Kelly Ripa, who turned 40 on October 2nd, celebrated the milestone birthday with a candid chat in this month’s issue of Good Housekeeping . Even though her job is in the media, she’s still just a regular working mom: “I’m like any working mom. When I’m at work, I’m remembering what I forgot to do for the kids, and when I’m with the kids, I’m remembering what I forgot to do at work.  And so, I’m constantly in a state of guilt and distraction.” On how she and husband Mark Consuellos keep their relationship strong: “We carve out time for ourselves.  I think we’re better parents because date night gives us something to look forward to, a night where we’re not saying, ‘Put that down, stop touching her, don’t spill that.’  Sometimes we’ll put the kids to bed early and watch Jersey Shore on DVR.  It can be that simple, just the two of us, alone, one day a week, for dinner and hijinks…a little bump and tickle.  Woo-hoo! I’m 40.  I can say that now.” “I think about my husband in the middle of the day because I love him and I can’t wait to see him.  He is my best friend.  Nobody knows me the way he knows me.  We’ve seen each other in an Avatar , ‘I see you’ way.” Kelly also says that a wedding and marriage is about the couple, not the big party (except in her daughter’s case): “People assume that when you get married in Vegas, you go in willy-nilly.  We wanted to get married and start our lives together, and we didn’t take it any less seriously than anybody who has a huge wedding.  It’s the marriage that’s important, not the wedding.  But, I will kill my daughter if she runs off and elopes, because I want to have a big party.” Happy belated birthday to Kelly!  40 is in no way old, but Kelly doesn’t look like she’s 40, does she?  Maybe it’s her perky personality, but she still seems 30 to me.  Photo courtesy of Good Housekeeping