You’ll have to excuse two Britney stories so close together, but this is too good to pass up. I mean pooooooooooooooor Britney Spears. Britney’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, was stopped on her way out of a hearing regarding Spears’ and Federline’s custody arrangement. She said that Britney “‘just wants to be a mom. I believe this is a frustrating time for her.’” True story. I know lawyers are supposed to put their clients in the best light possible, but saying something like that – which so totally contradict months of behavior – kind of sets her client up to be mocked.

“Britney Spears ‘just wants to be a mom,’ her lawyer, Laura Wasser, said Friday – adding, ‘I believe this is a frustrating time for her.’ Wasser spoke to reporters outside the courtroom after another hearing in the custody fight between Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline. TMZ.com and CelebTV cited court documents signed Friday saying Spears will continue to pay Federline $20,000 in spousal support, but it’s unclear how long that deal will remain in effect.

“Wasser did not confirm any details about what was discussed. Asked if this is a frustrating time for Spears because of the negative reactions to her appearance last Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards, Wasser said, ‘Yes. I think she just wants to be a mom, and both of her kids’ birthdays are this week, and I think she would’ve liked to celebrate with them without having to worry about the entire nation – the entire world – being concerned about what’s going on with her personally and her custody battle with Mr. Federline.’

“Wasser, when asked to address a story that Spears tried to offer Federline a settlement, which he was resistant to accept, replied, ‘I don’t believe that’s true. They met and are trying to work it out so they don’t have to have a judge make determinations for them regarding their kids. I don’t know that he was resistant or she was resistant. They are both trying to work to come up with something together.’”

[From People]

I get that this is a hard time for Britney Spears, but she’s bringing most of it on herself, so it’s hard to feel badly for her. The article mentions that Britney and Kevin have a 50/50 custody split, but it sure doesn’t seem like Britney’s with her kids that much. It would be really sad if she had that arrangement to be fair to herself or vindictive towards K-Fed, but left her kids with nannies and babysitters during her time with them. If it’s so important to Britney to be a mom, why isn’t she doing that? And even more importantly, why isn’t she trying to be a good mom? This situation makes me so sad for her kids. Though they’ll have money and advantages from that, that won’t equal out for having a nutcase for a parent (or parents). When I was a teenager I babysat for a 22 year old who had her son at 15, and she treated him in a negligent way that often makes me think of Britney. It was never enough to take her kids away, but it was complete disinterest and an inability to take care of those boring, routine things you have to do for kids day in and day out. Something tells me that, no matter who gets primary custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James, Britney and Kevin will be in court constantly over the next 18 years.

Picture note by JayBird: Pictures of Britney and Kevin during happier times y’all.