Flooded Lizard Kingdom

C-Man:

1. He doesn't criticize me, even though I criticize him.
2. He allows me to believe I am the center of the universe, but he doesn't let me walk all over him. (I know it sounds contradictory, but it works.)
3. He cooks.

The Baby (who desperately needs a pseudonym for this blog - any suggestions?):

1. He helps me practice my patience - and I'm saying this seriously, not sarcastically.
2. He is trying to maintain a sleep pattern at night of 4 hours, then 3 hours, then 2 hours, only waking up for 20 minutes in between each shift. (Those of you who have parented infants know how good this is compared to how they start out.)
3. He never critiques my made-up songs, even when they are really quite awful.

My mom:

1. She doesn't hold my adolescence against me, even though I treated her pretty badly.
2. She stayed beside me the entire time I was having the baby, even though she was having painful flashbacks of how scared she was when I was sick as a child.
3. She taught C-Man how to make scrambled eggs the way I like them.

My mother in law:

1. She firmly believes that I need care and support in order to be a good mom, and she is more than happy to provide that care - including taking me to get a massage tomorrow morning.
2. She is a great source of information and ideas about caring for children, all shared without judgment or expectations that what she has done or read about will necessarily work for us and our baby.
3. She has learned where all the dishes and clothes go in our house from doing so many chores here.

My sister:

1. She is one of the funniest people I know, so every time I call her I can be confident I will end up laughing.
2. She took on the role of being excited I was pregnant when all I could perceive was how sick I felt, and sent a box of super-cute baby clothes that arrived within days of me telling her. Those outfits have turned out to be my favorites.
3. She's shorter than I am, so I have something to make fun of her about.