Are those all yours?

Judging by the comments I receive these days when going out with my brood, I have officially crossed over onto the 'big family' side. Now, I don't really think that three kids is a 'big' family, but I guess we have deviated from the average American household, which is 3.14 according to the census bureau. Whenever I go out, I get sympathetic looks from people, who say things like 'wow, you must have your hands full.' This one annoys me; I am not sure why. I do have my hands full, but there are a lot of blessings to having three kids and no one ever mentions that. I also get the 'are they twins?' comment about James and Katie more often than you'd think. I get people who can't believe they are so close in age. And then today, I got one of the more funny and curious ones....'are they all yours???' Well, yes, yes they are. Or at least I think so. Of course they are mine! Are three kids too many for one mother? I think not. Fortunately I didn't let this inner dialog out. I just smiled and said yes. This lady felt so sorry for me she offered me her shopping cart, insisting that I take it. I kindly refused it on the grounds that it was a lot easier for me to hold James and Katie's hands (Tyler was in the carrier) than to hoist them into a cart, try to keep them sitting down and occupied, etc. I think she just couldn't fathom someone having three whole kids. It was strange. And yesterday, I got my favorite comment of all time, and it wasn't even obnoxious either! I was crossing a parking lot with the older two in the stroller and Tyler in the carrier. A gentleman waved me across and as I turned to thank him, he rolled down his truck window and asked me 'What do you do in your spare time?' with a grin on his face. 'Ha, ha. That's a good one,' I said. 'Very funny!' He gets extra points for being humorous without being obnoxious. I am just waiting for someone to ask me if I am Catholic. Our pastor has six kids and someone asked him that. When he said no, the guy told him that the only kinds of people who have six kids are either Catholics or perverts. I tell you what, if someone had said that to me my inner dialog would not be able to behave itself!