Rachel McAdams is familiar with the chaos, exhaustion and sheer joy of parenthood.

The actor has a 2-year-old son with her partner, Jamie Linden. She’s also reportedly expecting her second child with Linden. Although McAdams has been quite private about her parenting experience, she has shared a few glimpses into her family life in interviews.

In honor of her birthday, we’ve rounded up nine quotes about motherhood from McAdams.

On The Motherhood Experience

“It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, hands down. [People say] your life is not your own anymore, but I had 39 years of me. I was sick of me. I was so happy to put the focus on some other person.”

On Parenting A Newborn

“I have clothes on, and that’s a good thing. I don’t even know what I’m wearing today. The shoes are held together with glue. Isn’t that sad? I need to get a life.”

On Becoming A Parent Later In Life

“I waited a long time [for motherhood]. It’s just how it happened. And I didn’t want to do it before it was the right time.”

On Filming ‘Eurovision,’ Her First Postpartum Project

“I got a lot of time off beforehand, so I was pretty ready to go back by the time I did. He was almost 2. … But I mean, being able to take him to Iceland — he’ll never remember any of it, but I feel like somehow that might stick to his soul and his personality a little bit, so it was great to get to travel. And you know, we’ve been sort of cuddled up for so long together that it was wonderful to go out into the world and get to work at the same time. I felt really lucky to be able to do that.”

On The Joy Of Parenthood

“I’m having more fun being a mum than I’ve ever had. Everything about it is interesting and exciting and inspiring to me. Even the tough days — there’s something delightful about them.”

On Being A Mom Amid COVID-19

“I have a very welcome distraction through my son, who is 2. So that’s what I do … all the time. He’s so entertaining! I thought about, ‘Would I rather be alone in quarantine? Or with my family?’ You know, there are days, sure, but I mean, I would be so bored without him around to make it so fun.”

On Pandemic Parenting Woes

“Yeah, I mean, it’s a lot of quality time but … it’s something that you’ll never get to do quite like this again. It’s such extraordinary circumstances and, you know, we’re just making the best of it. And I was reading something about that in The New York Times, like, don’t worry about your kids because he was just starting to really talk and open up and socialize. Don’t worry, you know, the time they’re getting and they’re learning other skills that will benefit them just as much as socializing so just, you know, relax. It’ll be OK.”

On Protecting Her Son’s Privacy

“I want to keep his life private, even if mine isn’t.”

On Keeping Her Son Busy

“We live sort of out in the country. There is a little farm down the road, so we can go to it and look at the animals. We’ve been doing some planting, some okra. … Well, I mean, I do the planting and he snacks most of the day.”