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.

Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba, Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, James Gandolfini and Craig Robinson have signed on to voice characters in the family-friendly Escape from Planet Earth.

The Weinstein Company and Rainmaker Entertainment announced the voice cast for their tale of an alien breakout from Area 51 Tuesday.

Fraser will play the film’s hero Scorch Supernova, who, along with his brother Gary (Corddry) must go to Earth to save trapped aliens.  Parker voices Kira, Gary’s wife, while Alba will portray the no-nonsense Lena and Gandolfini serves as the film’s bad guy, Shanker.

The film, which is currently in production, is helmed by Cal Brunker (Despicable Me) and set for a 2012 release.

“A successful animated movie starts with an imaginative story and appealing characters,” Catherine Winder, president and executive producer at Rainmaker Entertainment, said in a statement. “The addition of such high caliber voice talent is a crucial layer to the mix.  With the amazing array of talented artists and creatives from both The Weinstein Company and Rainmaker collaborating on this production, we have all the right ingredients to make Escape from Planet Earth a highly entertaining and successful film.” (The Hollywood Reporter)

Jessica Alba and the cast of  Spy Kids: All the Time in the World, attended the world premiere held at the Regal Cinemas L.A. this afternoon (Sunday, July 31) in Los Angeles.

She wore a dress and cuff by Dolce&Gabbana, a Roger Vivier bag, a Bande des Quatres ring, Kara Ackerman studs, and shoes by Christian Louboutin.

Both Cash, daughter Honor were in attendance. Cash tweeted: “#spykids premiere. Honors first time seeing her mom in a movie. yfrog.com/h0ckijjj“during the premiere.

Followed by a tweet from Jessica. “Had a blast @spykidsmovie premiere w my family n friends!!! Honor sat through the whole movie and all the kids really loved it!”

Click on the previews above to view more photos, and CLICK HERE to watch short interviews with the cast.

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World hits theaters on August 19.

Jessica Alba has received a nomination for Favorite Movie Actress – Drama/Adventure for her role as Sartana in Machete. She’s up against Penelope Cruz, Zoë Saldana, Machete co-star Michelle Rodriguez and Rosario Dawson.

The show, which honors Latinos in the entertainment field, will be hosted by Eva Longoria and George Lopez and air live on NBC on September 16. Head over to Almaawards.com to cast your votes.

According to Amazon, An Invisible Sign will be released on DVD on November 1, 2011. (3 years after it started filming). CLICK HERE to pre-order it.  Below are a few quotes from Marilyn Agrelo (Director) and Costar Chris Messina from ELLE march, 2010. I don’t think anyone has mentioned the film since.

“I really did not picture her as the lead in this film,” says director Marilyn Agrelo, who is best known for the culty child-performer documentary Mad Hot Ballroom. “I knew her as a piece of pop culture, Fantastic Four, this sort of thing.” In a single meeting, Alba won Angrelo over. “I was so surprised by her intelligence, her thoughtfulness, her poise,” Angrelo says. “She’s a real, flesh-and-blood, fully realized woman.”

Costar Chris Messina, who plays a science teacher who becomes Mona’s love interest, describes Alba’s work in the film as “magnificent.” “Jessica’s a beautiful woman, so this business is going to want to put her in a bikini or put a gun in her hand, but she’s just more than that,” Messina Says. “It seemed to me that she really seized this.”

The result, according to Agrelo, is a performance that could change the course of Alba’s career. “I remember when Pulp Fiction opened, and people kind of laughed at the idea of John Travolta in that role. He blew everyone away,” she says. “When things like that happen, it’s wonderful. And it’s so rare that you get to be the one who pulls the surprise out of the hat.”

Robert Rodriguez stopped by EW’s VIP Comic-Con lounge to talk about a few (or many) of his upcoming projects: Sin City 2, two Machete sequels, a Heavy Metal remake, and a Fire and Ice adaptation. Phew.

But you read right — on Thursday night, Rodriguez announced he would be planning a Sin City sequel. And the director tells EW that the film will focus in part on the A Dame to Kill For storyline, which would involve characters played by Clive Owen and Mickey Rourke in the first film. Rodriguez hopes the two stars will be back — along with big names for two more storylines he plans to create for the film. Who is he hoping will jump on board? Rodriguez is keeping mum at this point, but it depends on scheduling: “Availability is going to be key,” he says.

Also on tap is a third Machete film to follow the already-written sequel to the 2010 Danny Trejo film. And Machete 3 hopes to defy gravity. Rodriguez says he sees the third film taking place in space, and plans to air a trailer for the third film ahead of Machete 2. “It’s very Moonraker,” he says. (Entertainment Weekly)

Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World relaunches the franchise with a new set of kids, and Jessica Alba as the undercover mother.

Frankly, this trailer plays directly to its intended audience, so it’s not even worth us moaning about the avalanche of so-so CGI, the irritating animal sidekick, and Jeremy Piven’s limp villain.

The trailer even breaks for an odd aside about the movie’s ’4D’ – you’ll get a scratch ‘n’ sniff card in the cinema so that your sense of smell doesn’t feel left out amid the onslaught.

That said, Rodriguez looks to be directing with his trademark energy, and the sight of Alba in a leather catsuit will provide considerable consolation to any dads dragged to this on a Saturday morning. (Total Film)

Can you believe its been 8 years since the last Spy Kids sequel? Well, time has passes, and Robert Rodriguez has decided it’s about time to reboot the franchise with the fourth installment Spy Kids: All the Time in the World! Five new character posers have debuted, offering a look at this new Spy family, which is headed by Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) and Wilbur Wilson (Joel McHale), and includes their daughter Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard), their son Cecil (Mason Cook), and their hot-wired pooch Argonaut (Ricky Gervais). – Movieweb. Click on the previews above to view them in full-size.

Head over to moviefone.com to enter the ‘Spy Kids’ Sweepstakes & Win a Chance to Interview the Stars!

The first trailer for Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World has hit the web (See it above). The movie will hit theaters this august 19, in 4D.

On the surface, Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) has it all…married to a famous spy hunting television reporter, a new baby and intelligent twin step kids. But in reality, trying to mother Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook), who clearly don’t want her around, is her toughest challenge yet. Also, her husband, Wilbur (Joel McHale), wouldn’t know a spy if he lived with one which is exactly the case – Marissa’s a retired secret agent.

Marissa’s world is turned upside down when the maniacal Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) threatens to take over the planet and she’s called back into action by the head of OSS, home of the greatest spies and where the now-defunct Spy Kids division was created. With Armageddon quickly approaching, Rebecca and Cecil are thrust into action when they learn their boring stepmom was once a top agent and now the world’s most competitive ten year olds are forced to put their bickering aside and rely on their wits. With a little help from a couple of very familiar Spy Kids, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara), and some mind-blowing gadgets, they just may be able to save the world and possibly bring their family together while they’re at it. (Comingsoon)