2 years ago I posted a story about being asked if I was a foster parent. I'd been asked so many similar questions (do you do daycare? Are they ALL yours?) that I was curious if it was because of the number of kids I had with me (I only have 4!) or if there was something about my kids, or my demeanor that suggested we weren't a family. I heard back from other moms of many kids that the daycare thing was almost universal. Apparently, any more than 2 kids with you at one time gets those comments! Is more than 2 really that odd?
Similarly, any mom pushing a double stroller is asked "are they twins?" even if the kids are an infant and a toddler!
A few weeks after I was asked if I was a foster mom, I ran into the young man that had inquired. I asked him why he thought I might have been a foster parent, and not just mom. He stammered a bit and said "Um, because you always come in with different kids! One day you came in and one of the kids with you wasn't the same race. The kid didn't look like he could have been even half yours, so I thought maybe you were a foster mom. My mom used to foster, so I thought it was kinda neat!" I had to think for a bit and I guess he must have seen my kids playing on the playground with some of their friends. My kids certainly do have friends all over the spectrum of skin color and race, so the odds of him seeing them playing together were good. We talked for a while about his mom and what it was like for him growing up with real siblings and foster siblings. I left feeling grateful that I *only* had 4 kids with me, and flattered that he'd asked because he thought I was that cool, and less concerned that he asked because he thought I was weird! :)
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