I recently had the opportunity to chat with ET Canada's gorgeous, talented (and most importantly, Ontario-born!) host, Cheryl Hickey.
This Mom: You're a busy mom like all of my readers, with one big difference being that you're on national television every day! Can you take us through what a typical workday is like for you?
Cheryl Hickey: Usually I wake up at about 7:00 to "mamamama"; that's my alarm clock. Lately it's been "mama backhoe", because that's his big word right now. Then I go in and see my son, and we have a bottle and cuddle time, and then off to shower.
Usually I'm at work by 8:30 in hair and makeup, or as I call it, "restoration", and I go into a morning line-up meeting where we talk about what's happening with the show, what stories have broken overnight, some of the local stories we're working on. Then back into hair and makeup and between 10 and 10:30 I go into my office and catch up on e-mails and phone calls and things like that that I need to do.
Next I go into the voice booth and start voice-overs for the show for probably 20 minutes, then I jump into wardrobe and throw on my clothes and we start the show at 11 and do that until usually 3:30. Right now my schedule is condensed and I'm working until about 1:00 and then I go home to my son.
Work has been really great in that I was working part-time for a little while. To everyone at home it looks like I'm working full-time, but we've managed to condense my day so I can be home with my son. My husband {Kevin Foley} works a very busy job and he's not around a lot, so this way works out much better.
TM: You're around fame on a daily basis, but are there any celebrities who still make you feel starstruck?
CH: I think after doing this for a little while you realize these guys are just people like all of us, and they get really nervous before big events, and you can see it in their faces when you're on the red carpet. But sure, there are still some stars you get excited to see, like your Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, certainly. They're all pretty big.
TM: Is it common when interviewing a celeb for you to be told in advance that certain questions are off-limits, or are you generally open to ask whatever you want?
CH: Most of the time whatever you want to ask, but I would say that over the years, the number of publicists coming up to you saying "We don't want you to talk about this, we don't want you to talk about that," is definitely increasing, I think because their privacy is being taken away by all of the sites on the internet, the sort of 24 hours people watching, so there are certain things where they just don't want to talk about it.
TM: You always look amazing on the air. Do you have choice in your wardrobe?
CH: Oh yeah. I think Meg and I have developed a really fantastic relationship in that she knows what I feel I can wear and what I can't wear. Like any woman, you sort of know your body and you know what works and what doesn't. Every once in a while I'll wear something and think "Oh, jeez, why did I do that?" Meg will get a selection of clothes and I walk in and put on what I think works and then I'm out.
Cheryl and Kevin
TM: What can we look forward to with ET Canada's coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival this year?
CH: We're going to be all over it, of course! We'll be at all the really big red carpets, and we have a really great room set up to do some one-on-one intimate interviews with everybody and we've got a couple of really good parties with a ton of celebrities coming, and we'll have our cameras rolling of course so we can show everyone the next day. And we'll show all of the prep that goes in to it, and the big swag rooms, and how people get ready for big events like this.
Cheryl rocks her baby bump with ET co-hosts Rosey Edeh and Kim D'Eon
at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival (just weeks before Jaxs was born)
TM: How old is Jaxson now?
CH: {You can hear the smile in her voice as she answers} He's going to be two in October!
TM: And what is he into these days?
CH: Everything to do with construction and trucks. One of his first words was backhoe. They're doing some construction on the street in front of our house, and have been doing it for quite a while, so every morning he wakes up and he's totally excited to look out the window. He says "backhoe", "dumptruck", "front loader", so that is all very big. Also Baby Einstein. The Rocket. Loves it.
Cheryl and Kevin, http://www.houseandhome.com/
TM: Do you foresee any siblings in his future?
CH: You know, if we're lucky enough, that would be great. Absolutely. It would be wonderful for him to have a brother or sister, but you know, you can't really plan those things. It's not really up to us.
TM: We might think it us, but someone else may know better! Speaking of kids, I've read that you're a big proponent of sleep, as am I. Some people seem to to be able to get by on very little. Why is it so important to you?
CH: I think you become delirious if you don't get it, quite frankly, and it's hard to function. I think anyone who has been sleep-deprived knows that you have to have it. You don't function nearly as well. And I had a colicky baby, and I realized relatively quickly that it's really difficult not sleeping. I also think I did things wrong by not napping when he was napping. Sleep is huge.
Cheryl shared this pic on Twitter when Jaxs was two months old
TM: What do you and your husband like to do for family time?
CH: We make sure our weekends are always family time, because we're so busy during the week. My husband runs his own company, a production company with Vernon Wells, and anybody who runs their own company knows that you work long hours. It's much different. A lot of the time he's not home for dinner, it's just Jaxson and I, so on the weekend it's family time. In the summer we go to every splash pad we can find! We have a really big backyard so we make sure to do lots of fun sports outside. We go to the beach. He's big into the beach and swimming, so anything with water.
TM: How would you complete the sentence "This Mom Loves..."?
CH: I have a steamer and blender that you use to make your own baby food, and I still use it to this day to steam all of his vegetables and things like that, so I love that! I got it at Williams Sonoma, and it's green. {The Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker, pictured below.} I also use a couple of really beautiful creams and oils that I love for my son because he has sensitive skin. We have a ladybug that shines moons and stars on the ceiling at night and that's a great way to soothe him, and he loves it. And I love his hands and feet!
Thanks, Cheryl!
To stay up-to-date with entertainment news, both worldwide and from here in Hollywood North, be sure to catch ET Canada on Global TV at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT.
You can also follow @ETCanada and @CherylHickeyETC on Twitter.
