It's hard to pick up a magazine, glance at the Web or surf the cable channels without being inundated with images of celebrity moms. It seems everyone is sporting sassy baby bumps or birthing beautiful babes. On guilty visits to celebrity websites, I've spotted Angelina toy shopping with Maddox, Jessica Alba and Honor on a playdate at a park, Gwen Stefani ice skating with Kingston, Courtney Cox, CoCo, and her nanny on a walk, Nicole Richie and Harlow on a coffee run.

And I've envied the svelte, couture-clad mommies. But I'm ashamed to admit ... I've also done some split-second judging while flipping through those photos. (So-and-so always seems to be walking behind, cell phone in hand, while the nanny pushes the stroller. And how is that new mom always out-and-about without her tiny infant?!) And so it got me to thinking, if I were a celebrity mom, who would I want to be?

For me, the answer was easy to come by: Jennifer Garner. Why? From what I've seen, most pictures show Jennifer carrying Violet—even when Jen was incredible pregnant with Seraphina. She seems incredibly hands-on, with nary a nanny in site. (There well may be one, but the nanny's not often pictured—in fact, I've yet to see a sitter. When Jen's at the farmer's market or picking up Violet from school, she's the one carrying, holding, comforting—in other words, doing the mothering.)

What's more, Jennifer always appears in good spirits, looking so calm and natural. She's not sporting ridiculous high heels, overdone makeup or outfits. Instead she's effortlessly beautiful, her smiles wide and seemingly sincere. Pictures catch her wearing comfortable-looking pregnancy outfits, out and about, entirely focused on her daughter. She's going down the slide at the park, helping Violet pick out food at the farmer's market, walking hand-in-hand on sunny strolls. And while it's nearly impossible to accurately judge from a smattering of pictures, Jennifer Garner seems to thoroughly embrace being a mom, complete with it's small, simple joys and routines. (I've also heard that Kerri Russell goes sans nanny and I've seen her peacefully walking, with a glowing smile and her new babe snuggled in a sling. Aw!)

As odd as it may sound, a celebrity I've never met and only sparingly seen pictures of somehow embodies what I envision a good mom to be. And it's a deeply personal estimate, a decision of who I'd like to be, what I aspire to. So I posed the question to a number of my mommy friends, asking whom they'd love to see themselves as. Accordingly, the answers were diverse and very telling of how us moms want to see ourselves.

"No Doubt, I'd want to be Gwen Stefani," puns a clever friend. "Gwen is so involved—she prefers to carry Kingston instead of using a stroller, and she takes him everywhere. Plus, she's got great tot fashion sense. And he's clearly smothered in love as well as couture. Gwen's been a great example of a working mom who also breastfed—a tough task for any mom. (I read that she was once an hour late for an interview because she was breastfeeding her son. That's dedication!) That Kingston is one lucky kid!"

It's hard to argue with that decision—Gwen is most definitely on the radar, active and fashionable. And oddly enough, it's for this very reason another of my friends picked a more obscure celebrity mom to emulate.

"I'd like to be Jada Pinkett Smith because you never hear anything about her," says a poised mommy. "I wouldn't want people up in my 'mom business,' and she's done a great job of keeping all us voyeurs at arm's length—or farther—which is probably good for her kids. Plus, Will Smith is awesome and they seem to have a strong relationship—it's lasted a long time, anyway. And she's amazingly skinny and can pull off uber-short hair!

"It's weird that I chose her, because I don't even really like her or know that much about her," continues this thoughtful mom. "But I think motherhood is a tough enough job without the world scrutinizing you."

But when two more of my friends weighed in on the subject, they made me seriously rethink my initial decision. "If I were a celebrity mom, I would want to be Angelina Jolie," asserts an eternally adorable mom. "She's beyond beautiful in my opinion, has a beautiful family, and is obviously taking care of them. She works when she wants to, stays home when she wants to, and uses her status to help others around the world. Also, it doesn't hurt that she gets to wake up next to Brad Pitt every morning!"

My best friend concurred—Angelina all the way. And so I began to waiver on my decision. Did you see how Angelina worked the red carpet while pregnant with the twins? She was gorgeous, stylish, and sexy. That's not often a word you associate with pregnant women or new moms in general, but Angelina almost drips the stuff. She's sexy and gorgeous, even after birthing twins and juggling a family the size of a basketball team. And that's so seemingly unattainable and appealing to many a mom who regrets the loss of her figure, her wild-and-free days, and occasionally, her sex appeal.

So would it be possible to be Jennifer Garner six days a week and Angelina Jolie on evenings when I want to dress up, step out, and turn a few heads? Each woman seems to embody part of what I'd like to be—a mom but also a woman. And it wouldn't hurt to be an incredibly beautiful and talented one at that!