack energy and don't seem to care about schoolwork. One teacher told me in our "Child Hunger Ends Here" special about showing kids how to make glue in his science class. One of the ingredients they were using was milk. A student raised her hand and said she would rather drink the milk than make the glue because she had not had anything to eat since the night before. Next thing he knew, four other kids asked if they too could drink the milk because they also were hungry. 

The good news when they're at school, they're being fed. The bad news: When they are not in school, they go hungry or make poor food choices because junk food is cheaper than nutritious food. This is United States of America, yet we are dealing with a hunger epidemic.  It's worth remembering, as one of the most generous countries we always rush to the aid of others. Well, look within your own community and see what's really going on. Check out the local food pantry and soup kitchen, and if you're in a position to help, please do. Children who are hungry do not learn, can't focus and will struggle harder through life. Let's give them better odds.

--Natalie Morales, TODAY

For more information and ways to help, you can go to Feeding America and Child Hunger Ends Here.

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It's pretty shocking to realize that a large number of children go to bed hungry in the United States. About 17 million children in America experience "food insecurity," meaning they don't know where their next meal is coming from. The clip below puts a face on the statistics: A little girl who says, "I'm hungry when it's bed time, but I never ask because I know we need food for the next day."

TODAY's Al Roker and Natalie Morales are hosting a special show on Saturday to bring attention to the issue of child hunger, 7 p.m. in most places. Click here to check your local listings. Also, for more information you can go to Feeding America and Child Hunger Ends Here.

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Nobody's perfect -- not even Natalie Morales!

Perfect? Not quite...

While the TODAY anchor usually seems pretty pulled together, she admits in a new column in next month's Latina magazine that motherhood taught her very quickly that she couldn't be perfect. In fact, she learned that lesson while giving birth to her first son, Josh, in 2003. After an enviably easy pregnancy, she had ideas about everything being just "perfect" -- then the baby's heart rate dropped alarmingly during labor and she had to have an emergency C-section.

She writes:

This was my first wake-up call to being a parent. I realized that all those images of “perfect” dancing in my head would need to undergo some serious re-evaluation. I am very far from being a perfect mom. In fact, I suffer from severe mom guilt, as so many of you do, when I work too much or over-schedule myself, keeping me from spending quality time with my children. And although mom guilt is by no means a Latina thing, anyone who grew up in a Latin family knows that Mom does it all: supreme comforter, caregiver and provider. I am a work-in-progress mom, and as much as I try to do it all, I also end up doing way too much. Some days I’m pretty good at being almost-perfect, in fact. But most days I’m not, and I go to bed feeling guilty and hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

Can you tell that I’m plagued by perfection? Aren’t we all? It’s time to get over it and accept we are flawed—we are human. Ever have your child tell you they like the babysitter more than you? Or do they love Daddy more because he’s more fun? I have heard all of that. I have laid on my bed in tears because of those words.

Oh, Natalie! We've all been there in one way or another, right? With her sons now 7 and 2, Natalie says she's accepted the fact that she's the strict mommy and dad is the fun one -- but she knows her boys also have fun with her too, and that no one can replace mommy in their eyes. In the end, she says perfection will always be like an inner demon that she's chasing -- but she's learning to let it go.

Can you relate to Natalie's struggle with perfection and mom guilt? What makes you feel better when you get caught up in striving, impossibly, to be the "perfect" mother?

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Natalie Morales is getting personal about her experiences as a mother in the pages of Latina magazine, where she’s writing a "Modern Mami" column about the challenges facing Latina moms. She talks about her inspiration for the column with Ann Curry on TODAY:

She'll also answer reader questions about being a Latina mom.

Morales was born in Taiwan and spent much of her childhood living overseas, in Panama, Brazil and Spain, as an “Air Force brat.” Her dad is Puerto Rican and her mom is Brazilian. In her first column for Latina, which will hit newsstands Jan. 11, she opens up about her own mother. Penelope Morales was “given up” at age 2 to be raised by her grandmother – Natalie’s great-grandmother – along with 13 other children in a poor household in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Natalie writes:

What my mother wanted most in life, she didn’t have: a loving mother to hug and kiss her, wipe her tears away when she was sad, encourage her when she felt insecure and make her feel like she was the most valuable treasure in life. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like as I try so hard to give that attention and love to my two boys.

It’s amazing how the choices we make as mothers echo through the generations. Clearly, Natalie looks up to her mom as a role model – even though her mom was a traditional homemaker, and Natalie works (quite hard!), she tries to cook dinner for her family every night, just like her mother did. And though she has followed her mother’s example by growing into a strong woman, she also wishes she could reach back in time and give a hug to the vulnerable young girl her mother once was:

 I would love to meet the little girl with the big name and the big, sad, brown eyes to match. I would give her the hug she so clearly craved and reassure her, “Sweetie, don’t worry, you will have it all—and being an amazing mother will be the most important thing you do in life.”

Natalie's story got us thinking: Have you thanked your own mother lately?

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What are your parenting resolutions for 2011?

At TODAY Moms, we asked our writers and editors to share their ideas for improvement in the new year. And now we have resolutions from TODAY anchors Matt Lauer and Al Roker, too! From knowing what's for dinner to simply loving life, we’ve got big plans for 2011. Maybe you’ll find some inspiration here – and please add your own resolutions in the comments!

Matt Lauer: I want to be more involved in my kids' schooling -- because I'm kind of laissez-faire, I don't check homework and that kind of thing, and I want to get more involved. They're not going to like that, by the way.

Al Roker: I want to try to get home earlier and pick up the kids from school more. 

Natalie Morales, TODAY Show host: Loving more, complaining less!
(Read Natalie’s full list of parenting resolutions here.)

And check out these resolutions shared on our Facebook page:

Jennifer Holland: To get through this pregnancy without any family casualties. ;-) 

Kyra Clem Carver: Try not to yell so much

Debby Head Matassa: Listen more, talk less...very hard to do, but sooo worth it! I can't even believe the scoop I hear now that she's grown! 

Jesi Momcani Davis-Rodriguez: relax, don't rush, and don't yell so much!

More from TODAY Moms:

Sara Pines, TODAY Show producer and TODAY Moms contributor: Forget keeping up with the Joneses.  Try not to compare what my almost 5-year-old daughter is doing to what any other kids are doing.  When I hear: "Benji is reading, and he's only 3!"  "Little Lydia is performing on Broadway!"  I resolve to gush with joy for the other parents… and leave it at that.  No worry.  No stress.  No doubt.  Just live in the moment and say, "That's great!" 

Dana Macario, TODAY Moms contributor: Get organized.  Before I had kids I was one of the most organized people I knew.   "A place for everything and everything in its place" kind of gal.  However, since having kids I feel like I'm the least-organized person I've ever met.  Our house is so strewn with toys that most days it looks like we've been robbed (and that was before Christmas and all of the new loot that accompanies it).  My husband once found a salad bowl in his briefcase; it's no wonder I feel like a whirling dervish most of the time.   So, chaos no more!  One of my friends is so organized she makes Martha Stewart look like an amateur.  While I know myself and my family well enough to not even dream of such organization, if I can reach a place where I don't get insanely jealous of her play room (which is truly a work of art), then I'll be happy with where I'm at.

Rebecca Dube, TODAYMoms.com editor: Write down all the cute stuff my 1-year-old son does (and, maybe soon… says?!). I always think I’m going to remember the funny look on his face the first time he ate toast or the way he laughed when we played peekaboo. And then there’s a diaper change, and a meal to fix, and bills to pay, and oops, gotta respond to that work e-mail, and clean up dinner, and collapse into bed… and what was I trying to remember, again? This year I resolve to write down more – if only to remind myself of these little moments of joy amid the sleepless nights and stinky diapers.

Amy McCready, TODAY Moms contributor and founder of Positive Parenting Solutions: Think about what to make for dinner before my kids ask, “Hey Mom, what’s for dinner?”  Or better yet, I’ll get the whole family involved in menu planning on Sunday and let them pick a night that they’ll be responsible for preparing dinner – or at least a portion of it.  That way, I can ask them, “Hey kids, what’s for dinner?”  I like that!

Wendy Lee Walsh, TODAY Moms contributor: Stick to "a daily 20."  Twenty minutes of focused, face-to-face time each day is what every family member needs to stay bonded, attached, and seen and heard at any age. In my house, I eat breakfast alone with my eldest daughter and that's our chance to talk without technology or interference from her sister. At night my little one gets me in bed for reading, talking and snuggling. Finding twenty minutes of uninterrupted private time for each kid (and a spouse) is surprisingly difficult, but that's my goal.

Amy Tiemann, aka "Mojo Mom," TODAY Moms contributor: After losing my own mother to cancer three months ago, I found myself exhausted on every possible level: emotional, physical, and spiritual.  I know that I still need to give myself time and space to grieve, but also start to come back to enjoying life. My resolution for 2011 is to live by the Arthur Rubinstein quote, "When you love life, life will love you back."  Right now that needs to start with building myself back up physically, through exercise and healthy eating. Equally importantly, I also want to open my eyes, ears and heart to finding the joy in every moment possible with my family.  I know my Mom would want it that way.

Christina Kelly, TODAY Moms contributor: I have two resolutions. One is to find a way to be more loving and patient. The other is to take better care of myself so I can take better care of my children.

Alex Smith, TODAYShow.com editor, TODAY Moms editor emeritus and TODAY Moms contributor: Spend more time being present and actively involved in the lives of my little ones. Like many parents, I spent vast swathes of both my professional and personal lives glued to the computer screen. Even after a long day of squinting at my monitor at work, I’ll come home and similarly gaze at my iMac, even before Charlotte, my 6-year old, and Oliver, my 4-year-old, have gone to bed. While they’re romping about, giddily stalling from having to get ready for bedtime, I’m prone to squandering that precious one-on-one time with them by typing stupid screeds on Facebook, watching antiquated Iron Maiden videos on YouTube or writing up relatively meaningless posts about forgotten record stores on my weblog. I have to remind myself to stop and respond to my kids with my full attention when they chirp up at me or ask me questions, lest I inadvertently broadcast the message to them that it’s OK to tune people out. I need to be more respectful of their time as well as my own.

Beyond it being a matter of manners and etiquette, there’s a selfish reason for me to do this too. I need to take a step back and realize that my kids aren’t always going to be so little. They’re not always going to pine for me to read stories  to them or beg for me to get down on my hands and knees to build a long train track (Thomas the Tank Engine is a huge favorite in our home). It’s not that my heart doesn’t already explode with affection when they come running as I walk in the front door each night, but I need to savor and appreciate it while it’s still happening. I’m always going to be their father, but my time being “Daddy” is heartbreakingly fleeting.

Sue Kidd, TODAYMoms contributor: I launched my New Year’s parenting resolution for 2010 with vigor. It’d be a joint endeavor between myself and my son, who was 9 at the time. We’d journal together. Maybe not every day, but certainly we could do that once a week, right? Yeah, right.

He’s an avid reader, but not so much an avid writer. For his journalist mother, his allergy to writing causes a small amount of consternation. So I thought I would start simple: a journal about dessert, his favorite thing in the world. As the first week of January bled into the second, then the third, I checked his journal. Page after page of blank greeted me, with the exception of one page with a pencil scratch of half a sentence, “Chocolate chip good.”

That’s it??? Chocolate chip good? Certainly we could do better. Couldn't we? I brought it up over the next several days, but was greeted with a sigh of exasperation. Score zero for mom. January slipped into February into March, and soon the idea of the journal just evaporated along with all those other promises that wind up in the Great Resolution Abyss.

But this year? This year, I start anew.  And am I crazy to revisit the same resolution for my son? Perhaps, but I still think journaling is important. It’s a way for kids to capture thought and to internalize something they may not otherwise ponder.

A conversation with a friend spawned an idea that instead of putting pencil to paper, maybe it’d be better for my tech-savvy 10-year-old to video journal. He’s armed with Christmas loot: a brand-new camera with built-in video. Will he video journal about cookies? Will he say “Chocolate chip good,” then flip off the camera? I don’t know, but a parent can always hope. I already mentioned to him today that I’d like for him to use his new video camera as a way to journal some of his thoughts. He was thrilled to learn that would require absolutely no writing.

But then a new problem cropped up: “Mom, can I put them on Youtube?”

Oy.

Happy New Year, everyone! Check out our Facebook page, and add your own parenting resolutions in the comments.  

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