I think yesterday was proof John Edwards may be the luckiest SOB on the planet.  I get where the jury is coming from.  I mean, it’s not illegal to be philandering douchebag.  I think he knew that money was going where he really needed it.  He’s such a smooth talker he convinced some old lady to pay to hide his little oopsy-daisy side project.  I think he made sure that money was not “campaign funds.”  Come on!  He’s a lawyer.  He knew the law and I don’t think he broke it.  Slime ball, yes.  Criminal, no.

One person caught my eye the whole trial.  Cate Edwards faithfully and dutifully joined her father in court every day.  The same father who cheated on her cancer-stricken mother and betrayed her family.

The Associated Press

I have such admiration for her dignity and grace.  I know what it’s like to be let down by your dad.  I understand the embarassment and disgust of dealing with the aftermath of his sins.  It was bad enough for me.  I can’t imagine having everybody in the world know about what my dad had done.  Maybe she and Chelsea Clinton should start a club.

Anyway, I think it was a true sign of forgiveness and strength for Cate to stand with him.  It was a wonderful example for her younger siblings who are no doubt still mourning the loss of their mother.  It inspires me to continue to work on my relationship with my dad, as an example for my daughter.

Well done Cate, well done.  It’s over now.  I hope you now have time to focus on your marriage, and your life.  Good luck.  (Sorry for calling your dad a douche.)

Every mother deals with postpartum anxiety differently.  Most of you know my story in all its gruesome detail.  I’ve been told I was “brave” to tell it.  I had many of you email me your thanks and tell your own stories.  I thank you for that.  I don’t feel brave, so I appreciate it and I’m glad to know I may have helped someone.

Last week I met a woman with a 10-month-old who had a whole new take on things.

This new mom was telling a group of women about the horrible nightmares she was having.  She dreamed that someone was coming in her home and stealing her daughter from the crib.  She described sleepless nights when she would lay in bed praying no one would take her baby.  She would often wake her husband up to get his gun in the middle of the night.  Finally she had enough.

She said, “I decided I didn’t want to use his rifle.  It’s too big.  I went downtown today and got my gun license.  I’m getting my own pistol.  I’m sleeping better already!”  She laughed and joked about it.

Alright girl.  Get it.  If that’s what helps you sleep at night, I say go for it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a gun owner and I believe in strict firearms laws.  But, I also don’t want to infringe on anyone’s rights or judge another mother for doing what she thinks is best to protect her child.  I certainly wouldn’t want a gun-toting mama to judge me for taking meds and getting therapy.  I chose Zoloft.  She chose Smith & Wesson.  To each mom her own.

This has been an amazing weekend of being together as a little family.  We showed our little girl some of her little city.  I can’t stop looking at these pictures.

I’ve chronicled this whole pregnancy-first year of life thing with a series of professional pictures.  I didn’t think we needed quite as many as the first year, so 18-months is a great milestone.

The FABULOUS Cat Wilborne took these pics.  Check out her site.  She takes amazing natural light photos.  God bless this woman for having the patience to photograph a 1 1/2 year-old.  Charlotte would smile like a beautiful angel for half-a-second before screaming bloody murder in a toddler rampage.  We were exhausted after this hour session, but she got some great shots of our girl.

Tell me which ones you like the best.

May I present…Miss Charlotte Eva at 18 months old…

I made a mental list today of all the stuff I want.  Nothing that I NEED, mind you, stuff I WANT.  Indulge me.  Take a look.

• This poster about blogs and coffee:  There are not many things that sum up a person in one little poster, but I think this one gets close for me.  It’s very “Amy”.  I love it and plan to buy it from MadeByGirl.

• A new season of Hell’s Kitchen:  I think if most women had to pick their “English hottie” it would be David Beckham, Colin Firth, or Prince William before hereditary male pattern baldness got the better of him.  I hear the young girls dig the British group of Bieber clones called One Direction.  Not me.  Only one Englishman will do.  I’d like Gordan Ramsay to cook me something!  I don’t know what it is, but when that man yells profanity at a floundering restaurateur I want to yell, “God save the King!”  (Please note: Greyson knows of my Ramsay fascination.  He’s okay with it.  He feels the same about Katy Perry.  Please also note: I like Kitchen Nightmares and Master Chef better than Hell’s Kitchen, but that’s the one that comes on in the summer.  Beggars can’t be choosers.  Is that an English saying?)   

• A cute, funny Sesame Street shirt:  Okay, see, we want to take Charlotte to Sesame Street Live! soon.  We even discussed tailgating outside the arena before the show with our friends and their toddler.  Hey, we’re gonna need a beer if we have to sit through that.  The kids can have Goldfish and juice boxes.  Charlotte already loves Cornhole, but we’d like her to brush up before football season.  I want to wear this one to the big show.

I’m quite certain Greyson will want me to wear this one…

• A new laptop:  I’ve barely started shopping.  I’ll take your recommendations.
• This necklace with my monogram:  It’s by Moon and Lola and I’ve had my eye on it forever.

• This Lilly Pulitzer bag:  Yes, it’s my sorority’s pattern.  I don’t care that I’m a 30-year-old.  Carrying this bag is my refusal to grow up.  Besides, this is a crazy cute bag.

• A trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Eeeek!  I want to drink Butter Beer, wave my wand from Ollivander’s and skip through Hogwarts.  But, I surely don’t want to go in the coming months.  Florida in the summer?!  No thanks.  Greyson and I may plan a trip this fall, sans toddler.  I want to be a kid with my husband.  I solemnly swear we will be up to no good.

Upon reviewing this list of things I think about all the time I came to a conclusion.  I AM A NERD!  Seriously.  Only a seriously geeky girl would want these things.

No lie. I was playing around with this "glasses" effect and thought, "Oooh! These look like Harry's! I'll put them on Charlotte!" (See, nerd.)