It's a close as I will get to being a celebrity

L. on left, G. on right

I've been wearing the babies in the sling when I've gone out with them recently. (It's so much easier than strapping them into their car seats and strapping the car seats onto the stroller frame. Plus the stroller is huge!) But I haven't quite become used to the stir we cause when we are out. I am stopped very frequently by people wanting to admire them or ask questions about them. I really don't mind showing them off, but it makes it difficult to do anything quickly. J. and went to the grocery store(s) yesterday and I was stopped nearly every aisle. One of the checkers even wanted to take their picture. When it is just J. and I out with the girls, no one asks how many children we have...I think they just assume they are our firsts. But we often get the questions when we have other children with us. I try to avoid this question because people's reactions can get tiresome. Often people will try to say something along the lines of, 'You are amazing'. I don't feel amazing; it's not as though 9 children were dropped in my lap all at once. We were able to work up to it. And, as I've said before, I certainly don't parent on my own strength. The other common reaction is just for people's jaws to drop open. Literally. They have absolutely no idea what to say, as if the idea of a family of more than a couple of children never crossed their minds. The last reaction is the one I like the most, but receive the least. Sometimes a person, often older, will say how wonderful they think it is, often followed by how many children they had themselves or how many siblings they had and how wonderful it was. And I have to say I am thankful that only once have I received the Angelina Jolie comment. You know, the one where the person says, "Oh, you have adopted children and twins, you're just like Angelina!" Yeah, right. I look at the tabloids in the supermarket and often wonder to myself how on earth they got my picture. (It's too bad there is no emoticon for dripping sarcasm.)

On an unrelated note, we have decided that all of us will truck downtown on Wednesday morning. I just hope the babies go to sleep easily tomorrow night. It will make it that much easier to get up at the ridiculously early hour that we need to.