I’m pretty much over hearing about how Jennifer Garner is probably pregnant again. So let’s not make a big deal about how she has a very hint of a “bump” in these photos. The woman has had two kids, and she seems to eat like a normal person. Her stomach is less than perfectly flat, and that’s fine. These are new photos of Jennifer either dropping off or picking up Violet from her ballet class. I really think Violet is trying to show her mom and the paparazzi her ballet styles and form in these photos. She’s such a cutie.

I was looking to see if there were any interesting Garner stories to put with these photos, and I found this little interview Jennifer did at some point – they claim she gave this interview “recently” but who knows? Jennifer is trying to explain why she’s always photographed with no makeup, in very casual clothes:

If you are a busy mom, your outfits are more than likely chosen for their lack of wrinkles and comfort as opposed to actual style — who can chase a toddler wearing heels?

Which is why I always feel bad when these gossip rags take photos of celebrity moms looking like, heaven forbid, a busy mom, with big X’s across their outfit and “Fashion Don’t” slapped as the headline. Harsh much?

And actress Jennifer Garner knows exactly how that feels. She reveals to The Stir in a recent interview about being dressed as a busy mom, and her beauty secret for staying sane.

“You see pictures and you see this harried woman in jeans and sneakers, running around and just lucky if I get a shower, but it’s pretty much the same as every other mom out there. You know, I can’t dress up every day, it’s just not in my nature. Even if I own the clothes, which by the way I do, I look at them and think ‘I can’t be a mom in those clothes,’ they just don’t suit me.”

So what’s her secret to combat falling into the frazzled-looking mom trap? “I do think that it’s important for yourself every now and then (and sorry I can’t send you my hair and makeup team because you would be thrilled with the results!) to put on some makeup, blow out your hair, and get dressed up just for the heck of it and walk around as a reminder that you’re as beautiful to yourself as you are to your kids.”

[From The Stir]

I mostly understand what Jennifer is saying, and I’m not even a mom. I cosign the idea that it’s just not realistic to get all dolled up when you know your kids are going to smear peanut butter and Vaseline on you throughout the day. I work from home – I sit at my desk every weekday – I have a uniform that I wear nearly every day – and it involves sweatpants and no makeup. I go out like this all the time too. So I get it, Jennifer. Here’s the one complaint I have about this though – I think that yes, she’s focused on her kids, but I also think this is part of the image she’s putting out there, that of the “harried, down-to-earth super-mom.” It’s not just a manufactured image (as I really do think she‘s a good mom), but there is a conscious effort to put herself out there in this particular way, in my opinion. After all, if she really was going all-natural, wouldn’t she stop with the lip injections?

Also: that bag wishes it was a Birkin. If you’re a celebrity and you’re going to go for a Birkin knock-off, just get a damn Birkin!

Jennifer Garner & Violet on October 12, 2010. Credit: Fame.