Hilary Duff on the ‘Joyful & the Painful’ Parts of Parenting

On “How I Met Your Father,” Hilary Duff stars as an aspiring photographer searching for love in New York City. In real life, the actress spends her days balancing work with being a mother to three young children, but as IS evident from her new interview with Shape magazine for their Innovation issue, it’s what her “dreams are made of.”

“I just love watching my kids form into their own individual unique selves. I love my loud household with mayhem and the craziness and all the love and all the dirt. I love [parenting] with my husband,” Hilary told the outlet.

“I love feeling like hugs and cuddles can make everything better. I love the pressure of being like, ‘How the f**k are we going to make it through this day?’ And making it through the day and being like, ‘I don’t know how everyone is tucked in and fed and happy after all the things we’ve had to do today.’”

Duff first shot to stardom as a child actress on Disney’s popular series “Lizzie McGuire,” which eventually led to feature film roles and a music career. And while Duff hasn’t closed the door on a potential “Lizzie McGuire” reboot or new music, she says life for her now is mostly about being present with her family.

“I’m in my family-making phase,” she told Shape. “I built this, and I wanted this and so I have to be here to enjoy the joyful and the painful and everything in-between.”

Duff was also happy to bring a bit of Lizzie McGuire to "How I Met Your Father" via a flashbck this season, but she says, "I don’t think it was enough to satisfy the fact that [the Disney+ "Lizzie McGure" revival] project is shelved."

Hilary says that when she is not working and filming “How I Met Your Father,” her schedule is even more chaotic than when she’s on set.

“I’m almost more busy when I’m not shooting than when I’m shooting,” she said. “When I have a call time, I have to go to work, obviously, and I’m there all day and have to keep my head in that game. When I’m not [shooting], I’m so scattered and all over the place. It’s just madness.”

What does help keep the Texas native focused is making time for self-care routines, like working out and playing tennis with her husband, Matthew Koma, every week.

“I’m really loving that escape and that little break,” she said of the sport. “It’s a really complex game, and it’s hard to think about other things when you’re playing. It kind of drowns out all the buzzing in my head.”

Hilary noted that regular training plays a significant role in making her feel better overall.